Good morning! You know, we spend a lot of time on here looking at practical daily drivers; they’re the bread-and-butter of the cheap car market. And there’s a good reason: if you’re shopping for a cheap car, chances are you just need something to get around, with as little fuss as possible. But since it’s Friday, when I sometimes throw the rulebook out the window, I thought we’d flip the script and look at two cars that would be among the worst choices for daily commuters.
Either one of yesterday’s choices would handle daily-driver duties just fine, but it seems you preferred the Chevy S-10 by a pretty wide margin. I agree. I always liked these S-10s. The 4.3 will get crappy mileage, but it will give more power than you need in return. And I guess I was just hanging out with the wrong crowd for a while, because I did hear these things get bad-mouthed quite a lot. Probably disgruntled Tacoma owners, upset at trucks with rusted-out frames still being priced at seven grand.
Oh, and since it came up, you can absolutely drive 2WD trucks in the snow, especially with a manual. Snow tires help, as does a little weight in the rear. One of those tubes of sand behind each wheel hump usually does the trick. You want to know what car is bad in the snow? A second-gen Firebird with bald tires. Especially with my old co-worker Keith driving. I’m lucky to be here.
We’ve all tried to do jobs with the wrong tool before. Admit it; you’ve loosened nuts with Vise-Grips or pounded a nail into the wall with the butt of a screwdriver or something. Sometimes it’s for lack of a proper tool, some specialized thingamajig that you have to special-order and can’t wait for, and sometimes it’s just plain stubbornness and not wanting to go back out to the garage to get the right tool. But there are times when something is just the worst possible choice to use for the task at hand. I started perusing Craigslist with no real idea of what I was looking for, and laughed when I saw one of today’s cars and imagined trying to drive it in rush-hour traffic. So I went looking for another equally bad choice, and the internet did not disappoint. Think of these two as the anti-Corollas, in more ways than one.
1972 De Tomaso Pantera – $106,000
Engine/drivetrain: 393 cubic inch overhead valve V8, five-speed manual, RWD
Location: Boise, ID
Odometer reading: 60,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives great
What’s cooler than a mid-engined Italian sports car? (That’s a rhetorical question; there is nothing cooler than a mid-engined Italian sports car.) Nearly all of us ’70s and ’80s kids grew up with posters of Ferraris and Lamborghinis on our walls, watching Tom Selleck and Don Johnson drive them on TV, and seeing beautiful women thumbing their noses at authority in them. But those were fragile, high-strung machines; only those of us who paid attention knew there was another way to go, a car with the sexy looks of an Italian supercar but a red-blooded American V8 providing the power: the De Tomaso Pantera.
Believe it or not, for a couple of years, you could walk into a Lincoln-Mercury dealership and buy one of these. Can you imagine this thing sitting in a showroom next to Comets and Montegos? But it made sense; De Tomaso had partnered with Ford for engines for many years, and Ford actually owned a majority of the Italian automaker at the time. The Pantera was equipped with Ford’s 351 cubic inch Cleveland V8, mounted behind the seats and powering the rear wheels through a five-speed transaxle. If you’re thinking this is no longer a stock Pantera, you’d be right – it’s now rocking more than five hundred horsepower, with suspension and brake modifications to match. The seller provides a handy list of the car’s modifications, if you want to peruse it.
I can’t say I’m a fan of the carbon-fiber and the awful Momo steering wheel, but with the extra power on board, I have a feeling the racing harnesses and roll cage are a good idea. And I love the fact that Pantera owners are willing to modify their cars in ways that would give Ferrari owners nightmares. This particular car has a bit of a story to tell; it has a rebuilt title. The previous owner had a massive heart attack behind the wheel (but lived – don’t worry) and ran it into a tree. This has got to be the most expensive rebuilt-title car I’ve ever seen.
Cars that have a long production life like the Pantera tend to get uglier as time goes on; it’s nearly always the first-generation design with no adornments that looks the best. By the end, the Pantera looked like a cheap kit car version of itself, with fender flares and wings and all sorts of crap. I appreciate the fact that the owner of this one refrained from adding a wing to this one. I’d rather see almost any other color wheels besides black on it, though.
