What got you guys into these cars specifically????
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quote:specifically????
I own my Pantera because -
1 - It is beautiful.
2 - It's heart is a Ford.
3 - It is, especially in the realm of Exotics, affordable.
4 - It is self-serviceable.
5 - Insurance is very reasonable.
6 - There is a wonderful support group known as The De Tomaso Family.
7 - And did I mention, IT IS BEAUTIFUL!!!
Larry
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... In 2001 I inheirited some money. I WAS going to go buy a Corvette! UNTIL I stopped at a RedLight, looked up and saw 4 corvettes sitting at the Intersection, each pointing four different directions of the Compass. The Pantera is an 'AmidShip' with one of Fords' Best Engines. Only room for Two! That was enough for Me!!...
In my neighborhood the most exotic car I seen at my young impressionable age of 15 was a Pantera. When you add the cool sounding monster cam V8 muscle to the mix and a car that looks fantastic 35 years later I'm hooked.
No computers, fuel injection, anti-lock brakes, are all added bonuses.
No computers, fuel injection, anti-lock brakes, are all added bonuses.
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Doesnt sound like you are ever selling Deeb huh?
Well I have always been into fast cars, and not always the more common cars.
As a kid I loved Ferraris and lambos
When I saw one of these all kitted up it looked like that and I loved the look of it.
Over the years I have built and raced may cleveland engined cars and know what it takes to make them go.
I was all set to buy a ferarri, untill I drove one. and when I drove it, it really burst my bubble
So started looking at the Pantera's again, and figured any engine parts are low cost and I can fix it serice it myself. Plus I did not want to be known as a ferarri ****. ie all stuck up and snobby !
I am a street machiner at heart ! and this is the ultimate Ford coupe ! ( i know it is not all ford !)
When I looked at one locally, it started up, I closed my eyes and I could hear a mega tough street machine, I opened my eyes and it was this Pantera. It was then I knew I had to get one ! I know it will be hard to get in and out of. Hard to drive, but visually it will be mega tough, and it will sound mega tough. Plus no one will know what it is,yet they all love how it looks. Oh and i won't mind showing it off !
As a kid I loved Ferraris and lambos
When I saw one of these all kitted up it looked like that and I loved the look of it.
Over the years I have built and raced may cleveland engined cars and know what it takes to make them go.
I was all set to buy a ferarri, untill I drove one. and when I drove it, it really burst my bubble
So started looking at the Pantera's again, and figured any engine parts are low cost and I can fix it serice it myself. Plus I did not want to be known as a ferarri ****. ie all stuck up and snobby !
I am a street machiner at heart ! and this is the ultimate Ford coupe ! ( i know it is not all ford !)
When I looked at one locally, it started up, I closed my eyes and I could hear a mega tough street machine, I opened my eyes and it was this Pantera. It was then I knew I had to get one ! I know it will be hard to get in and out of. Hard to drive, but visually it will be mega tough, and it will sound mega tough. Plus no one will know what it is,yet they all love how it looks. Oh and i won't mind showing it off !
For me, it was a natural evolution from what I was currently driving. I bought a 1986 Mustang GT new when I was 18. I loved that car and progressively modified it. This was waaaay before Mustangs became what they are today.
The '86 was the very first Mustang with fuel injection, so there was no aftermarket for it at the time. Alot of things I had to figure out and modify for myself, not like today where every possible mod is but an advertisement away! I had already done the motor with aluminum heads and a custom fuel injection setup, a world class T-5 tranny with a dual friction clutch, and a slightly narrowed 9" rearend with 5 lug disc brakes all around, and 16" Enkei rims. I also installed Tokico shocks and struts that were electronically controlled from a 3-way switch in the cockpit. The rear seats were gone, and Recaros replaced the fronts.
Mustangs of that era are notriously ass-light. The 9" rear made a dramamtic improvement with that, but I was planning on grafting in an independent rear suspension. I had no clue how to go about it, or which car would be a good IRS candidate, but I WAS going to make it happen! (The '89 T-Bird popped up a short while later.)
One night in the summer of '87 while at a club on Long Island, NY (it was called OBI, for those who may remember), I met a very hot chick from the Island. Melissa and I sat in the parking lot and talked all night about all kinds of things until the sun came up. She was also a car buff, as was her dad. She said, "Drive me home stud (ok, I threw the 'stud' in there), I want to show you what my father has in the garage, I know you'll appreciate it."
