[flybigjet]

Originally Posted by GERMAN M3

Pantera

Heh. One of my buddy's is **the** Pantera guy on the planet.

He has two of them (which is a story in and of itself).

His house is literally a Pantera shrine. Coffee table? Pantera wheel and tire with glass on it.

Lamp? Pantera strut.

Soffit in the dining room? Full of OE-spec Pantera tires.

The ENTIRE house is like that.

I'm reasonably certain that he has enough parts floating around the garage (and house) to build most of a Pantera as well. Additionally, I don't think he actually owns any clothes that doesn't have a Pantera logo embroidered onto it.

We were on a trip for the AF once and were flight planning when his phone rang-- his answer? "Can you finish the flight planning? This is Jay Leno and I have to take it."

Leno had bought a Pantera and someone had told him that my buddy was the guy to talk to about it-- he ended up on an episode of Jay Leno's garage discussing the car-- Leno flew him down, put him and his wife up and shot the episode.

R.

[PcarFan]

Originally Posted by flybigjet

Heh. One of my buddy's is **the** Pantera guy on the planet.

He has two of them (which is a story in and of itself).

His house is literally a Pantera shrine. Coffee table? Pantera wheel and tire with glass on it.

Lamp? Pantera strut.

Soffit in the dining room? Full of OE-spec Pantera tires.

The ENTIRE house is like that.

I'm reasonably certain that he has enough parts floating around the garage (and house) to build most of a Pantera as well. Additionally, I don't think he actually owns any clothes that doesn't have a Pantera logo embroidered onto it.

We were on a trip for the AF once and were flight planning when his phone rang-- his answer? "Can you finish the flight planning? This is Jay Leno and I have to take it."

Leno had bought a Pantera and someone had told him that my buddy was the guy to talk to about it-- he ended up on an episode of Jay Leno's garage discussing the car-- Leno flew him down, put him and his wife up and shot the episode.

R.

Is this your buddy?

It`s one of those cars that you have to see in person to really appreciate them. I like them, always did, even before I saw one in person.

One of the garages that I go to, sometimes has a black one there that belongs to a customer....Widest rear tires that I ever seen on a car.
There`s Ferrari`s, Porsche`s and other high end cars there all the time, but if the De Tomaso Pantera is there, I go straight to it
I can see most of the engine just by looking thru the windows

[flybigjet]

Originally Posted by PcarFan

Is this your buddy?

It`s one of those cars that you have to see in person to really appreciate them. I like them, always did, even before I saw one in person.

One of the garages that I go to, sometimes has a black one there that belongs to a customer....Widest rear tires that I ever seen on a car.
There`s Ferrari`s, Porsche`s and other high end cars there all the time, but if the De Tomaso Pantera is there, I go straight to it
I can see most of the engine just by looking thru the windows

Yup-- that's Mike!

I'm actually headed to his AF retirement party in about two weeks-- I'll have to get the Pantera update then.

Last I saw the car, it was all disassembled-- he got smoked out the back gate of our AF base by one of our buddy's..... in a S2000. That was enough to make him pull the engine for a rebuild.

As far as Pantera's go-- the build quality on them is.... interesting? LOTS of things have to be modified to make them livable. One of the common mods is to cut the floorpan out around the seats and weld in essentially about a 1" box, then weld the floor pan back. That drops the seat enough to give you some headroom.

As a trivia, the Pantera has the same seatbelts that the C-5 has. I always thought that was kind of interesting.

Although I'm not much of a Pantera guy, I have to admit that having a big block V-8
sitting about six inches from your ears and separated only by a fairly thin piece of glass is a pretty damn visceral experience.

Basically, you can feel your organs shifting when you floor it.

R.

[PcarFan]

Originally Posted by flybigjet

Yup-- that's Mike!

I'm actually headed to his AF retirement party in about two weeks-- I'll have to get the Pantera update then.

Last I saw the car, it was all disassembled-- he got smoked out the back gate of our AF base by one of our buddy's..... in a S2000. That was enough to make him pull the engine for a rebuild.

As far as Pantera's go-- the build quality on them is.... interesting? LOTS of things have to be modified to make them livable. One of the common mods is to cut the floorpan out around the seats and weld in essentially about a 1" box, then weld the floor pan back. That drops the seat enough to give you some headroom.

As a trivia, the Pantera has the same seatbelts that the C-5 has. I always thought that was kind of interesting.

Although I'm not much of a Pantera guy, I have to admit that having a big block V-8
sitting about six inches from your ears and separated only by a fairly thin piece of glass is a pretty damn visceral experience.

Basically, you can feel your organs shifting when you floor it.

R.

I don`t know to much about them.
I never knew that they were not very reliable stock. I just always liked the way they looked/look. I did watched the whole video, so now I know a bit more about them.

