Trading my 1986 corvete for Pantera

HECK YES! GO FOR IT, BUT BE FORWARNED PARTS WILL BE YOUR BIGGEST PROBLEM. YOU KNOW YOU CAN GET VET PARTS AT EVERY NAPA/KRAGEN/CHEVY DEALERSHIP! BUT HOW MANY 30 YEAR OLD CARS, TO THIS DAY, DO YOU KNOW, STILL TURN HEADS AND DRAW LARGE CROWDS? THE FIRST TIME YOU TURN YOUR HEAD AROUND AND SEE THAT BAD-A*SED 351 CLEVELAND THROBBING AND ROARING JUST BEHIND YOUR HEAD, YEH, JUST TRY AND KEEP THE EAR TO EAR SMILE OFF YOUR FACE!! AND LASTLY, WHEN I STOPPED AT A STOP LIGHT JUST RECENTLY, AND AT ALL FOUR SIDES SAT A CORVETTE, AND ONE OF THEM WAS BEING DRIVEN BY AN 80 YEAR OLD GRANDMA!!, I KNEW THAT I HAD PURCHASED THE MACHINE I HAD ALWAYS WANTED, AND WAS NOT MENT FOR EVERYONE! SO GO GET YOURS, MAKE SURE IT'S NICE, LOOK IT OVER VERY CAREFULLY, OFCOURSE TEST DRIVE IT, AND WELCOME TO THE CLUB, GABE!! ALL THE BEST , MARLIN.

Go for it, I have owned several Sports Cars,
MG, Healy, Jag, but none are anything like
the Pantera. Brut Power, Looks & Handling.

Drive a Pantera or two "vigorously", prefereably on a wide parking lot, autocross or other safe place before you decide. Quite a few Corvette guys have switched, but if you're used to the lazy handling of the 'Vette or a Z-28, a Pantera's quickness may be a shock. Briefly, in a fast turn, a 'Vette's steering wheel can be twitched back & forth with almost no effect on the direction of the car, for a measurable time. A Pantera will swap ends before you can take a breath if treated this way! DeTomaso parts availability is restricted to a dozen or so but the Pantera owners support group is outstanding and of course engine stuff is as available as for any other American motor.

Gabe,
I'm not trying to play devils advocate but I believe you will find a decent Pantera going for at least $22,500...and that is basic. I have no idea of what your Corvette will bring (I have one too), but be VERY careful of trading a decent Corvette for a Pantera with major problems. Try and find someone with Pantera experience to help you.