always breaking stuff

quote:

I've broken 2 or 3 trunk hinges

Good grief, Charlie Brown! That is some SERIOUS flexing.

My first thought is your rear chassis is compromised somewhere. I'd get underneath with a strong shop light, a stout awl or center punch and a good swinging hammer and start trying to find rust-weakened area(s). I have never heard of anyone snapping deck lid hinges.

Second, I would check my motor mount bolts - those to the block, those to the chassis, and the long ones through the upper-lower mounts.

Third, ZF mounts and bell housing bolts.

Larry

all checked and all in fine condition. I have a rust freecar. I have a 3rd party go over the car 2 or 3 times a summer. Last year I snapped a front sway bar. I mentioned that before here on the forum. I do not have the frame reinforcements or supports. I think that might be a start.

I want to say that these are just bad, bad coincidences but I really don't know of any connections that I have in the spirit world to confirm that with.

Actually there was that problem I had with the Indian medicine man but that's another story.

The stock hinges are pretty thick to begin with.

If you told me that the hinge came loose from the decklid, yea then I'd say join the club.

I think that the construction of the hinge can let the decklid move enough to chip the edges normally. Gary Hall always said that "you" need to convert to a pin lock (that he sells) to eliminate that.

The studs on the anti-sway bars are just MF's. They are very easy to snap off when disassembling and I think as a result get stessed, or work hardened and proned to failure.

They are something that I worry about all the time when driving the car. The Pantera is an extremely stable car but not with a disconnected 'bar'.

Personally I consider the studs one of the weaknesses of the chassis design as a result.

What broke on the hangers, the straps? If you consider the fact that the strap rubber is just recycled tires and the fact that seven years is about the age limit for a tire before they dry rot, I could envision a scenario where they break, yes.

The polyurethane hangers many not even be as good.

It wasn't the studs on the sway bar, it was the sway bar itself. I used the hollow bars from Hall. It broke just outside where the the bar goes through bushings on the frame rails, not at the end and I do use sphere balls for the mount on the control arm. There was no binding. I chalked that up to poor workmanship when the spacers were spot welded to center the bar in the center bushings. That incident almost cost me the car.
Where I'm losing the parts on the back isn't the hinge on the top of the trunk but rather the push button to open the hood where it bolts into the back of the car. I'm on my third one of those this summer. I've also broken the part that bolts to the trunk it self.
The hangars for the mufflers weren't the stockers but rather some very heavy duty straps reinforced with some metal on both sides.
I think I might need to buy one of the reinforcement kits this winter. The Pantera is a 60s era design that wasn't designed for the inputs it's getting now is what might be happening. I used the car for over 2 hours on track last weekend and this is the kind of failures I'm experiencing.

quote:

It wasn't the studs on the sway bar, it was the sway bar itself. I used the hollow bars from Hall.

Ah, that explains some of it....I've heard of a number of failure's on these. The hollow sway bars are junk, get a 7/8" solid one and a pair of the ball ends.

quote:

Where I'm losing the parts on the back isn't the hinge on the top of the trunk but rather the push button to open the hood where it bolts into the back of the car. I'm on my third one of those this summer. I've also broken the part that bolts to the trunk it self.

This is still a lot of movememnt back there to be breaking decklid catches at that rate. Do you have the early design or late? Talk to Larry Finch on a pin solution that is neat and unobtrusive.

Do you have a stock camber bar or aftermarket? Whichever make sure it is long enough to but against the rear of the shock mounts each side, not just bolt in the holes.

When checking for rust is your guy just visually checking or prodding with a sharp object? I didn't discover my rear frame had rot until I went to drill the drain holes and started really poking around.

A few hours on the track is soon going to shake down the weak points.

Agreed with Julian, the hollow anti-sway bars have snapped for other owners as well.

The paint chipping of the corners of the rear deck lid is common. David Berman reports installation of the Hall Pantera rear chassis brace solved that issue for him. This may resolve your hinge & latch problems as well.

Hall Pantera did at one time sell a "pin style" rear deck latch, part number G5-#88. The group 4 Panteras used rubber straps to hold the rear deck closed.

Time on the track normally leads to cracking in the rear body panel at the lower outside corners of the tail lights, near the hinges of the rear deck lid and the lower attachment point of the A pillars.

Whatever you do about the mufflers, do not mount them solid, this will lead to cracking your headers. Exhaust systems MUST be rubber mounted. The exhaust system of several Japanese cars are hung with small diameter steel cables (lanyards), that would be less breakable than rubber while allowing your exhaust system to "float".

cowboy from hell

I'll try the lanyard style hangers. That's a good idea. I do have the usual cracking around the tail lights and by where the A pillars meet the front fenders. Thank everyone as always.