GT5-S crash rebuild

Another view from the left side. She was bent pretty bad.

Here it is just arriving.

Another view from the rear after most of the quarter panel was removed.

Check out that trans case---what a mess. The entire engine compartment was several inches narrower than original and pushed left all most 2 inches.

Freshly removed transaxle. You can see how far the right side was pushed in. I relocated the MSD box to the firewall during reconstruction.

OOOOPS

On the way to be pulled a bit. Most of the structure was removed but I needed to have the platform checked to make sure it was totally straight from front to rear before the internal reconstruction was started.

Other side

A better view of the right damage. The first shop torched off the upper control arm---OK---

A better shot of the inside wheel well damage.

The B pillar was a mess and on late model car the latch is only mounted to the skin and not to the inner post. In this case it was a blessing or it would have destroyed the door latch also.

Same side inner wheel well with the undercoat stripped and the metal just starting to be cut---I was attempting to salvage the original pieces from the car to build correct patterns so the rebuild could be as factory exact as possible.

Last view before the frame machine work. I saved the left quarter, taillight panel and deck lid with lots of patients, hammering, and shrink disking.

Did have to rebuild the left side a bit do to rust. The late model cars do have the same issues as the early cars---this GT5-S will not have any rust issues again. You will see the repairs in future pictures.

This is the right side rebuilt---I'll show the construction later. Just wanted to show the structure drain holes in the bottom---the left side rust repairs matched the openings in this picture---just can't find a shot of it tonight.

This is a picture of the lower frame rail outer skins with both of the inner structures drilled off. I rebuilt the suspension mount sleeves using 1" washers on both sides welded to the sleeve. This will prevent the sleeve welds from fracturing off the skins which all late model cars are prone to.

The structures are now welded to the outer skins. The rods keep the structure parallel so the suspension mounts correctly. The platform is mounted to my fixture which holds all of the mounting positions in there correct location.

You can see how this mount sleve area was starting to fail before we removed the structure.

here is what was savable from the inner wheel well---not much to start with.

Another view from the outside. You can see the taillight panel has been mostly straightened by this point. Still had to straighten the taillight mounting pocket and re-install it back on the rear panel.

I will post more later on this week.

Thought I would post a shot of the finished car just before the transport picked it up. The rebuild shots can be a bit boring but critical to proving the car was rebuilt with the proper care and detail.

Hi Kirk.

Looks like you did a great job bringing this GT5-S back. Look forward to more pictures of the rebuild.

great ! and thanks for the repair story...

not inquiring on who or what .. but can you give us a idea of that rebuild cost ? Just wondering, was that a total loss ?

This one was close to a total for sure.

This next picture is a better view of the removed damage showing the right rear wheel well fixture mounted to the car. I have a fixture system that bolts to a heavy frame spit platform that locates every stud or nut welded to the body. Using our fixture we can replace all of the damage assuring a correct part position. Using the fixture system, AmeriSport could build a Pantera from scratch if all the original metal parts were still available. It has proven to be invaluable when we're rebuilding sever crashes or bad rust damage.

Here is a shot of the first skin freshly plug welded to the new fabricated inner structure where the upper control arm and coil over mount.

Sanded and primed.

Inside view of the rebuild.

Here is a view of the just fabricated wheel well skin using the frame fixture. It is held in space ready for welding.

The next section fabricated and ready to weld. Matching the material to the original was difficult---there was many many measurements from side to side. It was a chore.

Little better perspective.

New rear lower cross member and trans mounts being welded in.

A view from the down under. We matched the welding as close to factory as humanly possible---stitching and spotting where required.

Another view from the other side. This shows the early repairs on the left quarter and taillight panel. The frame fixture was original built in 1980 to install new Ford replacement wheel wells. Over the years I've added every other bolt point to the jigging.

That is pretty friggin impressive Kirk!!! I hope I never need your services, but it is nice to know that almost anything can be rebuilt with the right tools and skills...

