I bought a new '72 leftover from Ford Motor Co in late '73. I loved it and did lots of stuff with and to it. Gary Hall was just starting out and I bought headers, radiator and fans and Gr4 suspension. Built the Cleveland to 465 hp and would run 13.1@107 mph at the track (using only 1,2,3 gears. The ZF 4&5 are both OD and the 3-4 spacing is not the best in either case for the traps, you're either too high rpm or too low) and actually ran 175 mph one day with the modified engine that would turn 7500 rpm. Blew a Ferrari Daytona away in an impromptu drag race at Elkhart Lake during some lapping they allowed during a break in the June Sprints. My wife (then girlfriend) had a blast and we took lots of road trips in the car which was very reliable and after my tweaking never had any problems at all. Whenever that V8 litup behind your right ear you couldn't help but smile. Sold it and bought a Cobra a few years later and the guy I sold it to crashed it. Don't know if it was ever rebuilt, I still remember the serial number, THPNMCO 3552. He had attended a driving school during the winter and when he took the Pantera out in the spring and tried to play race driver with it without getting used to it again it bit him. The car was very stable in the Gr4 trim, but would still bring the rear around if you got too far out of line. Fit and finish were usual Italian for the era and crappy European (mostly Russian) steel plagued many European makes of that period with rust. Ergonomics weren't that bad but the driver foot offset to the inside meant you drove sitting a bit crooked. Flash forward and the kids are mostly not around anymore and the wife says "remember how much fun we had in the Panters, maybe you should look for something again and we could do some road trips like we used to". Now you know why I have stayed married to that woman. Looked at lots of cars and settled on the NSX, bought my '94, made (and continue) the mods I wanted to put some edge back into the car without the nasty oversteer and it's been great ever since. Similar feel and performance with light years better handling, fit and finish and ergonomics. Thought about getting another Pantera many times but decided to keep the wonderful memories and take advantage of 20 years automotive advance.
That's a nice write-up, troca. Since 1972, seems like you've been lucky to have two special ladies in your life- the obvious one and the one that needs air in its tires. :biggrin:
