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Thanks for all the nice comments guys.

LPB: the leaves on the road were no problem. The large chunks of mud fallen from tractors doing the fall harvest made for some interesting road texture. I'll spend next weekend pulling the straw and mud from my wheel wells. And those wheels? Yeah, they totally transform the car. Looks 100X better, rides as well and handles like it's on rails. The only down-side I found is that the P-Zero's don't make a screech when you smoke 'em. Just a sound like you're skidding on gravel. Good when there are cops around, but it doesn't scare pedestrians as much.

Josh: OK, I know we’re Canadians and you can pretty much do anything up here, but even WE draw the line at marrying cars... Big Grin

Michael, George: Come on up! Bettter hurry though, We'll probably have snow in the next few weeks. Hmmm. I can see the "January" calendar photo now... just 4 wheels in the snow...
Gentlemen:

You seem to have been more fortunate with your fall weather than I was. Below is a photo of #9517 just outside Banff, in the rain which later turned to wet snow. We took a trip with 25 other exotics but were quickly separated from them because of mechanical problems. The car was fresh from a "down to bare metal" total restoration, and was not properly sorted out before we left (a very long and tedious story). However, I am pleased to report that, even though it is not yet running properly, the new 427 stroker has transformed the car. In short, I found myself literally shaking from adrenaline after getting out of the car after a good run. I am also told that the 3" Mind Train exhaust sounds like "pure sex", and can be heard for many kilometres through the mountain valleys when in full song.

All the best from the West, and I look forward to the day we can get all our cars together!

- Peter

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Hi Peter,

Your car looks great, but then it did before too. Sorry to hear that you had "teething issues" on you first major outing. Not much fun to be stranded in the mountains in the snow with a broken supercar. I hope you can get it well-sorted and really look forward to seeing a gallery of images including that new motor.

Mark
Peter,

What fantastic car. I don't care for black or white much, except for on the GT5's. I have always wanted a GT5, and in my opinion the best colors are White and Black. On stock bodied cars, I like red, yellow and blue. It's funny how the lines of the car affect how colors look different from one style to the next.

I'll trade you my red stock bodied '72!

John

John
After our final fall run in the leaves - great day Mark - I cleaned and polished the car for two days. I got the insurance evaluator in to update the file and add another few bucks to the coverage. (I finally got to use that bag of cool McGuire products I got on the podium in Monterey). Then I carefully (well not so carefully) drove into my sister in law's garage, took out the battery, covered her up, and kissed her goodnight for the winter.

Yes, another season is over. Very sad. But the good news is - for the first time in over 20 years, I have NO WINTER PROJECTS. The car is complete. Holy cow. Something must be wrong?
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Originally posted by Cyboman:
Kevin,

Thanks for refreshing my memory!

Michael


No problem. I think they'll look great on your car!

I've actually grown fond of my '70s frog eye look. Kind of like the extra finger I have. Not real pleasing to the eye, but I'd miss it, if I cut it off.

Kevin
Peter, Great looking car!! Where in the west do you live? I'm in Richmond B.C. by Vancouver airport. Have had my 72 for 23 years and just purchased a 74 as well last week. I'm a regular at the Birch Bay meet in Sept. and we also have an "Italian Days" show on Fathers day in North Van. If anyone is ever "out west", give us a call for some Pantera talk.....

Steve
Thank you, everyone, for all the nice compliments.

In answer to your question, Steve, I live in Charlie Lake which is just north of Fort St. John. I expect I am vying with some of the guys in Sweden for the “northernmost Pantera” award. I have not attended Birch Bay because it is a 2,400 km round trip from here. Send me an e-mail at phavlik@awink.com so we can perhaps get together for a coffee next time I’m in Vancouver on business.

