* * I CAN"T VOUCH OF THE TRUTH OF ANY OF THEM * *
quote:Renzo
In 1972 I owned a Towing Service about a half-mile from Sam Foose’s shop. We dragged in (literally) a Pantera the was about rolled up in a ball. The Insurance Co. had it picked up after a few weeks, but I never learned where it ended up. Hmmmm, I wonder….
quote:Mike S
I can personally vouch for that fact that this car was built Sam Foose’s “Project Design” shop at the Santa Barbara airport, and that it is based on a Pantera.
The Pantera came in, pretty much destroyed, or a flatbed. The story goes that the car rolled over a cliff when the owner had failed to set the e-brake and left the car in neutral.
I don’t recall how long it took to build the car, but it seemed like a couple of years as there was so much scratch design involved and some significant design changes in the middle of the build.
The car is awesome though, and at a least drifts like a champ. I recall, pretty early in the build but after the major body lines were set, they were worried that the minimal tire clearance in the rear may be a problem. So, they took out in the parking lot and drifted the thing hard to check for clearance problems. There were no problems!
It’s funny to see this car after so many years It seemed to be so futuristic at the time – because it was – and it still looks amazing to me. It’s difficult to see the Pantera origins because there was so much fabrication involved with this car – a little bit more fab and it would have been a ground-up build.
Chip and I were just kid’s when this car was built, but I know he would remember it and vouch for it as well. If anyone doubts my account of the car, try to reach Chip and ask him. Better yet, reach out to Sam himself.