> I have recently bought a 1974 Pantera with 17000 miles
> on it.
Mine was similar with 16K miles when I bought it.
I have a few suggestions.
> 1. Replace the water pump. Is a stock one OK or
> should I go for a high performance one?
Stock with a Flow Kooler plate on the backside
of the impellor would be fine for an engine like
yours.
> 2. I will replace all the cooling system hoses
> with silicone style hoses.
Silicone hoses are fine (I have them on my Mustang)
but nick easily so you should use the solid type
clamps. Most of the vendors use Gates green stripe
standard hose which are fine with the usual band
clamps. I have those on my car.
> 9. Should I buy a new timing gear and roller
> chain?
Yes. The stock timing set uses a plastic coated
aluminum gear. Use a quality double row true roller
timing chain set (J.P. Performance, Cloyes, FRPP, or
similar). Inspect the balance for dry rot. If it's
ok, paint a stripe on for a positive indication of
balancer slip.
> 10. The car has the original Motorcraft carb.
> Should I replace it? With what carb? Why?
Not unless you are modifying the engine substantially.
The Motorcraft 4300D is calibrated to your engine and
flows 715 CFM. Mine worked fine. If need be, put a
rebuild kit in it.
> 11. Should I buy the stainless steel water
> tubes under the car? Copper ones? What?
Mine were in pretty good shape so I just painted them.
> Is there anything else I should do while the
> engine is out to ensure reliable driving
> with a minimum of problems?
Time kills the seals and rubber. Replace all the
vacuum hoses (mine were original). Replace the suspension
bushes (mine were dry rotted). I installed polyurethane
bushings and used the offset bushings to gain extra
caster up front (good for highway stability). My shocks
were fine but the rubber bushings were ovalled. Repack
the wheel bearings. Flush the brake fluid, replace the
brake hoses and rebuild the brake calipers (kits are
available). Rebuild or replace the clutch slave and
master. The motor mount rubber donuts may be compressed
to one side. Your can turn them 180 degrees and get
some more life out of them or replace them.
The most important thing is to R&R the cylinder heads.
The stock valves are made from two pieces, friction welded
together and use loose fitting multi-groove keepers (the
keepers halves contact each other instead of being wedged
against the stem by retainer). If the valves don't slip
out of the keeper, they'll pop the head off the stem.
Aftermarket tight fit multi-groove keepers are available
but you still have the 2 piece valve problem. Use single
piece stainless steel valves (Manley Severe Duty, Ferrea
6000 Series, or Milodon Competition) with single groove
locks and retainers.
The umbrella valve seals will likely be hard. The umbrella
seals disinegrate over time and fall into the pan where
they get sucked up by the oil pump, momentarily locking up
the pump and bending the shear pin. Newer umbrella seals
are supposedly made of a more durable material (the last
rebuild gasket set I used had a note to that effect) or
you can use the blue or black viton seals. The white Teflon
seals with the upper ring are too effective and do not allow
enough oil past for lubrication of the stock cast iron guides.
This can lead to a stuck valve or prematurely worn guides
and/or stems.
Drive a second shear pin in the distributor gear or replace
with a hardened pin. If a little debris gets in the pump
gears, it can shear or bend the pin. This retards the timing
which leads to sluggish performance and overheating, if the
engine manages to continue to run at all.
Make sure you have the Cleveland specific thermostat
and the brass restrictor ring is installed in the block.
They have a shoulder which is sized to match the brass
restrictor ring in the block (make sure it's there) which
other thermostats do not have. Using a Windsor thermostat
(which the parts counter monkeys will give you half the
time) will lead to over-heating because coolant will bypass
the radiator. Don't run an excessively cool thermostat.
It won't make a difference in steady state temperature
but will slow warm-up time. I recommend the Robert Shaw
351C thermostat. It's quick acting and has bleed provisions
(ball bearing check valve).
The usual Ford oil filter has a bypass valve bult into the filter
which can allow unfiltered oil to bypass the filter. The bypass
can also fail, causing a loss of oil pressure. Consider using
Purolator oil filter number L30119. It's a full size replacement
for the FL-1A Ford/PH8A Fram filter. It has no bypass spring
in the middle but it does have the rubber flapper for anti-drainback.
The original application is for a 1978 Nissan 510, 2.0L 4 cyl engine
(L20B) which had the bypass valve in the engine block. This filter
cross-references to a Fram PH2850, a Motorcraft FL-181, and a Wix
51452. However, those filters have not been verified and may
still have the bypass. It appears after 1978, Nissan went to a half
height filter. Purolator part number L22167 fits that application
and does not have the bypass spring but does have the rubber flapper
for anti-drainback.
The rubber intake manifold gasket end seals can be troublesome.
Many builders toss the rubber seals and just lay down a bead of
RTV. I don't like that as I've seen too many engines with RTV
bits clogging up pushrod holes and oil pick ups. I prefer to buy
or make my own end seals from cork. I peen the block rails with
a punch so the gasket won't squeeze out while it's being torqued
down (a problem when the heads have been milled but not the intake).
This also works well on valve cover gaskets. Use Permatex 300 or a
contact cement to hold the gaskets in place. Don't use RTV except
in the corners of the end rails. Retain the turkey pan unless the
carb heat ports are blocked. The pan protects the oil from splashing
on the hot exhaust crossover port and turning to ash.
Just my 2 cents,
Dan Jones
