[DeTomaso] Just the facts survey
MikeLDrew at aol.com
MikeLDrew at aol.com
Thu Mar 1 19:10:26 EST 2012
In a message dated 3/1/12 15 38 22, oldwheel at shaw.ca writes:
> What DeTomaso did in Europe was another story, and one which FORD had no
> control over or interest in. If your car was delivered in France, it does
> not fall into the well ordered and documented FORD US program.
>
It's interesting to note that the chassis that had already been built, but
whose design failed the crash tests, were set aside to be sold to
unsuspecting Europeans. I spent a lot of time working on #1256 which is also a
French-market car, first sold and titled as a '72, and fitted with rounded
bumpers, Dash-2 gearbox, '72 exhaust, two-slot wheels, and a bunch of other
things. None of the chassis modifications performed by the Stroppe organization
were done on these Euro cars, but more significantly, the major structure at
the front of the cabin where the monocoque tunnel that joins the forward
bulkhead is entirely missing.
I helped Kristian Poulsen, who is doing a fantastic job of restoring #1267
(the green car whose Youtube link I shared a few days ago), source the
necessary parts from a wrecked Pantera (courtesy of Kirk Evans).
Although intended to show the internals of the rocker panels, this photo
clearly shows the complete absence of any structure at the front of the
footbox:
http://detomaso.accurat.nu/images/phocagallery/Kristian/thumbs/phoca_thumb_l
_pantera%202411-2009%20010.JPG
Here's the piece (which is found on 99.9% of the Panteras out there) added
in:
http://detomaso.accurat.nu/images/phocagallery/Kristian/thumbs/phoca_thumb_l
_pantera%203101-2009%20002.JPG
http://detomaso.accurat.nu/images/phocagallery/Kristian/thumbs/phoca_thumb_l
_pantera%203101-2009%20003.JPG
This reinforcement was designed and added to the cars after the early ones
failed the crash tests. But the ones that were already built weren't
dismantled to have this added; they were just set aside to be sold to the French!
All US cars have this piece, I believe. It would be interesting to get
confirmation from the owners of #1286 and later (the first US cars).
Mike
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