Factory Wheel Options

Myles,

One set of wheels were used, 15" x 7" front, 15" x 8" rear, in one color, solid silver (no gold accents). The only difference was the earliest pushbutton cars had "single slot" Campagnolo wheels, the later cars had two-slot Campagnolo wheels.

Gold accents on the wheels, the trim, lettering, etc was not a factory option. Gold trim was popular in the US during the late '70s and very early '80s. I can say with reasonable certainty that any such accents you have seen were applied by the owner in that time period.

There are other Pantera/deTomaso owners who value show room stock, concours originality, you are not alone in that respect. Most such enthusiasts would never consider repainting their Pantera in anything other than the original color. You've already written you would repaint with a certain paint scheme even if it wasn't a factory offering. I don't see that being any different than the guy who wants to hot rod the motor or install aftermarket wheels.

You may want to consider purchasing a couple of books from the Pantera International club store: "DeTomaso the Man and the Machines" and the "Pantera Ultimate Portfolio". I guarantee the books would become often used reference material for you.

your friend on the DTIC

George is correct in that the factory color in the 1971-74 era was always solid silver... Just for clarification (or perhaps to confuse the issue even further!!) there are the single-slot Campy's George mentions, as well as at least FOUR different versions of the dual-slot wheels. An article by Mike Drew appeared in Profiles 6 or 7 years ago with photos and a comparison. The difference is so subtle that you'd probably never notice unless someone pointed them out to you.

The major differences involved the thickness of the ribs and the castings. I'd guess that the molds used to cast the rims wore out and they built several?

Oh, and George's suggestion is a good one... As you point out it is hard to find documentation on these cars, and those books are good sources. I also like the DeTomaso buyer's guide.

Thanks for the help guys...yeah, solid information regarding the pantera is more than difficult to find.

quote:

Gold accents on the wheels, the trim, lettering, etc was not a factory option. Gold trim was popular in the US during the late '70s and very early '80s. I can say with reasonable certainty that any such accents you have seen were applied by the owner in that time period.

Excuse me George but I don't think so. Mine are original, I am sure of it. This is the way they came on my car.

Also some of the factory race cars also had gold wheels.

I just took a glance through the new "Official Racing History" book and a couple of the Gr4 Gr3 cars have gold wheels, though they are styled more like what most of us know as GT5 wheels. Also on page 284 of the book the black car on the lower left of the page has gold wheels, though they are the more traditional Campy. There are severla like that in the book. Are the wheels factory? Probably even the factory wouldn't know!

I was checking through some of my books as well. I did find some pictures from POCA from the Ford archives of a Pantera that had a color scheme that was interesting. Here's a picture. Wes

Myles' original question was wheel color for Panteras delivered to the US during the Ford era ('71 to '74). For those cars I'll stand by my earlier statement.

DeTom, your GTS was a European car, so the convention I wrote earlier may not apply. Still, your wheels look two tone, silver and gold. If that is the case, I truly doubt the factory performed that paint job. I do agree with those that have mentioned that the Gp4 cars had gold wheels. That does seem to be the case as far as this old memory can recollect, but that has no bearing on Myles' question.

cowboy from Hell

quote:

Originally posted by george pence:
Myles' original question was wheel color for Panteras delivered to the US during the Ford era ('71 to '74). For those cars I'll stand by my earlier statement.

DeTom, your GTS was a European car, so the convention I wrote earlier may not apply. Still, your wheels look two tone, silver and gold. If that is the case, I truly doubt the factory performed that paint job. I do agree with those that have mentioned that the Gp4 cars had gold wheels. That does seem to be the case as far as this old memory can recollect, but that has no bearing on Myles' question.

cowboy from Hell

I wasn't meaning to be a smart alec George. When you come to stay with me on your tour de America, I want you to look these wheels over up close, because even though they are two tone,[EDIT: I just now remebered that they are actualy three tone. They have black centers, gold middles and the very outsides are silver and they have isis logos in the center. I think some super rich italian guy musta bought this car direct from alesandro. Probably his cousin or something] I think they are original. BUt I will stand by your judgement after you seen them live and in the flesh. I am really looking forward to this. Have you firmed up your plans yet??

quote:

Originally posted by DeTom:
... When you come to stay with me on your tour de America,...I am really looking forward to this. Have you firmed up your plans yet ...

How soon can your wife have some chicken fried steak, mashed 'taters, peas and corn dodgers on the table?

We had fried Chicken tonight but I will tell her to set a plate for you tommorow night and have a mint julip ready too. We was gonna have possum but we can have that any old time. :P

See Chuck Melton's web site for info on the different wheels.

http://geocities.com/provamo72/

quote:

Originally posted by DeTom:

quote:

Gold accents on the wheels, the trim, lettering, etc was not a factory option. Gold trim was popular in the US during the late '70s and very early '80s. I can say with reasonable certainty that any such accents you have seen were applied by the owner in that time period.

Excuse me George but I don't think so. Mine are original, I am sure of it. This is the way they came on my car.

Also some of the factory race cars also had gold wheels.

Could you please supply a close up photo of your wheels, as I am trying to get an idea for the color combination and pattern.

I will be glad to but will be out of town on business for a week. If I haven't posted it by the end of next week, please remind me. I have to take the pictures.

quote:

Originally posted by DeTom:
I will be glad to but will be out of town on business for a week. If I haven't posted it by the end of next week, please remind me. I have to take the pictures.

Any chance of getting those pictures yet?