Reply to "Five modifications NOT to do to your Pantera"

Cooling system:

I’ve seen many cooling modifications through the years, by very creative people. The list includes, chopping holes in the hood, bigger OD pipes, electric water pump, different diameter water pump pulley to either slow down or speed up water flow, no thermostat etc. etc. And Panteras have always been known to heat up easily. Here’s what I know from my own experience. My first Pantera with a stock engine had a hard time keeping cool. On long trips the needle would go almost all the way to the right, and while it never really overheated, I didn’t like it. So I fixed (corrected) the following:
New hoses and pipes (std diameter)
Double clamps on every hose
Proper Cleveland 180-degree thermostat
New radiator cap
Only one fan was working, got both to work
Moved fans (stock original) closer to radiator to shroud air stream
New coolant, made effort to avoid air pockets
When all of this was done, the cooling problem was solved and never came back. Nothing fancy invented, just good old WAD (Working As Designed).

Some might say, okay, you live in Denmark and only have 300 HP. Yes, but then I got another Pantera, this one with 600 HP. I’ve taken both Panteras to France on Charlie McCall’s trips, and you can get plenty of witnesses, that we’ve had some pretty high temperatures on some of the trips we’ve had. No overheating. It should be said that on my 600 HP Pantera, the previous owner had installed an aluminum water pump and puller fans instead of pusher fans. I don’t know how much this aids the cooling, I’d say we’re still pretty close to the original setup compared to the creative ideas others have tried. I’ve had my 600 HP Pantera do laps at Spa, running at full speed chasing a GT40, with no overheating. I’ve also done some motorcycle-chasing in Denmark, driving in 2nd and 3rd gear at high rpm for 20 miles, then entering a city with stop-and-go traffic, no overheating.

So I’d say, get the basics of your cooling system right, and forget the very creative solutions. They’re not needed and if they do work, they’re compensating for the real problem you have.