Will he fit?

The Pantera is accomadating to more "full" size people. Its not nearly as confining as a Lotus but not as roomy as other modern sports cars. Typical modifications include smaller steering wheels, replacing the seats with those that allow more room and dropping the floor boards. All these modifications have been done by one or more members who, I assure you, will be happy to help you with any questions you may have.

Thank you Husker

it is hard to know what he would like, and I do not want to ask it is a suprise. I know he likes the vetts with the tall rounded fenders in the early 70's, but here in Florida everyone has a vett so I am trying to find something that is unique for him. I know he wants something he can work on.

Welcome to the forum Sara. You sound like a perfect wife!

Find some local Pantera owners to help you in your quest. There are specific things to look for and look out for when shoppping for a Pantera. You can find Pantera folk in Florida by soliciting their response here, also by joining POCA. Check their website for any chapters local to you.

Also, check out my "How to Buy" page for links to more info on purchasing a Pantera:
http://www.banzairunnerpantera.com/how_to_buy.htm

And YES! Your husband should fit in a Pantera just fine, although almost every car "fits" differently because of various changes their owners have made - seats (spacers removed or different altogether) and steering wheel being the two most significant changes to affect fit. And still others have dropped the floor pans to provide even more space.

Dang, great wife! When I got my black car from this tall dude, he bolted the driver seat right to the floor, no spacers, no rails, and bolted it back as far as it would go. You could never move it, but it gave more room that way for him. But me being only about 5'5" I added rails with spacers. I initially drove it with 2 pillows under me and 2 in back of me .

I'm 6' 2", not particulary fat and 253lbs (115 kg), and fits OK. Will move pedals 1,5"(easy fix), but that is all. One has to remember it is not a Lincoln, but not bad after all if you really want something special..

Mark McWhinney the POCA president is a big dude. I think he is 6'5" and maybe 250 lbs? He just removed his seat and used some foam padding where necessary. I believe he has plenty of room now.

Art

not with a stock pantera. no way. you'd need to move the pedals and drop the floor. now your pantera is no longer stock

I am 6'3" also and weigh 270. Here is a movie of me in the car. I fit, so should he.
http://videos.streetfire.net/video/Ride-with-me-in-my_45500.htm

Hi,
I am only 5ft 10, but have a width build like your husband !!
I do fit in with no real dramas, you do work out a way to get in and out.
The only hassle i really has was getting my feet to work the pedals !!
send me a pm with ur email addy and i will send a pic ! mind you my car has lowered seats and thinned back.

Has he ever been in one? What part of
Florida you in? A local member might be able to just happen by, and offer a ride...., but the timing is pretty tight at this late stage.

BTW I'm in Palm Beach county...

Angelo

You know what guys? I am betting now this is some kind of hoax or a joke. Buy my hubby a Pantera for Christmas??? Hmmmm, is that sort of like "You may have already won!!" or "Your long lost Uncle just died and left you a billion dollars...". My experince has been, if something sounds too good to be true, it is.
OK, which one of you guys came up with this little prank??? C'mon, fess up!

My wife has a 53" chest and she makes it, I mean fits?

Sara C[/QUOTE]Originally posted by Saraa:
I would like to buy my hubby a Pantera for Christmas, but I do not know if he will fit in the car. He is only 6'3" tall, but has a 56" chest and a full body.

Does the Pantera fit large men or is it more like a Lotus that will only fit small people

Sara,
Sorry I saw your post late hope you found a Pantera if not... Mine has the stock interior and I fit well. I am 6'1" 248 lbs with size 15 shoe and in FL also(East Coast). I have owned it over 10 years. The only issue I have is with the shoe size so I wear boat shoes or loafers to drive mine

It also depends on if you mean can you fit, or can you fit comfortably?

There are some "tricks" that can help to make you fit more comfortably. Some of them are fairly simple, some fairly complex.

The first thing that you will notice is that the stock seat is uncomfortable. The thigh support is in the wrong place, and the seat angle is wrong.

Next you will notice that the control pedals are too close to the driver. There is plenty of room to move them forward in the foot box and this is one of the simpler things to do.

Next you will notice that the steering wheel is probably too close to the driver and the angle is wrong. The wheel is too high.

You may also notice that the roof is too low or too close to your head.

All of these issues can be dealt with to accommodate pretty large people. I myself am a small large person, or a large small person, depending on your point of view.

