[DeTomaso] im looking for a spair tire for my 1972 pantera or ideal what will fit in trunk

Julian Kift julian_kift at hotmail.com
Wed Aug 10 10:30:10 EDT 2016


Mike,


All good advice until I got to the last paragraph, I would caution even keeping a can of fix a flat in the front trunk unless it is behind the battery or against the bulkhead. One Vegas Fun Rally I had a can explode in the front trunk of my car, fortunately no damage, but the sticky mess made the trunk unusable for the rest of the trip and took a good weekend too clean out.


Julian

________________________________
From: DeTomaso <detomaso-bounces at server.detomasolist.com> on behalf of Mike Drew via DeTomaso <detomaso at server.detomasolist.com>
Sent: Tuesday, August 9, 2016 1:23 PM
To: falconjackpam at sbcglobal.net; detomaso at server.detomasolist.com
Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] im looking for a spair tire for my 1972 pantera or ideal what will fit in trunk

Jack (I assume that's your name?)

Your e-mail came through completely blank, but your subject line pretty
well lays out your question.

Before getting down to specifics, let me suggest something perhaps you
hadn't considered.

Let's say you're driving down the road and BOOM, you get a flat tire.   You
pull over, pull out your jack and your spare, install the spare, inflate
it, lower the car back onto the road....

...and then what?   Your rare, exotic and expensive factory wheel and flat
tire (or equally expensive and rare aftermarket wheel and flat tire) are
sitting there on the shoulder of the road.   What do you plan to do with them?
 It's much too big to fit into the car!

You're not going to abandon them, so no matter what, you're going to need
to call a tow truck.   So given that's the case, why even bother carrying a
spare?

Having said that, if you are really wanting a spare (perhaps for concours),
they are rare and expensive, coveted by the Mustang restoration guys.   The
spare used in the Pantera was the same one used on late 1960s and early
1970s performance Mustangs, including the '69 and '70 Shelby, Boss 302, Boss
429, 428 CJ cars with fold down rear seat and trunk-mounted batteries.

There is one available for sale on Ebay right now for $995 plus $36.85
shipping (buy it now price), and another one in much better shape available for
auction with a starting price of $395 (but the reserve is likely much
higher).

Personally I would never trust a 40-year-old collapsible spare tire in any
circumstances, so I would view that as a display item only.

Others have found that lightweight spacesaver tires from later-model Fords
(Crown Vics etc.) will fit, and they can be had from junkyards for a
fraction of the cost.

But personally, I wouldn't bother.   I would carry a can of fix-a-flat
(note that some of those use PROPANE as the inflator, and are highly explosive;
more than one Pantera has suffered extensive damage from an explosion, so
read the label carefully, and keep it in the front trunk!), and a AAA card....

Mike
-------------- next part --------------
   Mike,

   All good advice until I got to the last paragraph, I would caution
   even keeping a can of fix a flat in the front trunk unless it is behind
   the battery or against the bulkhead. One Vegas Fun Rally I had a can
   explode in the front trunk of my car, fortunately no damage, but the
   sticky mess made the trunk unusable for the rest of the trip and took
   a good weekend too clean out.

   Julian
     __________________________________________________________________

   From: DeTomaso <detomaso-bounces at server.detomasolist.com> on behalf of
   Mike Drew via DeTomaso <detomaso at server.detomasolist.com>
   Sent: Tuesday, August 9, 2016 1:23 PM
   To: falconjackpam at sbcglobal.net; detomaso at server.detomasolist.com
   Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] im looking for a spair tire for my 1972 pantera
   or ideal what will fit in trunk

   Jack (I assume that's your name?)
   Your e-mail came through completely blank, but your subject line pretty
   well lays out your question.
   Before getting down to specifics, let me suggest something perhaps you
   hadn't considered.
   Let's say you're driving down the road and BOOM, you get a flat tire.
   You
   pull over, pull out your jack and your spare, install the spare,
   inflate
   it, lower the car back onto the road....
   ...and then what?   Your rare, exotic and expensive factory wheel and
   flat
   tire (or equally expensive and rare aftermarket wheel and flat tire)
   are
   sitting there on the shoulder of the road.   What do you plan to do
   with them?
    It's much too big to fit into the car!
   You're not going to abandon them, so no matter what, you're going to
   need
   to call a tow truck.   So given that's the case, why even bother
   carrying a
   spare?
   Having said that, if you are really wanting a spare (perhaps for
   concours),
   they are rare and expensive, coveted by the Mustang restoration guys.
   The
   spare used in the Pantera was the same one used on late 1960s and early
   1970s performance Mustangs, including the '69 and '70 Shelby, Boss 302,
   Boss
   429, 428 CJ cars with fold down rear seat and trunk-mounted batteries.
   There is one available for sale on Ebay right now for $995 plus $36.85
   shipping (buy it now price), and another one in much better shape
   available for
   auction with a starting price of $395 (but the reserve is likely much
   higher).
   Personally I would never trust a 40-year-old collapsible spare tire in
   any
   circumstances, so I would view that as a display item only.
   Others have found that lightweight spacesaver tires from later-model
   Fords
   (Crown Vics etc.) will fit, and they can be had from junkyards for a
   fraction of the cost.
   But personally, I wouldn't bother.   I would carry a can of fix-a-flat
   (note that some of those use PROPANE as the inflator, and are highly
   explosive;
   more than one Pantera has suffered extensive damage from an explosion,
   so
   read the label carefully, and keep it in the front trunk!), and a AAA
   card....
   Mike


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