[DeTomaso] Review--1974 Pantera L for sale

[MikeLDrew at aol.com]

All,

Yesterday I was afforded the opportunity to fully evaluate a late 1974 
Pantera L that is currently for sale at Fantasy Junction, the well-known 
purveyor of fine motor cars, in Emeryville, CA (just across the Bay Bridge from San 
Francisco).   Here is a link to the description of the car with many, many 
photos:

http://fantasyjunction.com/cars/1982-DeTomaso%20-Pantera%20L-351%20c.i.%20Cl
eveland%20V-8

I have passing familiarity with this car, as I worked on it briefly (and 
when I say 'worked on it', what I mean is that I changed the light bulbs in 
the speedometer and tachometer, and that's all) and got the opportunity to 
drive it two or three years ago.   At that time, the original headliner was 
flapping down, and it had carburetor issues, but it seemed to be a 
fundamentally good car.   I gave the owner a list of 'to do' items and promised to come 
look at it again in more detail once he had finished the repairs, but we 
never managed to get together again.

The owner at the time was named Ken Painter.   The car had belonged to his 
father, and clearly he had been passionate about it.   Ken inherited it, and 
confessed to having only a passing interest in it.   He attended a few club 
events, but clearly his heart wasn't in it, and he said he planned to sell 
it.

He attempted to market it locally through an ad in the Pantera Club of 
Northern California newsletter, but most of the members of the club already have 
Panteras, so although he got a few nibbles, he got no bites.   He 
eventually sold it through Fantasy Junction to a speculative buyer.   That fellow now 
technically owns the car, but he has decided to sell it so Fantasy Junction 
is marketing it for him.

The car was originally painted the horrid Army Tank Green color found on 
(thankfully few) L-model Panteras, but at some point in its life, it was 
repainted a nice shade of silver, and at that time the chrome trim was all 
blacked out.   It spent its early years in Florida, which is automatically 
worrisome due to the high humidity and potential for rust, but its latter life was 
spent in California, where it was used very sparingly.   

It recently was the subject of an obscenely overpriced engine overhaul, and 
the new motor is just barely broken in, with a thousand miles or so on it.

Upon arriving at Fantasy Junction, I found the car parked on their 
four-post lift, which affords an excellent opportunity to inspect the underside.   I 
immediately zoomed in to the rear portion of the chassis, where rust can 
take hold and be extremely expensive and labor-intensive to repair.   Repeated 
whacks with a hammer and pointed punch revealed that structurally, the car 
is absolutely rock-solid.   Despite the fact that owner-added drain holes 
(so necessary in these cars) were never created, nevertheless the chassis is 
quite stout.

The suspension has been fitted with top-of-the-line adjustable Koni 
coil-over shocks and Hypercoil springs.   The extensive corrosion on the ride 
height adjustment collars indicates that they are very old, and changing their 
settings would require a lot of work to free up the adjusters.   Having said 
that, these are a 'set and forget' component, and there would be no reason 
(other than cosmetics) to deal with them.   (On my test drive, they worked 
exceptionally well, delivering a firm but comfortable ride).

The right-side upright has been fitted with grease fittings for the lower 
shaft, while the left-side doesn't have them.   

The car has a stock-sized aftermarket rear chrome sway bar, but the chrome 
is pitted with surface rust.   The sway bar bushings appear to be original, 
and are largely perished.   The single best improvement one can make to a 
Pantera, on a dollar-for-dollar basis, is to upgrade from the stock 3/4 inch 
rear sway bar to the Euro GTS-specification 7/8 inch bar.   Given that this 
car's existing components are both in a somewhat tired state, this is a $200 
investment I would make right away (although it's not strictly 'necessary').

The engine appears to be completely tight and absent of any leaks (as it 
should be considering it's new), while there is a tiny drop of oil leaking 
from the transaxle drain plug.   I don't know how fresh the transaxle fluid is, 
but I suspect it's been changed recently.   Perhaps a bit of tightening on 
the plug would fix the leak; if not, removing it and wrapping with Teflon 
tape should do the trick.   (At that time, a decision could be made to refill 
with the existing oil if it's fresh, or replace it--it requires about 7 
pints of GL-5 80w90 gearbox oil).

It has become customary to fit a “DETOMASO” logo plaque to the rear of the 
chassis in between the inner sway bar mounts.   These cast aluminum plaques 
were originally fitted to the valve covers on the 1971-72 Panteras and were 
held in place with glue; after the first one fell off, usually owners put 
the remaining one at the rear of the chassis, where it happens to fit 
perfectly.   It also disguises damage to the lip on the back of the chassis rail 
caused by incautious jacking.   This car has evidence that it had this plaque 
at one time (in the form of a pair of screw holes), but the plaque has 
disappeared, and the lip is a little bit wrinkled.   This is another trivial 
cosmetic issue, easily resolved with hammer and dolly work, and the plaques are 
readily available and not very expensive if one wanted to follow convention.

There is evidence of sloppy cosmetic work, as the cast aluminum gearbox 
mounts are partially covered in black overspray, likely from a rattle-can 
touch-up of the underside chassis.   A bit of time with a rag and laquer thinner 
would go a long way there.

While looking up, I was surprised to see that the removable fiberglass 
trunk was broken, with a big crack in it.   This is invisible from above, but 
suggests it was subjected to carrying an extreme load at one point.   
Fortunately this is extremely easy to fix, and it is completely invisible normally.

The clutch has been equipped with a braided stainless steel flex hose, 
replacing the awful red plastic hose that came from the factory.   This is an 
excellent (and I would say mandatory) upgrade.

I was surprised and pleased to find that the car had been equipped with 
Wilwood four-piston brake calipers on all four corners.   The stock rear 
calipers have been retained for their parking brake function only.   The Wilwood 
calipers are their larger Superlite II model, but the car uses stock, 
unvented rotors.   (Vented rotors are readily available and not overly expensive 
should an owner decide to upgrade).   Naturally, the ancient rubber hoses have 
been replaced with braided stainless steel/Teflon hoses as part of the 
caliper upgrade.

As part of the system, the stock master cylinder has been replaced with a 
Ford SVO aluminum unit with an adapter bracket from Pantera Performance 
Center.   It has Wilwood 2psi residual pressure valves plumbed into the system, 
which prevents the caliper pistons from migrating back into the calipers, 
which could produce a 'long' brake pedal on the first application.   They still 
sell this whole brake system as a complete kit.

Proceeding forward, I could see that the original water pipes are still 
present, and have surface rust.   There is no indication of any water leak, but 
if the cooling system is serviced (more on that in a moment) it makes sense 
to replace them with new stainless steel pipes.   (I recently worked on a 
similar low-mileage Pantera whose pipes were visually in the same shape; when 
I removed them they crumbled in my hands at the ends where they mated with 
the rubber hoses--although they weren't leaking either, a leak was not long 
in coming).

The front valance is a little bit wavy at the bottom and has surface rust 
on it, but is undented.   This is a structural location, and either ambient 
water or water from a leaky radiator can cause this area to rust out, but the 
one on this car seems to be in reasonable shape.

