Nickg3130

After years of browsing this site.. and 10 posts later I finally feel worthy of my own build thread. In 2020 I purchased one of my dream boats being a 79 24 Pantera. Boat was purchased with a mild built big block and bravo drive. After enjoying it for a year and a half i pulled the tired big block out and started planning an LS Swap.. The original plan was to fill the transom from previous set ups, but things escalated.. More pics to follow...

Nickg3130

Here are some pics of how I got the boat..





not the best. But I’ve definitely seen worse.. until we got into it 😂

here’s some of the transom demo







and here’s where the snowball started.. original fuel tank still in the boat, thank god we removed it otherwise I’d probably have a punctured one after a season



pretty cool to see some of the 1979 origin tho 😂

Then the fun started. The majority of the deck was spider cracked, and ended up being rotted. So we re-cored roughly 75% of it. What a project this was.








at this point I knew I was all in lol. So we removed the original windshield frame and glass and molded in one. Way cleaner look imo

Nickg3130

And here come some of the cool stuff..

engine is a 6.0 LS block, punched out to 402ci. Manley rotating assembly. LS3 cylinder heads and a ported LSA blower.












Back to the boat..
new fuel tank installed



some original artwork found after sanding. If anyone has any info on the origin of this boat let me know!





here’s a rendering of the paint scheme.



in primer

Nickg3130

Here’s where the magic is. I’m not a super creative guy when it comes to art. I know what looks good but usually I’m a clean and simple guy. But my painter and his artist knocked this out of the park. It’s the best when people rub there hand on it thinking it’s a wrap..
nope.

















to think about how f’d up the deck of this boat was..

here’s some of the interior.



we flush mounted a Holley 12” screen to the custom dash. Who needs analog gauges anymore.. 😂



I’ll have to get some pics of the cabin. We lined the floor with fake vinyl hardwood. Came out pretty slick.

Back to the cool stuff.. ITS mounted and motor mock up






more rigging..













cant do all this work and not put on some fancy lights..




back to cool stuff.

Nickg3130

More awesomeness by my painter/artist. Custom painted rub rail.




found a steering wheel that was so fitting couldn’t resist.



rigging almost complete.







the interior was kind of a crap shoot. I had someone lined up to make me drop out bolsters, but with the new windshield and dash we had to mount them super low. The guy I had doing them for me actually kinda screwed me out some of the original stuff I had. So we made our own seats from a jersey speed skiff seat mold and had them wrapped. Mounted them to suspension bases. I do love how clean and classic it looks even though sometimes I feel like it should be just a little more custom. They do hug you that’s for sure.

Nickg3130

First day on its new trailer and out of the shop.







first trip to the ramp and night out. So rewarding being on it











finished under the hatch pic..

for those who may ask.. the engine has a heat exchanger mounted on the bellhousing. It’s actually a crusader exchanger I mounted and plumbed. The exchanger on the stringer is for the supercharger. I ran a 5 gallon “ice tank” and circulating pump to run fresh water through that as well.

so far this season, with the ITS and standard length bravo XR we saw a best of 74 mph at only 4400 rpm..


Still have a lot of tuning to do. And I want to put a -2 lower unit on it for next season. From my research and the way the boat acts so far it seems like the boat can use that. But regardless this thing has been an absolute blast and I can’t wait to keep improving. This was a hell of a process and don’t regret one bit.. besides my wallet hurting 😂 but that’s boating I’ve learned.

heres a few more random pics. Sorry for the dump


















tomorrow will try to post videos. Still new at this 😂

sonicss42

Quite the undertaking and great results. Very impressive. Enjoy.

jeff32

Wow!
outstanding resto !
enjoy the ride now!
its a brand new boat!

RSCHAP1

X2
WOW
Enjoy the results of all that hard work
Congrats !!

boostbros

where did you find the steering wheel?