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1971 anteraDave Sebits has been hanging on to a

used car for the last 38 years.Decades ago Sebits purchased a 1971

De Tomaso Pantera.“This was in 1974, and it was just another

used car at the time. It was depreciatinglike any used car would. I bought it in No-

vember or December. I just liked the lookof it,” he said.

Sebits said he was familiar with the Pan-tera when it first came in to production.

“I had seen them advertised in car maga-zines. It’s the first year; ’71 was the firstyear for them, but the company had been

around since 1959,” he said. Sebits said the Italian super-car design

was one that grabbed, and held, his atten-tion.

“I like the fact that it has such a timelessstyle. This was built in 1971, it’s 41 yearsold. And really, one of the things that gives

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it away – as far as showing its age – is thewheels and tires. The styling is that timeless,mid-engine sports car,” he said.

While the Pantera was not built for racing, ithas an impressive pedigree.

“It is a classic mid-engine design with a Ger-man ZF model 5DS-25 transaxle bolted directlyto the engine. It is the same axle that Fordused in the LeMans winning GT40s of the1960’s,” he said.

The 1971 Pantera is unique in that it was theonly year to run an 11:1 compression ratio.Later models decreased the compression to8.6:1 due to stricter emissions controls. Withthe original engine, a Ford 351 Cleveland, stillrunning, Sebits said the Pantera has been asreliable as any 41-year-old car can be.

“It’s a complicated car. It has power win-dows, power brakes, air conditioning, it alladds to the complication of it. I’ve had to workon the power windows, and you have to teareverything apart. But it hasn’t been anythingmajor. It’s complicated and it has a lot of parts,but it still has a real reliable German transmis-sion and a reliable American V8. The majorcomponents are sound,” he said.

Sebits said the Pantera is a head-turner notonly because of the rarity of the car, but be-cause of its condition.

“At a car show, they were very interested in itbecause it is very original,” he said.

Few Panteras remain in factory condition withmany heavily modified.

“An awful lot of these have been modified.They liked the car because you don’t see verymany, only 6,100 Panteras were built, ever.Most were modified, and one of the reasons is

they have never appreciated invalue much,” he said.

Sebits said one of the mysteries ofthe car world is knowing which carwill become valuable, and whichcars will depreciate quickly.

“There are really good cars, like aLincoln Town Car, and you can buythose for a hundred bucks; and arough impractical car can go sky-high. It’s an odd paradox,” he said.

Sebits said while the Pantera mayhave had a short production run, itdid not retain or gain value likeother classic cars.

“Take a car that’s valuable orrare, and a person would be disin-clined to modify it, like an originalCobra. But these things, since theydidn’t appreciate much, peoplemodified them. I was never particu-

larly tempted to do so. The onlythings that aren’t original is stuffyou can’t see,” he said.

One of the only modifications onthe Pantera was done before Sibetspurchased the car.

“This particular car was originallypurchased from the Kumpf MotorCar Co. in Denver. Kumpf had con-tracted with the famous Denverspeed shop Kenz & Leslie to do allthe repair and maintenance work ontheir cars.

“Kenz & Leslie was the real dealback in those days with their dragracing and Bonneville cars. Theybuilt a radiator modification kit forthe Panteras and they put a littlebrass plaque on the radiator thatread “Kenz &Leslie Super Cooler,”which my car has. Cool, huh?” hesaid.

Sebits said he has held on to thePantera for 38 years simply because

he enjoys the car’s aesthetics. “It’s the looks. And sound. It’s fun

to drive. It’s probably, for as tall as Iam, it’s more comfortable thanyou’d expect. It’s like you’re sittingin a go-cart but it’s really prettycomfortable. I used to driveCorvettes, and this is a little widerand has a roomy interior. I can sitand have headroom, not a lot but Ido,” he said.

Sebits said the car, with only55,0000 miles is not an every daycar, but one he still takes out forshort drives.

“If it were a daily driver and I hadto depend on it, there would bethings I would change. But becauseit’s an occasional collector, I likethe idiosyncrasies. I like the loudand rough. You wouldn’t want aloud, rough car every day, but tojust get in and snort around, it’sfun,” he said.68

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“There are really good cars, like a Lincoln Town Car,and you can buy those for a hundred bucks; and a roughimpractical car can go sky-high. It’s an odd paradox.”

- Dave Sebits