quote:Originally posted by Fangio:
Regarding the engine noise, I understand the Cleveland symphony, although I never heard it in person, but this car seems much much louder than normal.
Fangio,
Do you have any details about the engine in your car? I have two Panteras and one has a bone-stock, original engine (internally). The car is very quiet in the cabin and the rear-view mirror doesn't vibrate at all. With the windows closed, it is very easy to have a normal conversation — even at highway speeds.
BUT my other Pantera has a very nicely built motor with an aggressive, lumpy cam, roller rockers and all sorts of other goodies inside. It also has a large-diameter GTS exhaust and big-bore headers. In this car I can barely SEE the rear-view mirror — let alone what it's reflecting because it bounces around so much. It's the engine that is doing this and, I hope in your case too, there is absolutely nothing wrong at all. Far from it! The suggestion about adding a rubber tube wedged between the windscreen and the mirror is a good one. I had one in one of my trucks and it helps for sure.
Another thing I wanted to share is that even with a lack of experience and confidence, you should try to do some of the work on the car yourself. Excepting a few things (the ZF, some electrical things etc.), the Pantera is a very easy car to work on. You will get to know the car, gain confidence/experience and several years from now YOU will be writing this post to someone else.
Besides this great forum, there are several astounding on-line resources out there: Mike Dailey's www.panteraplace.com, Chuck Melton's www.provamo.com and numerous owner sites (mine is one) that have many tips and tricks, project details etc. to help you through. Even if all that doesn't comfort you, the Pantera owner community is THE BEST at helping and sharing knowledge. Better than ANY other car community I've encountered. We have a great group of vendors who supply just about everything we need (start with PIM who support this forum's existence) and will also help advise. Driving the car is great but a big part of the ownership experience is tweaking and working on the car to make it the way you want.
Good luck!
Mark