[DeTomaso] Roofline or GT5 and GT5S

[jderyke at aol.com]

FWIW, the welding/assembly jigs used at Vignale seem to have been left out of discussions when Ford abandoned the project, although they did take time to destroy the kirkite composite stamping dies.  So if even a few of the dozen or so original assembly jigs were left behind, there's no rational reason for DeTomaso to not continuing using them at Maggiora and other carrozzeria. And if the welding dies were reused, the roof lines should be substantially identical early to late. But this IS Italy... Good question for someone like Kirk Evans who was intimate with the post-Ford Pantera body builds in Italy.
J Deryke

 

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Charles McCall <charlesmccall at gmail.com>
To: Charles Engles <cengles at cox.net>
Cc: 576103 <mikeldrew at aol.com>; Pantera list serve <detomaso at poca.com>
Sent: Wed, Oct 1, 2014 6:20 am
Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] Roofline or GT5 and GT5S


   Don't look at the guy in the middle, but this was me just after buying
   my GT5-S, parked next to my '72.
   A
   For reference, look at the height of the brake lights or rear bumpers.
   The 5-S is considerably lower.

   On Wed, Oct 1, 2014 at 3:09 PM, <[1]cengles at cox.net> wrote:

     Dear Mike,
     Well, off onto a tangent from wheels to roof line.
     The roof line of the GT5 and GT5S
     Panteras is *lower* than earlier "normal" Panteras?????I have never
     heard that.
     I had heard of a lower floor pan and smallish suspension
     differences, different engines, but I have not heard of a different roof
     line.
     I always thought that their menacing good looks,
     similar to the Ferrari 288 GT, was due to the widened stance
     and fender flares.
     May I ask if you have any references for the lowered
      roof line??A  I mean this isn't just your calibrated eyeball
     analysis?
      Warmest
     regards, Chuck Engles

     On Tue, Sep 30, 2014 at 11:02 PM, Mike Drew via DeTomaso wrote:
     A  A > AJ,
     A  A >
     A  A > You are completely missing the point.
     A  A >
     A  A > Your statements are completely true for narrow body Panteras.
     We are
     A  A not talking about narrow body Panteras. We are talking about
     GT5 etc
     A  A which came from the factory with 23 inch front and 24 inch rear
     tires.
     A  A Their fender openings are much lower on the side of the body to
     A  A accommodate them. Their roofline is lower than the early cars
     which
     A  A only accentuates their width and makes them even more
     menacing.A  When
     A  A you jack them up with tall tires, they look ridiculous IMHO.
     A  A >
     A  A > I also agree with you that an early Pantera with too-short
     tires
     A  A looks really odd...
     A  A >
     A  A > Mike
   
     








-------------- next part --------------
   FWIW, the welding/assembly jigs used at Vignale seem to have been left
   out of discussions when Ford abandoned the project, although they did
   take time to destroy the kirkite composite stamping dies.  So if even a
   few of the dozen or so original assembly jigs were left behind, there's
   no rational reason for DeTomaso to not continuing using them at
   Maggiora and other carrozzeria. And if the welding dies were reused,
   the roof lines should be substantially identical early to late. But
   this IS Italy... Good question for someone like Kirk Evans who was
   intimate with the post-Ford Pantera body builds in Italy.
   J Deryke

   -----Original Message-----
   From: Charles McCall <charlesmccall at gmail.com>
   To: Charles Engles <cengles at cox.net>
   Cc: 576103 <mikeldrew at aol.com>; Pantera list serve <detomaso at poca.com>
   Sent: Wed, Oct 1, 2014 6:20 am
   Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] Roofline or GT5 and GT5S
   Don't look at the guy in the middle, but this was me just after buying
   my GT5-S, parked next to my '72.
   A
   For reference, look at the height of the brake lights or rear bumpers.
   The 5-S is considerably lower.

   On Wed, Oct 1, 2014 at 3:09 PM, <[1][1]cengles at cox.net> wrote:

     Dear Mike,
     Well, off onto a tangent from wheels to roof line.
     The roof line of the GT5 and GT5S
     Panteras is *lower* than earlier "normal" Panteras?????I have never
     heard that.
     I had heard of a lower floor pan and smallish suspension
     differences, different engines, but I have not heard of a different roof
     line.
     I always thought that their menacing good looks,
     similar to the Ferrari 288 GT, was due to the widened stance
     and fender flares.
     May I ask if you have any references for the lowered
      roof line??A  I mean this isn't just your calibrated eyeball
     analysis?
      Warmest
     regards, Chuck Engles


     On Tue, Sep 30, 2014 at 11:02 PM, Mike Drew via DeTomaso wrote:
     A  A > AJ,
     A  A >
     A  A > You are completely missing the point.
     A  A >
     A  A > Your statements are completely true for narrow body Panteras.
     We are
     A  A not talking about narrow body Panteras. We are talking about
     GT5 etc
     A  A which came from the factory with 23 inch front and 24 inch rear
     tires.
     A  A Their fender openings are much lower on the side of the body to
     A  A accommodate them. Their roofline is lower than the early cars
     which
     A  A only accentuates their width and makes them even more
     menacing.A  When
     A  A you jack them up with tall tires, they look ridiculous IMHO.
     A  A >
     A  A > I also agree with you that an early Pantera with too-short
     tires
     A  A looks really odd...
     A  A >
     A  A > Mike

References

   1. mailto:cengles at cox.net