i'm sorry friends i just don't get it,first off the insurance company is paying the repairs costs,i've been to the historic races,and seen car's costing over a million dollars racing hard,gt40's,427 cobra's,shelby.panatrea's,daytona coupe's and the forgin exotics racing damn hard,why would anyone take the chance of destoring these car's if they are not repairable,i understand there are times when a car is completely destoryed,the other solution is to make them a trailer queen and tow then to shows, you wouldn't dare drive them outta your garage and around the block and i'm afraid thats whats happening,people are buying perfect cars,and puff there never seen agene by the public.that's why my new phlosophy is to save these cars from the crusher,or becoming just a hunk of metal isn't that what its all about "preservation and recreation"of our sport,and to drive the hell outa the cars,thats what they were made for every chance you can get.show them off to the public,yes sir, this car was sold by ford mercury 35yrs ago,my dream car has always been the gt40,i figure this is the closes i'll ever come,owning a pantera.so i'm more then will to do what it takes.be gental,i'm a newbe,les smk.free and sex deprived.
I don't blame anyone for wanting a perfect car.
The cars with crash damage would make great race cars. Repair the damage and run it like it there's no tomorrow. Racing cars is hard on them and I don't blame anyone for not wanting to thrash it. I always wanted to get a cheap mid to late 80's vette for the track. A car no one really likes but would be a great track car. You can pick a rough one up for abou $5k, gut it, throw a crate engine in and trash it like there's no tomorrow.
Gary
The cars with crash damage would make great race cars. Repair the damage and run it like it there's no tomorrow. Racing cars is hard on them and I don't blame anyone for not wanting to thrash it. I always wanted to get a cheap mid to late 80's vette for the track. A car no one really likes but would be a great track car. You can pick a rough one up for abou $5k, gut it, throw a crate engine in and trash it like there's no tomorrow.
Gary
Les I agree with you, but it depends on what a persons motivation is. If they are looking to make money, any car is a loser. If they are looking at having fun and don't mind spending the rent money doing it, a Pantera is a blast. That is why that old guy said, one man's meat is another mans poison. We all look at things from our own point of view. I have owned my car for almost ten years now. I have raised a family in that same time frame. Yes there are thousands of dollars I could be pooring into the car, but right now I choose not to. The car is in it's own garage. It can sit there or I can drive it around. The choice is mine cause I have a piece of paper that says I own it. No one can tell me what I have to do with the car. BTW, I never did it to make money, I did it because like you, I loved the GT40.
cjjtulsa
Trouble is the Pantera is a monocoque. So a dent in the right place goofs up the whole structure. Compare this to the chassis on frame car that fourdoorbronco can repair cheap.
Think about the work it takes to disassemble the whole car so you can get at the damage throughout the moncocoque. Larry's $35k cost included a lot of $$$ for taking it apart and putting it back together again. (eg, the front windshield gasket goes for $250.) That time/cost adds up fast. And where do you find a good metal man nowadays? Most body shop guys are take off/cut off and replace types. And resto shops, the only ones that could seriously consider this kind of repair, are $55-$75/hour and will take a year once they can even get to it.
Now if the car were worth considerably more, it becomes economically feasible to repair but at $50k for a good one, it's totalled at $35-$40k.
Trouble is the Pantera is a monocoque. So a dent in the right place goofs up the whole structure. Compare this to the chassis on frame car that fourdoorbronco can repair cheap.
Think about the work it takes to disassemble the whole car so you can get at the damage throughout the moncocoque. Larry's $35k cost included a lot of $$$ for taking it apart and putting it back together again. (eg, the front windshield gasket goes for $250.) That time/cost adds up fast. And where do you find a good metal man nowadays? Most body shop guys are take off/cut off and replace types. And resto shops, the only ones that could seriously consider this kind of repair, are $55-$75/hour and will take a year once they can even get to it.
Now if the car were worth considerably more, it becomes economically feasible to repair but at $50k for a good one, it's totalled at $35-$40k.
Well put Jeff, you sound like a man with experience in this subject, are you in the buisness?
Mark 6808
Mark 6808
quote:Originally posted by jeff6559:
cjjtulsa
Trouble is the Pantera is a monocoque. So a dent in the right place goofs up the whole structure. Compare this to the chassis on frame car that fourdoorbronco can repair cheap.
Think about the work it takes to disassemble the whole car so you can get at the damage throughout the moncocoque. Larry's $35k cost included a lot of $$$ for taking it apart and putting it back together again. (eg, the front windshield gasket goes for $250.) That time/cost adds up fast. And where do you find a good metal man nowadays? Most body shop guys are take off/cut off and replace types. And resto shops, the only ones that could seriously consider this kind of repair, are $55-$75/hour and will take a year once they can even get to it.
