ot; need help remembering sports car

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Old Mar 14, 2002 | 09:52 PM
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inski21's Avatar
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ot; need help remembering sports car

I can't remember the name a car from the 70's. It was an Italian body 2 seater with a Ford 351 in it and dual carbs I think.

Pantera?
 
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Old Mar 14, 2002 | 10:49 PM
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Was it front engine or mid engine?

If it was front engine I think you mean a Sunbeam Tiger. They crammed the motor in so tight that the two rearmost cylinders were under the wiper cowl.

If it's a mid engine you prolly mean the DeTomasso Pantera. it was a wedge shaped Lamborghini looking car. The Tiger was smaller and lighter but the Pantera's engine had been massaged and had a transaxel setup that made it handle really well.
 
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Old Mar 14, 2002 | 11:16 PM
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The Sunbeam's really from the '60s and French. Remember Get Smart? That's the car in the opening sequence. Irony - Sunbeam's part of the Mopar umbrella. They couldn't squeeze a 273 or 318 into it so they put in a 289.

The Pantera's from the '70s. Sold thru Lincoln/Mercury dealers. A little more irony ain't it? Sports car from the blue haired set. Mid-Engined 351 w/ a 5-speed. Priced about like a Vette at the time. Should have been a No Brainer.
 

Last edited by 1MoreFord; Mar 14, 2002 at 11:26 PM.
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Old Mar 15, 2002 | 08:27 AM
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you are refering to the DeTomaso Pantera. Produced from 71 to 74 or 75. They had a BOSS high compression 351 Cleveland engine that was good for 330 HP in the first year. I understand that the engine was detuned in subsequent years for emmisions and fuel economy reasons.

To me the beast American engine swap in a Euro car was the one and only one year that Lotus put a 5.7 LS1 into the Esprit (I think around 92 or 93) before going back to the turbo 4.
 

Last edited by J-150; Mar 15, 2002 at 08:38 AM.
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Old Mar 15, 2002 | 02:11 PM
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Here is a Pantera photo.

 
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Old Mar 15, 2002 | 03:18 PM
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Only two things I remember about driving the Pantera. It had lousy a/c and the gated shifter took some getting used to.

My family had bought three cars from the Lincoln-Mercury dealer so I was one of the few people and probably the only teenager who got to drive the yellow one they had. I pretty much embarrassed myself begging for a drive. Of course, the GM was with me so only got to drive it on the freeway and off the next exit.
 
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Old Mar 15, 2002 | 07:12 PM
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Pantera! Thats it. I got to have one of those. I was buzzing around in my 5.0GT 2 summers ago and I was promptly embarassed by one of those.

Got to have one of those. The one that smoked me was a little tattered and silver.
 
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