quote:If you can buy a solid well known car without any suprises for only $10K more, point me at it! If Emery will sell his for $27-$30, I'll buy it! I have two friends who have been actively searching for a decent "driver" pantera with no success for almost a year now. Granted, the cars exist, but not for $30K or less. They can't be found for under $40K on the left coast.
Yeah, it's true you can buy a restored Pantera for less than the cost to restore one yourself. But most of the crap I've seen for $40K or less has not been "restored." Some have resale red paint jobs, but you still need to do the suspension, brakes, engine, and paint. Others in this price range advertise that they're restored, but you get there and find that the paint is 10-15 years old, cracked, chipped and needs to be redone anyway. Or, they have nice paint and interior, but the chassis suffers from the tin-worm. Still others have been "restored" to an owner's questionable taste and you'd spend more un-doing and correcting their "upgrades."
This car already has a lot of upgrades. The only real issue is RUST. Get it up on a rack with someone who's knowledgeable on Panteras, smack the hell out of the rear suspension vertical tubes and frame with a hammer and screwdriver. If it's solid and rust-free, BUY IT!
If it's rust free, it would be a solid platform to build the car of your dreams. And, you'd know everything that's been done to the car when you're done, versus the unknowns of buying someone elses completed "restoration" project.
Anyway, if you don't want it, send me the seller's name and phone number and I'll see that the car finds a good home very quickly.
Garth. I still say you can find a decent "driver" for $27k. This would be a car with stock everything but running well. I bought that car 4 yrs ago for $22k and I have since dumped a ton of money into it. Look at the pictures of that car. There are huge water stains everywhere. Engine bay, interior is trashed (cracked dash,twisted door panel, ripped seats), top of rad is covered with crap. I can just imagine what the lower parts are like. Look at the water stains on the top of the air cleaner. Leaves and filth in the interior. Did they leave the doors open for the 5 yrs it was out?
I wouldn't touch that car for anything other than parts. And that would be a gamble.
I hope I'm wrong though for the sake of whoever is buying the car.
Just my opinion.
Will