Proceeding to the exterior of the car, I noted that the silver paint 
appeared to be of very high quality, but is starting to show its age.   There are 
certain parts of the body where rust first materializes, which manifests 
itself in bubbling in the paint.   This car has hand-sized areas of obvious 
corrosion on several panels--the lower rear of the left-hand front fender, the 
lower front of the left-hand quarter panel, the rocker panel immediately 
beneath, and the lower front of the right-hand quarter panel.

This is what I would call 'typical' rust on these cars.   It doesn't appear 
to be overly significant and is far from catastrophic.   Someday, somebody 
will repaint this car, and when that happens, at a minimum these areas will 
need to be cut out and new patches installed.   Too, it's likely that there 
is internal rust to the bottom of the B-pillar posts and perhaps the middle 
of the three rocker panels, so those would be attended to at the same time.  
 But if I was to buy this car as a driver, I would comfortably drive it 
as-is for many years to come, and chalk all that up to being a 'someday' 
project.

The right-hand rocker panel has a dent at the rear, but it's easily 
accessed from behind and could be straightened out very, very easily.

The left-hand headlight bucket stands slightly proud of the fender when 
shut.   These are adjusted with various shims etc. and I have no doubt that it 
could be fixed (what might have to happen is that the right-hand bucket 
needs to be raised with shims slightly, then the whole mechanism lowered more so 
they are both closed uniformly).

The car has been fitted with the highly desirable 10-inch rear wheels, and 
the 8-inch wheels formerly living at the rear of the car have been moved to 
the front.   The 10-inch wheels were always a very expensive aftermarket 
option (I paid $900 each for mine in 1989), and now are easily worth $3500 or 
more by themselves.   This is a huge selling point for this car, as they are 
very difficult to find and very desirable.

I didn't note the age of the tires, but they at least have plenty of tread 
left.   It has Yokohama 295/50 in the rear and Falken 225/50 in the front.

The front bumper has been described as 'serviceable' in the ad, and that's 
a very fair characterization, in the sense that if you crashed into 
something, it would do its job.   Cosmetically though, it is in pretty sad shape, 
suffering from numerous scrapes and scuffs, waves, and a very pronounced split 
on the driver's side.   It is possible to repair these bumpers, but enough 
people have chosen to remove them and replace them either with aftermarket 
fiberglass units (the fit of some of those leaves a lot to be desired), or 
ginchy carbon-fiber, and NOS steel and rubber bumpers are still available 
(although pricy).

The rear quarter windows are not installed, but are included with the car 
in a big box of spare and leftover parts.   I would reinstall them right 
away, although I know that many owners prefer to leave them out for the ease of 
cleaning the back window.

The left doorhandle return spring is broken, although the doorhandle still 
works perfectly well.   The latch simply remains proud after the door has 
been opened, but it sits flush when it's closed.

The right-side door frame hits the trim at the top of the B-pillar and has 
scraped the paint away.   (I forgot to check to see if the same is true on 
the driver's side).

Oddly, the backup lights are stuck on; whenever the key is on, they are 
illuminated no matter if the car is in reverse or not.   Frequently these 
lights don't function at all; I would suspect that the problem lies with a faulty 
or misadjusted backup light switch, likely easily resolved.

The car is equipped with a Hall Pantera Big Bore exhaust system.   While 
the Hall headers are a good match for stock tailpipes/mufflers, giving a 
noticeable horsepower improvement, the Hall tailpipes/mufflers are aesthetically 
very questionable, and aurally they take away the signature Pantera 'sound'. 
  Rather than sounding like an Italian exotic with a very muscular heart, 
the Hall mufflers make the car sound like an old pickup truck or a speedboat. 
  There is nothing inherently 'wrong' with them, as they are functioning as 
designed (no cracks or leaks or other damage).   But if this was my car, at 
a minimum I would source a good pair of stock tailpipes to return the 
proper Pantera sound; in all likelihood I would just replace the whole system, 
either with the ANSA European GTS setup, or (preferably) the system produced 
by Panteras by Wilkinson, which delivers the cosmetic appearance of the 
factory GTS exhaust, but produces considerably more horsepower (31 hp in a 
back-to-back dyno test) at less cost.

The stock mirrors have been replaced with Vitaloni Baby Bravo mirrors, 
attached to plates glued to the inside of the quarter glass.   During my test 
drive, the passenger-side mirror gave an excellent view of the ground rather 
than traffic to the rear; I confess I forgot to see if it could be adjusted 
properly.

Considering that the engine was rebuilt 1000 miles ago at a cost of $18,000 
(!!!!!), cosmetically it leaves more than a bit to be desired.   The valve 
covers look scruffy, with the black paint peeling off.   The intake manifold 
is stained, evidence of a prior fuel leak.   These items should have been 
taken care of as part of the engine rebuild--a shameful oversight.   
Fortunately it is easy to take care of it now--the valve covers and intake can be 
removed, bead-blasted, and then the valve covers can be masked and painted.

The gearbox also looks a bit 'naff' as the English would say, and would 
benefit from a good scrubbing.

The engine is fitted with an Edelbrock Performer 4V intake manifold (pretty 
much the standard replacement for the stock cast-iron boat anchor), and a 
cheap economy Holley carburetor.   When I drove the car a couple of years 
ago, it had a good performance Holley carb that was in dire need of tuning and 
fettling; instead the prior owner just replaced it with a carb of much lower 
specification.   It is perfectly fine for cruising around, and will likely 
deliver good fuel economy, but the side-pivot floats means that it will cut 
out under very hard cornering.   I would likely be putting this one on 
Craigslist and replacing it with the factory European GTS offering, the Holley 
4777 650 double-pumper.

The stock air cleaner is installed, but is missing the plastic fresh air 
induction snorkel system, which was fitted to the firewall and drew cool, 
fresh air from beneath the passenger seat.   So the engine is instead inhaling 
ambient air from directly above the exhaust headers on the passenger side.   

I forgot to mention that the original decklid shocks are still installed 
(upside down), and are doing a surprisingly good job of keeping the decklid 
open.   Usually by this point, they would have collapsed and been replaced 
with something more generic in appearance.

The stock spare tire is in the rear trunk, although the normally gloss 
black wheel has been rattle-can painted with silver (which is failing).   This 
late car has provisions for a hold-down (a reinforced hole in the bottom of 
the spare tire well at the right rear corner of the trunk), and the factory 
hold-down is inside the box of spare parts.   Given that the spare situation 
was not well thought-out (if you get a flat tire and choose to fit the 
inflatable spare, there is absolutely no place to put the flat tire and wheel, 
and you're not going to just leave them on the side of the road, are you?), I 
would probably detail the wheel to the Nth degree and sell it to a Boss 
Mustang concours nut, as they pay a lot of money for these things.

The complete factory tool kit is included, and while the tools are junk and 
factory jacks have been known to fail, people have paid upwards of $1500 
for a complete tool kit, so it's a nice thing to have.