As requested by Mark, here is a photo of the engine (I tried putting up a photo album but can’t get past a weird error message). It is a PI Motorsports 427 that Jerry Sackett told me produces about 540 hp. Jerry sent me a dyno print-out that showed the same engine putting out 434 hp at 5500 rpm and 465 ft. lbs. at 4,000 rpm, both at the rear wheels in a GT-40 application (i.e. with the same ZF transaxle). The motor features H-beam rods, CNC ported Avenger stage 2 cylinder heads, stainless steel valves with chromoly retainers, full ARP bolt kit, custom hydraulic roller lifters and cam, 28 oz. steel balancer, forged crank, lightened aluminum flywheel, high torque starter, aluminum high volume water pump and so on.

I am particularly pleased with the way my exhaust turned out. I did a lot of research on the best exhaust system for this engine, and found that every expert had a different story. I did not find anybody very convincing until I spoke with Fred Matsumoto. He pointed out that all the 2 ½” or less exhausts being marketed by the various vendors were not designed for a stroker with this kind of horsepower. It turns out that one of the best known “low restriction” exhausts may even cause you to lose power over the stock system! Fred advised me to go to a full 3” system.

Now, without exception, every vendor I talked to, and everything I read on this BB or on the e-mail forum, said that it would not be possible to fit a 3” pipe between the A-arms and the half-shafts. Many dire consequences were predicted, and there was a good deal of sniffing that I was impudent for questioning the established wisdom. Fred’s reply was to simply flip the half shafts, because they are about ½” smaller in diameter on one side than the other. Ingenious! And it worked perfectly. The next problem was with the collector on the PI Motorsports headers, which tapered to a 2 ½” flange. Again, after I was told that nothing could or should be done about it, Fred simply suggested cutting the collector back until the opening was big enough to weld on a full 3” collector. No problem!

By good fortune, Fred just happened to have four original Mind-Train mufflers left, which he sent me along with some resonators and a sample tip. He also instructed me on how to have a crossover fabricated for enhanced performance and noise reduction. I think the installation and fabrication turned out well, but I am still going to have it adjusted so that the mufflers tuck in and up more, and so that the tips end evenly with the bumpers as with the original ANSA tips.

So now I have the only Pantera I know of with 90 degree headers and a full 3” exhaust with crossover. And, let me tell you, it sounds so good that it sends shivers up your spine when you fire the motor up. It is loud enough to make your teeth chatter, and cause women to clutch their children to their breast.

The car is going to Calgary in a month or two for a day-long dyno tuning session. Then it goes back to the body shop for a final wet sand and polish. I have a list of over 40 issues to sort out by spring and in time for the next exotic car tour. Then it will be interesting to find out how it holds up against the other cars on all those Alberta and British Columbia mountain roads. There will be a Saleen S7, an Enzo, some Murcielagos and Diablos, and at least one F-40 coming along, so we shall see (said the blind man).

Now, as for David’s question regarding the mirrors, I’m glad for the opportunity to vent. They are stock, and they are the bane of my existence. At lower speeds they vibrate so much that you can’t see anything, and at higher speeds (anything over 180 km/hr) they droop. I tried tightening them until I was sure the bolts would strip, the shop tried drilling and tapping set screws, I have tried pleading, threatening and crying like a baby. It’s just no good. They will have to be removed and thrown on that increasingly high pile of discarded original parts that I am saving just in case I ever go off my medications and decide to return the car to stock.

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Last edited by peterh
Peter, your car looks awesome. Nothing we'd love more than heading west for a run with some of your big guns. Anyone want to head out in the spring? I'd love to hear that nice exhaust. Send us an audio file. What half shafts are you using that are different sized left and right?

As for the mirrors, mine are also stock but yours look like they are mounted differently. If you take the mirror assembly out, you can tighten the springloaded adjustment until there is no movement and no vibration. With a high rise intake and rear wing, there is no rear view at all. So to see around the rear fender flares I added those little convex stickon mirrors on both sides and amazingly enough the image in them is crystal clear. They let me see anything around me in all directions - even protects my nice mags from scraping the sidealk when parking.


