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To be, or not to be………. (restore a GT5 replica to original condition, or leave it as-is?)

banzaibanzaiMember
Hi folks. In 2013 I bought my first and only Pantera, 1971 s/n 1685. Darryl, the previous owner, converted it to a GT5 look car. I was painted Gold with the following specifications:
Interior: 84 Corvette seats black naugahyde
Paddy Hopkirk steering wheel
Diest seat belts
Vader power windows
Vader rear view camera.
A/C rotary compressor and front mounted condenser.
Exterior: Body has been media blasted
Group 5 kit made and installed by Hot Rods and Stuff.
Delta wing.
Front deck is fiberglass with vents.
Wheels & Tires Etoile 3 piece wheels front 9.51x16
rear 10.5x17
Bridgestone Potenza RE-11 SL front 245/45ZR16
Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 XL rear 335/35ZR17
Electrical Vader head lights
Hella driving lights.
Cooling: Radiator 6 row copper lay down custom from Spar
twin Flex a Lite fans and custom shroud.
Fan in engine bay and largest front fan thermostatically controlled even with engine off.
Hall stainless tanks and stainless pipes.
Aluminum water pump.
Brakes: Wilwood Super Lites front calipers with 12,19” vented rotors Rotors 1,25" wide)
Wilwood HD 48 Curved Vane Spec-37 rotors
Willwood Aluminium Tandem Master Cylinder 260-8555-BK
Engine: Long block built by J. Bittle American
355 cu in
TRW 10.5:1 pistons
Crower Cam #15266
Edelbrock Torker intake
Holley 3310, 750 CFM double pumper
Holley electric fuel pump and regulator with canister fuel filter.
MSD-6A
Unilite Distributor
monster wires.
Big bore headers and mufflers.
Aluminum flywheel.
ZF: Ring gear safety wired.
Clutch
Suspension Delrin bushings


The car was sitting for some time, so I did all the mechanicals to bring her back to the road. I replaced the steering rack using a F308 part, re-done the brakes, new tires, dual clutch, temporary black paint… I drove the car for some time and now it is time to restore her, so this is my dilemma …….. how far should I go?

As all my previous cars were Alfa Romeos, GTV, Sprint, Giulia,…. my experience tells me to go back to the closest to her original state. But as I learned in my short experience with Panteras and reading our forum, maybe is not necessary.

The original paint was light blue. During the GT5 conversion, they cut the wheel well fenders. I have the pieces of trimmed fenders to re-weld them in place. Lots of items missing: Campagnolos & proper tires, seats, windshield chrome moldings, hood (without holes) and more.

So I have to decide between an original state restoration, something intermediate in narrow body, or keep her as GT5.

I know there is a matter of personal taste, but yours experience will be appreciated.

Some pictures attached about the three states of the car. (Blue one taken from the web, the others from 1685)

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bosswrenchbosswrenchMember
Depends on what you expect to do with it that you can't at present. Since all the mods done thus far are engine with a few for appearance, some handling mods to the chassis would probably enhance your driving pleasure: bump-steer correction, extra front camber, correct any rear subframe sags that give excess negative caster in the rear, maybe add bolt-on chassis stiffeners. Some owners radically stiffen the whole car by seam-welding all the spot-welded panels. Then you don't need the chassis stiffener kits but you will need a new paint job!
George PGeorge PAdmin.
In today's market I see three courses of action you may take:

(1) Do what is necessary to make this car a very "authentic" GT5 replica in both appearance and mechanical specification.
(2) Restore the car to its original livery, including color, interior, engine, etc.
(3) Make the car into "your" dream car, a car that you shall enjoy owning and driving, and don't worry about the resale market.

Since the fender arches have already been trimmed for the wheel flares, I would lean towards the first choice. There are not enough GT5 models to supply the demand. Some states in the US make ownership of a factory GT5 difficult due to tail pipe emissions regulations, in those states a GT5 replica with a 1971 - 1974 build date makes ownership of a GT5 easier. For those two reasons a GT5 replica that closely adheres to the factory version, and has been updated to GT5 spec with a high degree of craftsmanship, has value for many buyers.
banzaibanzaiMember
quote:
Originally posted by Bosswrench:
Depends on what you expect to do with it that you can't at present. Since all the mods done thus far are engine with a few for appearance, some handling mods to the chassis would probably enhance your driving pleasure: bump-steer correction, extra front camber, correct any rear subframe sags that give excess negative caster in the rear, maybe add bolt-on chassis stiffeners. Some owners radically stiffen the whole car by seam-welding all the spot-welded panels. Then you don't need the chassis stiffener kits but you will need a new paint job!

Thank you for the recommendations. I like the idea of seam-welding, as I'm planning to do a bare metal restoration should be the way to go.
banzaibanzaiMember
quote:
Originally posted by George P:
In today's market I see three courses of action you may take:

(1) Do what is necessary to make this car a very "authentic" GT5 replica in both appearance and mechanical specification.
(2) Restore the car to its original livery, including color, interior, engine, etc.
(3) Make the car into "your" dream car, a car that you shall enjoy owning and driving, and don't worry about the resale market.

Since the fender arches have already been trimmed for the wheel flares, I would lean towards the first choice. There are not enough GT5 models to supply the demand. Some states in the US make ownership of a factory GT5 difficult due to tail pipe emissions regulations, in those states a GT5 replica with a 1971 - 1974 build date makes ownership of a GT5 easier. For those two reasons a GT5 replica that closely adheres to the factory version, and has been updated to GT5 spec with a high degree of craftsmanship, has value for many buyers.


Thanks George for the good explanation of the options. Probably I will maintain the GT5 look. The perfect moment for that decision will be when I strip to bare metal.

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