New guy for Mangustas

Welcome to the community! I too fell for the Detomaso marque. I first sat in the Pantera at age 17. Yeah, I was hooked. 30 years later I bought one sight unseen and had it delivered. When I opened the door and looked at the small space inside, I wondered if I would even fit. I guess when I was 17 I was just a skinny kid and not the 230 6'1 I am now. I changed to a Vette seat and lowerd the driver floor. I have never been in a Mangusta, but the word on the list is it is even tighter. Good luck, on your journey to ownership. Bill 1362

Thanks for your kind words!

Cheers,
Janne

Janne, I guess your fit will depend on you body ratio and driving position. Usually if you are over 6ft it becomes a challenge to fit. At 5'11", my seat is about 2" from the rearmost position, and my head is 2-3" from the headliner. The Mangusta is not (like) the Pantera a good design for dropped floor pans and the seat has zero room to make it shallower.

Still good incentive to try and sit in one. Hope you fit. Welome to the group.

Denis

I’m 6’ 6” + and on the thin side. I fit comfortably in my 71 Pantera that has the stock thin 71 seats and a smaller steering wheel. Absolutely do not need dropped floor pans. I don’t fit in the later Pantears that had the thicker seats and if it has the stock size wheel. I tried crawling into a Mangusta the other day and I didn’t fit very well.

Mike

It does indeed sound like I'm going to be lucky to fit in.

On the other hand, suberb concours is not my thing either. I prefer something I can just drive and enjoy without worrying about resale value and stains in the carpet. Maybe I just need to man up and prepare to cut the floor out for starters? Isn't this why the tools we invented in the first place; to shape the things around you?

Damn, once you give your little finger to the mods it usually escalates, leading to all kinds of headaches of hot rodding. (I know, there's the weird enjoyment as well).

Maybe I just need to get my head examined.

Cheers,
Janne

Janne,

If your going to be in the San Francisco/Santa Rosa area at the end of March, come to our monthly PCNC (Pantera Club of Northern California) meeting in Sunnyvale.
http://www.panteraclubnorcal.com/

Steve Liebenow usually drives his Goose (weather permitting). You'll also see quite a variety of Panteras, and might even get a ride or two. I think the Pantera is a better sorted car with better parts availability, and it's much better suited to tall drivers. Just my 2-cents, but I'll let those who know more say more.

Hi Garth,

Thanks for the invitation. Currently it looks like I'm going to be there in the week of the 7th. Early in the week in Santa Rosa, and the weekend of 11-13th in San Jose. Wasn't able to find from your club website next year meetings yet.

I agree that Pantera would have its advantages and I do like the lines of particularly the early ones a lot. I even have one Individual runner EFI, aussie headed cleveland collecting dust in my garage. Got sidetracked with windsor stroker for my Mustang, before getting it together.

Seeing both in one place with two eyes would probably help a lot.

You guys are light weights, I'm 6'-2" plus and just a hare over 275. Built to rock, okay more like a upside down light bulb. I shoe horn my fat arse in my pantera kind of like a controled free fall. Once inside I kind of resemble Mr Incredible (the kids movie) in the small car. When I push the clutch pedel in, my head hits the roof. One of my size 13s can cover all 3 pedels, just no room for the other foot.
Getting out is more of a spilling action. I open the door and sort of dump myself on the ground until I regain composure.
All this, and I still like the dam car.
I love Mangustas, and bid on one at a Miami auction at which time I understood that I would never be able to drive it. Not without loosing half my body weight and shrinking a couple inches. It would however look great in my living room as a coffee table.

Ugghh!!!! you guys are killing me. I'm 6ft4 anywhere from 275 to 290 at any point in time. Built like a neck breaker. Doesn't sound very encouraging for me to hear about these dimensional challenges.

Jeeze,, I think we have a trend going here. At least we keep the COG low..Power to weight..

I always thought they had good food in Italy and would have taken it into account in the designs. They even put the horsepower to move the (m)ass.

I'm meagerly 245 pounds, rather evenly distributed, and 11.5 paddles, so theoretically I should fit in Pantera in a greased wetsuit. Long back and shorter hands probably guarantee my head hits the roof or feet steering wheel.

...but there are other great fun things in life that are not always so comfortable.

I wonder if the typical panteras sit a little lopsided with the driver in? LOL

I suggest we meet any day between mon/7th and thurs/10th for lunch (on me) at nearby Infineon Raceways, where you can "test fit" in my 1972 Pantera L #4744, as well as experience the many interesting "gearhead" things available to see and do there.

http://www.infineonraceway.com/fanguide/maps/area/

I'm also curious.......Do you have or see many Audi TT's in Finland?

