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#4201 1973 Pre-L Pantera (accepting offers)

G Guest
After having no luck with ebay, I am posting my Pantera here for sale looking for reasonable offers. More pics at:

http://www.ultimatecarcollection.com/73pantera.htm

1973 DE TOMASO PANTERA, #4201 1973 Pre-L, Matching numbers, no rust, CA car-total restoration in 2000 (done by fellow Pantera member Steve F.) including engine rebuild and taken down to bare metal, driven 18K miles since. This is a one of a kind White Pantera with painted Blue Stripe accents on the top and bottom of the car with aftermarket Lamborghini Wing--looks like Ford GT40. Please note that this Pantera came from the factory as a White car.

This car is updated with a 750 Holley Carb, Aluminum Intake, Headers, and MSD Ignition. Everything works including A/C and Power Windows. Includes original parts taken off of car. Previous owner in North Carolina has owned since 2001 and has put on roughly 18,000 miles since the restoration. North Carolina requires yearly inspections on all cars including classics that are registered. This means all cars have to go thru a 27 point inspection which includes such things as lights, brakes, exhaust, tires, etc. The last inspection was done March 2006 and everything passed. This inspection document along with owners manual, PI Motorsports Parts catalog, Chassis and Body Master Parts Catalog, Pantera Technical Information Binder, ZF Transmission Assembly/Maintenance/Operating Instruction booklet, and Ford Service Bulletin Book all go with the car.
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fahrenheit351fahrenheit351Member
Gotcha on the build dates but still don't see how a car with a higher vin can be a model year older.

Here's how I'm seeing it. Your car #4295 was built in June 1972 as a 1973 model. #4201 was also probably built in mid 1972 as a 1973 model giving the changeover from Pre-L to L #4372 must have been built after yours and the car for sale so it also must be a 1973?

Where's my logic going wrong?
E edmguru (Guest)
No problem, Miles. I'm going by the original window sticker, the original registration, serial number and the three owner's previous registrations. All the placards are still with the car. Fortunately all of the documentation has been preserved and passed on when I purchased the car.
George PGeorge PAdmin.
What makes an L an L is the 5 mph bumpers & the low emissions motor. The upgrade of the dash from double pod to single pod was just a running improvement, it realy has no bearing on a Pantera being an L model. The first L was chassis 4269, it was built in August 1972.

The 1973 production year technically began on July 1, 1972. Cars built in Modena in July 1972 would show up in US showrooms in September 1972 or later, which is the beginning of the 1973 sales year.

Since the first L was built in August, not July, there were 300 or so Panteras built in July 1972, that are technically 1973 models, but were Pre-L models.

Glen's car was built August or September of 1972, during the 1973 production year. Someone didn't understand that somewhere along the line.

George
George PGeorge PAdmin.
quote:
Originally posted by edmguru:
...King George...


Some of the engineers I work with refer to me by that title, but they use it in a very sarcastic, insulting way.

I'm a history buff, I have a working understanding of Pantera production history. I don't intend to come across as a know it all. If I do I apologize.

Each Pantera has 2 build dates. The date incorporated into the VIN (aka chassis number) is the month/year the coach was built by Vignale in Turin, including the interior. Afterwards the finished coaches were trucked to Modena, and dropped off in a vacant lot, awaiting installation of the suspension & drivetrain by Ford/DeTomaso. The month & year the drivetrain was installed is indicated by the tag in the door jamb. Sometimes the dates are the same, sometimes the date on the door jamb is a month or two later. There are a few pushbuttons in which the dates are more than a year apart.

The VIN on Brad's Pantera (chassis 4295) indicates the COACH was built in June 1972, but since his car has the L model bumpers, I can guarantee the tag in the door jamb says it was built in August 1972, a two month discrepancy.

The drivetrains were not installed in the same order the coaches were finished either. The first L was chassis 4269, Brad's is chassis 4295, which are 26 coaches apart. However, Brad's car may be the second L made, or the 100th L made. The number that indicates the order of "final assembly" is the body service number, which is a secondary tag riveted onto the foot box in the front boot.

The only Pantera historian who has attempted to collect the body service numbers has been Bill Van Ess.

King George
stevefstevefMember
quote:
Originally posted by PanteraSeeker:
Is this car still for sale? I will be in Orlando the weekend after Christmas and would love to take a look if it is still available then. You must have beat out my bid when this car was on Ebay from its NC owner I think I was the second highest bidder.

Thanks
Greg



I owned 4201 from 1992-2000. It's a pre-L car.
Interesting to see it evolve from the white car that I painted to the blue stripes and wing and such. I understand the engine is pretty much as I built it as is the rest of the car. Feel free to E-mail me : lrfste2@netscape.net

Steve
(currently #5974)

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stevefstevefMember
quote:
Originally posted by mooso:
OK Steve...I'll bite...You're in Orange CA and the car has CA plates...Where the HECK was that photo taken!!!
That photo reminds me of when I bought my car in the dead of winter in Phoenix and drove it back to Colorado. From 80 degrees to total white-out in 200 miles!
Good Times my friend...Good Times.
Mooso



The car was driven from Southern California after I sold it. The buyer experienced some snow along the way and sent me this picture. I have some others if you like. All before the blue stipes and such.

Steve
lrfste2@netscape.net
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