The decklid catch is sticky and remains stuck open, which could allow the 
decklid to bounce around if it wasn't noticed.   There is a spring inside the 
catch which is not capable of forcing the latch closed as it should; gentle 
thumb pressure causes it to snap shut and then it functions properly 
(securing the decklid).   This could be as simple as adjusting/lubricating it, or 
perhaps the spring inside has broken and needs to be replaced.   An entirely 
new latch can be purchased very inexpensively.

The weatherstripping on the body that seals to the decklid has failed, and 
while it could perhaps be quietly glued together, it should probably be 
replaced.

The single most significant item on any Pantera is its cooling system.   
These cars got a bad rap when they were new for cooling system woes, but by 
the 1974 model year, the cooling system was completely ironed out and they ran 
perfectly.   But 1974 was a long time ago….

This car is still equipped with a completely original cooling 
system--radiator, fans, pipes etc. are all original, and well past their prime.   I could 
see no evidence of a leak, and hoped that the system was functioning as it 
did in 1974.

I then hopped inside to check out the interior.   The first thing I noticed 
were aftermarket speakers installed in holes cut in the doorpanels; both 
speakers are missing their grilles and thus their guts are on display for all 
to see (and damage).   An Alpine stereo is fitted, which I naturally didn't 
bother to test.

Oddly, the left interior door handle has been 'clocked' incorrectly so it 
sticks up proud; it is on a splined shaft and fixing it is as simple as 
removing the three screws that hold the armrest to the door, then removing the 
single screw that holds the doorhandle in place, reclocking it on the splined 
shaft and reinstalling.

On first glance, the dashboard appears to be in unusually good condition.   
However, it is all artifice, as the stock dashboard is weathered and 
cracked, and has been equipped with a dashboard cap from Hall Pantera.   This cap 
is remarkably well-done, following the contours of the stock dash while 
being just that tiny bit larger.   During installation, all the gauges, vents, 
switches etc. are removed from the stock dash, the cap is installed, and then 
everything is put back in place.   The installation is good overall but is 
dramatically let down by the holes for the two small warning lights to the 
left of the main gauges.   The cap doesn't fit as well as one would hope 
here, and those lights were left installed in the original dash, and big holes 
were gouged in the dash cap so they are visible.   This looks terrible, so 
random rubber plugs were inserted to hide them, which looks only slightly less 
terrible.

The stock steering wheel was replaced with a Lecarra wheel, of an unusually 
small size (likely 12 inches).   This provides more legroom for a taller 
driver, but increases steering effort and compromises visibility of the main 
gauges.   The stock steering wheel was 14 inches (Euro cars were 350mm, or 
13.7 inches) so I would very quickly unbolt this too-small wheel and replace 
it with a 14-inch Lecarra wheel.

The original window switches were okay when new, but didn't have the 
longevity one would hope for, and its rare to find a car that still has them 
installed and working.   This car has had them replaced with much higher quality 
Bosch switches (the originals are included with the leftover parts), and 
both windows work well.   The driver's window travel is a bit irregular, with a 
tight spot about 3/4 of the way up, but that's not unusual, as adjusting 
the windows on these cars is a bit of a black art.

When I first turned on the key, I heard the A/C clutch engage and the A/C 
fan start up, so at least that appeared to be working.   I turned them off 
and continued testing the electrics.

The generator light is very, very weak when the key is on and the car not 
running.   Normally if a one-wire alternator is fitted, this light is 
brightly lit all the time and needs to be unplugged.   I don't know what kind of 
alternator the car has, nor can I explain why the bulb would glow dimly.

The headlights raised normally, but the left high beam is burned out.   The 
turn signals all work (although I forgot to test the brake lights or 
taillights).   The interior blower fan works, and the turn signal switch still 
functions properly, although the lever has been bent forward so that it is not 
in the correct location and is difficult to reach with your hands on the 
wheel.   Some sympathetic bending would hopefully rectify that.

I forgot to test the horn, which is actuated by the turn signal switch.   

The shift gate is in good condition, and the stock shift knob has been 
replaced with an oversized knob from Hall Pantera.   (I prefer the original, and 
hope that it is in good condition and included with the spare parts).

The stock seats have been recovered in the stock pattern, but the vinyl 
center has been replaced with cloth, perhaps a nod to the realities of the 
car's time spent in Florida.

The stock carpets are gone, replaced with generic black carpeting.   The 
carpet on the driver's side has started to fail, and it's wrinkled and easily 
tangles up the feet near the pedals.   At a minimum it needs to be glued 
down, but some good floormats wouldn't go unnoticed (it has none).

A Hall Pantera center console was screwed atop the stock center console.   
While the design is good, the execution leaves a bit to be desired.   The 
plastic is very thin and cheap-feeling, and it squeaks something awful.   If 
it is retained, efforts need to be made to insulate it to stop the squeaking.

The aforementioned stock headliner, which was blowing down when I drove the 
car a few years ago, has been replaced with a non-original, non-matching 
generic headliner--a great disappointment, as it would have been just as easy 
to do it properly.   The installation seems good enough, but why not use the 
original material since it is available if you know where to look?

The sunvisor on the driver's side doesn't stay up as well as one would 
like.   This is down to a minor failure on the mount, which is easily rectified. 
  The mounts are plastic with knurled steel pins pressed in the end; the 
pins are supposed to be stationary while the sunvisor rotates around them.   
In this case, the pins have come free and spin in the plastic housings.   All 
that is necessary is to remove them and use a strong adhesive like Krazy 
Glue to glue the pins in the housings, and all will be well.

The clutch pedal is very light (for a Pantera), expected on a later car 
which came with a revised clutch linkage.   This car has been fitted with an 
aluminum flywheel and modern clutch (likely a Centerforce, I'm guessing).   
The brake pedal is very solid as well.   The car shifts smoothly through the 
gears, although shift effort is rather high, indicating that lubrication of 
the linkage is overdue.

Oh, and the dome light works.

It was finally time for a test drive.

The car started very easily, and the ammeter immediately indicated it was 
charging the battery--good.   I could immediately smell exhaust, suggesting 
that it is overly rich at idle.   The engine was very responsive blipping the 
throttle--that's the aluminum flywheel at work.

The idle is very, very weird.   It has a 500 rpm hunt, back and forth 
between 500 and 1000 rpm every two seconds.   It's almost as though the timing is 
advancing and retarding--it's the only thing I can think of that would 
produce this effect.   (Or a vacuum leak perhaps?)

The light flywheel coupled with the weird idle meant it was very difficult 
to back up the car without stalling the engine.   The only technique that 
seemed to work was to rev the engine to 2000 rpm and then slip the clutch, 
which makes the driver appear as though he's never driven a stick shift before, 
much less a Pantera.   It was embarrassing.   But if I tried to drive it 
conventionally, the clutch 'bite' at 1000 rpm would then result in the engine 
dying when it dropped to 500 rpm.   I suppose I could have learned to follow 
the sine wave and dip the clutch in and out in time to the rpm increase and 
decrease, but it was easier to just rev it and slip the clutch when 
reversing, and more or less dump the clutch and stand on the gas when pulling away 
from a stop (which, I confess, is fun to do anyway).

