Skip to main content

Replies sorted oldest to newest

This car is easy to identify because it has an odd binnacle on the front hood. Somewhere along the line it also lost the DOT smog equipment, probably early on.

My records show this car as having been imported into the US by Carroll Shelby, who had Kirk Evans do the EPA certification for him through Auto Exotica in August of 1985. Shelby sold it in January 1986 to a Dr. Stan Drab in Illinois (along with two other cars; #9426 & #9428).  In October of 2002, Drab sold it to Percy Hill, who had Pat Mical (Performance Automotive Technology in Tyngsboro, MA) modify the front control arms for additional caster. Hill also had Hunt Automotive in Ft Myers, Florida do extensive work on the car including new Hedman headers, a Brullien exhaust from Pantera Parts Connection, long throw slave, new 450/550 lbs springs, rotary a/c compressor, new factory headliner, 7/8 inch rear sway bar, stainless steel water lines, etc.. In 2004, Hill then sold it to Doug Burlingame in Florida, who modified the engine as follows:

Holly 650 cfm Double Pumper Carb.
Aluminum Intake
High Torque Starter.
140A Alternator.
Fuel Pump & Filter.
One Piece SS Valves.
Hydraulic Lifters.
Alumium Roller Rockers.
Springs & Retainers.
Pistons & Rings.
Throw Out Bearing.
Holly Air Cleaner.
400w Audio Amplifier.
Push Rods.
Dual Roller Chain & Gears.
Edelbrock Cam Kit.

From Burlingame it went to Norbert Van de Walle in Belgium in 2009 and seems to have lost its DOT bumper at about this time. Norbert sold it to Koen Heuts in Oostmalle, Belgium, but I lost track of it after that.

As for the price, Drab paid Shelby $25,952 for it. In 2002 it was listed for sale in Long Island, NY for $55,000. In December of 2009 it listed for $75,500 but sold for $69,000. In 2011 it was listed with Flying Red Baron, which is Koen Heuts' shop, for $85,000. Koen Heuts, by the way, currently runs Speed 8 Classics.

These past sale prices are, of course, not an indication of what the value would be today. A better guide would be to look at what #9461 sold for. This GT5-S  had been in Shelby's collection since he purchased it until it sold last year for $226,240 USD.

Because #9425 has been substantially modified from stock and because it was owned by Shelby only very briefly, I expect it may have less value for collectors but, being an apparently well sorted car it may have more value for someone who actually wants to drive it.

I believe Simon knows this Pantera well, is friends with Koen Heuts and is the expert on valuation of late model cars, so I would be very interested in his opinion.

I am wondering about a couple of claims made on the Rand auction site:

https://inventory.randluxury.c...tomaso-pantera-gt5-s

This is the first I have heard of this car being a "personal gift" from Tom Tjaarda to Shelby. Until and unless there is some evidence produced of that claim, I will be very sceptical. Also, the claim that, "Carroll Shelby ... designed special one off high reving (sic) engine heads specifically for this Pantera" is something that hopefully Kirk Evans will be able to confirm if he reads this thread, but it sounds fishy to me because Shelby owned the car for only a very brief period of time.

Attachments

Images (2)
  • #9425 - 1986 Pantera GT5-S - Auto Exotica DOT modifications
  • #9425 - 1986 Pantera GT5-S - Carroll Shelby sale to Dr Stan Drab
Last edited by peterh

The car was a relatively recent purchase from Koen for  anticipated resale stateside. The owners name is Phil. Lives in New York, has a vacation property here in North Miami close to us. I know what he paid but that's his business if he wishes to divulge, client confidentiality. Suffice to say, he paid up for the car, he didn't steal it by any means. Phil places extreme emphasis on the Shelby connection. Keep in mind the white one [with the said Shelby connection mentioned above]  sold for $225k with NO DRIVETRAIN.

Thanks for the additional information, Sharkey. And thanks for the reminder that the other Shelby had no drivetrain. I should have mentioned that it was in poor condition to boot.

Can you shed any light on the claims about this car having been a gift from Tom Tjaarda, or that Shelby had special one-off heads made for it?

Rand Auctions replied to my inquiry with a couple of new documents, but not with any documentation of the claimed one-off special heads designed by Shelby and installed by Kirk Evans. Nor was any documentation supplied to back up the claim on their web site that the car was a gift from Tom Tjaarda to Shelby. On the contrary, the documentation shows Shelby purchased the car, along with two others in the same order.

Attachments

Images (2)
  • #9425 - Factory Invoice
  • #9425 - Letter from factory to Carroll Shelby re confirmation of order

All 3 bodies were shipped directly to AmeriSport, Carol never saw them, just a profit project to him. His personal GTS I homoligated is for sale in Georgia????. The white GT5-S is being restored in California using the turbo Dodge. The Discovery Channel is doing a special show about it. That car was a direct import sent to my shop and was later modified but never properly converted, it became a test beater rather than being crushed. Sorry for any typos, on my phone at 430 am.

Last edited by kirkevans

Add Reply

Post
×
×
×
×
Link copied to your clipboard.
×