Original Owner Sale: 1974 De Tomaso Pantera
We feature a fair amount of De Tomaso Panteras in this sort of condition, which makes me wonder if people burn out on these cars after a certain amount of time. Regardless, reading the description of this one will likely convince you the owner has spent some very real money to build a top-shelf car, despite being a few months away from completion. The Pantera is listed on behalf of the original owner here on eBay with claimed mileage of 23,451. It comes with a Holman & Moody-modified matching-numbers engine and has already been modified to accept the smaller chrome bumpers.
The Pantera has already had extensive bodywork completed, and the seller states all work was performed on an accident-free, rust-free car that was never abused. This level of work on such a vehicle usually indicates someone was striving for perfection before time or money ran out. The body, doors, decklid, and gas tank have been stripped to bare metal, primed, and sanded. Some paint work has been completed, but obviously the bulk of the work remains to be finished. Modifications are numerous but sensible, including custom dropped floors for more headroom.
The seats are custom reclining buckets but the rest of the interior remains mostly original. Curiously, other major components also remain original, such as the steering system, suspension, tires, and brake rotors / calipers. It’s not to say those items necessarily had to be replaced, but I’m surprised they haven’t been updated. Other areas of improvement include really nitty-gritty, in-the-weeds fixes, like locating dowels installed for rear deck lid to prevent vibration damage to body and body strengthening at known stress points.
The list of performance modifications is too extensive to list here, but the most impressive of which is the bored-over numbers-matching 351 engine, with work performed by the legendary team of Holman & Moody. High compression pistons, Crane cam, triple angle-grounded valves – the list goes on. While re-assembling someone else’s project is rarely easy, this Pantera appears to come with all the right stuff for a final product that will respect the car’s low-mileage status while making it pleasant enough to drive that it doesn’t suffer from neglect.
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Comments
Maybe its just me , but if I’m paying good money for a classic car, I don’t really want numerous modifications .
run….run…. screaming…..
Looks like it was bought and just moved down the road. I would not want a blue transaxle.
Another car that will nickel and dime you to death!! Or shall I say hundreds and thousands to death!! Looks straight but it’s not my favorite thing to spend big money to get boxes and boxes of parts!! I love these cars and I hope someone has the moxie to get her together and drive it again!! Why would someone take a car apart to rebuild with 23,000 + miles on it?? It makes you wonder!!!
Seller seems honest and detailed description. I’m bothered by the low feedback, but for dropping this kind of coin it would need a good inspection. Still, as you guys stated, car is apart and who knows whats missing. Sure would be a screamer down the road. 22 large and hasn’t hit reserve. Good luck to the new owner.
Cheers
GPC
Looks better than that last one that rolled through here!
😉
I agree with Tim. It is unusual to find a “one owner” 23,000 mile car that was never raced and never abused in need of a full restoration. Usually if the car is what the seller claims it to be, you might find a few nicks in the paint, maybe the interior has some minor wear, but a full tear-down??? I don’t think so.
I would expect to spend another $80K on this resto if I did the work myself, $190K if I paid somebody to do it. All that said, it is a great looking car, I think that I would want to tackle it even knowing the reality of the project.
My 2 lire,
Tommaso
I want a Pantera but my first one should be a driver. Then I can buy a basket case like this and have something to reference when putting it back together. I’m not a big fan of bumper retro-mods but enough of these cars have them for it not to be a huge issue, resale-wise. Unlike a lot of other classic cars, no two Panteras are alike anyway, so the other mods are not a big deal. And a huge number of parts on this car are shared by other brands, meaning they are available and not that expensive. Bets on what the reserve is? I’ll guess north of $40k. Add another $40k to finish and you will have a car that is exactly what you can buy for $80k. (A lot of these cars are listed for $100k plus, but that is rarely what they sell for…. Last two sold on ebay were mid $50k)
A car…..that has low mileage….no damage what so ever……and you take it apart WHY ? To restore it better ? Just don’t get it………