[DeTomaso] 02290 - chassis no query

MikeLDrew at aol.com MikeLDrew at aol.com
Wed Feb 10 12:49:30 EST 2016


In a message dated 2/10/16 8 16 17, isobelpunt at hotmail.com writes:


> Can any of you guys help me make sense of early Pantera chassis numbers? 
> 
>>>Yes, happy to help!   

> > Ours is #02290, built in December 1971.  Does that mean it is the 
> 2290th car built, or were they not sequential? 
> 
>>>The numbers were sequential, unlike the Mangusta which started at 500 
and only used even numbers.   

> > Where did the sequence start - at 0001 or later, as with so many cars?
> 
>>>Both the De Tomaso and Ford parts books incorrectly imply that they 
started at 0001, when in fact it appears they started with 1001.   The earliest 
known car in existence (other than the prototype, which has long been 
rumored to be living in the garage of the widow of Bertocci) is chassis 1006 which 
is in Florida.

Thus, your car 2290 would have been the, what, the 1289th car built?


> > And, finally, do we know exactly how many of the first series were 
> prototypes and how many had the push-button door handles?
> 
>>>Short answer--no.   The very earliest cars were true hand-built 
prototypes, but very quickly production started on a regular assembly line.   In 
fact it's quite possible that only the very first car was a 'prototype' in the 
normal sense of the word--likely built in the Ghia studios.   Tooling and 
jigs were produced, and the bodies of the early cars were manufactured in a 
fairly labor-intensive manner at the Vignale coachworks.   Early European 
pushbutton cars have a number of interesting and unique characteristics 
including a different lower front valence, slightly different dashboard 
configuration, different badging on the rear, an internal decklid release mechanism, 
etc. etc.

> 
> >These were presumably the ones Ford had so much trouble modifying after 
> shipment - correct me if I`m wrong.  Were they all hand-built at Chia?
> 
>>>The early cars like yours had bodies that were manufactured at Vignale 
in Turin, then were trucked to Modena where the drivetrain etc. was installed 
in a De Tomaso facility.   This arrangement continued until Ford took over 
De Tomaso completely later in 1972; at some point production was then taken 
completely in-house and the cars were built start-to-finish at Vignale and 
never went to Modena.

Do you have a Marti report for your car?   It's available from Marti Auto 
Works (I believe it's www.martiauto.com, but Google will tell you for sure).  
 This document will give you some statistical info about your car, 
including the date and dealership where it was first sold.

If you should happen to get one of those, please share it with Michael 
Shortt and me.

THANKS!

Mike
-------------- next part --------------
   In a message dated 2/10/16 8 16 17, isobelpunt at hotmail.com writes:

     Can any of you guys help me make sense of early Pantera chassis
     numbers?

   >>>Yes, happy to help!

     > Ours is #02290, built in December 1971.  Does that mean it is the
     2290th car built, or were they not sequential?

   >>>The numbers were sequential, unlike the Mangusta which started at
   500 and only used even numbers.

     > Where did the sequence start - at 0001 or later, as with so many
     cars?

   >>>Both the De Tomaso and Ford parts books incorrectly imply that they
   started at 0001, when in fact it appears they started with 1001.  The
   earliest known car in existence (other than the prototype, which has
   long been rumored to be living in the garage of the widow of Bertocci)
   is chassis 1006 which is in Florida.
   Thus, your car 2290 would have been the, what, the 1289th car built?

     > And, finally, do we know exactly how many of the first series were
     prototypes and how many had the push-button door handles?

   >>>Short answer--no.  The very earliest cars were true hand-built
   prototypes, but very quickly production started on a regular assembly
   line.  In fact it's quite possible that only the very first car was a
   'prototype' in the normal sense of the word--likely built in the Ghia
   studios.  Tooling and jigs were produced, and the bodies of the early
   cars were manufactured in a fairly labor-intensive manner at the
   Vignale coachworks.  Early European pushbutton cars have a number of
   interesting and unique characteristics including a different lower
   front valence, slightly different dashboard configuration, different
   badging on the rear, an internal decklid release mechanism, etc. etc.

     >These were presumably the ones Ford had so much trouble modifying
     after shipment - correct me if I`m wrong.  Were they all hand-built
     at Chia?

   >>>The early cars like yours had bodies that were manufactured at
   Vignale in Turin, then were trucked to Modena where the drivetrain etc.
   was installed in a De Tomaso facility.  This arrangement continued
   until Ford took over De Tomaso completely later in 1972; at some point
   production was then taken completely in-house and the cars were built
   start-to-finish at Vignale and never went to Modena.
   Do you have a Marti report for your car?  It's available from Marti
   Auto Works (I believe it's www.martiauto.com, but Google will tell you
   for sure).  This document will give you some statistical info about
   your car, including the date and dealership where it was first sold.
   If you should happen to get one of those, please share it with Michael
   Shortt and me.
   THANKS!
   Mike


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