Some Tear Down

Even though I was sick as a dog, it was just too pretty of a day to miss working on the Pantera. I had just returned from a trip to LA for the week and have been thinking for many days now what to do to start working on this project. Today, as I stood over the car I got that overwhelming feeling I usually get when the project is just too big. As I always have, I reminded my self over and over again - You eat an elephant one bite at a time. Same goes for a Panther!

Today I decided to take out some of the modifications the previous owner had installed in the Pantera. It isn't that I don't like the work he did, the door panels and center console are excellent. And the dash that he started, though was heading in the right direction, isn't exactly what I have in mind for the interior. He was going for more of the race-car minimal look. I want something more complete and refined as a daily driver.

Here's some before and after shots I took today.

Dash View Before

Dash View After

 As you can see the way the roll will interfere with whatever dash design that I install. It remains to be seen what I will need to do to make it look the way I want it to.

The door panels that the previous owner put on are pretty nice. I wanted to remove them to see what the metal looked like under the panels. I want to make sure I tackle any rust issues that might have been missed. The handles you see were made by the previous owner. He installed a window mechanism from another model car. We will see if and how this will work with where I want to take her.

Door Panel View Before

Door Panel After

Inside the door panels were really good. Not much to contend with at all. The passenger side door had been re-skinned due to some damage on the passenger side rear quarter and door. Both look to have been repaired very well. The door will need some trimming and adjustment to get it to open and close properly. I think I'll put in some sound deadening in everywhere to help protect the metal and to help manage unwanted noise.

That's the extent of the work I did on #3854 today. There is a ton of things to do - the list is way overwhelming. But one bite - that's all I need to worry about. More to come.