[DeTomaso] Quick-and-dirty review of Mike Boward's Pantera for sale

[MikeLDrew at aol.com]

Hi guys,

Here's a quick-and-dirty review of Mike Boward's Pantera #4124 that's for 
sale:

http://www.provamo.com/Members/DeTomaso4Sale/THPNMD04124.asp?

The engine is a 351C with a polished Edelbrock intake and Edelbrock 625 cfm 
carb, completely rebuilt with a Comp Cams 270H cam (.519 lift, 270 degrees 
duration, 110 degree lobe separation).   New bolt-ons (Edelbrock water pump, 
Mallory fuel pump, etc.)

Exhaust consists of Hedmann headers and stock tailpipes.

Stainless steel water bottles, cooling pipes, and a killer Ron Davis 
radiator with dual sucker fans from Pantera Performance Center.

Painted engine bay

Gas tank filler gooseneck added to the top of the tank--a very nice 
feature.

The gas tank and water bottle covers are there, but the engine screen is 
missing entirely (lost?)

The fiberglass trunk is missing/lost as well. :<(

The interior is basically stock and looks great.   The radiator fans both 
operate automatically, but there is also a manual fan override switch (the 
bottom, blank switch on the instrument panel).

Simpson four-point harnesses

The headliner is missing, and the fiberglass trim piece with the dome light 
is removed, but comes with the car.

The steering wheel has been replaced with a Lecarra wheel, and as often 
happens with this modification, when the hub nut was overtightened it shattered 
the nylon bushing in the bottom of the steering column tube.   This results 
in the steering wheel being about to boing in and out about 1/2 inch.   The 
fix is a brass replacement bushing which costs about $25.

The steering rack needs to be rebuilt, and that entails fitment of a 
replacement brass bushing there also, which costs $40.   The early cars like this 
one suffer from poor steering geometry, easily rectified with the fitment of 
L-model style shims and longer bolts.   I have a machinist make these 
things for me, and that kit costs $40 as well.

If you bought the car and wanted these two items fixed, we could do them at 
my house (about an hour away) before you drove the car home.

The "GEN" light is on and the ammeter shows zero charge, meaning that 
either the alternator has quit, or the voltage regulator, or that there's a 
wiring problem.   I can't really help with that, but friends in the area easily 
could figure it out.

The windshield wiper arms and blades are missing also, which is a bit of a 
bummer.   It would be nice if these could be found prior to the sale (that 
means a full Easter egg hunt in the garage), as they are rare and very 
expensive, although I believe Larry Stock is now making quality reproductions.

The car starts and runs just fine.   It took awhile to get it started 
because it hadn't run in a year, but dribbling fuel into the carb gave us just 
enough to get it running, and once the fuel pump did its thing, it ran 
perfectly.   The clutch action is very light (Centerforce clutch), and the steering 
feels fine other than the blown-out bushings mentioned above.   The brakes 
(with Porterfield R4S pads and an uprated master cylinder) worked fine as 
well.

The ZF shifts smoothly, no issues there either.

I wasn't able to get under the car for a full rust inspection, but given 
its history of a full restoration with minor rust repairs at that time, and 
its subsequent life as a cream-puff garage queen in a very friendly California 
inland environment, I'd be shocked if any rust had materialized since then.

In short, this is a car that (once the aforementioned minor problems were 
repaired) I'd feel quite comfortable hopping into and driving straight across 
the country.   (You'd have to pack light due to the missing trunk--I would 
probably plan a route past one of the Pantera vendors and pick one up along 
the way!   It would be cheaper than buying one, since the shipping costs for 
such a large item are enormous.)

Let me know if you have any further questions?

Cheers!

Mike