[DeTomaso] 1973 Pantera L for Sale, details

[Asa Jay Laughton]

I took a good long look at that 1973 Pantera for sale just north of me 
today.  First off I want to say I took a ton of photos, second off I 
have to say none of them made it home.  Somehow, all the photos on my 
digital camera are gone, and no file recover tools can see anything 
there.  It's very frustrating because I know it was capturing photos as 
I went along, and it captured one just fine when I tested it again at 
home afterwards.

So with that said, I'll now bow my head in shame as I did not take down 
the VIN personally.  I had a really good photo of it, so I didn't worry 
about it.

Okay, here is my impression.

The car has been stored in a small airplane hanger for several years, 
along with an airplane and an ultralight.  The gentleman who owns it is 
a retired fireman from Los Angeles.  He's lived up here for quite a few 
years, has too many projects (like the airplane) and is liquidating 
some.  (had I been employed, I was going to ask about the jet skis)

The car as viewed was not cleaned or prepped for sale.  It still had a 
layer of dust on it as we began viewing it in the rain.  The rain was 
light and lasted only a couple minutes.  The car did not melt.

The body is in relatively good shape.  There is a spot of rust bubbling 
up just at the bottom edge of the windshield on the drivers side.  The 
bottom of the doors look good, the door sills look good, the trunk edges 
look good and the undercarriage looks good.  I was not able to get 
underneath and poke and prod very well.  The general structure looks 
solid; the car has been garaged at all times.  There is a small ding 
just underneath the passenger door handle, nothing a little massage 
can't fix.  The rest of the body is very straight and smooth.  It 
appears to have good metal everywhere I looked.  The front L model 
bumper is a fiberglass repacement (not metal or rubber).  The area ahead 
of the door, the hinges, etc. all looked great, with no rust exhibited.

The paint looks shot, but it's hard to tell under a layer of dust.  I 
imagine it could be brought back to life with some rubbing compound and 
a little wax.  It will be due for paint though.  The color is Red, and 
you can tell it has been painted before.  I pointed this out to the guy, 
and he was unaware of when or by who, apparently not done during his 
ownership of the Pantera.  The black is flaking off the gills, it's a 
bit unsightly but it is original.

The weatherstripping should be replaced eventually, though much of it 
looked better than what's on my car.

Moving to the interior.  The dashboard is indeed cracked, in two places. 
  The first is almost dead center from front to back.  It hasn't split 
entirely, but it's noticeable.  The other is on the passenger side just 
left of the defroster vent.  I would say the dash needs to be replaced 
or recovered.  The carpet has a few holes on the drivers side, overall, 
the carpet needs replacing.  The engive cover has some damage isolated 
to the very bottom edge at the drivers door.

The seats are in great shape, as are the door panels and center console. 
  It has an aftermarket stereo and speakers.  All switches on the 
console worked and the guages looked good, and worked when we drove the 
car.  One of the switches has some chrome peeling away and will need to 
be replaced.  The heater controls worked nice and smooth, and the bezel 
was in great shape.  The A/C does not work; there is a broken hose in 
the A/C system somewhere, we did not isolate where, but the owner heard 
it blow when he lost A/C years ago and has not had it fixed.

The turn signal switch does not -hold- for right hand turns, but does 
for left.  This is a common problem requiring either replacement of the 
switch assembly or a rebuild from SOB Taylor.  The passenger side seat 
belt does not work, it neither extends or retracts and is hanging out 
about a foot and half.  Some lamps need replacing, the drivers side 
headlight does not work in high beam (I'm assuming it's the lamp and not 
a wiring problem), the passenger side front parking lamp is out as well, 
though the turn signal function works.  The grill is in good shape.  The 
lower front valence has met a few parking blocks but is in what I 
consider to be fantastic shape, with no big rust issue that I 
immediately saw.

The steering wheel is an original, but has lost the entire center piece, 
so you have a steel wheel with a gaping hole staring you in the face. 
This definately needs to be replaced.

The front trunk and rear tub are in desperate need of new felt.  The 
front trunk doesn't look so bad, but the tub has a bad case of mange. 
Large portions of felt are missing.  The tub overall is in good shape 
though.  The original spare is with the car, though I didn't spot the 
inflater bomb.

The windows worked both up and down.   The original window crank is 
still with the car in the glove box.  All other glass looked to be in 
good shape.  The headlights go up and down smoothly.

The engine fired on the second crank and sounded smooth and strong.  The 
carb needs to be rebuilt as the engine will not idle, most likely due to 
varnish build-up in the emulsion tubes and idle circuits.  It's a 
Holley, underneath an open chrome air filter assembly.  The car drove 
smoothly with no hiccups in the engine.  The engine really does sound 
like it's in great shape.  The engine is original, having only been 
pulled once in order to freshen the heads and change gaskets and seals. 
  It's a stock engine, no frills.  No aftermarket manifold or bling. 
The engine serial number matches the one on the body of the trunk (I had 
a great photo of both, but well, dang!)