Here is a shot of another car that had rust damage. This is a view of the door fixture mounted to the car and rotator assembly---just a reference picture. The mounting spit platform and attachments are not pretty but they work very well.

another view

I was able to get a right side factory draw panel to replace the damaged quarter. They are not finished but gave me more than I needed to get-er-dun.

A shot of the side gill opening sheet metal work. The panel did not have any reference for the opening---fortunately I had another S car in the shop at this time and was able to use it as a position guide.

Freshly mounted quarter panel and deck lid. The deck was mashed badly on the right side where the impact originated. I had to remove the inner structure to straighten the skin and then re-weld the inner frame-work. The deck came out quite well considering the extent of damage.

Left side view with all of the panels in position. The quarter and taillight panel still needed some straitening but the deck gap fit was correct and ready to be detailed.

Right panel in DP90 epoxy primer ready for Rust Defender primer, lots of blocking and color.

Kirk – that's pure automotive sculpture, you are indeed a sheet metal artist – well rescued, it shows what can be done, if you have the talent!

Your an Artist Kirk

Absolutely incredible ! What talent and skill ! Thanks for documenting and sharing Kirk.

OK...gotta jump on the band wagon.
Very impressive resurrection Kirk! Really fantastic metal work...!

BTW....don't think for a minute the process steps are boring. They eye candy is great, but the steps/details are the critical process to get there.

quote:

Thought I would post a shot of the finished car just before the transport picked it up. The rebuild shots can be a bit boring but critical to proving the car was rebuilt with the proper care and detail.

I agree with Rob.
I am one of those that LOVES to see ALL of the build pictures.

Very impreeive job Kirk.

Speechless, as I would have thought that car was a goner!!

I'm sure I'm like most people on the board when I say I didn't know you could do this Kirk!!! It's great to see what is possible when it really looked like the car was gone. Bravo indeed!!!!

Mark

It really came out fantastic. It is somewhat comforting to know that all things are not necessarily lost.

Personally though from previous experience I am always concerned about the new longevity of the sheetmetal on cars like this.

I personally have seen very short life cycles on the sheetmetal that has been heated, shrunk and pounded out?

That metal doesn't seem to have great longevity once put back into service?

I noticed the primer that was mentioned and it definitely will be on my list for next time. Sure hope it does the trick?

Thank you for the photographic journey. I really enjoyed it a lot.

Thank you all for the kind words and support.

quote:

Originally posted by PanteraDoug:
I personally have seen very short life cycles on the sheetmetal that has been heated, shrunk and pounded out?

That metal doesn't seem to have great longevity once put back into service?

I noticed the primer that was mentioned and it definitely will be on my list for next time. Sure hope it does the trick?

Working bent sheet metal properly takes patients and a light hand with the hammer. Also if you are shrinking with what I call "big heat" or a torch, that will suck the life right out of the tin. I use a shrink disk which heats the top surface on the sheet metal to pull it back. It's a slow process. Second when you are growing a low area or dent, the metal grows to the hammer so you start dolling around the outside of the low spot and hammer O-SO-LIGHTLY working you way into the center. This takes time and often a re-shrink using the disk. If you follow this method, the metal will be fine and have a long the happy new life cycle until the next crash.

Here is a view of the shell being moved to my paint booth area. It's in Rust Defender polyester primer and is ready to be blocked. I layer the car with 2 colors of material so you can clearly see the surface changes during blocking. Sometimes I use tint to change the layer colors and sometimes I use an actual color change---beige to gray---so on. This was a layer color change. Polyester is much harder to sand than urethane primer but it will not shrink in time and holds the top coat polish from shrinking much better---from what I have seen over many years of painting.

I painted my first full vehicle in high school---1974---it was a van in lacquer with multy-colored custom paint including my first attempt at mural painting---a vision to some---nightmare to others.

A view from the back. Worked hard to equalize the deck gaps by refitting the damaged panels to the new right draw quarter panel. Took my time.