Within a short time of departing the dealership, I noted the water 
temperature had already risen to an indicated 230 degrees, and it maintained about 
220-230 while driving down the freeway.   I hoped it was an indication error, 
because it would be worrisome if it was true.

The car feels very taut and solid when driving down the road, which is what 
you would expect from a car whose mileage is so low, fitted with Koni 
shocks.   The steering was fine, with no undue play or pulling to one side.   The 
brakes are excellent (although the solid rotors mean they would likely 
become overwhelmed if the car was subjected to extreme track duty), and the 
engine pulls reasonable well…

…until 5000 rpm when it suddenly cuts out.   Repeated tests showed that at 
exactly 5000 rpm indicated on the tach, the engine would stutter and 
maintain exactly that rpm and no more, indicating some kind of rev limiter has been 
installed and set unusually low.   Perhaps this was part of the break-in 
process, and it was intended to be set higher afterwards.   I have no idea 
what kind of ignition system is in the car (it was too late to crawl around and 
check), so one hopes this is the explanation.

As long as I remained below 5000 rpm, and above idle, the engine ran great. 
  It isn't especially powerful, although it has considerably more power 
than a stock 1974 Pantera (if I'm honest, a stock 1974 Pantera is a bit of a 
dog thanks to its low compression and smog gear).   I wish I knew what the 
previous owner got for his $18,000 engine rebuild.   Is the engine still fitted 
with the 1974 low-compression cylinder heads?   There's no way of telling 
from the outside.

Suffice it to say that it runs well and delivers exhilarating performance, 
but it is in desperate need of tuning and fettling.   

Back at the shop, I let the car sit and idle while I ran around with a 
floor jack.   I'm pleased to report that both rear wheel bearing/axle setups 
were in fine shape, and the steering rack had no discernable play (stock 
steering racks have a bushing that wears out in about 40K miles, so this one has a 
ways to go yet).

I became alarmed when I noticed the temperature gauge getting very close to 
260 degrees, in the red zone, and one radiator fan hadn't turned on yet.   
Either the gauge was lying or there were serious problems here.   I used a 
hand-held laser temp gun and shot the back side of the radiator, which 
indicated 250 degrees on the side with the non-working fan.

Yikes!

I quickly shut the car down, and was surprised to find that it shut off 
cleanly, showing no signs whatsoever of overheating (no spitting of coolant or 
steam, or gurgling from the pressure tanks).   So while the radiator/fan 
setup is clearly not working properly, it seems the system was well purged of 
air and the tanks and radiator cap are both good.

Afterwards I went into the storeroom and looked at four boxes that come 
with the car; one had a bunch of parts, either old parts that had been taken 
off the car and retained (such as the window switches), or items that were 
purchased but never fitted (like a “GTS” rear badge, wheel emblems and shift 
knob--evidently somebody considered making this car a GTS clone at some 
point).

Very significantly, the windshield wipers and arms were in this box too.   
The 1974 cars used different wipers which parked on the driver's side 
(halfway up the windscreen, very annoying), and most people remove them and store 
them in the trunk.   These arms are completely impossible to find, and if a 
car is purchased with them absent, there is pretty much no way to render the 
wipers functional.   So the fact these are here is very good news indeed.

Other boxes contained the factory service and part manuals, and a 
collection of club newsletters and magazines stretching back many years.   The last 
box just had generic car-care items, including a small tool kit, wax, rags 
etc.

So what to make of this car then?   Basically, it is being marketed not as 
a perfect concours car or an original survivor, but instead as a good, solid 
driver, which is an accurate assessment, apart from the various mechanical 
niggles that keep the car from just being a turn-key proposition as it 
stands.

Strengths:

Very solid chassis absent of structural rust
Good silver paint (all the flaws are below the beltline in the black 
painted areas, making them harder to see)
10-inch rear wheels
Freshly rebuilt engine (in need of tuning and perhaps a better carb) 
stronger than stock
Koni shocks deliver a terrific ride
Great Wilwood brakes
Decent-looking interior overall
No chassis squeaks/groans etc. (just some noise from the plastic center 
console)
Low mileage
All factory manuals and many newsletters/magazines included
Full toolkit with jack (expensive!)
Electrical items all appear to be working fine
Nice, light clutch


Weaknesses:

Flaws in the paint clearly indicating panel rust, with potential for minor 
structural rust underneath
Small dent in rocker panel
Cooling system appears to be shot (needs new radiator, fans, pipes, and 
might as well change the hoses too, which would cost about $1500 in parts)
Trivial gearbox oil leak
Rear swaybar/bushings bad (I forgot to check the front, but new bushings 
are cheap)
Black paint overspray on bare aluminum components
Engine doesn't present attractively and needs cosmetic attention
Engine doesn't idle properly
Ignition cuts out completely at 5000 rpm
Engine bay to decklid weatherstripping broken
Dubious Hall exhaust lets the car down aurally and cosmetically
Carpet is falling apart on driver's side
Naked speakers in the doors
Unfortunate choice of non-original headliner
Backup lights stuck on
One headlight high beam out

In short, I think this car is a terrific driver that has some very 
desirable features (10-inch wheels, Wilwood brakes, new modern clutch, rebuilt 
engine, really nice silver paint) that is somewhat let down by a host of 
problems, most of them small and very easily sorted, but two of them significant 
enough that I wouldn't be comfortable just jumping in the car and driving it 
away (cooling system woes most importantly, but also the engine idle and high 
rpm cut-out issues.

This is a car that would pay HUGE dividends to the do-it-yourselfer.   None 
of the car's problems (apart from the small areas of sheetmetal rust) are 
difficult to resolve, and it would be very easy to keep improving this car 
over the space of a few weekends.   Replacing the whole cooling system would 
be a big job, requiring the help of some friends to make it more enjoyable, 
and the engine problems will require some detective work, but everything else 
is fairly simple and straightforward.

I would say that the car would be very properly priced if it didn't have 
the many small 'issues' and two larger ones.   As it stands, those issues 
either need to be resolved, or the seller needs to show some financial 
consideration for the buyer who will be left to contend with them before he can 
actually drive and enjoy the car properly.

Depending on how much one values one's time to spend fixing the car (or 
paying a mechanic $$$ to do it), I would say the car is probably worth in the 
region of $65-70K as it stands.   Once its mechanical issues are dealt with, 
for sure it would provide the new owner tremendous enjoyment, and at some 
point in the future, while a new paint job would be a bit more expensive due 
to the need to repair small parts of several panels, it's not going to have 
the serious structural cancer that can quickly drive costs through the roof.

I wish both the seller and the eventual buyer good luck, and hope that this 
car can find a loving home soon!

