73 Pantera

Please

It's my birthday next month.  

Very cool just dont waste the sellers time:)

curious on the value of Pantera's a condition 3 via Hagerty reports it's worth around $81k so $44 /w a rebuilt motor and trans isn't terrible.  I'm guessing it would probably take north of $40k to put it back together maybe even more since the paint/body could easily be $20k.  

I love these, but the price window has certainly climbed out of reach for me.

That bodyshell has 50k worth of someones $$$ before it is painted. 

The exterior design of these cars is very appealing. But the actual chassis-bits underneath looks like they were built by someone who only owned a sheet-metal brake to get the job done. And all the cavities are rust prone.

Owner has committed the usual sin of spending all the money on the drivetrain before tackling the nasty, dirty, time consuming, expensive bodywork. But I expect he has "no time to finish"

I really, really, really like Panteras, ever since Matchbox came out with one when I was wee.

However,

This looks like your typical divorce/bankruptcy starter kit for me.

Still, the want is strong.

Pantera is my dream car .....I bought TCST because I could afford it

Where's my eleven foot pole?

I'm not touching that car with the ten.

I passed up on the chance to buy a really nice one, back before their value skyrocketed.  Wish I would have jumped at it.

stuart in mn said:

I passed up on the chance to buy a really nice one, back before their value skyrocketed.  Wish I would have jumped at it.

I think we all missed every deal before they skyrocketed.

1989 or so, replete with offshore-oilfield $$$, I had a Yellow 1973 Pantera located in Colorado. Belonged to the father of a girl I knew. I did not know enough to Vet one if I am being honest, but much like the owner's daughter, this one had me mesmerized and I could afford it.

At the time I had my cars registered in SD because my insurance agent there was willing to wear blinders as regards my dubious residency in the state or anywhere else on the planet for that matter. I actually swung by his office to ask for a quote and what he told me was: "Your age, with no fixed address, no daily driver car, no family and no real-estate, the insurance company is going to treat you like a bank-robbing child molester". 

Thankfully Mazda put out the Miata at about the same time. I have a feeling that the Pantera would not have provided the 150,000 miles of homeless wandering that I did in the Miata.

But I bet it would have been a story.

ClearWaterMS said:

curious on the value of Pantera's a condition 3 via Hagerty reports it's worth around $81k so $44 /w a rebuilt motor and trans isn't terrible.  I'm guessing it would probably take north of $40k to put it back together maybe even more since the paint/body could easily be $20k.  

I see ones in good condition selling for $80,000 and I see ones in good condition selling for $140,000. It's isn't hard to look up prices online. If Hagarty says a half done basket case is worth 80K and you see runners in good condition for 80K, it kind of makes you think. It looks like a crap shoot to me whether you could buy this thing and break even or not. Maybe you get lucky at the auction after putting a lot of work into it and maybe you don't. Maybe you find the right buyer or maybe you don't. Not a problem if you really want to keep the car. I see a lot half done projects out there for sale. Maybe they did the math and decided to cash out and let somebody else take the risk.

I remember when I had a free Lotus Europa in my garage and starting adding up the cost for me to finish it. Finding an original windshield, an original Renault transaxle and engine, the cost of rebuilding both. Then I would look online and see running cars selling for $6,000 to $10,000. and start doing the math. (No, I don't have the skills to re-engineer the car to take a cheap Toyota motor in there sideways.) Back then I was single and had over $20,000 in 30% credit cards and nobody to tell me no. I could work on it every weekend and nobody would complain except my four dogs. Even back then I did the math and decided to give up. Today that is not the case. Now free Europas are worth $5,000 because they KNOW what they got. (a trashed out Europa). I found a running Europa on Hemmings for $12,000 just today and now I can get a Classic Car loan for a much lower rate with my better credit rating, leaving my weekends free to actually drive the thing. It really does make you think.

The tube frame on these likes to rot from the inside out, be warned.

That link also included this for under $40k:

And this for under $20k: 

Your Facebook ads rock! 

pinchvalve (Forum Supporter) said:

And this for under $20k: 

 

Words cannot express how much I want that bad idea made real. Just being able to say I own 'an LS swapped Spectrum' would make me burst out laughing immediately. Every time.