Image via minute_of_dangle/YouTube
One of our favorite activities to do for relaxation is watch videos of classic cars in chemical dip. After all, seeing something kind of cruddy get all cleaned up is just satisfying. It’s even better when the car in question is something cool like this 1972 DeTomaso Pantera.
This trashed Porsche 933’s restoration is nothing short of incredible.
That’s right, we get an alleged barn find example of this Italian-American hybrid exotic ride from the 1970s. These are fairly rare and even back in the day were odd ducks. Some people to this day still aren’t sure what to make of them.
First up is the alkaline bath to remove the paint. The guy says he believes it’s original and so it should come off fairly easily. While it doesn’t look too bad, to get all the corrosion off the body and to get a nice new paint job on there, it’s best to start with a clean slate.
After spending a few days in the stuff, all it takes is a power washer to strip off most of the paint, revealing the bare metal below. Still, it needs one more dip in alkaline before the rest of the paint is ready to slough off.
Then it’s time for the real magic with the acid bath. The guy says it takes four dips in two weeks’ time before a nice, clean Pantera body emerges. What’s really amazing is to see the frunk area that’s been made into Swiss cheese by rust emerge without any on it. Sure, the metal is still chock full of holes, but there’s no corrosion, and it looks so wrong.
But the Pantera itself looks amazing all cleaned up. The body is straight, panel gaps look good, and with the paint and rust removed, there are a few areas that are rotted through, but overall the mid-engine car looks amazing. The owner should have something fantastic once this classic is fully restored.
Image via minute_of_dangle/YouTube
