quote:Originally posted by Ben Tyer:
...Can you confirm there was some crossover in so far as chassis numbers went? E.g. were some non-L Pantera's still rolling out of the factory after the L had already been introduced...
Ben,
from my US perspective the answer would be "no".
The L Pantera was a 1973 model, but the factory got a late start in production, as the big bumpers & emissions motor did not find their way into production until sometime in August of 1972, whereas 1973 production would have normally begun the first week in July 1972. What that means is that the Panteras assembled in July 1972, while technically built during the 1973 production year, were pre-L Panteras. The first chassis with the big bumpers is recognized as being #4269, it was assembled in August. Of the cars I have seen, this seems to have been a decisive cut-over, there was no mixing of Pre-L and L models after #4269.
Although the cars were not necessarily assembled in sequential chassis number order, the switch to the L front bumper involved adding the front turn signal pods into the front valence, so this change to the body work was most likely a decisive change at the coachworks, and would prevent any mxing of pre-L parts onto coaches designed for L turn signals.
The only means to have a full picture of the production history is by including the final assembly date found on the door tag and the body service number on the foot box. Bill Van Ess has done a better job of this than anybody else here in the states.
That's my US perspective, I have no idea what was happening with the Panteras asembled for European destinations.