Mike


-------------- next part --------------
   All,
   Yesterday I was afforded the opportunity to fully evaluate a late 1974
   Pantera L that is currently for sale at Fantasy Junction, the
   well-known purveyor of fine motor cars, in Emeryville, CA (just across
   the Bay Bridge from San Francisco).  Here is a link to the description
   of the car with many, many photos:
   http://fantasyjunction.com/cars/1982-DeTomaso%20-Pantera%20L-351%20c.i.
   %20Cleveland%20V-8
   I have passing familiarity with this car, as I worked on it briefly
   (and when I say 'worked on it', what I mean is that I changed the light
   bulbs in the speedometer and tachometer, and that's all) and got the
   opportunity to drive it two or three years ago.  At that time, the
   original headliner was flapping down, and it had carburetor issues, but
   it seemed to be a fundamentally good car.  I gave the owner a list of
   'to do' items and promised to come look at it again in more detail once
   he had finished the repairs, but we never managed to get together
   again.
   The owner at the time was named Ken Painter.  The car had belonged to
   his father, and clearly he had been passionate about it.  Ken inherited
   it, and confessed to having only a passing interest in it.  He attended
   a few club events, but clearly his heart wasn't in it, and he said he
   planned to sell it.
   He attempted to market it locally through an ad in the Pantera Club of
   Northern California newsletter, but most of the members of the club
   already have Panteras, so although he got a few nibbles, he got no
   bites.  He eventually sold it through Fantasy Junction to a speculative
   buyer.  That fellow now technically owns the car, but he has decided to
   sell it so Fantasy Junction is marketing it for him.
   The car was originally painted the horrid Army Tank Green color found
   on (thankfully few) L-model Panteras, but at some point in its life, it
   was repainted a nice shade of silver, and at that time the chrome trim
   was all blacked out.  It spent its early years in Florida, which is
   automatically worrisome due to the high humidity and potential for
   rust, but its latter life was spent in California, where it was used
   very sparingly.
   It recently was the subject of an obscenely overpriced engine overhaul,
   and the new motor is just barely broken in, with a thousand miles or so
   on it.
   Upon arriving at Fantasy Junction, I found the car parked on their
   four-post lift, which affords an excellent opportunity to inspect the
   underside.  I immediately zoomed in to the rear portion of the chassis,
   where rust can take hold and be extremely expensive and labor-intensive
   to repair.  Repeated whacks with a hammer and pointed punch revealed
   that structurally, the car is absolutely rock-solid.  Despite the fact
   that owner-added drain holes (so necessary in these cars) were never
   created, nevertheless the chassis is quite stout.
   The suspension has been fitted with top-of-the-line adjustable Koni
   coil-over shocks and Hypercoil springs.  The extensive corrosion on the
   ride height adjustment collars indicates that they are very old, and
   changing their settings would require a lot of work to free up the
   adjusters.  Having said that, these are a 'set and forget' component,
   and there would be no reason (other than cosmetics) to deal with them.
   (On my test drive, they worked exceptionally well, delivering a firm
   but comfortable ride).
   The right-side upright has been fitted with grease fittings for the
   lower shaft, while the left-side doesn't have them.
   The car has a stock-sized aftermarket rear chrome sway bar, but the
   chrome is pitted with surface rust.  The sway bar bushings appear to be
   original, and are largely perished.  The single best improvement one
   can make to a Pantera, on a dollar-for-dollar basis, is to upgrade from
   the stock 3/4 inch rear sway bar to the Euro GTS-specification 7/8 inch
   bar.  Given that this car's existing components are both in a somewhat
   tired state, this is a $200 investment I would make right away
   (although it's not strictly 'necessary').
   The engine appears to be completely tight and absent of any leaks (as
   it should be considering it's new), while there is a tiny drop of oil
   leaking from the transaxle drain plug.  I don't know how fresh the
   transaxle fluid is, but I suspect it's been changed recently.  Perhaps
   a bit of tightening on the plug would fix the leak; if not, removing it
   and wrapping with Teflon tape should do the trick.  (At that time, a
   decision could be made to refill with the existing oil if it's fresh,
   or replace it--it requires about 7 pints of GL-5 80w90 gearbox oil).
   It has become customary to fit a aDETOMASOa logo plaque to the rear of
   the chassis in between the inner sway bar mounts.  These cast aluminum
   plaques were originally fitted to the valve covers on the 1971-72
   Panteras and were held in place with glue; after the first one fell
   off, usually owners put the remaining one at the rear of the chassis,
   where it happens to fit perfectly.  It also disguises damage to the lip
   on the back of the chassis rail caused by incautious jacking.  This car
   has evidence that it had this plaque at one time (in the form of a pair
   of screw holes), but the plaque has disappeared, and the lip is a
   little bit wrinkled.  This is another trivial cosmetic issue, easily
   resolved with hammer and dolly work, and the plaques are readily
   available and not very expensive if one wanted to follow convention.
   There is evidence of sloppy cosmetic work, as the cast aluminum gearbox
   mounts are partially covered in black overspray, likely from a
   rattle-can touch-up of the underside chassis.  A bit of time with a rag
   and laquer thinner would go a long way there.
   While looking up, I was surprised to see that the removable fiberglass
   trunk was broken, with a big crack in it.  This is invisible from
   above, but suggests it was subjected to carrying an extreme load at one
   point.  Fortunately this is extremely easy to fix, and it is completely
   invisible normally.
   The clutch has been equipped with a braided stainless steel flex hose,
   replacing the awful red plastic hose that came from the factory.  This
   is an excellent (and I would say mandatory) upgrade.
   I was surprised and pleased to find that the car had been equipped with
   Wilwood four-piston brake calipers on all four corners.  The stock rear
   calipers have been retained for their parking brake function only.  The
   Wilwood calipers are their larger Superlite II model, but the car uses
   stock, unvented rotors.  (Vented rotors are readily available and not
   overly expensive should an owner decide to upgrade).  Naturally, the
   ancient rubber hoses have been replaced with braided stainless
   steel/Teflon hoses as part of the caliper upgrade.
   As part of the system, the stock master cylinder has been replaced with
   a Ford SVO aluminum unit with an adapter bracket from Pantera
   Performance Center.  It has Wilwood 2psi residual pressure valves
   plumbed into the system, which prevents the caliper pistons from
   migrating back into the calipers, which could produce a 'long' brake
   pedal on the first application.  They still sell this whole brake
   system as a complete kit.
   Proceeding forward, I could see that the original water pipes are still
   present, and have surface rust.  There is no indication of any water
   leak, but if the cooling system is serviced (more on that in a moment)
   it makes sense to replace them with new stainless steel pipes.  (I
   recently worked on a similar low-mileage Pantera whose pipes were
   visually in the same shape; when I removed them they crumbled in my
   hands at the ends where they mated with the rubber hoses--although they
   weren't leaking either, a leak was not long in coming).
   The front valance is a little bit wavy at the bottom and has surface
   rust on it, but is undented.  This is a structural location, and either
   ambient water or water from a leaky radiator can cause this area to
   rust out, but the one on this car seems to be in reasonable shape.
