When my car was painted, the holes in the rear of the body for the "DeTomaso" and "Pantera" emblems were mistakenly filled. I have photos of the approximate location but is there any spec or template that someone can provide so the new holes can be drilled precisely? Thanks
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What year? Not sure it makes a difference but I have seen emblems with different widths between the pins.
it's a 1972, car 3244
Try scrutinizing the back of the panel in engine compartment. Look for any indentations in the finish. If you can find such it is likely a hole for the emblem. Once you find one of the of the holes then the others might be more detectable.
As Steve said, look for bondo that has squeezed through the hole and is protruding on the backside of the panel.
You cannot see the backside of the panel.
FORESTG is correct - you cannot see the back of the panel and there are no dimples or indications from the front where the original mounting holes were...I am looking for measurements off of the rear tail lamps, deck lid edge or other datum point so i can re-mount the DeTomaso and Pantera emblems to the right of the left rear tail lamp and left of the right rear tail lamp, respectively
Rocky - that is perfect and much much appreciated (and I have the same exact stainless ruler so I can easily line them up now) - Thank you
The holes are definitely visible on my Pushbutton car. My other car is a 72 and I recall seeing the holes on it as well. The emblems are currently off the Pushbutton and I can see all three holes. Here is a crude photo showing two of the holes for the Pantera emblem.
It would be impossible to secure the pegs on emblems if the holes were not visible.
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Glad to be of service.
My car (5357) is like Steve’s, where there is a flange of sorts that hangs over some of the holes, but I can see them. I put the retainers on the pegs from inside the trunk as Steve described.
Go ahead and drill new holes, then you will kick yourself that you missed the originals by a few fractions. Yes you can see them, use a mirror. All you need is to get ONE on each side, then hold the emblem up to it to get the others. Unless your car has been modified and they are covered up.
Thanks - Appreciate the recommendation of using a mirror and looking from inside the rear trunk. Tried that extensively at first - but the interior of my engine bay was sprayed black at the time the exterior of the car was painted and there are no signs whatsoever of the original holes.
Also stuffed my fingers in there as far as possible to feel for any "bondo nipples" but NG - the visibility in this area is severely dampened by sheet metal around trunk and rear tail lights...Hence the request for the measurements.
My other alternative is to cut the pins off the back of the emblems (forego pin mounting) and use the 3M product (thin but strong adhering double sided tape) to put them on that way
Or just move them a quarter inch higher or lower to ensure you miss the original holes.
I'll get measurements tomorrow if you can wait.
One would think that they used a jig to locate the emblems.
You can buy a cheap bore scope that may work for you if there is a small hole to feed it through. Or make one then use a snap plug. But then how do you measure it ? Try looking at it with a 10x jeweler's loop.
My 9193 is original so I also will measure for you if needed.
Could be some fun Pantera trivia to know the location of others.
We do that all the time on restorations. There are 6 holes from factory as you know. All you need do is find ONE on each side. From there, it's simple.
Husker - the measurements with the emblems removed are great...I haven't drilled any holes yet so your measurements with the ones from Rocky are very helpful - ty
I was in a hurry - packing to go out of town but here is what I got. Caveat - measurements with decimals were made with a "high precision" Harbor Freight Pittsburg dial caliper.
I measured to hole centers. Topmost vertical measurements made with caliper jaw on top lip of tail panel. Horizontal measurements are with the jaw eyeballed at the point the tailpanel radius begins to create the tail light recesses.
This is chassis 1418 an early 1971.
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That measurement on bottom right that I covered up with tape is 2.856"