Reply to "Mangusta ZF Dipstick?"

I've seen early Panteras with the side-mounted miniature dipstick as in John's dwg, and I've also seen several Panteras that had a fitting and a longer dipstick that went through the top rear cssting where the hex bolthead is shown in John's excellent illustration. But one really doesn't need a dipstick in Panteras; the side hole in a dash-2 (or a dash 1-1/2 'early' as Lloyd refers to them)is known to work just fine as a lube-level gauge. I took a 90 degree side fitting, added a 6" length of 3/4" ID plastic hose (with clamps) and use that as a permanently attached top-fill system to save having to climb underneath or use a leaking funnel in the side hole, to add lube. I made a cap to close the hose off and it would be easy to add a dipstick rod, but in the 9 years since I did this, I've not yet found the need. In my own road tests, I found that a 500-mile thrash at 'over 100 mph' on the open road only heats the lube to about 180F degrees, so plain plastic hose seems safe. Real-racing is a way-different matter....