One Question!
(Submitted by Will Kooiman)
I had an unusual encounter the other day. It
went something like this as I was leaving the grocery store.
Fellow:
One question. Ford or Chevy?
Me: Ford.
Fellow:
Well, most of them came with Chevys.
Me: No. All of them came with Fords.
Fellow:
Well, Chevys were an option.
Me: No. They all had Fords - most of them were 351C's, some had 351W's.
Fellow:
Well every one I've seen had a Chevy.
Me: I've seen one with a Big Block Chevy and about 70 with 351C's. I know of
one with a Hemi.
Fellow:
Well every time they show up at swap meets, they have Chevy's (as he points
to the front trunk).
And he was sober!
What Chassis?
(Submitted by Tony DiGiovanna)
Inquirer: What chassis did they build these
on?
Me: A Pantera chassis.
Oldsmobile Pantera
(Submitted by Chuck Engles)
Very shortly after buying my Pantera in 1988
somewhere in the Dallas-Ft. Worth metroplex I was filling the gas tank and a
fellow walks over...
Fellow: "Hi. Is that a Pantera?"
Me: "Yes sir"
Fellow: "Doesn't that have an Oldsmobile engine?"
Me: (almost speechless) "Umm, no. They were built with Ford 351 Clevelands."
Fellow: "Oh, no. My brother-in-law had one and it had an Oldsmobile engine
in it."
Me: (cautiously, because this person is displaying serious cognitive
dysfunction) "Well, sir, they all came with Ford engines and none were made
with Oldsmobile engines. Which is not to say that your brother-in-law didn't
put an Oldsmobile engine in it. Those things have been done."
Fellow: "Nope. They all came with Oldsmobile engines. My brother-in-law told
me."
Me: (trying to extricate myself from the proximity of an idiot) "Well, sir,
that is a mystery. All the ones I know of have Fords from the factory."
Finally, he left disappointed and
unenlightened and, clearly, permanently automotively challenged.
Volkswagen Pantera
(Submitted by Greg Jacobs)
I had a guy drive past me while I was at a
stop light and comment, "Nice Volkswagen."
...it was idling with the new Flowmasters honkin like thunder with a
thumpity-thump.
Maybe he was as deaf as he was "mis-informed?" You gotta love it!
What is it?
(Submitted by Charlie McCall)
In my case, someone came up and asked...
"What is it?" (Note - my car has in BIG
letters down the side of it "DeTOMASO PANTERA GT5-S" - REALLY big letters)
"Um, it's a DeTomaso Pantera"
"Oh, wow! The Japanese really are making some pretty nice cars these days!"
True story.
Corvettes too
(Submitted by Bob Radefeld)
Have had similar encounters with my P-car but
also happens with other makes.
When I had a '62 Corvette, I had a guy approach me at a car show that swore
that no Corvette ever had a trunk! (this was prior to some of the newer
ones) My car was sitting there with the trunk open & he claimed that it must
have been added by a prior owner. Needless to say, I wasn't about to argue
with this Corvette expert but the first thing that came to my mind was the
old saying - "Better to be an idiot & not say anything than to open your
mouth & prove it" or something in that vein.
Kit Car
(Submitted by Al Chelini)
Occasionally, I get a guy... er, an
"intelligence challenged" individual who asks if the Pantera is a kit car!
I tell him "Yeah, but it's a really good copy
of a Pantera, isn't it?"
Car Shows Expurts
(Submitted by Gary Walker)
I like parking the car at car shows, walking
away, coming back later and listening to the "experts" tell everyone else
what it is. It is amazing what people will say as truth! Incredible.
1969 Pantera
(Submitted by Ian Hannington)
I had some guy at a car show who insisted that
my Pantera was made in 1969, because that was the only year they ever made
them. Even though I showed him my registration clearly showing 1974 as the
model year and told him that they were not even produced until 1971, he was
still positive it was a '69.
He told me that he distinctly remembered that in 1969 he raced a friend of
his who had a Pantera and he had a Mercedes 230 SL. Now get this, he says "I
kept up to him until we hit 180mph, then he just kept going." What a
dolt!!!
The VW Kit Pantera
(Submitted by Dave Doddek)
I have had tons of the idiot types calling my
car almost anything you can imagine. One of the most fun I had though is
when a guy thought it was a VW kit car but could not understand why it was
so fast. Swear to God, I actually convinced him that I had welded two VW
engines together to make an 8 cylinder engine.
Oh, sometimes it should be illegal to have
that much fun.
Almost Bought One
(Submitted by Mark McWhinney)
I heard the following comment at the track on
Thursday from one spectator to
another: "My dad almost bought a Pantera, but it didn't have a back seat."
The Hemi Superbird
(Submitted by Dave Doddek)
Today I had a guy say, "Nice car. Isn't that a
Hemi Superbird?" Now it has been called a lot of things, but this has to be
about the furthest off of them all!!!
Coyote Kit Car
(Submitted by John Maffeo)
We're stopped at a gas station in Salem, OR on
the way home from Monterey. I'm inside buying caffeine and my co-pilot is
filling the tank (nice attendants in Oregon let us fill our own tank).
Anyways, I hear a guy explaining to the two female cashiers that my car was
the kit car used in the old TV series "Hardcastle and McCormick." I
corrected him and told him it was a Pantera. He didn't believe me and
insisted that it was a kit car. So, he went outside to ask the person
filling the tank. The cashiers burst into laughter as he stared at the rear
bumper and realized that he was wrong... again.