Shortly later, we arrive at her house and walked up to the garage just as the morning sunrays were lighting up the house in front of us. She opened the garage, and there it was! The dead on rear view of a white '72 Pantera. It looked brand spanking new! I was instantly in love. She then proceeded to give me the rundown of the car: mid-engined 351C, 4 wheel independent suspension, 4 wheel disc braks, etc. I couldn't even speak, I was just soaking it all in. Oh, and was drunk, and probably a little high too, so the impact was quite visceral!
Bottom line: It was everything that I wanted my Mustang to be, and then some. From that point on, my focus was on getting a Pantera. I'm still friends with her today, but at that time, I was saving every dime I could to buy that Pantera. Her father's brother bought the car new in '72, and he got it from him in '80. It had less than 10k miles on it! He was going to sell it to me for 23k in '92 or '93, but got hit by a truck and it was totalled just before I was to pick it up. Thankfully, he walked away without a scratch!
It wasn't until '98, when I was 30, that I got my first Pantera. I paid 15k for that red '74 that only needed a paint job, and not that badly. I really liked that Pantera. It was very tight, I built a 450hp Cleveland for it so it was very fast, and it was just tons of fun to drive aggressively. I put a huge glass tinted sunroof in it that took up the entire headliner area. When the roof was out, it felt like a different car! So open and airy. I wanted to make that car a targa in the worst way. It would have cost me a minimum of 40k to get it done, and I wasn't sure who I could trust to do it right. Then, after six years, another door opened quite unexpectedly...
I had been following my '86 GT5-S pavesi Targa since April of '95. Flashback to July of 1992; my beloved '86 Mustang GT got stolen, never to be heard from again. Needless to say, I was heartbroken. I came across my 5-S from an ad in some magazine (Hemmings?) and called the guy up to check it out. When I first laid eyes on it, I had a feeling of re-inCARnation. It was like my Mustang was coming back to me in a more evolved form. It was the same year ('86), and exact color combo as my Mustang! It was white with dark red interior, with black trim. It even had the black stripe of the targa roof running across the car, where my Mustang had a similar blck stripe running down the hood! It also had a fuel injected Ford engine. I knew right there in my heart that I would one day own that car!
I followed it from owner to owner for 8 years. Each time it changed hands, I would ask the person who sold it how I could contact the new owner. They always told me, and I would always call the new owner to introduce myself and tell them exactly how I felt about that particular Pantera. Then in September of '03, I got the call from the former owner that he wanted to sell. As luck would have it, I had the cash sitting in an account. The odd thing about it was that I was trying to buy a house and just couldn't find the right one. A deal had just fallen through, and I couldn't for the life of me understand why. Had it not, the money would have been gone. I got the call, bought the car, and right after that, found my house! I still had plenty of money for my house, I just would've put more down. I was also able to offset the cost of my '86 with the sale of my '74 a year later.
So alas, my dream had come to fruition! My Pantera ownership was a journey of evolution on several different levels. It truly is my dream car, and I'd never want to part with it!
Michael
The '86 was the very first Mustang with fuel injection, so there was no aftermarket for it at the time. Alot of things I had to figure out and modify for myself, not like today where every possible mod is but an advertisement away! I had already done the motor with aluminum heads and a custom fuel injection setup, a world class T-5 tranny with a dual friction clutch, and a slightly narrowed 9" rearend with 5 lug disc brakes all around, and 16" Enkei rims. I also installed Tokico shocks and struts that were electronically controlled from a 3-way switch in the cockpit. The rear seats were gone, and Recaros replaced the fronts.
Mustangs of that era are notriously ass-light. The 9" rear made a dramamtic improvement with that, but I was planning on grafting in an independent rear suspension. I had no clue how to go about it, or which car would be a good IRS candidate, but I WAS going to make it happen! (The '89 T-Bird popped up a short while later.)
One night in the summer of '87 while at a club on Long Island, NY (it was called OBI, for those who may remember), I met a very hot chick from the Island. Melissa and I sat in the parking lot and talked all night about all kinds of things until the sun came up. She was also a car buff, as was her dad. She said, "Drive me home stud (ok, I threw the 'stud' in there), I want to show you what my father has in the garage, I know you'll appreciate it."
Shortly later, we arrive at her house and walked up to the garage just as the morning sunrays were lighting up the house in front of us. She opened the garage, and there it was! The dead on rear view of a white '72 Pantera. It looked brand spanking new! I was instantly in love. She then proceeded to give me the rundown of the car: mid-engined 351C, 4 wheel independent suspension, 4 wheel disc braks, etc. I couldn't even speak, I was just soaking it all in. Oh, and was drunk, and probably a little high too, so the impact was quite visceral!