Another view shows our modular caster wheel system. All of the cross bars slip into sleeves that lock down using simple 3/8 nuts welded to the sleeves and bolts tightened onto the crass bar. The caster lock on the same way I have many sizes of casters---some for a rough surface (pictured), smooth caster for the floor, and large wheel/tire combo for the rear if you need to move the entire frame fixture to another location.

The body has also been guide coated which is the darker shades you see on the top beige color primer.

Kirk,

Pure artistic genius. Before and after photos alone always raise questions as to how a car was fixed, but your details of the steps involved demonstrate a true passion for perfection.

Julian

WOW. Great to know what can be done and who can do it.

You Kirk can do it. Well done and thanks for the insight.

Great job Kirk! Every time you show us photos of your work the attention to detail always stands out! Thanks for sharing and please keep posting photos!

Thank you all once again for your kind words. There are many very talented hobbyist and professionals on the forum and I'm happy to among such a great group.

Next shot is the car blocked. I start with 180 dry---re-guide coat with 500% thinned color and wet block with 320---re-guide coat and finish wet sand with 500. The 180/240 dry block cut the surface straight but you have to be very careful on the next 2 steps making sure all of the dry sanded surface get re-sanded with the finer paper or your color will print scratches.

I have spent a lot of time in the booth---way back in my very early days the local dealerships would bring me their hard to match metallics for color blending---helped pay for my first Pantera.

Epoxy white sealer shot before the color and clear coats

Color and clear applied---lots of sanding and buffing to come. I paper the car to the floor which keeps the overspray off the underside---a pain in the @$$ but keeps things cleaner inside and out.

Just a mostly hidden detail after the finish sanding and buffing was completed. We step sand the clear starting with 500 to 600, moving on to 1200 and finishing with 2000. If some of the coarser scratches get missed, the area is re-sanded with 2500 during the final buff---lots of work.

A close-up of the new quarter panel sanded and buffed---no glazing at this point so there are still swirls in the finish.

Next step was to re-finish the undercarriage with paintable undercoat and black semi black epoxy. This view show a bit of the passenger rebuild and the inside of the repaired left quarter panel in the gas-tank area. I was a chore to blend the textures that remained on the car into the smother new fabricated wheel well materials in an effort to make them match and not appear to have been re-done. I often had to make the undercoat rougher than the equipment would spray the material by using a dabber brush for applying wall paper glue---what a mess but it worked quite well. Kida like antiquing the underside---happens naturally with age but that's another issue.

Here is a detail we do on all of the Pantera's quarter panels. The rod in the picture stabilizes the lower panel at the exhaust opening and helps protect the taillight panel corners from cracking do to vibration---a simple but effective fix.

Fantastic work and dedication to quality Kirk.

As the southern evangelist might say, "brothers and sisters I feel your pain".

I had quite a misplaced youth myself. I worked hard on as much stuff as I could missing virtually ALL of the sex, drugs and rock & roll of the times. Now I know too much and no one will give me work because they think I deserve to work only for top dollar! That makes me unimployable now.

Maybe the Devil is right? Anyone know a hot looking drunken rock n'roll slut? This is too much work for me for bottom dollar?


I sure appreciate your work and sharing the pictures.

Now I know I can send the car to you when they bring it to me and want it fixed and it looks impossible to do at any price.

Posted my thank you to Wayne on the wrong header---sorry for pulling his old thread up. I am showing my lack of computer suaveness along side the obvious poor typing and proof reading skills after reading some of my own posting. I'll try proofing a bit closer.

The wing project was interesting. The original wing was so poorly constructed and already had multiple repairs that were poorly done, I decided to build him a new one.

This is an exact replica of the original shape including the trailing edge which is always much thicker on every alternative wing available. The AmeriSport replica is much lighter than the original unit, uses composite end caps that are the correct shape and thickness, and is manufactured in one piece rather than bonded dry which add weight and make the wing much weaker. The picture shows the freshly mounted center section less end caps.

