Pantera factory options

Steve,

What is your vin#? That will Help.

Steve

Vin is THPNNE06966. When I look in the shop manual in group 10, vehicle identification, it shows that "NE" should correspond to Dec '73 but the door plate says 3/74

AFAIK the trim was never blacked out from the factory. It is a PO modification. Got a picture of the script?

quote:

My '74L has polished bright work around the windows

I am the current keeper of #6791 and My'74L has polished bright work around the windows also.

Here's a pic...maybe

quote:

Originally posted by SteveD:
Here's a pic...maybe

Judging by the photo, your car was optioned for the Australian or New Zealand market

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Judging by the photo, your car was optioned for the Australian or New Zealand market

So funny - the world does not end at "Dinosaur Caves Park" LOL

Fixed it for you, its a gravity thing

Silver Panteras had 100 extra horsepower the others didn't.

True.

quote:

Originally posted by George P:
Silver Panteras had 100 extra horsepower the others didn't.

True.

yes they do , strange , it was a option so they could at least keep up with the OEM red ones .

Steeler; Yes,your cropped pic looks better. I amazed myself that I could post one at all. And you even know where Dinosaur Caves Park is! So best guess, do you guys think the factory painted the script on the car?
Steve

I doubt the script is factory installed.

SteveD, your question of whether there were options for U.S-bound Panteras depends on when the car was imported and by whom. If it was '73/'74 and imported by Ford who had the U.S. franchise, there were NO options at all except for the well known U.S. GTS 'decal-option' found only on 155 '73-74 cars that have 'GTS' in their registration serial numbers. Euro GTS were different and do not have GTS in their serials. During that time Ford had already halted production, put the Pantera project up for sale and wasn't going to spend one more penny on it.

On the other hand, if it was sold in '73-'74 in Europe by DeTomaso sPa, there were quite a number of options available, from GR-3 upgrades to special seats and headlights, Weber intakes etc, depending on the country the car was to go to. There's an addendum to the Illustrated Parts Manual of 1973 that was published in early '75 listing a number of options that obviously were not instantly developed on 1 Jan '75. But none of them were ever available or even mentioned by Ford or its dealers.

And of course all these parts plus more were available from '75-on, on any Panteras sold after DeTomaso bought the remnants back from Ford. 'Course at that time, there was no Internet and the U.S. was in panic-mode trying to keep any gray-market cars out of the country since they MIGHT not meet the rapidly-changing smog rules. Later, they all relaxed a bit. But as I said, it depends. Indeed, most answers about DeTomaso start with that phrase.....

Thanks Bosswrench. Based upon the member's comments, it does seem that my Pantera script must have been added by the dealer or at some time later. I just found it interesting that someone would take the time to paint it on rather than apply a decal.
Steve

quote:

I just found it interesting that someone would take the time to paint it on rather than apply a decal.

Back not-too-many years ago, available replacement scripts/badges were either well-used or rather crudely cast & plated. Both options were expensive. Nowadays, they are water-jet-cut via CNC from stainless steel, matching the stock trim, and are pretty cheap for the quality. Your car might just have been owned by a picky person with access to an artistic painter. Keep your unique script clear-coated and it should last indefinitely.