I've got the itch again and the TL will be paid off in February. I wouldn't mind taking on a 1-2yr loan on a toy at that time. A friend had one of these years ago and we had an incredible amount of fun. I love the whole Italian supercar/American V8. Prices are very reasonable for a stock example. I know where there are a set of headers for sale fairly cheap and I would probably do a cam/intake mani/carb (or EFI) and call it a day. If I could get 450hp out of the 351C I would be happy. The one my friend had could only manage a 13.8 stock and that just won't cut it these days. Only thing is I would probably have to give up the GN and that's the ONLY thing stopping me at this point. The downside to that is I bought it in '94 my senior year in highschool when you could get muscle cars very cheap. My grandmother did the loan for me and she recently passed. I took it to my HS prom, HS reunion, the memories this car has are priceless, not to mention the thousands of street races and weekends at the track. So it comes down to GN vs Pantera. I'm afraid or I should say I know I'll miss the straight line violence of the GN but the Pantera is so much fun too.

 

Reading your sig... I'd pass.

 

I wouldnt dump the GN...but thats me seeing how Id love to own one...like most of us here.

I have a friend who has a pantera and loves it.

 

I wouldn't be able to do it. The Pantera has its own claims to fame... I'm pretty sure most car or at least Elvis people know that he owned one at some point. But the GN is much more of an icon and really something special. But only you can really weigh each car's value. I don't know if I could let go of a vehicle that I've had so many memories with that easily.

 

after hearing all the stories about blood, sweat and tears you poured into the GN, i dont think you should sell her. I bet the emotional ties to the GN is hard enough to let her go.

 

I think you need to get the GN back in shape, drive it awhile then decide.I don't think you mind is clear cause it ain't runnin right now.

 

A couple of major issues with Panteras from various years involve engine cooling and A/C, so don't be surprised if new cooling systems and A/C parts are necessary.

New stock performance cars are now surpassing the performance of stock supercars from the '60s, '70s, and '80s, although there are few cars that can surpass the wonderful aesthetics of Italian-bodied 2-seaters. However, it will take more money to modify a mid-engined, transaxled supercar than a pony car or muscle car to get the same straight-line speed.

 

I looked on EBay and looks like a nice car but this may set you back about $40-50k. IMHO, I would go low mileage NSX. Better resale in the end and more reliable, maybe.

 

Keep the GN and invest in a dirtbike, then move to Tennessee and let's hit the track

 

Keep the GN. Sentimental value and it seems like a car you could pass on to your own kid one day considering the history involved with it. The Pantera is nice, but I wouldn't do it, if it meant getting rid of your GN.

 

you will regret selling the gn, i would get the pantera in addition to the gn.

 

Do not get rid of the GN. You'll be sorry.

 

I LOVE GNs...one of the coolest cars on the road. You are one of the lucky guys and own one. I would not ever sell that car. Panteras are cool cars no doubt, but me personally, that GN is just amazing. I'd def keep it. Good luck!

 

Don't get rid of the GN, in your eyes, it is probably irreplaceable at this point. I would hold out until I could afford both some day...

 

You MUST keep the GN. Fix it up and take it to the track some more.

 

Thanks for all the responses. I'm pretty surprised, I figured the majority would be for the Pantera. One thing I should've mentioned is I will inherit my father's ultra low mile 860rwhp GN one day so there will be a GN in my future. But I would feel bad to drive it and rack up the miles. Although mine is brand new mechanically, it still has somewhere around 300,000 miles on it so I don't feel bad at all taking it on trips and basically beating the hell out of it everytime I drive it.

MR1, I think you have it right, I haven't driven it in quite some time so I won't make a decision until it's running again. At least it went down in a blaze of glory against a new ZR1 lol. People associate me with that car, even people I haven't seen in 10 years ask how it's doing.

I still plan on a Pantera but maybe I'll take a year or two with no car payments before the purchase. I think I could keep both if I do that and the good thing is I doubt either car will lose it's value any time soon so worst case I can always sell one of them. I sound like a freaking girl with my indecision.

 

I saw a Pantera at Cars and Coffee this past weekend and it was gorgeous. There were also two Grand Nationals and they were getting much more attention than the Pantera. I thought it would have been the other way around.

Either way you go, you'll have a winner

 

^i agree with the last part. Do what ever makes you feel good, but putting in all that work would make me feel tied. I personally really like both, but I think I would op with the pantera.

 

My Brother In Law recently restored a low mileage Pantera S that he picked up last Winter. Fantastic machine....truly a racecar for the streets (of it's time), dry sump , pretty exotic suspension set up (again for it's time)....and sounds glorious through the Borla exhaust that he has on it. This guy is a pretty eclectic collector, and the Pantera is one of those up and coming hot collectibles that still have fairly reasonable prices but will increase in value as they become harder and harder to find. Seeing as how you can get you Dad's GN in the future....I'd dump yours and pick up the Pantera.

 

Autoweek had a flashback article on the Pantera a couple years ago. Interesting story behind the car, one thing it did mention was that early models had pretty bad rust/corrosion problems. Something you'd want to look for in a used one.

Still remember a friend who lived in a rich neighborhood had a nice Chinese family up the street whose dad had a Pantera. It looked and sounded pretty cool whenever whenever he took it out on weekends.

 

I happen to know a little about these cars lol. The car is off the hook fast but not a drag car. One thing my dad warned me about was "NO Holeshots" If you break the trans axle your screwed. The car is a lot of fun but is very expensive to fix. parts are not that available and when you find them you are gonna pay. one example was a incident when the caliper froze up. It was a couple of hundred dollars just for the tool to remove the rotor. think the job ended being like 1k to fix.

Like legend said also, they are prone to rust. even when we got ours back in the 80's we had a hard time finding a clean one. You also want to look and see if the fuel tank mounts are upgraded. The original mounts on the older models would come loose and tear the fuel tank open. Even though it is not a drag car it is an awesome road car and there is nothing like that v8 screaming behind your head. She might not pull a good time in the quarter mile but she will scare the s..t out of you on top end and at speeds the gn can never achieve.

 

MATT, SIGH - don't do it.............................yet.

 

Sell the TL, daily drive the GN, buy the Pantera

 

LOL. I did that from '94 to '05. Never again. But, the TL would make a nice down payment and the GF has a nice family car already....

 

I would take either one of these Pantera's over your GN. You can still get GN for a good price and upgrading the engines are not too terrible.

http://www.pim.net/WoodhousePantera.html

http://www.pim.net/4212010GTS.html

 

These have a cult following, but I'm not a fan. They need constant wrench work as well (if that matters).

 

Personally I would keep the GN. I have always had a liking for those.

 

Why not just save up for a few years, keep the GN and get a Pantera on the side? Or am I not looking into this enough?

 

damn, i had to google what a Pantera is

 

Ditto

 

I love the GN and the GNX variant. I would keep the GN. You bought it, you're tied to it beyond some cash, and the memories with it are not replaceable.

 

Agreed. If you're going to hold off on a decision, might as well "make payments" on that loan you would take out, and just put the money in the bank earning interest. By the time your loan would be paid off, you'll have enough to pay cash for the Pantera and enough to turbo it.