   Proceeding to the exterior of the car, I noted that the silver paint
   appeared to be of very high quality, but is starting to show its age.
   There are certain parts of the body where rust first materializes,
   which manifests itself in bubbling in the paint.  This car has
   hand-sized areas of obvious corrosion on several panels--the lower rear
   of the left-hand front fender, the lower front of the left-hand quarter
   panel, the rocker panel immediately beneath, and the lower front of the
   right-hand quarter panel.
   This is what I would call 'typical' rust on these cars.  It doesn't
   appear to be overly significant and is far from catastrophic.  Someday,
   somebody will repaint this car, and when that happens, at a minimum
   these areas will need to be cut out and new patches installed.  Too,
   it's likely that there is internal rust to the bottom of the B-pillar
   posts and perhaps the middle of the three rocker panels, so those would
   be attended to at the same time.  But if I was to buy this car as a
   driver, I would comfortably drive it as-is for many years to come, and
   chalk all that up to being a 'someday' project.
   The right-hand rocker panel has a dent at the rear, but it's easily
   accessed from behind and could be straightened out very, very easily.
   The left-hand headlight bucket stands slightly proud of the fender when
   shut.  These are adjusted with various shims etc. and I have no doubt
   that it could be fixed (what might have to happen is that the
   right-hand bucket needs to be raised with shims slightly, then the
   whole mechanism lowered more so they are both closed uniformly).
   The car has been fitted with the highly desirable 10-inch rear wheels,
   and the 8-inch wheels formerly living at the rear of the car have been
   moved to the front.  The 10-inch wheels were always a very expensive
   aftermarket option (I paid $900 each for mine in 1989), and now are
   easily worth $3500 or more by themselves.  This is a huge selling point
   for this car, as they are very difficult to find and very desirable.
   I didn't note the age of the tires, but they at least have plenty of
   tread left.  It has Yokohama 295/50 in the rear and Falken 225/50 in
   the front.
   The front bumper has been described as 'serviceable' in the ad, and
   that's a very fair characterization, in the sense that if you crashed
   into something, it would do its job.  Cosmetically though, it is in
   pretty sad shape, suffering from numerous scrapes and scuffs, waves,
   and a very pronounced split on the driver's side.  It is possible to
   repair these bumpers, but enough people have chosen to remove them and
   replace them either with aftermarket fiberglass units (the fit of some
   of those leaves a lot to be desired), or ginchy carbon-fiber, and NOS
   steel and rubber bumpers are still available (although pricy).
   The rear quarter windows are not installed, but are included with the
   car in a big box of spare and leftover parts.  I would reinstall them
   right away, although I know that many owners prefer to leave them out
   for the ease of cleaning the back window.
   The left doorhandle return spring is broken, although the doorhandle
   still works perfectly well.  The latch simply remains proud after the
   door has been opened, but it sits flush when it's closed.
   The right-side door frame hits the trim at the top of the B-pillar and
   has scraped the paint away.  (I forgot to check to see if the same is
   true on the driver's side).
   Oddly, the backup lights are stuck on; whenever the key is on, they are
   illuminated no matter if the car is in reverse or not.  Frequently
   these lights don't function at all; I would suspect that the problem
   lies with a faulty or misadjusted backup light switch, likely easily
   resolved.
   The car is equipped with a Hall Pantera Big Bore exhaust system.  While
   the Hall headers are a good match for stock tailpipes/mufflers, giving
   a noticeable horsepower improvement, the Hall tailpipes/mufflers are
   aesthetically very questionable, and aurally they take away the
   signature Pantera 'sound'.  Rather than sounding like an Italian exotic
   with a very muscular heart, the Hall mufflers make the car sound like
   an old pickup truck or a speedboat.  There is nothing inherently
   'wrong' with them, as they are functioning as designed (no cracks or
   leaks or other damage).  But if this was my car, at a minimum I would
   source a good pair of stock tailpipes to return the proper Pantera
   sound; in all likelihood I would just replace the whole system, either
   with the ANSA European GTS setup, or (preferably) the system produced
   by Panteras by Wilkinson, which delivers the cosmetic appearance of the
   factory GTS exhaust, but produces considerably more horsepower (31 hp
   in a back-to-back dyno test) at less cost.
   The stock mirrors have been replaced with Vitaloni Baby Bravo mirrors,
   attached to plates glued to the inside of the quarter glass.  During my
   test drive, the passenger-side mirror gave an excellent view of the
   ground rather than traffic to the rear; I confess I forgot to see if it
   could be adjusted properly.
   Considering that the engine was rebuilt 1000 miles ago at a cost of
   $18,000 (!!!!!), cosmetically it leaves more than a bit to be desired.
   The valve covers look scruffy, with the black paint peeling off.  The
   intake manifold is stained, evidence of a prior fuel leak.  These items
   should have been taken care of as part of the engine rebuild--a
   shameful oversight.  Fortunately it is easy to take care of it now--the
   valve covers and intake can be removed, bead-blasted, and then the
   valve covers can be masked and painted.
   The gearbox also looks a bit 'naff' as the English would say, and would
   benefit from a good scrubbing.
   The engine is fitted with an Edelbrock Performer 4V intake manifold
   (pretty much the standard replacement for the stock cast-iron boat
   anchor), and a cheap economy Holley carburetor.  When I drove the car a
   couple of years ago, it had a good performance Holley carb that was in
   dire need of tuning and fettling; instead the prior owner just replaced
   it with a carb of much lower specification.  It is perfectly fine for
   cruising around, and will likely deliver good fuel economy, but the
   side-pivot floats means that it will cut out under very hard
   cornering.  I would likely be putting this one on Craigslist and
   replacing it with the factory European GTS offering, the Holley 4777
   650 double-pumper.
   The stock air cleaner is installed, but is missing the plastic fresh
   air induction snorkel system, which was fitted to the firewall and drew
   cool, fresh air from beneath the passenger seat.  So the engine is
   instead inhaling ambient air from directly above the exhaust headers on
   the passenger side.
   I forgot to mention that the original decklid shocks are still
   installed (upside down), and are doing a surprisingly good job of
   keeping the decklid open.  Usually by this point, they would have
   collapsed and been replaced with something more generic in appearance.
   The stock spare tire is in the rear trunk, although the normally gloss
   black wheel has been rattle-can painted with silver (which is
   failing).  This late car has provisions for a hold-down (a reinforced
   hole in the bottom of the spare tire well at the right rear corner of
   the trunk), and the factory hold-down is inside the box of spare
   parts.  Given that the spare situation was not well thought-out (if you
   get a flat tire and choose to fit the inflatable spare, there is
   absolutely no place to put the flat tire and wheel, and you're not
   going to just leave them on the side of the road, are you?), I would
   probably detail the wheel to the Nth degree and sell it to a Boss
   Mustang concours nut, as they pay a lot of money for these things.
   The complete factory tool kit is included, and while the tools are junk
   and factory jacks have been known to fail, people have paid upwards of
   $1500 for a complete tool kit, so it's a nice thing to have.
   The decklid catch is sticky and remains stuck open, which could allow
