The ZF trans is arguably the strongest part of a Pantera. It has been known to live behind a bored & stroked Boss 429 opened up to 528 cubes and just under 900 horses. This Pantera ran the Nevada Silver State, a 92-mile open road race several times. Currently, one So-Cal shop is showing a Pantera with an alloy-head 514 crate engine. The car has been driven to Las Vegas from LA at least twice, then open-track-raced at Las Vegas Speedway before being driven home. A fairly common conversion in the '80s involved 454 Chevys (at least a dozen) and many Ford FE-blocks, before the supply of the old big blocks dried up. But ZFs aren't cheap. nor will they take unlimited abuse, as with any precision piece of machinery. Parts are very expensive. Your next best choice is a Hewland LG-600, an unsynchronized 5-speed transaxle used in Can -Am racing & at LeMans.
