It looks like I just bought a new Pantera. Its a '72 US L model with 50,000 mi. There is a little rust in the front cross member, but otherwise the car is solid. Its way more solid than my '73 Euro (which many of you have seen). The paint is actually pretty good save for a few dings and scratches. The interior is where most of the work needs to be done. A previous owner attempted to change the interior color to white (why, I do not know). I plan to turn this one into a driver and upgrade and replace as I go as opposed to going whole hog. If I decide to part the Euro, which I am strongly considering, I may use some of its parts to upgrade this car. The rest will be offered for sale. You guys will get first crack of coure. Here is a link to some pics of the new car.

Pantera Pics

quote:

If I decide to part the Euro, which I am strongly considering,

John

Please try to find a buyer that wants to bring it back to life. There are too few Panteras left to part it out.

I would love to find a buyer for the complete car (even though there are parts I would like to have). However, this car is not for the faint of heart. All I would want is what I have in it.

Are they Simmons wheels on it ??
Good to see Aussie wheels on a USA car for a change !!

Yes, they are Simmons. I've never heard of them, but I kind of like them. They say Austrailia right on the wheel.

in the 90's they were the 'in' wheel to have, and probably still are.
You can get parts for them as well, ie inners and outers and centres etc.
centre caps !! i notice it is missing one !

SIMMONS does make some nice wheel's.
I have a beautiful set of 4 lug 17's just waiting for me to find the right FOX BODY MUSTANG for them.

Congratulations!

I only had an opportunity to look at pictures of this car and talk to the owner about its condition. But if it is what the owner represents, this might be the Pantera buy of the decade. It’s going to need a lot of cleanup work and expense to get the interior back in shape but at 24K you can afford to spend a lot of cash on it and come out ahead. It’s obvious the owner didn’t understand current Pantera prices.

Mike

Is it home yet?

Mike

Yes, its out in the garage. I spent the day going over it. The VIN is THPNMS04805. I have records going back to 1976 (maybe earlier). It was originally a California car. I have a 1976 registration showing a date first sold of 5/15/1974. The original owner was John King of San Luis Obispo. This car has had a ton of money spent on it over the years including a single $10,387.61 bill from 1996. The car was sold to a gentleman in Georgia in 1998. Most interestingly, it appears that PI Motorsports might have brokered the car. I have a PI Motorsports receipt from 8/12/1998 for a radiator deflector and 5 months storage. That's one month before the car came to Georgia. The name on the receipt is Mike Reynolds. There are also some pics of a blue Pantera with wire wheels and the early chrome bumpers. I'm not sure why they are in there. I have probably a hundred other receipts including some from Hall, RBT, Pantera Performance, etc.

It amazes me how someone can take a car as nice as this one appeared to be in 1998 and turn it into what it is today. Granted I couldn't have bought it if they hadn't, but it still makes me wonder. Thankfully, I think I can make a better than decent driver out of it.

A few things of interest:
It appears the heater has been bypassed. They also chose to cut the metal heater lines running through the center tunnel down where they exit the tunnel below the dash. I think I can still make it work if I choose to hook it back up. The front part of the console is missing, so I will have to find a new one. A couple of switches have been relocated to the dash in a rather ham-handed fashion. I don't know what I am going to do with that yet. Both mounting tabs where the rear deck lift cylinders mount in the engine bay are broken off (anyone have fix for this?). The A/C lines have been cut. I'm sure theres more yet to be discovered.

Anyway, if any of you California guys know John King or remember the car, I would love to hear from you.

Take care.