Now if the car were worth considerably more, it becomes economically feasible to repair but at $50k for a good one, it's totalled at $35-$40k.
I gotcha. But the thing to me is, most Fords from the early 60s until they started doing some more body-on-frame cars in the early 70s were unit construction - and someone with a Mustang with that kind of damage wouldn't think twice about repairing it. It just seems strange that it could cost that much. But reality is that it does. I'm not knocking the parting out; I completely understand. When the price of repair is substantially more than the price of another car, it's common sense. Just kind of sad to see a great breed of car disappear one vehicle at a time due to the fact that it's cheaper to scrap them if they're wrecked. I think I'd almost have to have a sedative to leave the garage in it, knowing I was one cell phone distracted SUV away from watching my car roll away on a flat bed, destined for e-bay and a bunch of other people, one piece at a time. And on top of that knowing that one more of the 4000+ will no longer exsist.
quote:Originally posted by Mark#6808:
Well put Jeff, you sound like a man with experience in this subject, are you in the business?Mark 6808
Not quite. I had a paintless dent repair business for the last 14 years so I get to hang out at some body and repair shops now and then. My favorites are Wade's Rod & Custom and Specialty Cars of Texas. It fascinates me to see good work. I have also been up to Bob Smith Coachworks a couple of times. It's a Ferrari resto shop and it wins its class at Pebble most of the time.
Right now, I'm reading "The Key to Metal Bumping" by Frank Sargent, first written in 1939. I got it from Eastwood. It's a great book.
hi guys, canadian andrew here.i thought i might be able to add a bit to this particular topic in the forum since i own the car being discussed.
the minimum i will take for the car is 17k and that's because it's worth it. i spent close to 10 grand on the motor.
firstly i was going through a set of green lights when a pontiac vibe, driven by a friend of mine no less, turned left at the same lights as i was going through. the vibe was out of the shop in a week. the pantera was f'd up. my left clavicle is now made of titanium. we talked about eight months ago on this forum. it was a bitch.
i still struggle with what should become of 7001. i listed in the parts for sale section here and quite honestly was overwhelmed with the requests for parts. any pantera is worth a ton in individual parts. i know when i myself was looking for whatever. the car itself is certainly fixable. as someone else said anything is.
i switch around a lot and decided that i'm not in the parts business. there's a thousand parts on any of these cars that can be sold on ebay. each with they're own shipping cost and being in canada, it's too much of a pain in the ass. that being said, i was going to fix the car but i'm runnig low on dough. it ain't gonna cost 50k and we're not trying to split the atom here...
i'd rather fix this car, which is nice and previously restored, than restore one in a rusty barn. fact is, most of us would be called crazy by freinds and family to do either, but we do anyway because i think we all have the same sickness drunk or sober. how many hours have u guys spent on scraping the crap to make the engine tub nice when u open the hood to show the motor everyone wants to see.
i claim that this car would be worth 50 grand fixed up right because any pantera is.
put enough passion into tim horton's pantera and you could win at pebble beach too.
we have desirable cars, the market is out there. take a look in your garage if u don't believe me..drive safe and type in "detomaso burnout video" on a google and see 7001 for what she always will be.
the minimum i will take for the car is 17k and that's because it's worth it. i spent close to 10 grand on the motor.
firstly i was going through a set of green lights when a pontiac vibe, driven by a friend of mine no less, turned left at the same lights as i was going through. the vibe was out of the shop in a week. the pantera was f'd up. my left clavicle is now made of titanium. we talked about eight months ago on this forum. it was a bitch.
i still struggle with what should become of 7001. i listed in the parts for sale section here and quite honestly was overwhelmed with the requests for parts. any pantera is worth a ton in individual parts. i know when i myself was looking for whatever. the car itself is certainly fixable. as someone else said anything is.
i switch around a lot and decided that i'm not in the parts business. there's a thousand parts on any of these cars that can be sold on ebay. each with they're own shipping cost and being in canada, it's too much of a pain in the ass. that being said, i was going to fix the car but i'm runnig low on dough. it ain't gonna cost 50k and we're not trying to split the atom here...
i'd rather fix this car, which is nice and previously restored, than restore one in a rusty barn. fact is, most of us would be called crazy by freinds and family to do either, but we do anyway because i think we all have the same sickness drunk or sober. how many hours have u guys spent on scraping the crap to make the engine tub nice when u open the hood to show the motor everyone wants to see.
i claim that this car would be worth 50 grand fixed up right because any pantera is.
put enough passion into tim horton's pantera and you could win at pebble beach too.
we have desirable cars, the market is out there. take a look in your garage if u don't believe me..drive safe and type in "detomaso burnout video" on a google and see 7001 for what she always will be.