1976 Land Rover 101 Forward Control – $40,000
Engine/drivetrain: Diesel inline 4 of unknown displacement, four-speed manual, 4WD
Location: “Vehicle is located in Hawaii but can be shipped to LA”
Odometer reading: 103,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives great
Ex-military vehicles hold a lot of appeal for certain buyers. They’re built to survive unbelivably harsh conditions, and they’re often equipped in ways that were never offered to the general public. But why limit yourself to just our military surplus? This truck, the Land Rover 101 FC, was designed specifically for the British Army, but now is in private hands, in Hawaii.
The original engine in the 101 was a Buick/Rover 3.5 liter V8, but thanks to absolutely ridiculous fuel consumption, quite a number of them were converted to diesel engines. This one is powered by a four-cylinder Perkins diesel, but the seller didn’t specify which one. It drives two solid axles through a four-speed manual gearbox and a two-speed transfer case. It’s equipped with a winch at both ends, and I have a feeling that they’re operated from a PTO on the transfer case, which should make them plenty strong. It runs and drives well, and the seller says it is street-legal in Hawaii. California smog testing might present a problem, however, with the engine swap and all.
The 101 is a one-ton truck, so it’s no surprise that it’s all beefy underneath. The seller says it has new brakes, but a disc-brake conversion kit for the front is also included, in case you want more stopping power. Not a terrible idea with a truck this size and weight, actually. It also includes service manuals, and what looks like a stack of receipts. I do have to say, however, that I can’t get on board with mounting white letter tires letter-side-in. This thing would have looked so much cooler with the white letters out.
The diesel engine isn’t the only modification this Landy has received in its retirement. It has a full custom exoskeleton roll cage, and a fresh paint job in Porsche Lava Orange. It looks ready for anything – anything, of course, except rush hour, and maybe the Trader Joe’s parking lot.
Both of these vehicles are completely ridiculous and over-the-top, and I love them both for it. Especially because they’re not the same expensive things you see everywhere. Take either one of these to a car gathering, park it next to some trust-fund baby’s Lamborghini, and watch them fume while everyone ignores their influencer-mobile. And yeah, I know, they’re not what you’d call “shitboxes.” We’ll get back on track next week. I just felt like looking at some silly stuff today. So live a little, and make a ridiculous choice.
Going with the Land Rover. I just don’t go for that kind of vulgar display of power.
What’s cooler than a mid-engined Italian sports car? A FRONT-engined Italian sports car of course. There is no universe in which I would prefer some uncomfortable, hard to work on mid-engined bit of nonsense over a propergentleman’s sports car like a 330GTC or some such.
Elvis shot his Pantera – I will take the Land Rover all day every day. It’s actually useful.
Yay Pantera! It’s ridiculous and rare. Gimme.
Based on the photos in the ad, it appears that the engine in the Landy is a Perkins 4.236 installed by Milner Conversions – per LR forums, not an entirely uncommon swap. It’s an understressed engine, common in agricultural and marine applications – makes tons of torque and will go on forever. However, it also makes 67-82 horsepower, depending on application, so it will be slow slow.
That said, I want it – diesel, orange, blocky – what’s not to like? Love Panteras, but wouldn’t touch this one with a 10-foot pole. You’d have to pay me to unfuck it (insert Ivan Chesnokov-style rant here: “take shit of goat away and could still be good car” etc.).
I have driven a Forward Control Land Rover. Trust me, you won’t WANT to drive one any faster than the diesel will push it. They make 50mph feel like roughly the speed of light.
As cool as the LR is, I get the feeling it would be like driving an even more agricultural version of my old cabover TD box truck with a blown turbo, plus I hate the smell and sound of diesels. OTOH, I like Panteras and I assume they upgraded the stock cooling system. The unpainted CF stuff is ugly and era-inappropriate (especially where the green is nice and it looks like they spent some money on it only to skip those panels?) and the wheel doesn’t work, either, but it still seems pretty good assuming that’s about the going rate for them now.
