I'm looking at the possibility of selling my 1973 DeTomaso Pantera, VIN TPHNNU05253, but I am completely unfamiliar with what the recommended approach to this would be.
I'm going to bore you with a bit of history on the car and my ownership of it. I originally found the car on Bring A Trailer:
https://bringatrailer.com/list...detomaso-pantera-18/
I ultimately ended up buying the car and began a love/hate relationship with it that has continued to this day. A lot of problems with the car reared their heads during my first year or so of ownership, ranging from wiring and electrical problems due to mangled wire harnesses, really bad "big brakes" that were little more than PBR single piston floats from a Corvette, and a range of engine issues including bad compression on 3 cylinders, leaks, and rough running.
My response to the mounting problems with the car was to simply take the biggest sledgehammer I could find to hit the termites with. I threw my hands up, packed the car into a trailer, and dropped it of at a reputable restoration shop in Las Vegas, NV. The car underwent a nearly 2 year total teardown and restoration. Because the car was never going to be original again, as one of the prior owners basically threw away the original motor, I also made some modifications to the car. What I ended up with was:
- Ford Boss 427F aluminum engine with Z2 heads and Jesel valve train.
- FiTech multiport EFI system.
- Rebuilt and resealed the gearbox.
- SACC Restorations CV Joint stub axles.
- SACC Restorations cable driven shifter
- Aviad oil pan.
- Completely rewired the car with a modern harness.
- SACC Restorations electronic parking brake (The mechanical parts were cut from the car by a prior owner).
- SACC Restorations headlights.
- Vintage Air AC system.
- New headers and custom made exhaust system.
- New McCleod clutch, throwout bearing, new aluminum slave cylinder.
- Wilwood 4 piston SuperLites with two piece drilled/slotted rotors (SACC Restorations)
- RideTech adjustable coilover suspension.
- New brake lines, clutch lines, etc..
- Fluidyne aluminum radiator with shrouded Spall fans.
- New wheel bearings on all four corners, replaced bushings as needed.
In addition to the above, the body of the car was bead blasted down to bare metal. We found some lead body filler from back in the day and a few tiny rust spots on the bulkhead wall behind the passenger seat. We also found that the car had been painted a total of four different colors in its life and had so much unnecessary bondo (up to 1/8" thick in some areas) that I probably shed north of 100 pounds in just body filler. We think that what they were doing at each repaint was just scuffing the paint, slapping on another layer of bondo, and painting the car again. Controversially for some people, I also added a set of steel Group 4 fender flares that were welded onto the car. Naturally this meant a new set of wheels and tires to fit. The car was painted from head to toe in Ford's Kona Blue Metallic.
I have pictures of the car in various stages of the process. What I have now is a reliable car that starts every time with minimal fuss and is highly drivable. It was not cheap to do this, obviously. I have no real idea where to begin in terms of valuing the car or where to even start in finding her a new home. I would be interested in hearing from the community on their thoughts. I had considered getting the car professionally photographed along with some drive videos to post it on BaT again, but I'd also like to know if there's something easier to contend with out there.
As you can see from the attached pictures of the car, much has changed with it.