   the decklid to bounce around if it wasn't noticed.  There is a spring
   inside the catch which is not capable of forcing the latch closed as it
   should; gentle thumb pressure causes it to snap shut and then it
   functions properly (securing the decklid).  This could be as simple as
   adjusting/lubricating it, or perhaps the spring inside has broken and
   needs to be replaced.  An entirely new latch can be purchased very
   inexpensively.
   The weatherstripping on the body that seals to the decklid has failed,
   and while it could perhaps be quietly glued together, it should
   probably be replaced.
   The single most significant item on any Pantera is its cooling system.
   These cars got a bad rap when they were new for cooling system woes,
   but by the 1974 model year, the cooling system was completely ironed
   out and they ran perfectly.  But 1974 was a long time agoa|.
   This car is still equipped with a completely original cooling
   system--radiator, fans, pipes etc. are all original, and well past
   their prime.  I could see no evidence of a leak, and hoped that the
   system was functioning as it did in 1974.
   I then hopped inside to check out the interior.  The first thing I
   noticed were aftermarket speakers installed in holes cut in the
   doorpanels; both speakers are missing their grilles and thus their guts
   are on display for all to see (and damage).  An Alpine stereo is
   fitted, which I naturally didn't bother to test.
   Oddly, the left interior door handle has been 'clocked' incorrectly so
   it sticks up proud; it is on a splined shaft and fixing it is as simple
   as removing the three screws that hold the armrest to the door, then
   removing the single screw that holds the doorhandle in place,
   reclocking it on the splined shaft and reinstalling.
   On first glance, the dashboard appears to be in unusually good
   condition.  However, it is all artifice, as the stock dashboard is
   weathered and cracked, and has been equipped with a dashboard cap from
   Hall Pantera.  This cap is remarkably well-done, following the contours
   of the stock dash while being just that tiny bit larger.  During
   installation, all the gauges, vents, switches etc. are removed from the
   stock dash, the cap is installed, and then everything is put back in
   place.  The installation is good overall but is dramatically let down
   by the holes for the two small warning lights to the left of the main
   gauges.  The cap doesn't fit as well as one would hope here, and those
   lights were left installed in the original dash, and big holes were
   gouged in the dash cap so they are visible.  This looks terrible, so
   random rubber plugs were inserted to hide them, which looks only
   slightly less terrible.
   The stock steering wheel was replaced with a Lecarra wheel, of an
   unusually small size (likely 12 inches).  This provides more legroom
   for a taller driver, but increases steering effort and compromises
   visibility of the main gauges.  The stock steering wheel was 14 inches
   (Euro cars were 350mm, or 13.7 inches) so I would very quickly unbolt
   this too-small wheel and replace it with a 14-inch Lecarra wheel.
   The original window switches were okay when new, but didn't have the
   longevity one would hope for, and its rare to find a car that still has
   them installed and working.  This car has had them replaced with much
   higher quality Bosch switches (the originals are included with the
   leftover parts), and both windows work well.  The driver's window
   travel is a bit irregular, with a tight spot about 3/4 of the way up,
   but that's not unusual, as adjusting the windows on these cars is a bit
   of a black art.
   When I first turned on the key, I heard the A/C clutch engage and the
   A/C fan start up, so at least that appeared to be working.  I turned
   them off and continued testing the electrics.
   The generator light is very, very weak when the key is on and the car
   not running.  Normally if a one-wire alternator is fitted, this light
   is brightly lit all the time and needs to be unplugged.  I don't know
   what kind of alternator the car has, nor can I explain why the bulb
   would glow dimly.
   The headlights raised normally, but the left high beam is burned out.
   The turn signals all work (although I forgot to test the brake lights
   or taillights).  The interior blower fan works, and the turn signal
   switch still functions properly, although the lever has been bent
   forward so that it is not in the correct location and is difficult to
   reach with your hands on the wheel.  Some sympathetic bending would
   hopefully rectify that.
   I forgot to test the horn, which is actuated by the turn signal
   switch.
   The shift gate is in good condition, and the stock shift knob has been
   replaced with an oversized knob from Hall Pantera.  (I prefer the
   original, and hope that it is in good condition and included with the
   spare parts).
   The stock seats have been recovered in the stock pattern, but the vinyl
   center has been replaced with cloth, perhaps a nod to the realities of
   the car's time spent in Florida.
   The stock carpets are gone, replaced with generic black carpeting.  The
   carpet on the driver's side has started to fail, and it's wrinkled and
   easily tangles up the feet near the pedals.  At a minimum it needs to
   be glued down, but some good floormats wouldn't go unnoticed (it has
   none).
   A Hall Pantera center console was screwed atop the stock center
   console.  While the design is good, the execution leaves a bit to be
   desired.  The plastic is very thin and cheap-feeling, and it squeaks
   something awful.  If it is retained, efforts need to be made to
   insulate it to stop the squeaking.
   The aforementioned stock headliner, which was blowing down when I drove
   the car a few years ago, has been replaced with a non-original,
   non-matching generic headliner--a great disappointment, as it would
   have been just as easy to do it properly.  The installation seems good
   enough, but why not use the original material since it is available if
   you know where to look?
   The sunvisor on the driver's side doesn't stay up as well as one would
   like.  This is down to a minor failure on the mount, which is easily
   rectified.  The mounts are plastic with knurled steel pins pressed in
   the end; the pins are supposed to be stationary while the sunvisor
   rotates around them.  In this case, the pins have come free and spin in
   the plastic housings.  All that is necessary is to remove them and use
   a strong adhesive like Krazy Glue to glue the pins in the housings, and
   all will be well.
   The clutch pedal is very light (for a Pantera), expected on a later car
   which came with a revised clutch linkage.  This car has been fitted
   with an aluminum flywheel and modern clutch (likely a Centerforce, I'm
   guessing).  The brake pedal is very solid as well.  The car shifts
   smoothly through the gears, although shift effort is rather high,
   indicating that lubrication of the linkage is overdue.
   Oh, and the dome light works.
   It was finally time for a test drive.
   The car started very easily, and the ammeter immediately indicated it
   was charging the battery--good.  I could immediately smell exhaust,
   suggesting that it is overly rich at idle.  The engine was very
   responsive blipping the throttle--that's the aluminum flywheel at work.
   The idle is very, very weird.  It has a 500 rpm hunt, back and forth
   between 500 and 1000 rpm every two seconds.  It's almost as though the
   timing is advancing and retarding--it's the only thing I can think of
   that would produce this effect.  (Or a vacuum leak perhaps?)
   The light flywheel coupled with the weird idle meant it was very
   difficult to back up the car without stalling the engine.  The only
   technique that seemed to work was to rev the engine to 2000 rpm and
   then slip the clutch, which makes the driver appear as though he's
   never driven a stick shift before, much less a Pantera.  It was
   embarrassing.  But if I tried to drive it conventionally, the clutch
   'bite' at 1000 rpm would then result in the engine dying when it
   dropped to 500 rpm.  I suppose I could have learned to follow the sine
