Reply to "newbie"

> If the area around the rear control arm mounts is rusty, I would expect to
> find rust elsewhere too.

That's generally the case. However, when I bought mine, one side had
rust perforations down where the inner panel meets the frame rail near
the lower control arm. For some reason, my car did not have the drain
holes drilled there. Before buying the car, I went over it with an
experience Pantera owner. We checked for bondo with a magnet and other
potential rust areas with an ice pick and found nothing. I took a risk
but it turns out the car was otherwise rust free. I recently stripped
off all the undercoating from the car to see nothing but solid shiny
metal. I could have patched the area with the drivetrain in place but
decided to pull the engine and transaxle. They come out quickly and
give you room to do the repair properly. I cut well back from the rusty
spot and used a repair panel from one of the vendors. While the engine
out, I reinforced the engine compartment welds, filled in all the little
bumps and repainted the engine compartment. I also safety wired the
ring gear and went through the engine.

At the other end of the spectrum, I've ridden in a car that looked
pretty good to the naked eye but flexed and squeaked so bad when I
test drove it that it was obvious the car had serious but hidden rust
problems.

The best advice I can give is to take an experienced Pantera owner with
you to check out the car. I notice you are in Wiscosin. I think there
is a Pantera specialist in Wisconsin (Cory Gehling?).

For $10K, it sounds like you could part the car out and make money if it
turns out the car has terminal rust.

Dan Jones