The ZF has never been touched.  It most likely needs the ring gear 
safety wired.  All gears shifted smoothly, though it feels like the 
grease is getting old and the trunion is probably dry.  No grinding of 
gears, it felt pretty good.

It has the orginal brass radiator and original fans.  The car never got 
over 160 on the guage during our short drive.  Not being a very nice 
day, I didn't want to take it out for an extended period.

The half shafts have greasable u-joints.  The suspension felt pretty 
tight, the steering felt smooth.

The wheels are not original.  The owner didn't like Campys (and doesn't 
have them), so he put an aftermarket American Racing 15" wheel on.  It's 
an early three-spoke design, reminscent of a quisanart blade.  They 
don't look too bad on the car, but any new owner will probably want to 
replace them.

The owner has a small amout of orignal tools with the car.  One item of 
particular interest is an axle nut socket.  The owner did have the rear 
bearings replaced at some point.  Jack, tire iron and an assortment of 
other items (again, in a photo I took) come with it.

This car is basically stock original except for the Campys, the 
fiberglass bumper (which looks original anyway), the radio, the carb and 
air cleaner.  This is the car I would have purchased when I was looking 
for my Pantera.  What I bought is very nearly the same car.

This car is for someone who would like to get in and drive without 
worrying about paint and asthetics for a while.  It's a blank canvas 
ready for you to make it what you want.

This is -not- a show car by any means as it sits today.  This is for the 
person who doesn't mind buying a good foundation and building upon it, 
making it what you want or restoring to original, since it's so close now.

Now, with all that said, I think his bottom line price is fair, and he 
won't go below it.  If he doesn't get his bottom line price, he'll 
probaby fix it up some and give it to his daughter who really wants it. 
  He realizes it needs several thousand dollars in bodywork, paint and 
miscellaneous stuff (like steering wheel, carpet, felt, etc) but doesn't 
want to saddle his daughter with that much expense to see her enjoy the 
car.  Personally I think she'd enjoy it just as it sits, but I didn't 
get to meet her.

His bottom line price is under $30K but above $20K.  We'd like to start 
it out at $28K and see how the offers come in.  I will contact him again 
later and try to schedule another viewing.  Next time I'll verify the 
photos are saved, and transfer them to my laptop before I leave.  I'll 
also try to encourage him to detail the car prior to my arrival.

For now, any questions may be directed to me and I'll represent the 
Pantera for him.  If you decide you'd like to come into town to take a 
look, I can arrange that with the owner as well.

Okay, time for questions,
Asa Jay



Asa Jay Laughton wrote:
> No not mine.  :)
> 
> I was contacted by a local gentleman who is interested in selling his 
> 1973 Pantera L.   This is a car I have -not- seen.  It would appear they 
> are still hiding a few around here.
> 
> The following is information I have gleaned over the phone.  I have an 
> appointment with him Wednesday at 10 PDT to look at the car in person. I 
> will follow up later with a more detailed report, and photos.
> 
> 
> The present owner has had the car for over 25 years, and is probably the 
> second or third owner.
> 
> Body is Red, and he admits it needs work.  What kind I'm not real sure 
> of but he indicates the body is straight.  It has always been garaged.
> 
> ~85K miles.  He used to drive it a lot, but hasn't in the last several 
> years, and is starting to liquidate some of his assets.  (I didn't ask 
> his age).
> 
> Holley carb and aftermarket air cleaner, however the orginals are 
> available.
> 
> Non-stock aftermarket wheels.  The campys are nowhere to be found.
> 
> The heads have been rebuilt once, but the engine is otherwise stock.
> 
> Stock ZF, probably has not had the safety wire done to the ring gear.
> 
> Originally a California car, he believes it may have once been owned by 
> Andy Levine (?)
> 
> Windows work and he recalls brass gears being put in.  The headlight 
> motor however is probably stock, with a plastic gear.
> 
> He says it has a steel front bumper from Hall.  I'll know more when I 
> see the car.
> 
> All lights and guages work.
> 
> A/C does not work, however it does have a newer Hall rotary compressor.
> 
> Claims interior is good, both leather and carpet.  He does believe a 
> small crack is starting on the dash, I'll have to take a look when I get 
> there.
> 
> Half-shafts have been replaced with greasable ones, not sure what brand.
> 
> Just from the phone converstation, I think his price range is good 
> though I won't reveal it here just yet.
> 
> Just a gut feel, I think this would be a good starter car for someone. 
> It probably needs hoses replaced, a little TLC here and there, and you 
> could start driving it all you want, depending of course on how much 
> bodywork and paint really need to be done.  (for all I know at the 
> moment, it might just be heavily oxidized.)
> 
> I will get a VIN when I visit, I'll try to take a lot of photos and give 
> it a test drive.
> 
> For now, any interested parties may contact me directly by replying to 
> this email.
> 
> 
> Let's just pray I don't have to sell mine. :O
> 
> Asa Jay
> 

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    Asa Jay & Shelley Marie
    Laughton - Spokane, WA
      1973 Pantera L 5533
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http://www.asajay.com
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