Early Panteras

That's of course your opinion, as is mine. But I simply do not see many original Panteras, and I do not see a lot of people looking for them. Panteras were worked on, tweaked on, and modified from the very beginning, and that's the culture that has stayed. It is indeed a hot-rod type culture. Just look at all the Panteras at a car show, they will all be different. These are not Ferraris. Pantera market does not care about matching numbers for instance. Race history Panteras seem to do well, but not an all original. I've seen people ask big bucks for original cars and they have them for sale for a very long time, and usually have to drop their price significantly to get it sold.

I believe there are only two things that could ever significantly change Pantera values, original or otherwise. First, if they were to be a featured car in a popular movie, a la "Gone in 60 Seconds" and the '67 Shelby GT-500. I personally think that movie made that car value soar. Second, if you were to ever get a well received NEW Pantera on the market, that was impressive, then you might see people looking at the old ones again in a new light.

 

If you look at trends like the Mangusta you can see this is the path to higher value. Keep in mind that many original cars trade under the radar, so many "experts" never see these sales.

Just a few years ago the Mangusta was the "mutt" in the DeTomaso world, but in recent years the prices for original and restored Mangusta's has spiked. I think this will continue. The Mangusta is a beautiful machine and the body is designed by one of the world best designers Giugiaro.

The Pantera, will follow the Mangusta and if you have an original car it will be worth more than ones that have been cut, butchered, chromed, modified etc..... there are fewer original cars around, so when demand goes up watch what happens.

These push button cars and the three seat model are also good indicators.

Of course the guys that like to chop these cars up will have nothing to do with this crazy talk, about cars being original and gaining value

 

As far as resale, the modified cars do not sell for more than a stock one. The Five 0 car is on the market because of that paint job. The Push Button has many differences, beside the door handle / quarter panel, including trim, wheels, bumpers, aluminum gas tank. Several changes were done to the cars at the Mercury dealerships. The 2 spoke steering wheels were removed (and thrown into a trash can, ugh!) and replaced with the common Pantera wheel. The dealer also put the spare was in rear along with a different trunk liner. Hand built on a different line, at a different place than any Panteras afterwards. A rarer version of a rare car IS worth more to most car enthusiasts. The trend imo is towards original cars, not tarted up ones. I just don't see any more guys glueing fiberglass fenders on them.

 

+1

I have a few friends who have large collections and all three of them have very original Panteras , yes one has had the cooling upgrade but the rest of the car is stock. When you see one of these cars in excellent shape with the original interior they look great, they look Italian!

 

I think there are original, unmodified Panteras out there. I have one but do not bring it to shows because in the Los Angeles area Panteras are plentiful and people wouldn't pay attention to an original one. You are right-- the emphasis is on what you have done to it.

 

There has been 40 years of of this type destruction. People will welcome "original"

 

That right there is the thinking that makes me, and most Pantera owners different from the "purebread" marques. We don't care if you don't like our paint jobs, our chrome wheels, or anything else some would call "destruction". We aren't that uptight. We just want to enjoy our cars and not worry about all that snobby stuff.

 

It's not about being snobby, it's about what the Italians built, not the Americans. There are two camps on this just like those who like 57 chevys.The hot rod guys and the Original guys. Old Corvetts got cut up too, but now people want them original. You can chop up your car all you want but collectors want to see original Pantera's.

They used to do this to old Ferrari's too, dropping V8's in them. Should they continue to do that?

BTW I don't have "purebreads" I own a cars that were sniped at for years by the Ferrari club Iso's and Bizzarrini's, they are now admired for their design.

 

It's easy to understand that attitude today since originality and value isn't (believed to be...) positively correlated, but my prediction is that Pantera owners (both "new" and "tradtionals") will change their views and opinions on this matter as the relationship is bound to change in the future. The "new" owners are very likely to put a premium on originality, and many "traditionals" will follow.

Cheers,
Gabriel

 

1974. Almost stock. Only repainted body, wheels, & added side mirrors.
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I think one reason Panteras were modified is that they were relatively cheap compared to the other Italian imports of the day. Let's not forget they were brought in under Ford's watch. The later GT5 and 5S cars apparently command more money due to the fact that they are rarer and they were more polished,. They were substantially more expensive too, something that I believe may have turned off some buyers as they potentially would have to pay double for a car they were picking up for what??/ $12,000 afew years prior?? It is funny though, for me a GT5S will always be the greatest supercar, moreso than the Countach.... something about that simple brutality that sets it apart from it's more pedigreed rivals. Very much looking forward to see what Seniore Rossignolo is working on.

 

A Pantera is a good choice for a hotrod type of car guy. American V8 in an Italian body. Exotic Hotrod in my book. Luv um!!

 

Love your Pantera, would love it even more without that front bumper.

 

Here's mine,
Ron
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This '74 belongs to a friend of mine. He wants to keep it as original as possible. I agree with you on the front bumper. Looks way to big. I really hate the stuff they had to do to cars to make them legal back then.

 

Love them pipes.

 

ford doesen't throw anything away,there somewere

 

You haven't been to a scrap yard near a plant, I guess. I took some old metal to a local yard, and could not believe all of the new ford parts, truck cabs, mechanical parts, wheels, etc that Ford had ditched there. Amazing really. Detomaso records where not a priority, or anything Detomaso with Ford then or now.

 

The only info from Ford for Panteras is at Marti. The info is short and simple see the thread in Pantera Forum. http://pantera.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/2290052674/m/136102073?r=136102073#136102073

Denis

 

That's interesting, and a pretty new thread. The factory has been closed for some time. Some pictures of it are that site, showing weeds everywhere.