quote:Originally posted by sam sara:
you could really order anything from the factory. great times !
but the Pantera was (and still has to be for some )full of plexiglass because it's a race car ( weight and safety). Plastic is genuine !
using the half back only from a full racing cage is a classic, the front steals a bit place but, for my taste, it looks just ...wow !
same for tyres ... just 15" slicks and rrrooooaaarrr !!!
but today a lot of Pantera's owners don't want or cannot participate at races so they try more to associate genuine with elegance ( glass windows , diagonal brace on main hoop
here in France we have real freedom with those old racing cars : just need the "genuine paper" that certifies what's in or on your car is original ...
meaning : if you drive a moped with no strong normed helmet you're good for a hudge ticket ! but you can drive an old topless Delahaye with a leather helmet or a scarf wraped around your head and it's all good !
How does that go in the US ?
No, there are no places in the US to use a leather helmet and a scarf.
You need to have a current Snell number helmet to race or even be on a track these days.There was one fatality in one of the
Silver State Classics in a Pantera without a roll bar.
That seems to be the most critical in these cars, i.e., to keep the roof from coming in on you. The other is to keep the fuel tank from leaking out it's contents while the car is upside down on its roof.
You are absolutely correct about the cabin in the car being too tight for a full roll cage unless you are built like a jockey. Personally, I am not.
The full race cages that I have seen built into Panteras dwarf the factory units by comparison. They build a forward horizontal bar under the dash and windshield and tie that bar into the side bars.
Frankly even if you go that far, you might as well do away with the monocoq and go to a full tube chassis with a flip up nose and rear, ala GT40?
I would think that these factory cages would be the most valuable to someone with a real factory GT4. Other wise anyone with a tubing bender can make one up these days?
Halls cage is pretty much a copy of that one.
Incidentally, look at a genuine GT40. There aren't even roll bars in those cars.
There is also some question as to whether a plexiglass window will be allowed on a firewall by any of the race sanctioning bodies.
Maybe someone else who has gone through that can already chime in on that subject?
I believe that each division of the SCCA (sports car club of America) serializes the roll bar/roll cage in each car and that stays with the documentation/history of each vehicle.
It is one of the ways to determine if a particular car is a "legitimate" vintage race vehicle and why you can't just whip one up out of a street car and make it eligible for vintage racing?