1992 GT Pantera Midnight Aurora... a repro attempt

[PhillB]

I might add that I doubt a Pantera was custom painted from GT, it's a mass-produced Taiwanese frame so I would suggest an Aurora painted Pantera is a model spec for an overseas market, not seen in a UK catalogue. I do like the bright Orange Panteras myself, though a bit vanilla compared with this stunner.

Thanks, and you may be right! no-one seems to know for sure. Although I do recall someone saying they were special order in Midnight Aurora. Given it was over 30 years ago, I'm not surprised no-one remembers .

Overall, I think the Pantera's were underrated and understandably over shadowed by the Zaskar. Of course, they are fab bikes in their own right though (In any colour ;-))

 

[PhillB]

Not sure how I missed this.

Fantastic build and paint.

Cheers Dom.

 

[PhillB]

It was actually a mix of Deore LX and 500LX, although some variations can occur depending on the market.
The bright red of the Pantera looks even brighter in daylight, whilst not as nice as PhillB's paint job on his bike, it still appealed to me enough to me that I had to have this bike again after losing my original Pantera in '93.
However if the 'special' paint job had been available at the time in '92/93 I would definitely have chosen it over the other colours, no question about that.

Yes, I've tried to make it as close to spec as possible - RD/FD and Cranks are all 500LX, the rest is LX IIRC. Wheels are overspecced Ritchey Vantage. I have since found some NOS black LX pedals which have replaced the XP one in the photos.

After repainting and clear coating I tend to store the bike away for a few weeks to let the 2K clear coat properly harden. (It is rideable after a week, but still pretty soft for a couple of months) Other projects have taken over and this is sat quietly at the back of my storage. A ride is overdue!!!

 

[d8mok]

It could be a colour for a certain market.

GT were well known for having certain colours available in different parts of the world. Which means that some colours either don’t appear in brochures we have, or are rare for us to see.

 

[Black_puma]

Yes, I've tried to make it as close to spec as possible - RD/FD and Cranks are all 500LX, the rest is LX IIRC. Wheels are overspecced Ritchey Vantage. I have since found some NOS black LX pedals which have replaced the XP one in the photos.

After repainting and clear coating I tend to store the bike away for a few weeks to let the 2K clear coat properly harden. (It is rideable after a week, but still pretty soft for a couple of months) Other projects have taken over and this is sat quietly at the back of my storage. A ride is overdue!!!

My current Pantera AL is kitted out with Deore LX FD/RD, 500LX cranks, Exage hubs and Exage rear U brake, Ritchey Vantage Sport rims. Originally it should have come with Deore LX shifters, but when I bought it it came with Deore DX shifters/levers (sadly the 7 speed shifter turned out to be very stiff in the lower gears ) have now been replaced with Deore DX Thumbshifters/brake levers combo.

 

[mattbrown]

Thats a really great job you've done. I love the early GT paint jobs.

 

[PhillB]

Thats a really great job you've done. I love the early GT paint jobs.

Cheers, Yes, me too!!