hello all. as many of you know i've bought and started to restore an old pantera. it's a '77' and the hin reads: wcw 72002 f 77 m.

i know the provenance back to the original owner (i'll be visiting with him on thursday at a christmas party). the original owner only owned it for a year or so and then the second owner had it until two months ago when i got it. the original owner drove down to the factory and trailered it back to ohio where it's been a "lake erie" boat it's whole life.

my question is this: it has a rounded deck similar to an excaliber. i cannot find any old pics of a pantera with the same deck. they all are the straight across "sport" deck or the v'ed "se" deck. i know all the hulls were " p&d" and the decks were specific to the builders but this is just odd. if i didn't know the provenance and it didn't have a wcw hin i would be convinced it was an excaliber but it's not.

Pepe, Jo? any thought on this?

thanks for help on this oddity.

have a good day all, rob.

here's a pic of the deck:

Hi Rob i Know wot you mean , i have been looking at some old pictures of P24 s and the deck on them does look very diffrent . i must say i kinda like your deck and screen , it gives the boat a smoother look . good luck with your boat regards paul

I would like to know this too..i believe that the excalibur 24 was one of the earlier 24x7 made and i have no proof of this but i think that the deck was bill farmer designed meaning that excalibur, python, pd, and maybe the early panteras used his deck.

Thats just an theory that i have - no proof of it, someone at pantera must know.

Look at the Pantera website. Shows Pantera 24 #1 (w/ volvo also) having the rounded deck also. Probably only 2 or 3 made like that...others have sport or se deck. Not sure when they changed. Pepe will know.

i was told that mine is number two. i'm thinking they made one in '75' and none in '76' and then mine in early '77'.

i'm dying to sort this out.

here's what Pepe had to say about it in my "bringing it home" thread:

That boat brings me a LOT of memories!
It seems like it was yesterday, I met Carl Wenger from the original South Florida boat trader. I believe that is Pantera #2,
the #1 was a black hull that I raced in Production class that year.
It does not get any more original than that, from the teak door, upholstery, rub rail, lifeline, cleats, and the Pantera sticker on the Target trailer!

Good luck w/ it,
rgds,
pepe @ pantera.
Last edited by JO - PANTERABOATS : 09-20-2011 at 03:04 PM. Reason: adding more info.

i just looked at the pantera site again (i've looked a bunch already) and i see what you mean by the #1 having the same deck.

i guess i was just skeptical that i really was in possession of #2.

hopefully Pepe chimes in again.

I have heard this subject come up before. Seems if the company wasn't the original, they don't want to say where it came from. This deck you have is probably the first 24X7 ever made. Excalibur, P&D, Monza, etc. all made this boat w/this deck in the early years. This is probably 2 of 2 or 2 of 3 ever made by Pantera (just estimating). Have seen the current Sport deck as early as 1977 and the SE deck as early as 1979. I have seen the current Sport deck on one other boat brand (before Pantera) that was supposed to be a Harry Schoell design for Magnum. Have never seen the SE deck on anything other that a Pantera brand. Who knows the truth? Well...in 2011 probably on a couple people.

Oh yeah, I forgot, don't change a thing on this one (especially paint). Keep it original for sure. Really nice and rare! TRS, Bravo? What power?

the boat came with a volvo 280 and a small block chevy. my plan is to repower with a bbc and a bravo drive.

i'm a "purist" at heart and i'm conflicted on the bravo conversion. i do want the boat to maintain its originality but i really want to run a bravo.

i plan on a "factory" upholstery job and all original style gauges and controls.

i wanted to paint it black on the sides and transon like the #1 boat but now i'm thinking i should adhere to the original color scheme.

oh boy, this is going to take some thought!

I wouldnt worry about originality. It is a boat and it is meant to be used and upgraded.

I would stick with 'period correct' if you like the classic look if thats the style you like but I wouldnt worry about modern power or drivetrain. Why run old stuff and have it break?

Enjoy the boat I really enjoy these types of threads on here it is the reason I look on this site every morning while having my coffee!