   wave and dip the clutch in and out in time to the rpm increase and
   decrease, but it was easier to just rev it and slip the clutch when
   reversing, and more or less dump the clutch and stand on the gas when
   pulling away from a stop (which, I confess, is fun to do anyway).
   Within a short time of departing the dealership, I noted the water
   temperature had already risen to an indicated 230 degrees, and it
   maintained about 220-230 while driving down the freeway.  I hoped it
   was an indication error, because it would be worrisome if it was true.
   The car feels very taut and solid when driving down the road, which is
   what you would expect from a car whose mileage is so low, fitted with
   Koni shocks.  The steering was fine, with no undue play or pulling to
   one side.  The brakes are excellent (although the solid rotors mean
   they would likely become overwhelmed if the car was subjected to
   extreme track duty), and the engine pulls reasonable wella|
   a|until 5000 rpm when it suddenly cuts out.  Repeated tests showed that
   at exactly 5000 rpm indicated on the tach, the engine would stutter and
   maintain exactly that rpm and no more, indicating some kind of rev
   limiter has been installed and set unusually low.  Perhaps this was
   part of the break-in process, and it was intended to be set higher
   afterwards.  I have no idea what kind of ignition system is in the car
   (it was too late to crawl around and check), so one hopes this is the
   explanation.
   As long as I remained below 5000 rpm, and above idle, the engine ran
   great.  It isn't especially powerful, although it has considerably more
   power than a stock 1974 Pantera (if I'm honest, a stock 1974 Pantera is
   a bit of a dog thanks to its low compression and smog gear).  I wish I
   knew what the previous owner got for his $18,000 engine rebuild.  Is
   the engine still fitted with the 1974 low-compression cylinder heads?
   There's no way of telling from the outside.
   Suffice it to say that it runs well and delivers exhilarating
   performance, but it is in desperate need of tuning and fettling.
   Back at the shop, I let the car sit and idle while I ran around with a
   floor jack.  I'm pleased to report that both rear wheel bearing/axle
   setups were in fine shape, and the steering rack had no discernable
   play (stock steering racks have a bushing that wears out in about 40K
   miles, so this one has a ways to go yet).
   I became alarmed when I noticed the temperature gauge getting very
   close to 260 degrees, in the red zone, and one radiator fan hadn't
   turned on yet.  Either the gauge was lying or there were serious
   problems here.  I used a hand-held laser temp gun and shot the back
   side of the radiator, which indicated 250 degrees on the side with the
   non-working fan.
   Yikes!
   I quickly shut the car down, and was surprised to find that it shut off
   cleanly, showing no signs whatsoever of overheating (no spitting of
   coolant or steam, or gurgling from the pressure tanks).  So while the
   radiator/fan setup is clearly not working properly, it seems the system
   was well purged of air and the tanks and radiator cap are both good.
   Afterwards I went into the storeroom and looked at four boxes that come
   with the car; one had a bunch of parts, either old parts that had been
   taken off the car and retained (such as the window switches), or items
   that were purchased but never fitted (like a aGTSa rear badge, wheel
   emblems and shift knob--evidently somebody considered making this car a
   GTS clone at some point).
   Very significantly, the windshield wipers and arms were in this box
   too.  The 1974 cars used different wipers which parked on the driver's
   side (halfway up the windscreen, very annoying), and most people remove
   them and store them in the trunk.  These arms are completely impossible
   to find, and if a car is purchased with them absent, there is pretty
   much no way to render the wipers functional.  So the fact these are
   here is very good news indeed.
   Other boxes contained the factory service and part manuals, and a
   collection of club newsletters and magazines stretching back many
   years.  The last box just had generic car-care items, including a small
   tool kit, wax, rags etc.
   So what to make of this car then?  Basically, it is being marketed not
   as a perfect concours car or an original survivor, but instead as a
   good, solid driver, which is an accurate assessment, apart from the
   various mechanical niggles that keep the car from just being a turn-key
   proposition as it stands.
   Strengths:
   Very solid chassis absent of structural rust
   Good silver paint (all the flaws are below the beltline in the black
   painted areas, making them harder to see)
   10-inch rear wheels
   Freshly rebuilt engine (in need of tuning and perhaps a better carb)
   stronger than stock
   Koni shocks deliver a terrific ride
   Great Wilwood brakes
   Decent-looking interior overall
   No chassis squeaks/groans etc. (just some noise from the plastic center
   console)
   Low mileage
   All factory manuals and many newsletters/magazines included
   Full toolkit with jack (expensive!)
   Electrical items all appear to be working fine
   Nice, light clutch
   Weaknesses:
   Flaws in the paint clearly indicating panel rust, with potential for
   minor structural rust underneath
   Small dent in rocker panel
   Cooling system appears to be shot (needs new radiator, fans, pipes, and
   might as well change the hoses too, which would cost about $1500 in
   parts)
   Trivial gearbox oil leak
   Rear swaybar/bushings bad (I forgot to check the front, but new
   bushings are cheap)
   Black paint overspray on bare aluminum components
   Engine doesn't present attractively and needs cosmetic attention
   Engine doesn't idle properly
   Ignition cuts out completely at 5000 rpm
   Engine bay to decklid weatherstripping broken
   Dubious Hall exhaust lets the car down aurally and cosmetically
   Carpet is falling apart on driver's side
   Naked speakers in the doors
   Unfortunate choice of non-original headliner
   Backup lights stuck on
   One headlight high beam out
   In short, I think this car is a terrific driver that has some very
   desirable features (10-inch wheels, Wilwood brakes, new modern clutch,
   rebuilt engine, really nice silver paint) that is somewhat let down by
   a host of problems, most of them small and very easily sorted, but two
   of them significant enough that I wouldn't be comfortable just jumping
   in the car and driving it away (cooling system woes most importantly,
   but also the engine idle and high rpm cut-out issues.
   This is a car that would pay HUGE dividends to the do-it-yourselfer.
   None of the car's problems (apart from the small areas of sheetmetal
   rust) are difficult to resolve, and it would be very easy to keep
   improving this car over the space of a few weekends.  Replacing the
   whole cooling system would be a big job, requiring the help of some
   friends to make it more enjoyable, and the engine problems will require
   some detective work, but everything else is fairly simple and
   straightforward.
   I would say that the car would be very properly priced if it didn't
   have the many small 'issues' and two larger ones.  As it stands, those
   issues either need to be resolved, or the seller needs to show some
   financial consideration for the buyer who will be left to contend with
   them before he can actually drive and enjoy the car properly.
   Depending on how much one values one's time to spend fixing the car (or
   paying a mechanic $$$ to do it), I would say the car is probably worth
   in the region of $65-70K as it stands.  Once its mechanical issues are
   dealt with, for sure it would provide the new owner tremendous
   enjoyment, and at some point in the future, while a new paint job would
   be a bit more expensive due to the need to repair small parts of
   several panels, it's not going to have the serious structural cancer
   that can quickly drive costs through the roof.
   I wish both the seller and the eventual buyer good luck, and hope that
   this car can find a loving home soon!
   Mike