pantera

hi! to everyone on this site my question is ford makes a v-8 with a transaxle in it"s pantera so if they already have a set up than why don"t more people use them it can"t be cost because i have seen them for sale for under $10.000 and that was for the whole car and has anyone ever heard of using front wheel drive motor with transaxle to convert for their gt40 kit cars such as olds or cadillac is it possible i dont want to use this method but i don"t have a extra $50.000 for a really nice replicar i have a very modest bank account i am in the middle of buying a house and paying off my truck so probably in the next year i will be serious about building my gt40 just need a lot info if you think you can help me in any way please reply sincerely John.S

 

[Bill Bayard]

John,

If you are patient, the right deal on a partially finished
chassis will come along. As you stated, you are a year away from purchase. In the last year, at least a dozen cars, in various states of completion, have changed hands. Within the next 12 months, one may have your name on it. What would you be willing to pay? There may be one out there right now! Stay tuned to the Cars For Sale Section. Good luck and happy hunting!

Bill

 

good morning Bill i have a car mounted to vw chassis but i don"t think that"s going to work with a SBF i was wondering if a motor and transaxle from a pantera would work as i will look into other transaxles as i just thought this might be easier to apply as one whole unit sincerely John.S

 

[Bill Bayard]

John,
It would be easier, I suppose, but you are still working with a chassis that was designed for something entirely different. It might look OK, but not necessarily handle well,or be safe to drive.
If you are willing to put $10000 out for a Pantera, solely for parts purposes, you might as well spend another few thousand, and have a GT40 rolling chassis that was designed from the start to handle the weight and horsepower of a V8.
But, if you are stuck on the idea of using your existing body on a different chassis, a reasonably well sorted out donor car, would be the way to go. A few different ones have been used for GT40 platforms, including the Pantera(John Stone, a member here), but more commonly, the Fiero(ASPP kits).

Bill

 

[Jim Rosenthal]

The Panteras used the same transaxle as the GT40 but turned over. It can be converted using a different bellhousing, plus mods need to be made to the transaxle itself for adequate oiling. Plus, you have a 351 Cleveland V8 which will be a tight fit in most GT40 chassis. If you found a bargain Pantera, you might be better off restoring it as a Pantera, which was not a bad car to start with, then trying to turn it into a GT40. Of course, it doesn't look like a GT40, which most people, myself included, think looks quite a lot better than a Pantera.

 

Bill you are right! in another post i have [unknown gt40] i found out that i may not have gt40 but instead may have a kellison gt40k mounted to vw chassis so i will more than likely abandon this project before it gets to far off the ground and look for a gt40 project more suitable for a v-8 engine and Jim i agree that there i nothing more beauitful than a gt40 in her prime! sincerely John.S

 

John S.
Yes, I am building a Pantera based GT40 and could give you some answers to a few questions. Feel free to email me at [email protected]

I measured the 1979 Olds Toronado trans. It's wide in design and very heavy. However, it's in-line (not transverse) and would withstand a lot of torque. I don't feel it's do-able because of the size & weight.

I'm going to be using the "famous" 016 experiment of my friend Eric. We're trying to help each other with our GT40 goals.

I know there are many high priced kits on the market but there are affordable ways to go about it. However, Bill is right-BE PATIENT.

Also, don't worry about your VW-based project becoming a boondoggle. When you get a V-8 based GT40, where the body is built to spec, you'll be happy from then on.

Have fun!

John S. (as in STONE) /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

John.S as in [STONE] thanks for the reply i will e-mail you for some info.I had a feeling that somebody out there was useing a pantera engine and transaxle my thought was that it was already set up without having to have any parts fabricated just do some tweaking here and there and bam! you have nice v-8 in a lightweight car.As for me i heard that CAV has one of the cheapest kits around and most versitile chassis on the market for a backyard mechanic like myself.I don"t know what i"m going to do with my VW based car right now i will probably will look for a fiero chassis to put the body on then put it in chevy v-8 some interior some body work then sell it for some cash to go towards my new project a real replicar.Although this project may just give myself a little bit practice for when i can go shopping for my dream car! a little over one year before i can do my shopping still tring to figure out which one of the manufacturer"s of gt40s i want, dont know any of the differences between the the replicars i"m sure somebody here in this site can tell me where and who to contact to get this info so i can dwindle my choice"s down. sincerly John.S

 

[Lynn Larsen]

John S.

To answer your question on the Caddy/Olds. The North Star set up has been used in a number of the Lambo kits. I don't think anyone has ever put it in a GT40 that I am aware of. The transaxles of choice seem to be ZF 5DS 25-? (of which the Pantera is one), Audi and Porsche seem to be neck-and-neck, many in England and Europe use the Renault. The few GT40s with GM engines used the Porsche transaxle similar to the set up in the Ultima. If you go to the Articles and FAQ sister site (link at top of page in the heading), I believe you will find a couple of reports on the various inline and transverse transaxles out there that could be considered with various vital statistics about them. With mid engine cars it has always been about the transaxle first and foremost. And I have been following kit/component/homebuilt cars since the mid sixties.

Regards,
Lynn