No brainer, PCH (even if it’s a Pantera) or something really neat and way cheaper?
You know when I was young, I liked the later GT5 Panteras, now that I am older and significantly smarter, I like the earlier, non-bejazzled versions. This not being one, paint, horrid, carbon fiber? Not needed, over bored engine, boring, non-Campagnolo wheels, no thanks. This panther is a nope, especially not while unmolested ones go for less.
If price is no consideration, I’d like both. I loved the Pantera as a kid, especially since they were still relatively new but depreciated like a stone so that I would actually see them regularly since normal people could own them.
I could also see that 101 as being a lot of fun off-road, though I will admit the size would be quite problematic on many of the rather-tight trails we have here in Colorado.
Normally, i would have gone with the Pantera, but i’ve never seen a FC Landy, and i think this would be something new and unique to show up at C&C.
I chose the Pantera because I’ve always thought they were cool.
Today would be a great day for a “BOTH” option in the poll.
I am drooling over the prospect that completely senseless two-car garage!
Easy decision for a Californian….Fire Truck.
Nuff said.
Wait – did he survive the heart attack but not the tree? That seems worse!
I have go with the Pantera – I just want to see and hear that insane exhaust system!
Pantera. I’m a Ford person. Always wanted one since saw one in a Ford/Lincoln/Mercury brochure…and it had a 351 Windsor engine.
Elvis had a yellow Pantera.
This vote’s for the El.
Other kids had posters of Ferrari’s and Lambo’s on their walls.
I had posters of Pantera’s and Lancia’s.
I’ll take the Pantera!
Imagine the tailgate parties you could have with that Land Rover! Good times!
Also, I may be irrational but the Pantera just seems a little douchy.
The headers on the Pantera are a work of art but I’ll still go with the Landie. I’d kill myself in less than day with the Pantera.
No, no, NO! Don’t make me choose! I want BOTH!
Alright, I’ll go back and read this now.
Ok, I’ve done my homework and voted. Want both.
Horrible confession time, I have owned examples of both. The Land Rover was more useful.
I could not agree more with you, as usual. 😉
But I have less than zero interest in pretzling myself into a mid-engined codpiece as a rule.
This isn’t horrible at all! I strive for a diverse set of experiences.
I went with the Pantera cause it’s local to me and would keep it within the in-town kinda funky, somewhat spicy car owners social group. Plus, it would be fun to have two Panteras in the family!
No shot the Land Rover can get above 70mph on the highway. Detroit highways might as well be Talladega so that thing would be a nightmare. I’ll take the cool points of the Pantera along with the pains of driving a 70s sports car over the Land rover any day of the week – or in this case Mon-Fri
If I lived in coastal NC, I’d take the Land Rover – such a vehicle would be very useful both for sand fun in the sun and high water during hurricanes (seriously!) – since I’m not, I’ll rip it up with the Pantera. Damn fine sounds coming out of those snakes, no doubt.
Today’s the day for a both option.
Came here to say just that haha.
With only 1 choice I went with the Land Rover because I’d actually commute in it and use it more as a fishing beach buggy on the NJ coast before and or after work.
Call it a Psycho Holiday, because I’m going to Walk right up to that Pantera. It’ll be sheer Domination at every cars and coffee. It’s key to me Becoming the best enthusiast I can be. I’ll definitely reach A New Level. I’m sure that if I give my mechanic Five Minutes Alone with it it’ll be ready for A Vulgar Display Of (V8) Power!
50 minutes and no likes? No music fans here??!
We’re sorely missing some good friends and a bottle of pills
I would take both, but a Pantera is my if I win the lottery car. Not this Pantera, but a Pantera. I’ve wanted one since I saw a local shop rebuilding / restoring one when I was in middle school ( a very long time).
If I have to go stupid, I’d rather go Italian stupid: the vulgar display of power.