I am 6'2" and about 210. Kind on like the kicker on an NFL team. You know. The kind that the 300# guys like to make my bones crunch on when they hit me. Actually that's ok though. When you are laying on the stretcher you would be surprised at how many of the cheerleaders come over to comfort you. Some are actually females too.

Over the years I have changed the stock seats, put in 6 way power seats with power lumbar support; Installed an adjustable height steering column; put in a smaller diameter steering wheel; moved the pedals 2" forward; installed a right elbow/forearm support; installed a short shifter.

After all this alteration I find that I now have room to put on about fifty pounds or have one cheerleader sit on my lap.

I was in the same boat, I had always admired Panteras but never been in one. I finally got a test drive with the previous owner of my car and here are some of my observations being 6'3 200lbs.

For one, the passenger side is smaller for whatever reason. The leg room is small. My 6'5 215lb brother had his knees bent pretty tight when I took him for a ride.

Now, I have a cramped parking space, so I cannot open the door fully, so take that into consideration with what I describe next. Getting in the car takes a little squeezing, I sith down in the car with my legs hanging out, then I have to pull my shin between the wheel and the seat with my knee at my face to get my right leg over. There may be another way to do this, but currently my garage space is cramped. I'm 30, so thats not a big deal, but maybe a 50+ year old guy would not be excited about that idea especially if he was not very physically active. There may be other guys on here who don't have to do that because they have more room in their garage, have dropped floor pans, or have a modified adjustable steering column.

Once I'm in the only thing that is a issue is the pedal locations. There is more room on the drivers side for your legs etc, but the gas pedal and brake are right on top of each other. I have a size 12 foot, and I usually drive with my shoes off. I will probably go get some driving shoes soon.

I don't know about just buying a car for someone if they've never been in the car. I just think thats a bad idea period, especially when you are a big person. Kudos to the enthusiasm for the idea though. With all that said, if you want a car bad enough, you will make it work. I love driving the car so far, and unlike a previous poster, the steering wheel is fine as far as height. The only thing is with the early cars, the tachometer and speedometer are blocked by the steering wheel. You have to kind of look to the side.

Instead of endless speculation, I suggest you and your hubby attend a Pantera event, approach one of the owners and ask if hubby can 'try the car on for size'. This happens all the time at events and seldom do you find an owner so tight-jawed that one cannot sit in his car. This is how we decided my 6'2" friend should forget about the Lambo Miura and instead buy a Mangusta.... which he did. After you've tried on a few cars with different seats, you'll get a feel for the problem, if any. Good luck.

Guys, don't keep answering this. It had to be a hoax. C'mon, think about it. A wife who wants to buy her husband a Pantera for Christmas???? If you believe that, you must buy this bridge I have for sale in Brookland NY. It is realy cheap and will make you tons of money.
C'mon now, easter bunny, santa clause and smart blondes are fun to fantasize about but it is high time you take a look at the real world. Wives DO NOT buy their husbands Pantera as a suprise Christmas gift. Now everybody get back to work and knock off this nonsense.

DT. It's Brooklyn, NY. Blondes are dumb? Dumb like a fox maybe? Most of them aren't even really blondes. They are just in disguise trying to catch you off guard. So who's dumb now? Personally I don't mind being fooled by them. Just as long as they don't use a lot of duct tape on me.

quote:

Originally posted by DeTom:
Guys, don't keep answering this. It had to be a hoax. C'mon, think about it. A wife who wants to buy her husband a Pantera for Christmas???? If you believe that, you must buy this bridge I have for sale in Brookland NY. It is realy cheap and will make you tons of money.
C'mon now, easter bunny, santa clause and smart blondes are fun to fantasize about but it is high time you take a look at the real world. Wives DO NOT buy their husbands Pantera as a suprise Christmas gift. Now everybody get back to work and knock off this nonsense.

DeTom...

How much for the bridge? I got me some Ocean Front Property in Arkansas that could use a good bridge!
Baw ha ha ha

Beyond the hoax, the topic is a good question, and was helpful to me as a taller person hearing from other bigger owners

Well I am a big guy too, 6'3" and 270 pounds. I just don't like being the butt end of some practical joker is all. Hell it was probably some pre-teen age boy pretending to be a woman buying her hubby a Pantera. He is probably sitting at his terminal waking off and laughing his ass off at us at the same time.
Damn them little gay sons of bithches. They make the internet a living nightmare.

Little bastards!