1982 Pantera GT5 Autoforce - Hallwil, Aargau, Switzerland

Peter, I know it's not perfect. I have been on evilBay in germany for a while, 1st some Germans speak English, 2 I have been using http://babelfish.yahoo.com/ as a tool to trnaslate my inquiries
Denis

Denis:

I have sent an inquiry in English via e-mail. If I do not get a response in the next few days, I will use a translation service (I have used Google's before) and try again in German.

I have had only mixed success with e-mails in the past and, as a result, missed being able to track and enter a number of cars in my late model Pantera registry. Therefore, I was hoping that someone living in Switzerland might be willing to give the dealership a call.

- Peter

Peter, you can be sure they speak English. Hope they answer your email.

Nice car. But oh that interior!

I'd be surprised if they didn't speak English. I'm an American living in Switzerland, and I speak the local German dialect with minimal embarrassment. Sorta of a reverse of Hans und Franz SNL. I'll help you if you email me your questions.

Getting a car over here isn't the worst thing you can do. The dollar went from 1 to 1 against the Swiss Frank up to 1.14 in the last week!

Bad for me, but good for you guys!

They speak English (or at least they write it).
Nice car painful interior. It is on the market for at least 6 months. The asking price has not moved in all that time.

Michel

quote:

But oh that interior!

Whats wrong with crushed velour?????
JK
Jeff

quote:

Originally posted by Livin' abroad - For a Broad: I'll help you if you email me your questions

Mark:

Thank you very much for your generous offer to help. My efforts to communicate with car dealers in Europe have not always been very successful, largely because it is easy for them to ignore e-mails from a person in Canada. However, if they got a call from someone local, they may be inclined to be more forthcoming.

The questions I have are as follows:


 Provenance - previous owners (if they will give out that kind of information)
 Full DeTomaso chassis (VIN) number
 Build date (as stamped on door jamb tag)
 Body service number (on tag in front trunk)
 Transaxle service number (stamped on top rear of case)
 Model year (the model year that the car was designated when it was originally sold as a new car -- but not the date the car was first registered)
 Recent photos (front side & rear shots of the exterior, VIN plate, any ID tags, interior, exterior, engine, front trunk, etc) in as high a resolution as possible -- the ones on the dealer web site are very poor resolution
 Information on, and photos of, any unusual or noteworthy factory features or options (eg factory oil cooler, heim jointed sway bar, GR3 package, etc)
 Information on, and photos of, owner modifications
 Engine type (351C, 351W, 426 Hemi, Saturn V rocket engine, etc.)
 Engine block number (if original engine) on block above left hand side of bellhousing
 Engine plate number
 Original colour of interior and exterior (if known)

Thanks again for your offer of help. I would be pleased to try to repay the favour by sending you a copy of the 9000 Series Pantera Registry on a DVD, if you are interested. It now covers over 200 cars and 3,000 accompanying photos.

- Peter

quote:

Originally posted by JeffS:

quote:

But oh that interior!

Whats wrong with crushed velour?????
JK
Jeff

Aha! The blue crushed velour was the giveaway that allowed me to cross-reference the car in my own files. This car is #9269, a 1982 Pantera GT5 originally advertised for sale on the Swiss DeTomaso Club web site in and around 2005. Then, last year, it was advertised for sale by Beachwood Racing in Børkop, Denmark, for € 63000. I guess it has come back to Switzerland now.

Peter, Just sent them off a list with the questions and a little letter. This way they can crawl around the car without the phone stuck to their ear, and I won't get any numbers wrong or reversed. If you like their answers, I'll see if I can take the photos of the details you want. Is this a professional curiosity at this point, or are you in the market? Spent a lot of time in Vancouver shooting commercials, where are you from in BC?

Hi Mark:

I will send them the list of questions, as you suggest. I have now received a batch of high-resolution photos from them, so all is well.

I'm sorry that I did not clarify my intentions sooner. I had just assumed that everybody here knew that I run the 9000 series Pantera registry and so you would know I wanted the photos and information for that purpose.

I have no intention of buying this car (I already have a GT5), but if anyone else does, then I would be pleased to forward all the information that I have on it.

As for where I live in BC, I am about 1,400 km northeast of Vancouver, at a place on the Alaska Highway called Charlie Lake. I am vying with the guys in Sweden for the longest winters and, therefore, the worst case of seasonal Pantera driving withdrawal. Hence my hobby of collecting information on late model Panteras - it gives me something to do while it is -40 degrees outside.

I'm still new! No problem. I did speak to the owner, and he informed me that local Pantera Guru Markus Krammer handled the matriculation and knows all the details on the car. Unfortunately Krammer is old school, which is good for our sport, but not good for his learning english. I haven't talked to him in about six months or so, so I owe him a call anyway.

Yuckly long winters. Ours are mild compared to you guys! I could have worn shorts today, but then they'd know I wasn't a real swiss....

Many thanks for all the help, Mark. I owe you one.

I'll be looking forward to hearing as to whether you get a response from the dealership to your letter, and about what Markus Krammer says.

Thanks again.

- Peter