DeTomaso Mailing List: February 00, Message #198

Yes, it is true. I am thinking about selling my car. But before I get flamed from the left and from the right, I ought to explain that this would be a sale to enable me to buy another Pantera, so I have not lost my head. 

Selling my car may be a little more difficult than otherwise, because it is in  Spain and most potential buyers are probably in the US, but if I don't ask the question I'll never know if it is possible. Lots of details to be worked out, and if nothing comes of this, fine. I'll be perfectly happy with my car for years to come...

I've always liked the "tacky, add-on" look, as the GT5 and GT4 look is referred to by Mike Drew and Foncool, and had I had a little more patience and done a little more research before I bought my car, I probably would have waited until I found one of these models instead of buying my pre-L. But the difficulty I have had in insuring and driving my car with American registration is the deciding factor in trying to tell my car and buy another. It is against Spanish law for Spanish insurance companies to insure cars that are not registered in Spain, so for the time being I am just lying, using a French address and French insurance company. 

I've located a couple potential buys, including #9375, billed as being the very first GT5S made, and was the car shown at the Turin Car Show in 1984. The owner has found a Nueva Pantera, Pantera 200, whatever you want to call it, for sale, and would need to sell his to buy that one... I would need to sell mine to buy his... And so it goes.

My car must be pretty well known to long-time listers, as I have described many of my adventures and misadventures. I will be brutally honest about its condition, because of the difficulty of having people come look at it. If there is someone who is serious, we can negotiate all kinds of things, such as I'll knock of 50% of the cost of airfare off of the price, I don't know. I'm open to any suggestions. 

My car is what I would call an excellent "entry level" Pantera. Mechanically it is in excellent condition, with a $12,000 receipt from Collector's Choice 18 months and 8,000 miles ago. The engine was rebuilt and all belts, hoses, components, and "stuff" was replaced. New master and slave clutch cylinders. Stainless coolant tubes. Upgrades include aluminum intake and a Holley 650. The engine was rebuilt with reliability being the factor, since I would be taking it far away from the friendly garages. The radiator was rebuilt last summer, and I installed new dual sucker fans. Readers of the list may remember me discussing this. The car now runs perfectly cool even sitting in traffic on hot days.  

Brake lines are braided steel, shocks are Koni. The body is all red, pre-L style. The stock 7" and 8" Campys are in pretty decent shape, but could use some new paint. 

By "entry level" I mean that everything you need to enjoy a sports car is there and in good shape. But this is not a show-car, there are several things that really ought to be fixed, and someone with a garage and some motivation could do so and probably pay less than if they bought a car where everything, well, worked. The A/C does not work, for example. The radio does not work. The windshield wipers work on one speed only (not real important, since the wipers are in the front trunk). There are some cracks in the paint in the usual places - corners of the rear decklid. And I probably have an electrical gremlin somewhere because I only have one high beam, even though the fuses and headlight are good... But there is no rust evident anywhere... The paint is in good condition for everyday driving, no real chips, fading, or anything, but it has been 15 years or so since it has been repainted... Looks real good from 10 feet....

Even with all these things that do not work, there is nothing that is so significant that it has prevented me from getting extensive use or pleasure from this car over the past three years. None of them is significant enough to warrant moving it from my "I really gotta do this someday" list to my "I have to take care of this now" list. I've slowly taken care of the items that impacted my pleasure or the reliability - radiator, fans, new window motors, rear decklid shocks, and so forth. 

What is a car like this worth? Someone could buy it and drive it as-is for years to come. Or they could give it a minor restoration and probably have a $35K car for a lot less than $35K. There are a number of factors to be worked in - transportation from Europe to the US is about $750. I've put $15K into the car in the past 2 years, I can't just add that onto my purchase price or I am way over cars in similar conditions being advertised. 

I think if I got around $24K I would be happy. From those who study the market, and based on my description, does this sound in-line? Anyone know anyone who is interested? 

Charlie McCall 
1972 DeTomaso Pantera Pre-L #3847
"Raising Pantera Awareness across Europe"