[DeTomaso] Pushbutton 1382 Turning 50

[Sean Korb]

I came across something very old and very odd yesterday going through
my stamps (who mails letters?), a list of what appears to be prices on
a small slip of paper

1000 Tires
3200 Wheels
5000 Cleveland
8000 ZF

It's a weird list, a very high price for Pantera wheels but the ZF
identified everything else as very much Pantera related. I thought
about it for half the day, trying to imagine how such a list would
come about.  Then I remembered, in 2000 I started looking for a
Pantera somewhat idly at first, and then more seriously.  One came up
for sale outside of Charlotte for $6k and I went down to check it out.
It was missing a motor and transmission, wheels and brakes and severe
crash damage on the rear left side, and I believe an available NOS
replacement fender but I don't really recall.  It also had a "story"
about where the title could be obtained.

I declined to purchase that one but clearly I made a budget to compare
how much that one would cost vs how much a project that already had
those items would cost. There was another one in Texas for $15k that
needed work, and one in Michigan in boxes but complete for $12k.
Those prices seem crazy now thinking back, but the wheel price doesn't
really seem so out of line if I wanted a really nice set or maybe I
was imagining 10 inch Minilites.

I'm glad I decided against traveling and just bought 1382 form a nice
gentleman up the street in Youngsville, NC.  I didn't even haggle over
the price, I just cashed in my miniscule state employees retirement
and got a matching loan from the credit union and bought it.

Anyway its build date was April 1971 so happy birthday!  I turn 55 in
a few days as well and I can't imagine a better present to re-gift to
myself every year :)

sean
-- 
Sean Korb spkorb at gmail.com http://spkorb.org (est 1994)
"Computers are useless.  They can only give you answers." -P. Picasso