Vehicle Description
-Black with Black interior with White accents, Black carpeting,
26,000 Original Miles, 5.8 liter (351ci) Ford Cleveland V8, ZF
5-speed manual transmission, Long Term ownership.
Alejandro De Tomaso founded his auto building firm, De Tomaso
Automobili, in Modena, Italy in 1959. Like many race car builders,
he hoped to emulate Ferrari and build road cars that would embody
the qualities of his racing cars and be fast, excellent handling
cars. De Tomaso's hallmark was a well-designed sportscar featuring
exotic styling on the outside, but always have an off-the-shelf
production engine underneath. Today, Panteras are among the most
bulletproof of exotic Italian cars on the road and, as a result,
they are far cheaper to run and own than Ferraris, Maseratis and
Lamborghinis due to De Tomaso and Ford's choice of an off-the-shelf
Mustang V8 engine, the 351-Cleveland.
This 1974 Pantera L was purchase in 1983 from its second owner and
has been in its present ownership since. During this ownership, it
has been received various sympathetic restoration to include a bare
metal repaint as well as interior accents in White. Factory gauges
remain and are in correct working order and the steering wheel has
been replaced with a period correct unit from LeCarrera. The
original 351 ci engine has been completely rebuilt, bored over,
modified and fitted with Holley EFI Snyper System with dashboard
mounted digital controller, the engine has been dyno'd and produces
605 HP. The exhaust has been fabricated by Paul's Custom Exhaust
and it's fair to say, sounds menacing. All remaining mechanicals,
suspension (Koni shocks, performance spring it, chrome swaybars),
brakes (fitted with aluminum Superlite brake calipers with
two-piece rotors with aluminum hats), electronic emergency brake
upgrade, clutch and gearbox have also been serviced when and were
needed to keep in its current superb condition. LED headlights are
installed in the factory housings. Finally, the Pantera has been
fitted a set of PI Motorsports LeMans 4 17" forged aluminum
polished wheels with new Michelin Pilot Sport 2 tires, 225/45/17
front and 335/35/17 in the rear.
Used sparingly through the years, it has recently received a
complete and major service to ensure it is excellent and ready for
its next caretaker. Having covered 26,000 caring miles from new,
this Pantera is complete with all documentation from almost new as
well as all documentation for the restoration-build.
It is complete with original MSO, window sticker, owner's manual
and service/maintenance records. The Pantera is an Italian exotic
with a heart of reliable American muscle.