Reply to "New Pantera"

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.