Here's a shot of the un-finished trailing edge with 1/8 tape on it and in the hand. The edge was actually thinner that the tape and matched the folded aluminum original exact. It was difficult to find a way to produce an edge this thin with the necessary strength needed to hold up but we found a solution.

This view of the wing's end shape (before the cap was installed) is where you often find a massive amount of bonding mud which has no strength and adds a lot of unnecessary weight.

Here is a shot of the finished wing installed a bit closer. Not the best picture, sorry.

Here is a view of the original front trunk. The carpet was a mess from previously leaking break fluid. The owner decided to have the trunk re-finished.

A view of the new liner material installed.

A little better perspective of the freshened trunk area.

The lid inserts match the material installed on the trunk area---the two together make a nice looking combo with the hood open.

Last detail for the night---dinner over---back to work now.

Quit showing off, would you?



Just kidding - keep the pictures coming.. This is very amazing stuff, and an encouragement to everyone.

Rocky

How do you rust proof inside of the channels that you had to make and weld into place? Shouldn't those have been pre-coated with something? Maybe galvanized?

Bloody hell! Amazing work Kirk. I Love the fixture too. Thanks for sharing, I know it takes ages sorting through all the pictures and adding words but it's always worth it.

Johnny

quote:

Originally posted by PanteraDoug:
How do you rust proof inside of the channels that you had to make and weld into place? Shouldn't those have been pre-coated with something? Maybe galvanized?

Most of the pre-made fitted parts that were plug welded were first internally coated. When we do a full body reconstruction car, I have them E-coated when possible. Besides these option, I've made several different internal spray tips on flex hoses that spray 360 degrees. Also all of the seams are sealed from the outside before undercoating, painting, or texturing. If you looked at the wheel-well leg rebuild shots, you can see the pre-coated internal areas and box sections are removed, the car is positioned up-side-down to spray inside the opened cavities if the access is large enough. I have used galvanized in the past but the zinc make the welds difficult unless your running very precise spot-welding equipment. Hope this helps enplane the protection questions. I do not have pictures of the process but next time we internally seal, I'll get some shots to show everyone. Thanks for the questions---they help with getting better info for all to utilize if a similar situation come up on other cars under restoration.

quote:

Originally posted by Johnny Woods:
Bloody hell! Amazing work Kirk. I Love the fixture too. Thanks for sharing, I know it takes ages sorting through all the pictures and adding words but it's always worth it.

Johnny

Thanks Johnny---miss you my friend---we need to get together. What are you working on now? To dam bad we are not closer---I would dearly love to build something with you. Please
stay in touch---let's talk this Spring.

Moving on the customer decided to have the suspension freshened up so we did the gray Imron finish and replaced or re-plated all of the hardware. Here's a shot of some finished suspension parts before assembly.

A sub assembly before installation.

Just instaled

The car ran cats instead of mufflers and the modifications were made using the original Pantera muffler pipes. The chrome on the tips was also cooked. Here's a shot of the pipes as they were removed.

I pulled down my old muffler making fixture from the 80s and made him some new 2.5" pipes that matched the GTS headers and welded them to his catalytic converters.

Made some new slip stainless tips for the cats.

Here's a shot of the cat installed. I had forgotten to fabricate the muffler mount for the right side---here it is freshly fabbed and test mounted before blasting, painting and being permanently installed a bit later.

This shot shows one of the items we installed on all of the AmeriSport assembled GT5-S cars to help protect the rubber motor mounts from radiant header heat. It's a simple piece of bent aluminum but was quite effective is saving the rubber from the excessive header heat.

Looking forward to any questions---I will go through the engine details later on.

always wondered how you tackled the cat issue. Simple and effective.

This guy is getting virtually a new car back from you. he's gotta' be a very happy camper.

The car is going to be better now than it ever was new.

Kirk,

A few questions:

1. Are there differences between the GT5-S bodied chassis and the Ford-era chassis? Can you use the same jig for both in other words?
2. Do you paint your motor mounts with a high temp paint?
3. Does the catalytic converter/muffler restrict the exhaust appreciably and/or does it quiet the car down at all?

