FWIW, I heard there were THREE different assembly jigs, all of which were repaired during production. One also sees the effect of rt side anomaly when attempting to weight-balance the 4 corners, since it takes a bit more shock height adjustment on one corner than the other to get good balance. This is on '72 s/n 4366. I thought it might be unnoticed chassis damage by a P.O. Good to have another possibility- thanks, JT!
Zr1Pantera
You mentioned extended shock length of 15.2” and 4.1” stroke. Are these the 4.1” stroke shocks with the 1” extended eyelet mounts (15.230” extended length) ? Do you recommend these shocks for both front and rear applications ?
@hightech posted:Zr1Pantera
You mentioned extended shock length of 15.2” and 4.1” stroke. Are these the 4.1” stroke shocks with the 1” extended eyelet mounts (15.230” extended length) ? Do you recommend these shocks for both front and rear applications ?
Yes, you are correct. These are perfect for front or back with the correct spring rate and dampening setting.
Thank you!
Is there any significant advantage to using the double adjustable v. single adjustable shock on a street car?
Does the dampening need to be adjusted or are the close out of the box on either?
Are they rubber bushings or poly?
Do you set the ride height at what you think is close?
I have my Koni's on the softest setting.
I have QA1 single adjustable on the Panetra and double on the GT40, I wanted the extra flexibility on the latter as it handled terribly with the Spax when I got it, but honestly in 15 years of ownership of the Pantera I have only corner weighted and adjusted the settings once, so I don't think there's a lot of advantage to the double adjustable on a street car.
The double adjustable QA1 part numbers are DD501 (bushing) or DD502 (Poly), single adjustable DS501 and DS502 respectively. The bushed shocks will require a spacer either side of the eye and most aftermarket shocks will have a 1/2" dia eye, not a 12 mm (0.471") Pantera shock bolt dia.) so there is a slight mismatch that the stepped spacers take up. I can send a drawing if you go that route and need to get the spacers made up. You can of course drill out the shock mounts and use a 1/2" dia bolt. I am running 550/450# spring rates on the GT5 in 12" length and would opt for 450/350 initially on the L when I get to it. Springs are $65 ea so not terrible cost if you want to play around with a couple spring rates. The GT5 fronts are set at their lowest height so I could probably get a way with a 10" spring and little bit more preload.
I noticed the difference in wheel well height openings on my car as well. The right front is also the most likely on my car to tick the front of the fender opening on the right side.
Everyone is assuming that there was an issue with the chassis jig being off but it may also be that the left and right fenders are not exact mirror images of each other?
I have also seen that on other low production cars and even mass produced like the Mustangs.
QA1 shocks are available from Wilkinson with stainless two piece adapters that allow the shock to simply bolt into the car. The two piece adapter is slightly narrower than the shock mount on the chassis and a-arms. I shimmed the adapters with washers for a nice fit.
