[DeTomaso] Earliest known Pantera

Fri Jul 24 21:21:24 EDT 2015

Thanks for further adding to the knowledge base, in time, my list will be
as complete as it can be.

Michael
On Jul 24, 2015 8:51 PM, <MikeLDrew at aol.com> wrote:

>
> In a message dated 7/23/15 17 58 3, edducati at mac.com writes:
>
>
>    I called Wilkinson, they know of 1001, but do not have it.
>
> >>>He told me it's owned by the widow of Ing Bertocci, and he has made
> arrangements to buy it (years ago) but the deal hasn't been consummated.
>
> >   He also said the crashed cars never had serial numbers, good to know.
>
> >>>But not true.  The DOT certification testing, including crash testing,
> was performed by an independent company, Ogden Technology Laboratories,
> Inc, in Fullerton CA, from September through December 1970 (the crash
> testing may have happened later than that?).  The cars used were:
>
> 1005 (red)
> 1006 (yellow)
> 1010 (black)
> 1011 (green)
>
> 1005 was crash-tested, and failed miserably.  Here's the video of that
> test:
>
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iaobPuwXZbU
>
> Now, it's possible that some cars were crashed in Europe and they had no
> serial numbers, but I tend to doubt the likelihood of that.  For years, a
> car that was crashed in Europe and passed the test was kept rattling around
> in the Vignale factory; there are numerous photos of it in books, in a
> light color (yellow or white) and covered with black grid markings, with
> the front end all caved in.  But the cabin is in much better shape than
> 1005 above.
>
>
>
> >>   So theoretically,A  if you have #1500, it is the 500th Pantera.
> >   So mine #1660 is the 660th car built ( June 71 ).
>
> >>>True dat.
>
> >>   He also confirmed that the first rectangular door handle was #1286,
> >   thus 1001 thru #1285 were pushbuttons ( subject to Italian build order
> >   as we all know ).
>
> >>>Totally false.  The first US import Pantera was #1286, and it was a
> pushbutton.  For years it was said that the first 75 cars imported to the
> USA were pushbuttons, and that may well be true, but there are plenty of
> pushbuttons with numbers higher than (1286 + 75, = 1361).  Either this is
> because some pushbutton cars in this range were sold in Europe, or if 100%
> of Pantera production at this time was coming to the USA, then the number
> is greater than 75.  The highest known pushbutton is #1383, and the
> earliest known square doorhandle car is #1387.  So the changeover happened
> somewhere in there....
>
> Mike
>
> P.S.  Although there is no longer a business called Ogden Labs, on a whim
> I just called the phone number listed for them in the original testing
> report.  To my amazement, a woman answered and told me that they were still
> in the same location, still doing DOT-type testing, but the business had a
> different name.  What's more, the woman speaking to me had been working
> there back when the Panteras were tested!  She had some fun stories to
> tell.  Apparently they LOVED it when the Pantera contract came to them, as
> they would take the cars out on the road to go to lunch etc. and they
> turned a LOT of heads.
>
> Unfortunately, they no longer have any of the records from those days--it
> all went to the landfill years ago.  I'm glad I have what I have, although
> it's very incomplete.
>
> Fun stuff!
>
>
>
-------------- next part --------------
   Thanks for further adding to the knowledge base, in time, my list will
   be as complete as it can be.

   Michael

   On Jul 24, 2015 8:51 PM, <[1]MikeLDrew at aol.com> wrote:

     In a message dated 7/23/15 17 58 3, [2]edducati at mac.com writes:
     A A  I called Wilkinson, they know of 1001, but do not have it.
     >>>He told me it's owned by the widow of Ing Bertocci, and he has
     made arrangements to buy it (years ago) but the deal hasn't been
     consummated.

     >A A  He also said the crashed cars never had serial numbers, good
     to know.
     >>>But not true.A  The DOT certification testing, including crash
     testing, was performed by an independent company, Ogden Technology
     Laboratories, Inc, in Fullerton CA, from September through December
     1970 (the crash testing may have happened later than that?).A  The
     cars used were:
     1005 (red)
     1006 (yellow)
     1010 (black)
     1011 (green)
     1005 was crash-tested, and failed miserably.A  Here's the video of
     that test:
     [3]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iaobPuwXZbU
     Now, it's possible that some cars were crashed in Europe and they
     had no serial numbers, but I tend to doubt the likelihood of that.A
     For years, a car that was crashed in Europe and passed the test was
     kept rattling around in the Vignale factory; there are numerous
     photos of it in books, in a light color (yellow or white) and
     covered with black grid markings, with the front end all caved in.A
     But the cabin is in much better shape than 1005 above.

     >>A A  So theoretically,AA  if you have #1500, it is the 500th
     Pantera.
     >A A  So mine #1660 is the 660th car built ( June 71 ).
     >>>True dat.

     >>A A  He also confirmed that the first rectangular door handle was
     #1286,
     >A A  thus 1001 thru #1285 were pushbuttons ( subject to Italian
     build order
     >A A  as we all know ).
     >>>Totally false.A  The first US import Pantera was #1286, and it
     was a pushbutton.A  For years it was said that the first 75 cars
     imported to the USA were pushbuttons, and that may well be true, but
     there are plenty of pushbuttons with numbers higher than (1286 + 75,
     = 1361).A  Either this is because some pushbutton cars in this range
     were sold in Europe, or if 100% of Pantera production at this time
     was coming to the USA, then the number is greater than 75.A  The
     highest known pushbutton is #1383, and the earliest known square
     doorhandle car is #1387.A  So the changeover happened somewhere in
     there....
     Mike
     P.S.A  Although there is no longer a business called Ogden Labs, on
     a whim I just called the phone number listed for them in the
     original testing report.A  To my amazement, a woman answered and
     told me that they were still in the same location, still doing
     DOT-type testing, but the business had a different name.A  What's
     more, the woman speaking to me had been working there back when the
     Panteras were tested!A  She had some fun stories to tell.A
     Apparently they LOVED it when the Pantera contract came to them, as
     they would take the cars out on the road to go to lunch etc. and
     they turned a LOT of heads.
     Unfortunately, they no longer have any of the records from those
     days--it all went to the landfill years ago.A  I'm glad I have what
     I have, although it's very incomplete.
     Fun stuff!

References

   1. mailto:MikeLDrew at aol.com
   2. mailto:edducati at mac.com
   3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iaobPuwXZbU