I'm loving this thread!! Thanks for sharing Kirk.

Great Job Kirk!
I love that you saved the car from a total.

Hello Kirk,
I am highly impressed with your skills and attention to detail. Thanks for sharing.

Shah

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Slightlycrispy:
Kirk,

A few questions:

1. Are there differences between the GT5-S bodied chassis and the Ford-era chassis? Can you use the same jig for both in other words?

Yes there are many differences. The late model cars 9000 vin and up I think were hand built in a similar fashion to very early 71 cars. Frankly the full production version is stronger and stiffer. Reasons for this range from sheet metal that has been stressed stamped into a shape over hand broke flat stock to integrated internal structures to stiffen and spread load over off the shelf materials like tubing to build bolt sleeves into the frame for the rear A-arm mounts. The late model cars are fantastic for how they were built---just apples and oranges to use a cliché. I look at it this way---if you own a Pantera no mater what year, enjoy it---nothing else matters.

2. Do you paint your motor mounts with a high temp paint?

No need---never have had a problem with paint blistering from heat on the mounts---just the rubber decaying for heat.

3. Does the catalytic converter/muffler restrict the exhaust appreciably and/or does it quiet the car down at all?

I tested my original cat mufflers we made in-house and used on the GT5-S cars against all of the mufflers that were available at that time----6 or 7 years ago and the cats made the best HP out of every muffler. The back pressure at full throttle was just over 1 pound and sounded great. BUT can you use this type of muffler on a 750 Holley carbed 393 stroker with a massive roller cam, Parker funnel web--so-so-so NO! You will cook them quite fast. They work quite well when you keeping the air fuel ratio close to 14.7 or at least in the 14 range.

Off to see Lone Survivor

Engine was OK from the crash---well built from a builder on the east coast. During the engine clean-up, re-paint, assembly before testing, I discovered one of the 5/16 bolts on the intake was stripped so I had to do a cylinder head-on repair. Got-ta hate when that happens.

Tapped before the tread replacement insert.

Next minor hurdle was he plug wire looms. The right one was damaged in the crash and this particular style of loom is no longer available plus the wires were in poor condition ta boot.

The replacement looms were smaller, tighter ,and much better looking. Changed the wires too.

Here is the engine and transaxle right after the install. We re-plate the hardware in yellow for contrast or replace it with stainless. Kept the assembly basic and clean.

Built a remote munt for the swirl tank to keep it off the wheel well. This allows for an easer install of the engine/trans assembly and better access to the right side of the head if needed.

A better shot of the tank bracket.

A better view of the bracket installed. It's mounted with stainless rivits

A different view of the bracket. Also shown are 2 of the hidden wiring caps used to hold the AC hoses and wiring along the upper rail without positive loop hold downs---make's the hoses/wiring faster to install and/or remove later on.

Here's the ignition control sub assembly with the MSD box mounted in a more appropriate location---IMHO

Final shot of the ignition control mounted. The engine is running and everything checked out great. First test drive was taken the following day.

The owner wanted to have better light for night driving and chose to have the Cat Eye Quads installed. He was a very happy customer after his first night drive.

Kirk
I am amazed at the artristry and have studied the photo's in hopes to learn the details of putting mione together.

I have a question on the second photo going back that shows the location of the coil/MSD/solenoid. Just to the right of the solenoid is a straight pipe-like object I can't identify. what is that? (coolant expansion tank overflow?)

Also, is that photo taken through the removed rear quarter gill?

Joe

quote:

Originally posted by Kirk Evans:
Here's the ignition control sub assembly with the MSD box mounted in a more appropriate location---IMHO

The Pantera-Electronics controller is the same dimension as the MSD. It has many additional features to the MSD, including...it doesn't require a tach adapter and it works ALL of the time.

Just to the right of the solenoid is a straight pipe-like object I can't identify. what is that? (coolant expansion tank overflow?)