Good luck on your Mangusta/Pantera search....Ron

Hi Ron,

Thank you for your hospitality! Monday would work great for me anytime, from tuesday morning I'm going to be working full days until early afternoon Thursday.

Lots of TT's (well, relatively lot's at least) in Finland. Particularly the quattros are popular, as they're equally fun in wintertime. Nothing like the crazy feeling of driving light and fast 4wd car on snowy surface...

Cheers,
Janne

Janne, judging by the way 60's-'70s Italian sports cars were designed, the average Italian driver must be about 5'4", with very long arms, short legs and a high pain threshold.... But by changing the seat rake (possible on early seats) or dropping the floor up to 2"(any Panteras) and even spacing the pedals out into the front trunk, virtually any body contour can be accomodated. We all need that high pain threshold, though. The Club even has a couple of handicapped Pantera owners that use hand controls. I'm 6'2" & 200 lbs, and I've driven Panteras (30 yrs) including with a helmet on, Mangustas (30 miles) and even a Lambo Miura (5 miles- and not to be repeated!) Try a few- you'll fit in one.

quote:

Wasn't able to find from your club website next year meetings yet.

Last Thursday of the month.

Hi Guys,

Got the opportunity to fit myself into Ron's Pantera as well as Steve's Mangusta. Thanks a lot guys for your hospitality!! It was a hoot to chat with both of you, just incredible amount of experience about four wheels going on there! The ride in Pantera was incredibly cool as well.

Thought I'd post here my thoughts and pics how I fit in.

The Pantera pic does not tell too much, but I did fit in surprisingly well. My head contacted the headliner just slightly, but the biggest issue was with right foot. The console is wider top front near steering wheel, where my foot went under dash, squeezed between the stock steering wheel and console. Column extension or dished wheel would help. The toughest deal was the very narrow spacing of the pedals (big wheel well extending deep into the car). I'd need either driving shoes or some modification of the pedals to get my big foot on the throttle pedal without hitting brake at the same time. So, I'd say minor mods and no need to carve the floorpan.

The Mangusta was much smaller. My head hit the headliner much deeper, but did not go all the way to steel. Feet and steering you can see from the pic. As is, no chance to get my foot under wheel enough to use brakes. . Surprisingly enough, otherwise there was much more room under dash and pedals were LOT more wide spaced, no issues at all with them. If the steering wheel could be spaced way up where it lies it might work, but would be really uncomfortable in use without lowering floors. Maybe something creative with seats woud be needed as well . Reaching to dasboard is tough and requires bending head down and thinking about moves.
Not impossible, but much more uncomfortable even with some mods. It's fantastic looking car, but is it so much more fantastic than pantera... Would probably need to be some kind of project to justify the measures it'd take. Did I say it's fantastic looking car?

Cheers,
Janne

Hi Janne, I wear a size 15 shoe and it was dependant on what shoes I wore to be able to use the pedals without my shoe interfering with the adjacent pedal. I bought a pair of Snell rated driving shoes and they are narrower then most street shoes and now I have so much room to use the pedals that I dont have to twist my foot any to push on the pedals.
One point the console is the only thing now that bugs me when I drive. The corner of the console/dash cuts into my leg when driving. But just a little nuisance.
Jeff

Janne,
It was a pleasure to meet you and share 4744, and this photo from a different angle also shows you to be a little bit better fit in a Pantera. I have never sat in a Mangusta myself, and it looks like I would have many of the same troubles as you did.
I hope you get a chance to visit again, and much success to you this year while racing that beautiful red (tire smoking) Mustang of yours!
Ron

Terve Janne.

My pantera is comming to Finland hopefully 12th april There is not much mangustas around here. I know two project mangustas forsale in Sweden.
The problem is when car is in cardboardboxes you never know what is missing...
cheers. Peter

quote:

I have never been in a Mangusta, but the word on the list is it is even tighter.

I own a Pantera L and a Mangusta, and can tell you that the above quote is a big understatement. I have no problems fitting in the Pantera, I have to drive with my head leaning to one side in the Mangusta. I cannot drive with shoes on in the Mangusta. The goose is much, much tighter than a Pantera. A goose is so rare, beautiful and all-around show-stopping that the tightness issue can be somewhat overlooked, imho.

You probably foumd the only true solution. Get them both.

I'm torn. Pantera is more sensible and the early ones are beautiful. Mangusta is stunning but small. Want it really, but it doesn't make any sense.
Although I've always been lucky when I went by the feel, not sense, but...
Gotta decide what to pursue, or let it float stil. Uhh.

Mangusta FTW!