Bottom line: It was everything that I wanted my Mustang to be, and then some. From that point on, my focus was on getting a Pantera. I'm still friends with her today, but at that time, I was saving every dime I could to buy that Pantera. Her father's brother bought the car new in '72, and he got it from him in '80. It had less than 10k miles on it! He was going to sell it to me for 23k in '92 or '93, but got hit by a truck and it was totalled just before I was to pick it up. Thankfully, he walked away without a scratch!
It wasn't until '98, when I was 30, that I got my first Pantera. I paid 15k for that red '74 that only needed a paint job, and not that badly. I really liked that Pantera. It was very tight, I built a 450hp Cleveland for it so it was very fast, and it was just tons of fun to drive aggressively. I put a huge glass tinted sunroof in it that took up the entire headliner area. When the roof was out, it felt like a different car! So open and airy. I wanted to make that car a targa in the worst way. It would have cost me a minimum of 40k to get it done, and I wasn't sure who I could trust to do it right. Then, after six years, another door opened quite unexpectedly...
I had been following my '86 GT5-S pavesi Targa since April of '95. Flashback to July of 1992; my beloved '86 Mustang GT got stolen, never to be heard from again. Needless to say, I was heartbroken. I came across my 5-S from an ad in some magazine (Hemmings?) and called the guy up to check it out. When I first laid eyes on it, I had a feeling of re-inCARnation. It was like my Mustang was coming back to me in a more evolved form. It was the same year ('86), and exact color combo as my Mustang! It was white with dark red interior, with black trim. It even had the black stripe of the targa roof running across the car, where my Mustang had a similar blck stripe running down the hood! It also had a fuel injected Ford engine. I knew right there in my heart that I would one day own that car!
I followed it from owner to owner for 8 years. Each time it changed hands, I would ask the person who sold it how I could contact the new owner. They always told me, and I would always call the new owner to introduce myself and tell them exactly how I felt about that particular Pantera. Then in September of '03, I got the call from the former owner that he wanted to sell. As luck would have it, I had the cash sitting in an account. The odd thing about it was that I was trying to buy a house and just couldn't find the right one. A deal had just fallen through, and I couldn't for the life of me understand why. Had it not, the money would have been gone. I got the call, bought the car, and right after that, found my house! I still had plenty of money for my house, I just would've put more down. I was also able to offset the cost of my '86 with the sale of my '74 a year later.
So alas, my dream had come to fruition! My Pantera ownership was a journey of evolution on several different levels. It truly is my dream car, and I'd never want to part with it!
Michael
The exotic body style, the mid-ship V-8, and the exhaust sound.
The first Road & Track articles weren't 100% glowing, but all of the above characteristics pretty much blinded me to the criticisms. Over time, issues like rust, overheating, electrical gremlins, etc. couldn't overcome my first impressions. Then I heard one idling at a bank drive-up window, and watched/heard it drive away - done deal!
The style is so unique (even today) and the scarcity factor plays large as well.
The first Road & Track articles weren't 100% glowing, but all of the above characteristics pretty much blinded me to the criticisms. Over time, issues like rust, overheating, electrical gremlins, etc. couldn't overcome my first impressions. Then I heard one idling at a bank drive-up window, and watched/heard it drive away - done deal!
The style is so unique (even today) and the scarcity factor plays large as well.
I saw my first Pantera in 1971 and immediately fell in love with them. It became my dream car. Now I'm living the dream.
If I had made a logical decision, I could have purchased a very nice NSX for what I paid for 6018. I carefully contemplated which path to take for many years, and decided to follow my heart instead. No regrets.
6018 Video at Mayberry Lincoln Mercury
If I had made a logical decision, I could have purchased a very nice NSX for what I paid for 6018. I carefully contemplated which path to take for many years, and decided to follow my heart instead. No regrets.
6018 Video at Mayberry Lincoln Mercury
Wow Michael, you sure improved this cat! Which is another reason why we love these cars. Over time, and usually after owning a previous Pantera, we have all been able to build our dream cars.
Fortunately we started with such an awesome and timeless design in the first place, that the small touches we added made a huge difference in the end.
Fortunately we started with such an awesome and timeless design in the first place, that the small touches we added made a huge difference in the end.
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Larry summed us my reasons pretty well. There is also the thrill of having a car that is exclusive. You just don't see these cars on the street in Ohio. My favorite part of ownership is telling someone it has a Ford 351C in it and watching the expression on thier face change!
