1972 DE TOMASO PANTERA – 34014 MILES – (54,422KMS)
This bright yellow Ghia designed Pantera was purchased new in 1972 by Kelvin Franks, a South Australian who was at the time, running a business in California. Kelvin was a trail bike champion who raced in both Australia and the US and manufactured off road motorbikes. He even raced behind the Iron Curtain during the Cold War, sounds like a very interesting character.
In the early 80’s he moved his business back to Adelaide and bought the car with him with the intention of converting it to RHD, but at the time, it was necessary to have the approval of the De Tomaso factory to go ahead with the conversion. A letter dated 22nd of March 1990 to Mr Franks regretfully advises that ” the structure of the chassis does not permit the transformation from left to right hand drive as it could cause many problems of security and reliability”
As a consequence of the De Tomaso letter, he decided to keep the car under cover in his Adelaide factory, where it remained for some 30 years until the current owner discovered it and took ownership (almost a barn find!). A slight accident happened at the wharf on arrival to a rear panel together with some factory equipment damage caused to the roof and back engine cover, so other than those areas, the paint is original.
The current owner met Kelvin and he was assured that the mileage is correct. He then embarked on giving the car a new life.
Time had taken it’s toll and as a matter of course, the motor was rebuilt through well respected Gerace Restorations in Adelaide, as was the suspension, steering, brakes, cooling system etc. Much paperwork is held supporting the work completed.
A known weak point of early Pantera’s was their cooling system, so the cooling system has been replaced and modified to a lay forward position with twin thermo fans sucking hard to completely rectify the problem, it runs cool!
The original radiator, radiator shields, original spare tyre and more parts are included in the sale.
This is a genuine documented two owner Pantera with all the accompanying paper work, a rare and beautiful package.
Powered by a Ford 351ci V8 with 4 bolt main the same as a GTHO Phase 3, but with hydraulic lifters. It drives through a gated 5 speed manual gearbox and whilst current performance figures are not available, the engine has been modified slightly for extra performance including a mild cam, high rise manifold and group 4 exhaust. The engine has done less than 2000 miles since the rebuild.
Altogether, a rare and beautiful Italian made car with American muscle under the bonnet. It is an advantage that the factory said no to the conversion, because it maintains it’s original build quality which elevates its collector value.
The car is currently Historically registered in South Australia and should be eligible for similar schemes in other states, which makes owning this vehicle very reasonable from an on road cost point of view.
Available to admire on our showroom floor in Adelaide, I doubt you will find another one!
We can arrange transport door to door Australia wide.
Finance – our broker offers VERY competitive rates and prompt service.
We welcome the opportunity to consider your trade in.
| Make: | De Tomaso |
| Model: | Pantera |
| Built: | 1972 |
| KM: | 34014 miles = 54,422kms |
| Engine Size: | 5800cc |
| Cylinders: | 8 |
| Transmission: | Manual |
| Price: | Sold |