I love it when your buddy says that he changed the gearbox in a parking lot of a hotel, and Jay Leno says, "that`s got make a great vacation for the wife"
He actually changed the clutch in under 3 hours in the parking lot of a hotel, including beer breaks. Wow, that's impressive!
Cool story how he met his wife

[flybigjet]

Originally Posted by PcarFan

Cool story how he met his wife

And that?

Is how he got the second Pantera.

He's a mechanical savant, and knows "a car guy" in EVERY city in the world.

There are some stories, let me tell you!

R.

PS: His wife? Races too (full-on Mustang track beast)- and Mike had nothing to do with that one!

R.

[PcarFan]

Originally Posted by flybigjet

And that?

Is how he got the second Pantera.

He's a mechanical savant, and knows "a car guy" in EVERY city in the world.

There are some stories, let me tell you!

R.

PS: His wife? Races too (full-on Mustang track beast)- and Mike had nothing to do with that one!

R.

I figured that out when I was watching the video.
He`s one lucky guy

It`s one thing for you to find your perfect mate, but for a car guy to find their perfect mate that is also a car girl, that`s every car guy`s dream

[BMWGUYinCO]

Originally Posted by flybigjet

Yup-- that's Mike!

I'm actually headed to his AF retirement party in about two weeks-- I'll have to get the Pantera update then.

Last I saw the car, it was all disassembled-- he got smoked out the back gate of our AF base by one of our buddy's..... in a S2000. That was enough to make him pull the engine for a rebuild.

As far as Pantera's go-- the build quality on them is.... interesting? LOTS of things have to be modified to make them livable. One of the common mods is to cut the floorpan out around the seats and weld in essentially about a 1" box, then weld the floor pan back. That drops the seat enough to give you some headroom.

As a trivia, the Pantera has the same seatbelts that the C-5 has. I always thought that was kind of interesting.

Although I'm not much of a Pantera guy, I have to admit that having a big block V-8
sitting about six inches from your ears and separated only by a fairly thin piece of glass is a pretty damn visceral experience.

Basically, you can feel your organs shifting when you floor it.

R.

I remember seeing these when they came out. The one thing that struck me then, as well as today....is how wide those rear tires are!
I was young, so I equated that with "Wow - that thing has to be FAST!"

Lot of famous musicians (rock stars in particular) have owned/own them.

[Esteban]

Another famous Pantera.

Go to 1:13 to skip the advertisement.

Thank you, thank you very much uh-huh.

[///MPhatic]

That time when I shot my Exige in an Autozone parking lot. Turns out they are good for something after all; cool lighting.

Darker. (Explore) by Andrew Thompson, on Flickr

Banner. by Andrew Thompson, on Flickr

Rings. by Andrew Thompson, on Flickr

Rear Decal by Andrew Thompson, on Flickr

OEM BBK by Andrew Thompson, on Flickr

[diirk]

Saw this at the Autorama show earlier this year. Completely custom built by Ron Berry It has an air cooled 2275 blown VW motor.

[Buug959]

Hmmmm, what do you suppose that pole is for?

[Murf the Surf]

Originally Posted by Buug959

Hmmmm, what do you suppose that pole is for?

The Ballet.

[Buug959]

Originally Posted by Murf the Surf

The Ballet.

I like, ummm... ballet.

[Esteban]

Originally Posted by Buug959

I like, ummm... ballet.

Me too...

[PcarFan]

Originally Posted by Buug959

Hmmmm, what do you suppose that pole is for?

That`s a stripper pole for the Leafs Stanley cup parade

[Buug959]

Originally Posted by PcarFan

That`s a stripper pole for the Leafs Stanley cup parade

Careful, I'm a life-long Leafs fan.

[///MPhatic]

"Giant steps are what you take..."

Giant steps are what you take... by Andrew Thompson, on Flickr

[AlpineBoost]

Originally Posted by ///MPhatic

A few randoms.

I've had this pic saved on my phone for a few years now. Is this your FD? Love these shots

[JJ 911SC]

Originally Posted by Buug959

Careful, I'm a life-long Leafs fan.

Sorry to hear that

Many long-suffering bud fans were not even born when; https://www.thestar.com/sports/leafs...ent_world.html

[floridaorange]

Originally Posted by ///MPhatic

That time when I shot my Exige in an Autozone parking lot. Turns out they are good for something after all; cool lighting.

Darker. (Explore) by Andrew Thompson, on Flickr

Banner. by Andrew Thompson, on Flickr

Rings. by Andrew Thompson, on Flickr

Rear Decal by Andrew Thompson, on Flickr

OEM BBK by Andrew Thompson, on Flickr

Great use of that light - impressive (I am also a photographer).

[Buug959]

Originally Posted by JJ 911SC

Sorry to hear that

Many long-suffering bud fans were not even born when; https://www.thestar.com/sports/leafs...ent_world.html

It could be worse. Some people are Habs fans.

[Romo]

Well, after a long, long wait (21 months) I finally picked the car up;