[MikeNoun]

Always loved Panteras. I recall seeing these brand new at a Lincoln-Mercury dealer back in Detroit. It was the first car I ever saw with a 200 mph speedo.

http://www.mecum.com/auctions/lot_de...gn=FL0112_T201

[F ROCK]

i had read that these were somewhat unreliable; and that Elvis actually shot his pistol at his because it wouldnt start.

[455Grandville]

351C had some of the best breathing heads ever put any engine back then -

Originally Posted by F ROCK

i had read that these were somewhat unreliable; and that Elvis actually shot his pistol at his because it wouldnt start.

Talked to a guy in Florida who onws one many had to be "set up right" he talked about a better cooling system which was a weak point. And the tranny rebuild he said cost close to $15,000

[F ROCK]

I also loved these cars.

i bought my first hotrod, a beautiful 69 cougar xr7, in 1984. as i was just driving it home for the first time, on top of the world, a pantera pulled up along side of me and slammed the gas...there was no catching him.

super cool cars.


edit: this type of thing happened again with my first lemans; i was driving it home and two, (yes two), 69 mustang fastbacks blew past me, on both sides of the three lane highway; my 2.78 gear might've eventually caught em, but i didnt bother.

[GT182]

Back in the 70s the 10 grand for them was a bit steep for most of us. In 73 I had the chance to buy a GTS for 5 grand, which was still too steep for me. When tho oil embargo hit, they were for sale all over the place.

[69 T/A]

Nearly all of them have frame rust issues, the frames were stored outside bare next to salt water until they were built. I love the design and they are awesome cars, just check the frame for rust issues.

[theYman]

I love the Pantera as well. The 351 Cleveland was a good motor. I had a 351C in a 65 Mustang. It had the shock towers modified and was PIA to change the spark plugs. I had a set of the ultra rare Australian 4v heads on it. The ports were huge!
Here is a video of a nice Pantera. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnlEZNoe5Lk

[Roar]

Ford? It had a ford engine but Ford didnt produce them.

[71GP76TA]

Originally Posted by Roar

Ford? It had a ford engine but Ford didnt produce them.

Yep.... kinda like a Jensen Interceptor is Chrysler powered.

[Cobrabill]

X3-love them,but they are not a Ford.Saw one with a 427So in it.I had wood for a week.

[Stuart]

One neat thing about Panteras is that for the most part the owners aren't that concerned with keeping them original...there were so many faults with the cars when they were new that updating/correcting the faults makes them more valuable. A friend had one, a '72 - he had a copy of the Pantera club update manual, it was about the size of the New York City phone book.

He stored it in my garage, here's a photo of it up on the lift.

[theYman]

I think I would have paid HIM to store that car in my garage!lol

[Jim Scites]

There was a guy that used to be in a car club I used to belong to. He was always in a mid 60's Vette. One day he shows up in a bright yellow Pantera. He told me when he was a salesman the owner of the company would buy them a new car every few years. Most of the guys wanted Cadillacs or Continentals but he asked and the owner bought him the Pantera. When he left the company the owner asked him if he wanted to buy the car since nobody else wanted it. I think he got it for a few thousand dollars and to this day has less than 20K miles on it. 351 Cleveland with a ZF trans I think.

[goatmanmitch]

The super nice lady that has been storing a car for me over the last twelve years has one. My son went with me when I paid storage in October and we were showing it to him. I got to sit in it (it helps to be a contortionist) and start it up. If it wasn't raining that day, she was going to let me take it for a spin. Opportunity missed!

[PonchoV8]

I love the Pantera. I've come close once with one for sale here. There were two running around town a while back. I also love the GT-40, the Ford GT.
A guy at my high school used to drive one to school from time to time. His daily car was a new TA, but his dad let him drive the Pantera. He drove a Delorean a couple of times. Both those cars had forehead oil stains on all the glass from people looking in at lunch time.

[Tom Vaught]

When I first came to Ford from Holley, Ford was doing some testing on a few of the cars for rust issues behind the drivers seat/passenger seat and in the door support area.

As was said, they were parked in a salt spray environment when "in build" and that had an effect on some of the cars and rust issues.

The cars I saw at the Ford Proving Grounds had body panels with rectangular "inspection" holes cut into them.

Red cars, green cars, yellow cars, even one blue car but no white car. I would have tried to tag a white Pantera but the cars I saw were doomed for the crusher.

At one time I looked into the crushing company "Environ" to see if I could buy a drive line (engine/transaxle) from them. No deal on that either.

Worked on a Twin Turbo Version of the car and a later version of the turbo system installed in a Ford "Scorpio" vehicle. Received a ticket many years ago in Florida for 146 mph on a 2 lane blacktop road at 3 am in the morning. Paid the fine and left Florida. Never really found out what happened to that car. The Twin Turbo Pantera MULE was VERY FAST for its time though.

Tom Vaught

[PonchoV8]

IMO, the NA Pantera needs a turbo.

[mechanickeith]

Originally Posted by Cobrabill

X3-love them,but they are not a Ford.Saw one with a 427So in it.I had wood for a week.

Bill, Maybe it was the one I saw a few time here in town. Was the worst paint job I had ever seen on a car. Nasty metallic purple with a huge whale tail wing on the back. had a cammer motor in it. Could hear it coming a mile away. Showed up at the Hobbyist council car show a couple of times. have not seen it for a couple of years now.

[Cobrabill]

Keith-it wasn't a cammer-just a"run-of-the-mill"427SO.I would have remembered purple.

[mechanickeith]

Glad you didnt see it. The combo was great but everything else was just nasty!