I do not remember, sorry.

Also, is that photo taken through the removed rear quarter gill?

No through the wheel opening with the shieldout.

The Pantera-Electronics controller is the same dimension as the MSD. It has many additional features to the MSD, including...it doesn't require a tach adapter and it works ALL of the time.

This car was finished 3 years ago and I do not believe Jon had his system available---and the customer already had the MSD. I personally have never experienced a MSD failure but have modified several cars to run the MSD only under boost or as needed manually so the radio worker better. Bother car requires 2 separate control systems--one ran a Dura spark and one ran a standard unilite. The Dura advantage was it retarded the ignition during starting.

Pantera-Electronics is the real-deal making fantastic items to improve the car. I have not ran the ignition control module but if it's like everything else Jon makes, it will be first class.

Last postings---this was taken just before the hauler picked up the car 3 years ago in December. Only time the car probably ever saw snow or ever will.

Nice side view---needs a bit of cropping.

Last shot---thank you all for looking.

Wow! Came out beautiful Kirk. Hope the owner appreciates what you did. I do. It's a magnificent car.

Beautiful car - Kirk you are an artist.

Devin

Thanks for sharing, the repairs turned out awesome!

Fantastic work Kirk. Sexy colour, what is it,
it's what i was hoping for 13 yrs ago and ended up with a very plain red. love it.

so there is hope
great job

I"m right there with you 6672

Hi jjenn.

Welcome to "Club damaged cars".

Mine is 9053 (dont know hav to uplode Photos)

I think it is possible to repair car 6672 and yours also. not so bad at all.
With the right skills, tools, time and money almost ewerything is possible!

Dont know if you know this one.

www.rscorse.com (look under Detomaso store)

They have rear fenders. 1650euro each.

Kjeld

No worries---here is a crashed Italian from several years ago with a ton of damaged front end parts including ABS controls, the complete AC evaporator and heater box with blower. Many other frontal items required replacing or repairs not including the sheet metal. It took a hard front end hit.

Here we are all most ready for the new sheet-metal and fiberglass internals. One thing that was incredible---when I started installing the new front end, all of the rivet holes on the internal fiberglass shrouding lined up the frame---and I mean all of them. It didn't even require pressure to install the 1/8" rivets from the fiberglass to the sheet-metal---I've drilled mounting holes using the part to be mounted and they have not lined up that good. A big salute to Ferrari on this one.

Nose on--the customer did his own painting which we often do for people on reconstruction jobs---rust of collision. The lines on the fender helped me check the metal shaping on the left fender which was slightly damaged on the new front clip. We were very lucky to find another very late 328 that was smoked on the left rear. I bought the whole car and was going to build a toy targa 288 wan-na-be.

Kirk,

What does something like the rebuild of this GT5-S cost?

Thanks,
Cliff

quote:

Originally posted by Chris Wilson:
Fantastic work Kirk. Sexy colour, what is it,
it's what i was hoping for 13 yrs ago and ended up with a very plain red. love it.

Sorry Chris for the late response--missed your request. The color is stock GT5-s red which is quite orange. The picture looks good because it was shot late on an overcast day. The best time to shoot red is right before the son comes up in the morning. The UV angle makes the red really pop.

Here is the same color shot around noon on a hazy day. It's a very old 35mm picture that was scanned so the quality is not so good but you can see color difference.

This is a studio shot of the same original factory color. In pictures the type of light, time of day and the photographer can make all the difference.

Another shot of the rebuilt GT5-S all in the same color so you can compare car to car on line.

Looks F A N T A S T I C Kirk.
Just looked through a bunch of pages and got caught back up. Really looks good.

Thanks again for sharing your wisdom, I've utilized much of it on my project already.

must be color of mine ?

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Belgiumbarry:
must be color of mine ?

Belgiumbarry,

Yes it appears to be the same color---hard to tell with pictures and various types of light.

What is the history of your car? Do you know it? It has a few AmeriSport details on it. Just curious.