In my case the businessman I worked for at the time purchased one of the first pushbutton cars imported into the US @ a Lincoln-Mercury dealership in Miami ( he always replaced his Continental with a new one every year.) When he got home he tossed me the keys & wanted my opinion of the car - after milliseconds of thought 
I hopped in for a test drive. I can tell you he was lucky to get the car back,nothing on the street at that time even compared with it performance or looks wise.
I offered to trade him straight across for the '62 XKE convertible I'd bought from him just weeks earlier but he declined the deal-damn Took me longer than expected to finally get my dream car & now that I've got it it's definitely a KEEPER.
I hopped in for a test drive. I can tell you he was lucky to get the car back,nothing on the street at that time even compared with it performance or looks wise.I offered to trade him straight across for the '62 XKE convertible I'd bought from him just weeks earlier but he declined the deal-damn
Took me longer than expected to finally get my dream car & now that I've got it it's definitely a KEEPER.
I grew up in Queens N.Y. and lived near JFK during high school. When I was 16 and got my driver's license and I drove home from high for the first time, as I exited the Van Wyck Express Way, I saw a multicolor row of the most beautiful exotic cars I had ever seen. They were parked outside a shop that was dedicated to maintaning and and upgrading only Panteras. They were brought in from all over the east coast.
I would stop regularly to look at them and talk to the mechanics, which eventually let me sit in them - I was hooked. I have followed them for 26 years and the dream finally came true last year.
-William
#3331
I would stop regularly to look at them and talk to the mechanics, which eventually let me sit in them - I was hooked. I have followed them for 26 years and the dream finally came true last year.
-William
#3331
IT's the last exotic I will ever buy. -Because they are the only car I ever thought to look totally "right" whichever angle you look at it - well, 99% right - i'm still not sure about the body shape just over the rear wheel arch. Plus, where I live you might see a Ferrari once a month, a Lambo every 3 months - and i've only ever seen a Pantera in the flesh twice - once on a stand at the UK national classic car show in 1990, and mine.
(Plus I love telling those that think they have a clue that it's a hell of a lot rarer and faster than any '71 Ferrari)
(Plus I love telling those that think they have a clue that it's a hell of a lot rarer and faster than any '71 Ferrari)
Saw and HEARD one in 71 and had to have one. Took twenty-seven years but I got it!
Mike
Mike
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William,
The shop off of the Van Wyck Expwy you're referring to is MD Engineering, owned and operated by Mike DeGonnis. He still has his racing Panteras stored up over his office just inside the shop! I used to make special trips over the Whitestone Bridge from The Bronx (where I grew up in Pelham Bay) just to visit his shop. I would hang out for hours just checking all of the Panteras out, taking some pictures, and dreaming away. He was real cool about it. Now he converts city taxis and fleet vehicles to run on natural gas.
While there one time, I noticed a red flared Pantera with a black leather-like roof (with black interior?). It was Mike's personal ride, but it was years later that it hit me that it was the other GT5-S Pavesi Targa in the U.S. When I asked him about it, he confirmed it, but said he sold it years ago.
Good memories!
Are you still in Queens, or did you make the move out to the Island?
Michael
The shop off of the Van Wyck Expwy you're referring to is MD Engineering, owned and operated by Mike DeGonnis. He still has his racing Panteras stored up over his office just inside the shop! I used to make special trips over the Whitestone Bridge from The Bronx (where I grew up in Pelham Bay) just to visit his shop. I would hang out for hours just checking all of the Panteras out, taking some pictures, and dreaming away. He was real cool about it. Now he converts city taxis and fleet vehicles to run on natural gas.
While there one time, I noticed a red flared Pantera with a black leather-like roof (with black interior?). It was Mike's personal ride, but it was years later that it hit me that it was the other GT5-S Pavesi Targa in the U.S. When I asked him about it, he confirmed it, but said he sold it years ago.
Good memories!
Are you still in Queens, or did you make the move out to the Island?
Michael
My brother bought me a model car of the Gurney/Foyt 67 Mk IV. I was hooked on a car they only built nine of. So the Pantera was as close as I will ever come in my lifetime. BTW, the Pantera is a much better road car than the Mk IV.
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SHORT VERSION: Beautiful and approachable.
LONG VERSION: In Alabama, while in high school at least, it's all Fords, Chevies, Plymouths and such.
"Sports" car people and the "muscle" car crowd mixed, but about as often as 'real' Harley riders and investment-banker Harley posers with removeable tatoos. There was a tie-in, but it was distant.