They don't droop but swing back in the wind. I finally resolved it with a series of lock washers and rubber washers glued to both sides of metal washers. Solid as a rock, until I had to move them to get the cover on tight when I put her away. I'll probably have to start all over in the spring.
David:

I had a look at some of the pictures of your car that I have saved, and you are right that my mount is different from yours. I also looked at some other photos of late model cars and found that sometime in the late ‘80s DeTomaso started occasionally mounting the mirrors lower down on the door as on my car (on both GT5s and GT5-Ss). Why, I don’t know because I think there is much more rigidity for the mount at the top of the door. On the side, the metal panel flexes which allows for much more vibration. In my case, we tried welding on a large backing plate, but that has not helped.

I know you have tucked your baby away for the season, but if you happen to get an opportunity I'd be grateful if you could shoot me some photos of your lock washer and rubber washer solution. I'm having trouble visualizing it. If I can't solve this problem, I will have to take the original mirrors off, fill in the hole, repaint the door and install a glue-on set onto the quarter window. I don’t want to do that unless I absolutely have to.

As for the question about the half-shafts, I apologize for having created confusion with my poor choice of words. We did not swap the half shafts from left to right. We simply flipped or reversed each one. My half shafts are the factory originals.

BTW, thanks for the tip about the convex mirrors. I will definitely add them to my car.

While looking at the photos of your car, David, I noticed you have a slick crankcase breather/PCV system installed. My motor came from PI Motorsports with only a couple of breather filters for the valve covers, which then proceeded to puke oil. True, the oil dripping on the headers created a nice smoke screen to hide me from any pursuing law enforcement authorities, and the coat of oil and oily grime all over the motor, transaxle and rear of the car will prevent rust, but I still think maybe this is not such a great idea... So where can I get a setup like yours?

- Peter

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Michael:

You may well be right. When I looked at the other cars, I was looking at the mirror mounting location, not the mirror itself. Mine do appear less rounded; rather more square and angular. The stalk also appears thicker. It would be great if they were not stock, because I could then discard them with a clean conscience. I might even be tempted to throw them on the floor and do a victory dance on them!

If anyone can give me a definitive answer on this question, I will be most grateful.

In the meantime, if you are interested, the cars in my photo collection having the same mirror mounting location as mine are:

#9504 – GT5-S, Th. Moser, Switzerland
#9516 – 1989 GT5-S, Mick Parsley, U.K.
#9533 – GT5-S, Mark Strickland – U.K.
#9535 – GT5-S, U.K.
1989 GT5-S, Gavin Hutton, U.K.

Thanks, Michael!

- Peter

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Peter,

I've also seen the stock mirrors mounted on the side of the door, rather than on the top ledge. I think they look better mounted on top. They flow with the body lines better, and don't look 'tacked on'.

I can't imagine why the factory would change that. Maybe it was a trend at some time.

My '86 5-S #9434, has the stock mirrors mounted on the doors top ledge.

Michael
Peter, it seems like you covered everything I was going to suggest. However, I still think this is fixable without having to change the mirrors (or dance on them). With my baby all tucked away it's a little difficult to take photos of my mirrors now, but I don't think it applies because your mount is different. See below and send me a pic of the joint. The set screws sounds like a good idea, but they would have to go right through to hold. I still think my combination of rubber and lock washers might work.

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I have seen some Mickey Mouse stuff on my car, no offense to Mickey, but that plastic ball joint takes the cake. I can see the little hex set screw you tired to use. Replacing the whole ball joint with a new adjustable bracket is probably the way to go. I can drop by Scotty's and see how this could be done. In the meantime, as a last resort, locate where the mirror should be placed, exactly, then remove the set screw and drill right through the ball joint and put bigger bolt through with a nut on the other end. I'll let you know what I find at Scotty's.
Hawaii:

The GT5 is listed at $79,500 Can which at the nominal exchange rate posted by the Bank of Canada today is $67,752 USD. You can find the ad in the general inventory section of John Scotti's web site at http://www.johnscotti.com/pages/main_exotics.html

John Scotti is Canada's George Stauffer. I am told he brought in about ten cars during the '80s, and this is one of them. He has re-sold it a number of times. If I recall correctly, the car was recently freshened up, including an engine rebuild.
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