Found a good frontend picture of the rebuild---still wet in this shot.

Found a few more picture in another folder. This one may be of interest to S-owners. I've plated the spoiler bottoms on 3 S cars and it seems to be a big plus in keeping the lip straight. I used a much thicker that normal plate---125 thousands or 1/8" material and skinned the entire bottom. 2 of the owners have reported back that they have bottomed out with no visible damage to the spoiler---just some underside scrapes. It made a huge difference to the overall strength allowing the car to lift up rather that role the lip under and damage the spoiler top from material stretch.

Thought this may a plus for you GT5-S owners if you're repainting in the future.

Found a better shot of the newly built replica factory delta wing and a good view of the rear end. I would have liked to shot this car with a good background other than snow.

quote:

Originally posted by Kirk Evans:
[QUOTE]Originally posted by Belgiumbarry:
must be color of mine ?

Belgiumbarry,

Yes it appears to be the same color---hard to tell with pictures and various types of light.

What is the history of your car? Do you know it? It has a few AmeriSport details on it. Just curious.

Found a good frontend picture of the rebuild---still wet in this shot.

thanks for interest ! #9425 is in the PROVAMO register. Was imported '86 by Carroll Shelby and bought back by a Belgium collector . I bought the car from him as he found the same , but a targa ....

wing pic , and indeed the orange in the red

What engine is in your car? Cleveland or Windsor? Are the door tags from the US still on it? I have history with your car but can't remember the details---28 years ago.

Hi Kirk, like many of the others, I'm in awe of the commitment and skill required to bring this car back. How many hours of labor from start to finish? Thanks for sharing.
Be well,
-Olaf

quote:

Originally posted by Kirk Evans:
What engine is in your car? Cleveland or Windsor? Are the door tags from the US still on it? I have history with your car but can't remember the details---28 years ago.

Hi Kirk ,

indeed.. i found in the car's documents that the car was send to Auto Exotica by Shelby Automotive for smog equiqment ( all removed now ) and this was confirmed (???? ) by Kirk Evans, pre Amerisport .

Documents :Original engine , Aussie black block 351C , suspect 2V heads

Door tag indeed.. i will take a pic and post it here

greetings
Norbert

Norbert,

Please drop me a note at amerisport@gmail.com for some off line details.

Kirk

quote:

Originally posted by Bdkity:
Hi Kirk, like many of the others, I'm in awe of the commitment and skill required to bring this car back. How many hours of labor from start to finish? Thanks for sharing.
Be well,
-Olaf

Olaf,

Thank you so much for the kind kudos. On a project like this when the insurance company is involved and the car is much worse than originally estimated, I do not track the hours accurately but I am sure there are 500 man hours or more in it. The actual sheet-metal collision work on this car was not that bad. Details, un-seen rust, improvements, paint requiring a total teardown (which is the only way I will repaint any car), customer changes and the haunting perfectionist in me causes far more issues with increased man-hours that the bump work. Sorry for tooting my own horn---you will always get more than the hours reflect because it is impossible to explain why a simple looking bracket took maybe 4 hours to scratch build could cost 400.00---so often we choose to eat the time. I prefer to have extremely happy customers with a car that is well built, run tested so when you are taking your mate out to the neighborhood eatery, paid the check, both walk out to a crowd looking at the car, it looks, starts and runs perfectly. If the car fails because of a poorly made bracket, bad wiring connections or any number of poor craftsmanship issues from the work preformed, it is the worst, most embarrassing moment possible for the owner and I will not allow any car to leave in less than a 100% condition unless we are not completing the project top to bottom. I often do portions of cars so in that case only the work we've done is scrutinized. Sorry for the wordy explanation---but I thank you for asking. (:>)

One example---in the picture below there is allot going on in a tight area. One example---there are 5 relays that control 2 separate ignition control modules---a Ford Dura spark and a MSD multi spark. The customer can switch from system to system on the move and there is a reason for this option. This car's 393 engine was dynode making 565 HP and is driven short jaunts during the season and has never had a failure since it was delivered 5 years ago. Every connection is shrink tubed and properly routed so the wires will not rub through non grommet-ed holes or burn from radiant exhaust heat.

