Reply to "Body Cracking"

Good synopsis of the problem, Johnny! On the front windshield piller, Dennis Quella uses (and sells) a 'chicken-foot' shaped piece of steel welded/brazed to the fender at the junction where the fender & piller come together. But I've seen nothing for the top joint, and have noticed cracks on Panteras there too. Unfortunately, it's usually the racers that seam-weld the entire body/chassis for vastly increased stiffness and handling improvements, but such work would certainly benefit all Panteras. I keep thinking of Carroll Smith's analysis of the Pantera's monococque for Ford management back in 1971: "....The Pantera is hopeless as a (potential) race car. .... the rear suspension is attached to nothing at all...." And years of pot-holed street driving do not improve the situation. Mangustas and Vallelungas are even worse for cracking (frame members not body panels), both being essentially lightweight formula-car chassis with a heavy 2-seat body grafted on. I suggest closely checking your DeTomaso for cracks yearly, and note where the trouble spots are on your example so someday (maybe tomorrow?) you can have them professionally corrected.