I was clearly on the Sports Car side - MGs, TR-6s, Healeys, all 'vintage' because that's what I could afford.
Later, Alfas, clapped out 911s, and I traded pretty regularly to pay myself a little spending money while in college.
One day, while home for the weekend, I'd never seen a Pantera, yet a Yellow 72 appeared at an import car lot. The looks, the sound, the specs... and an engine I could have tuned anywhere.
That worked for me.
Years later, after maybe 4 more, I got so fired up I started a little publication about the market on Panteras (but it included Shelbys, Tigers, Cobras). My best one of the lot was a dark green 74 that was 'just right'. Sold it during the price run-up in 1990.
Sold that business and started a family. Ten years intervened, started another business. And after Ferrari and all that other sat in the garage, the Pantera bug bit again. It just made perfect sense.
Now, 30 years after High School, I'm a sports car guy with a Ford engine. Love every minute of it.
LONG VERSION: In Alabama, while in high school at least, it's all Fords, Chevies, Plymouths and such.
"Sports" car people and the "muscle" car crowd mixed, but about as often as 'real' Harley riders and investment-banker Harley posers with removeable tatoos. There was a tie-in, but it was distant.
I was clearly on the Sports Car side - MGs, TR-6s, Healeys, all 'vintage' because that's what I could afford.
Later, Alfas, clapped out 911s, and I traded pretty regularly to pay myself a little spending money while in college.
One day, while home for the weekend, I'd never seen a Pantera, yet a Yellow 72 appeared at an import car lot. The looks, the sound, the specs... and an engine I could have tuned anywhere.
That worked for me.
Years later, after maybe 4 more, I got so fired up I started a little publication about the market on Panteras (but it included Shelbys, Tigers, Cobras). My best one of the lot was a dark green 74 that was 'just right'. Sold it during the price run-up in 1990.
Sold that business and started a family. Ten years intervened, started another business. And after Ferrari and all that other sat in the garage, the Pantera bug bit again. It just made perfect sense.
Now, 30 years after High School, I'm a sports car guy with a Ford engine. Love every minute of it.
quote:Posted by Cyboman:
The shop off of the Van Wyck Expwy you're referring to is MD Engineering, owned and operated by Mike DeGonnis.
Michael,
I recently read in Wyss' book "DeTomaso Automobiles" that the shop was called East Coast Panteras. I'm guessing he changed the name when he changed his business.
To answer your question, after college I lived in CT for six years (Stamford and West Haven), after which I was transferred to Indianapolis. I've been here for 13 years now. My sister though is now living in Ronconcoma.
Thanks for the info.
This is crazy...from the sound of it I'm 5 mins away from that shop....you know what I'm doing this weekend right????
I've wanted one since I first saw a GT5 poster on my older brother's wall in the mid 80s.
At the begining of this year I was thinking about buying a 350Z or NSX, but decided I didn't ever want to pull up to a light and sit next to an identical car (except when you all are visiting me in Vegas).
R.
At the begining of this year I was thinking about buying a 350Z or NSX, but decided I didn't ever want to pull up to a light and sit next to an identical car (except when you all are visiting me in Vegas).
R.
quote:Originally posted by DeLoreans and DeTomasos:
This is crazy...from the sound of it I'm 5 mins away from that shop....you know what I'm doing this weekend right????
When I was there in the early 80s, it was right off the Liberty Ave exit ramp of the southbound Van Wyck Expy.
quote:Originally posted by RobertVegas:
...decided I didn't ever want to pull up to a light and sit next to an identical car ...
Two 350Z cars parked next to each other = the same amount of yawns as one Z car.
Two Panteras parked next to each other = TWICE the excitement.
The Pantera turns heads, demands your attention, just like a drop dead gorgeous Italian mistress in a tight dress and high heals walking down the street. Every body's eyes are fixed on it, male and female. The Pantera has that appeal.
cowboy from hell
OK not so close Im in Bayside but a very do-able trip...Im gonna try to see if its still there!!
I loved them and lusted to have one when I was in high school but could never afford one. As I got older and neared retirement I started looking for a "retirement car". I was thinking of a new 'vette or a Ferrari until one day in Vegas I chanced upon a POCA display on the Freemont Mall. This brought back memories and my car of choice became the Pantera. My story is why I believe that a street display is important in Vegas. How many other souls can be saved form buying "brand X's" by seeing these cars on display? I got carried away and bought a second one, ended up with a Mangusta too! What can I say, Detomaso is an addiction!
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