Hope the explanation helps. Thank you all again for the kind words of support.

Kirk

Always great to see the work of a skilled someone, regardless of the skill

I did spot other than the typical bushings sold by many vendors in the suspension arms. What kind are the ones you used in this car Kirk?

quote:

Originally posted by Kirk Evans:
Norbert,

Please drop me a note at amerisport@gmail.com for some off line details.

Kirk

done

quote:

Originally posted by Kid:
Always great to see the work of a skilled someone, regardless of the skill

I whole heartedly agree 100%. There is a combined skill set on this forum that could compete with the best worldwide. I'm here to learn and hopping to help.

I did spot other than the typical bushings sold by many vendors in the suspension arms. What kind are the ones you used in this car Kirk?

The fronts are MAP's in Florida and the rears were in the car and the customer did not want to change them. I think they are originally from Hall---red urethane with center sleeves. I would not have re-installed them if they were the first design without sleeves. The urethane was still good--a bit softer than I prefer but OK to use. IMHO

Hi Kirk ,

indeed.. i found in the car's documents that the car was send to Auto Exotica by Shelby Automotive for smog equiqment ( all removed now ) and this was confirmed (???? ) by Kirk Evans, pre Amerisport . Smiler (quote)



The smog info car was Carroll's GTS converted in 85 right after Carlini's GT5 and we were just starting the GT5-S assembly program with 9381. The GTS was later converted into a turbo charged Chrysler powered BEAST!. I think I've told the ride story his driver gave me on there 1/8 mile test track in California ---OMG--- I had my own twin turbo test Pantera there and on the track which was quite 935 turbo Porsche fast but no where near the GTS Chrysler turbo warp 9 fast.



Your car has far more history with AmeriSport inc. In those early days I made many trips to DC getting educated to properly file all of the necessary documents needed to be an automobile manufacture in the US or A.



Maybe I should tell some of the fun and not so fun stories of those days---where would I post something like this George? You don't have a "OMG what was I thinking" or maybe "days of grandeur" category. We all could post on those.

AAAAAAA memory lane. Lot's of stories about those years and what might have been.

Kirk, We all love hearing about the history and stories!

Amazing thread and a beautiful rebuild of a worthy car. It is in our neck of the woods and looks fantastic in person!

LS

PS-I have the actual OEM factory front wheels from this car (seen in the first few pics of the thread) if anyone is interested!

Thank you LS.---The owner is a great guy.

OK Rapid, here's a bit of history that has not been told.

In 1987, we started designing a new look for the car. We did a dozen or so paper sketches several of which I took to the factory to show them. The jest of showing them the concept art was always OMG! don't let Mr. Detomaso see those---he will get very angry. My question back was always Why?---there was allot more said. All I can say today is the people who were working the factory in those days were fantastic and very supportive of the AmeriSport project and my efforts personally.

During this time, the factory, through there primary trim company, was working on a totally new interior design. They showed me the results which were not so good so I asked them to please let me work on the inside so I could develop a look that will compliment the final outside re-design.

We played with many designs in an effort to keep the original Pantera GT5-S feel but to hopefully make the car look like it belonged to the late 80s---which is easer said than done. Here is one of the early rendering concept sketches of the cars back end from that time period. I wanted a new wing look so we played with several designs---this was one which did not go anywhere.

Another shot of one possible front side detail

We were dealing with 2.5 MPH DOT crash requirements so the bumper had to have impact ability. The final design was never built but was about half of the size of the picture below--about 3" in additional length rather that the 6" The larger design was prototyped and installed on 3 cars. It did not have this side look---these are just to show everyone how many different looks we played with back in the day.

A bit extreme---I wonder what could have been done with the software we have today rather than pencil sketches. Thanks for looking---Good night.