Fiero Ferrari Pantera
(Submitted by Chuck Melton)
Gassing up before departure a mechanic told
another that my car was a "kit" on a Fiero chassis. And, that it had a V6.
When I told him it was a "real" car, he then told his "crew" that it was a
real Ferrari. I said NO, it is a REAL car. I don't think he understood
the joke.
Austrian Muira Pantera
(Submitted by Axel Kühn)
Some years ago I parked my Pantera in a little
town near Austria. Two men were coming and said "Look at that great
Lamborghini." I answered: "It's a Pantera." They answered: "Ok, but
what type - a Miura?"
Some minutes later a boy (I think 10 years old) came with his father. And he
cried to his father: "Wow, look at that Pantera". He knew all dates.
Front Engined Pantera
(Submitted by Kirby Schrader)
About 10 years ago, a guy at a parts store in
Houston saw my car from inside the store and when I went in, he was
explaining to everyone how it was the lowest front engined car that had ever
been produced. He was extremely embarrassed when I took him and a couple of
others outside and showed him where the engine actually was.
The Boy can Read
(Submitted by Larry - Cleveland)
A few years back I was at the Super Summit
show when a friend pulled in with his Pantera. As he pulled off to park it I
heard a young boy around eight tell his dad "Wow Dad, did you see that
Pantera!" I was very impressed with him knowing a Pantera. Later in
the show I saw the Pantera parked and noticed he had a sun screen on the
windshield saying Pantera in 3" letters. Now I am only impressed he
can read after going to Ohio schools.
Fiero
(Submitted by Dave McManus)
A guy yelled from a motorcycle, "Hey, I sure
like your little Fiero!"
Toyota Prototype
(Submitted by Dave McManus)
Once I was parked and about five heavy metal
types show up with rings & bones in their noses and began guessing what the
p-car is. After numerous guesses I told them it is a new Toyota prototype.
Garage Chameleon
(Submitted by Marc Campolieto)
So far my Pantera has been called a Delorean,
a Ferrari, a Lamborghini, a kit car and a Camaro. The best part is that
every one of these comments came as my car was sitting in the garage
undergoing restoration. I look forward to the comments when
people drive or walk up the street and look into my garage as they pass.
Mid-Engined Vette
(Submitted by Todd Reid)
One day I was at a car show, so I had all the
doors, trunk and hatch open. Some guy said to me, "Dude! I love what you did
with your VETTE, but how long did it take you to move the motor to the
back?" I told him and his buddy "I don't know. I got it this way."
Boy I hope he was not driving that day.
Gas Station Story
(Submitted by Does200 - PIBB)
Today I had the dark cranberry Group 4 filling
it up, and this mechanic comes running out (with mechanic jump suit & name
on it) and he says he never saw one painted before. Nothing but "huh?" came
out of me and then I asked, "why, do you see them in stages of being fixed
up and not yet painted?" Then he said, "it's a Delorean right?"
Then he saw no windshield wipers on the car, and I had to explain how the
car is so fast and aerodynamic that it doesn't need any.
It's interesting that everyone flocks to our cars with mouths open, yet few
know what it is.
Lotus-Lambo-GT40
(Submitted by edmguru - PIBB)
I had a cop who thought it was a kit car, a
NASCAR mechanic thought it was a Lotus, several who guessed Lambo, one
person pointed out my "GT40" to his friend, and several Ferrari guesses. The
local Superformance dealer just said it was a nice Pantera and offered me a
ride in any of their show cars. He was one of the few who have a clue.
Younger folk are clueless
(Submitted by DeTom - PIBB)
Filled up just today and a guy pulled up in
his Maverick and knew exactly what it was. In fact most guys My age know
what it is. Only younger folk, which is more bigger crowd everyday, don't
seem to have a clue. Some look at me like I am lying when I tell them it is
a 73. BTW, not many females give a hoot one way or another.
Video Game Star
(Submitted by comp2 - PIBB)
I had kids come by on skate boards one time.
They asked what it was, but I made them guess. The 3rd kid guessed it!!!
They had one on their video game at home!
Karmann Ghia
(Submitted by Art Stephens - PIBB)
Someone asked me one time if my Pantera was a
Karmann Ghia. I politely said something like "uh, no". Nothing against
Karmann Ghias by the way.
It has a 351C?
(Submitted by Panteradreamin - PIBB)
I was in my driveway the other day adjusting
the lifters on my 1968 Camaro. This older gentleman drove by, stopped,
backed up and got out to talk to me. He said he had been a mechanic up until
he retired and just wanted to look at the Camaro. We had a nice chat and he
noticed the Pantera in the garage. I told him a little about it and he
finally said "yeah, I built one of those years ago for a friend of mine." -I
think he was implying that it was a kit car -he seemed somewhat surprised
when I told him it had a 351C in it!!
Show me the bullet hole
(Submitted by Sgarrett - PIBB)
My favorite was when I took it for the annual
inspection sticker, the kid who appeared to be the garage gopher/cleanup
person just about pissed in his pants as I pulled it in and told everyone to
just wait right there. He ran over to where his stuff was stashed and he
came back with a big glossy book of unique/special cars. After thumbing
through it for a moment he stopped on the page with the Pantera. It was a
picture of the one that Elvis had owned and shot. The kid wanted me to show
him the bullet hole.
|
