This early 1971 DeTomaso Pantera 'Pre-L' arrived at our shop having been dropped off the back of a transporter truck. As a highly desirable early production model in rare lime green, the goal was a strict, historically accurate concours restoration to return the Tom Tjaarda designed body to better than its factory-delivered condition.
Body Repair
We began by completely stripping the unibody to bare metal around the damaged areas. The body shell was mounted to our frame aligner, where we pulled the damaged areas to the correct dimensions. We used highly accurate digital measurements ensuring the car was perfectly straight and square. Even going as far as measuring other undamaged cars as a reference. Every panel was meticulously aligned and straightened by hand.
Powertrain Refresh
The matching-numbers 351 cubic-inch Ford Cleveland V8 was rebuilt and refreshed to original specifications, while preserving all the original parts that we could. The iconic dark blue paintjob was redone and the engine was carefully tuned on the dyno to ensure all of the original horsepower is there to take on the fastest cars from the era.
The legendary ZF 5-speed manual transaxle was completely disassembled, inspected, and refreshed to handle the Cleveland's power smoothly for years to come. Traditionally the time to have one of these rare transaxles redone measures in years. With the help of the leading Pantera experts in the world, we were able to source original manuals, parts and expertise to train a new generation of technicians that can work on these locally. We are now able to turn around a rebuild in weeks instead of years, meaning the transmission is no longer the thing that delays a projects completion.
Interior & Trim Authenticity
The cabin was largely undamaged in the accident but the years had taken their toll on a few key wear items. The chrome throughout the interior was polished or redone to restore the original shine. The sound deadening was replaced and the seats frames were reconditioned and foam replaced to make the interior a pleasant place to drive for hours on end.
