[DeTomaso] Viewed and Reviewed Re: FORD 72 DE TOMASO PANTERA - $25000 (NINE MILE FALLS)
Asa Jay Laughton
asajay at asajay.com
Wed Aug 18 01:23:51 EDT 2010
I was able to visit this Pantera after dinner tonight. Interesting
history, interesting condition, price may be a bit high.
Photos here:
http://www.asajay.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=2725
THPNMA02898 (NOT in the registery, well, it is -now-, but it wasn't
about 10 minutes ago :)
Build date 3/1972
Pre-L model.
Current owner wishes to remain anonymous. He purchased it in 1989 from
Collector's Choice, drove it lightly without ever transferring title or
getting it registered in California. Went through a very nasty divorce
just after purchase. Moved the car to the Spokane area in 1990, garaged
and left for dead.
From Collector's Choice the car had been serviced and repainted. Hard
to tell if there is any bondo, I didn't have a magnet with me. The body
looks pretty straight with a few minor door dings. The paint job is
nice at 20 feet, but poor up close. You can tell it was simply masked
and shot without removing or taping over certain items, such as door
strikers. I would have expected more from Collector's Choice, which may
simply mean they were a broker and didn't actually do anything to the
car. (yea, I'll go with that)
The engine is original. Very -very- difficult to make out the number
but I think we managed to. The flat area the number usually resides on
is severely worn and the engine was painted prior to the present owner
getting it. Again, when it was delivered from Collector's Choice. The
intake has been replace with an aluminum Offenhauser and is topped with
a Holley carb and open element air cleaner. Exhaust is Mind Train,
headers and mufflers, looks to be in great shape. Original exhaust
comes with the car separately.
Transaxle is a dash 2, looks like it's never been serviced, small leaks.
Gas fill is dangerous; original, no extender neck. Mike Drew told me
about how his car was this way at first and he lost his gas cap on top
the tank. Same situation here, needs an extender on the gas tank.
The wire loom to the rear has been uncovered. Just the multi-colored
wires strung in the engine bay just above the A/C lines. All other
stock components appear to be there and in decent shape. Car has
basically been garaged since 1990 or so just gathering dust.
Interior is in okay shape, not great, but nothing a good cleaning
wouldn't cure. Steering wheel cover is intact and actually appears
somewhat supple, though it has a coat of rubber oxidation on it making
it appear slightly white. The DeTomaso emblem is upside-down in the
steering wheel cover. Twin pod dash looks to be in good shape. An
8-Track has been kludged into the center console recess between the
seats. The shifter is missing the emblem.
Seats are in decent shape but the drivers side will need recovering soon
after it starts to be driven again. Carpet seems okay for now. Door
panels are in good shape though they do have mongo speakers installed.
Headliner looks brand new. Rear view mirror still has factory sticker
on it (just like mine). Driver side stock Ford rear view mirror. Seat
belts are very stock.
Front trunk is a bit of a disaster area. The whole thing was shot with
Black paint before having new felt installed. And I mean -everything-
was painted.... master and slave cylinders including the resevoirs,
power booster, etc. I think the only thing that didn't get it was the
washer bottle. So the VIN was hard to get, we had to work at it a while
trying to remove a few layers of paint. The felt is pretty torn up even
though it's obvious it had been replaced at one time. There is -no-
body service tag. The collapsible spare is in the front truck as is the
inflator bomb. A jack and a couple of tools from the original kit are
there, but there was no indication of the full kit anywhere.
The radiator is a replacement stock from what I was told. It looks
pretty stock to me, still using the pusher fans.
Campy's all around. Three match and one does not... .thanks to Mike
Drew for putting that whole "six different flavors of Campy's" thing in
my head. That only means that -I- can at least tell there is one that
doesn't match, maybe there are more. The front tires still hold air,
the rears... well, just don't look at the photos; they are shot, one
flat and one having come off the rim. The car sits on the floor of the
garage, flat on the rear tires.
<sigh> So if it were cleaned up a lot, had good tires on it and was
running, it might have been the car I was looking for 10 years ago. I'm
not sure I'd pay $25k for it right now.
The owner (not the friend who is trying to sell it) told his friend he
thought he should get $50K for it, but told him to list at $25K.
Methinks he's been watching to many auctions and hasn't visited his own
garage lately. The friend and I agreed, it might be tough to get $25K
though he's had some offers sight-unseen around $20K. He also knows if
he were to put some effort in to it, like put some tires on it, clean it
up, give it a good coat of wax, put a battery in it and move all the
crap out of the way so it could actually leave the garage.... he might
have a shot at getting $25K for it.
For now, he'll see if more folks come out. He seemed pleased to learn
more about the car this evening and appeared to be slightly motivated to
make it look better to hopefully get a better price out of it. The only
hitch that I can see is that the present owner never titled or
registered it. I don't know if that will be a big problem or not.
Basically, I see this as a very original car that has had a bad paint
job. It needs to have the gas tank flushed, rubber hoses replaced,
engine inspected prior to firing, perhaps a new clutch, brake caliper
rebuilds, new bearings, maybe ball joints and a small laundry list of
little things. For someone that wanted to wrench a Pantera for a little
bit without getting into a huge restoration, -and- wanted to drive it
and enjoy it, this might be a good entry.
Photos here:
http://www.asajay.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=2725
Asa Jay
Asa Jay Laughton, MSgt, USAFR, Retired
& Shelley Marie
Spokane, WA
******************************
http://www.racingagainstautism.com
http://www.teampanteraracing.com
On 8/17/2010 10:09, Dave Londry wrote:
> http://spokane.craigslist.org/cto/1902875027.html
>
> This ones in your back yard isn't it Asa Jay?
>
> dave
>
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