[DeTomaso] Re-starting my Pantera Restoration - Again!
Himes, Terry (397C)
terry.himes at jpl.nasa.gov
Sun Dec 31 18:58:21 EST 2017
Charles,
Doesn’t it come down to budget? Anything can be fixed, but at what cost.
My guy here in Sandy Eggo, restores all sorts of high-end cars. Lamborghini’s, Ferrari’s , etc etc
and does magic. But I’m sure it would be pricy.
I’m sure you’ll get lots of suggestions from the group. ;-))
Terry
"A Purple Heart proves you were smart enough to hatch a plan,
stupid enough to try it and lucky enough to survive!"
Terry W. Himes
JPL Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Dawn Spacecraft Team
Rosetta Sequence Team Lead
Phone: (818) 393-6261
Cell: (818) 653-8213
thimes at jpl.nasa.gov
🇺🇸
On 12/31/17, 3:27 PM, "DeTomaso on behalf of Charles Copeland" <detomaso-bounces at server.detomasolist.com on behalf of cwcopela at 1scom.net> wrote:
Hey DeTomaso Listers!
First of all, Happy New Year!
Second, I’m thinking that 2018 should be the year to – once again – get
serious about restoring our ’72 Pantera that I started restoring about 20
years ago or so.
Here’s where I really need some help. The thing that always brings the
project to a halt is the fact that, due to accident damage under previous
ownership, the unibody seems to have about ¼ inch larger gap in the
passenger-side door opening and upper passenger side window cavity compared
to the driver’s side.
Several body/frame shops, as well as at least one of our highly esteemed
Pantera Parts Vendors, have told me that it’s not worth fixing, can’t be
fixed, move on and get another car!
I’m finding it difficult to believe that this problem can’t be fixed but I
don’t know how and don’t have the requisite skills. But, from stripping off
the paint and bondo, it appears that the roof was brazed on at the bottom of
the front roof pillars and at the top of the rear quarters. So, I’m
thinking perhaps the alignment of the roof/pillars was just rushed by the
body shop/backyard mechanic that repaired the car post-accident.
Can you all weigh-in on whether or not this lopsided unibody can be
re-aligned so that the passenger-side door fits correctly and there is no
gap in the upper passenger-side windshield? Or should I simply put it back
together crooked like it was before? After all it drove great! I guess the
car didn’t know it was crooked!
Oh, I should mention, the frame/suspension aligns perfectly – no issues
there. Just poorly fitting passenger door and windshield.
Thanks,
Charles Copeland
More information about the DeTomaso
mailing list