Mangusta Engine Pull

quote:

Originally posted by pantera874:
After unbolting the center main structure (where the decklids go) and the crossmembers, don't let the car too long on its wheels. The hole back will slowly bend up and you might get trouble with that.

That's a good thing to know, THANKS!

Getting closer to getting her back on the road. The engine is complete and I've found my clutch, pressure plate and T/O Bearing

Dennis I thank you for the education on the 'goose. I think that yours is about as close as I'm going to get to one these days.
Thanks for the "ride".

Have faith! I never dreamed that I would own one and it just dropped into my lap. Beautiful car to look at, uncomfortable car to drive! Working on it has been an educational experience as well!

The clutch is finally done. The clutch disc was thought to be a custom job, a Chevy 10 spline that had to have the hub machined to fit the 'goose's ZF-1 crank adapter. A friend of mine found an off the shelf McLeod unit that fits. Thanks to Roland Jackael who provided the Hays pressure plate part number and Jim Cozolino who tracked down and got my T/O bearing for me. There was nothing in Hawaii, I had to order everything from the mainland which slowed things up. Now if the weather would let up I could get this installed. It's been raining for almost three weeks straight!

We installed the engine today. The 'goose started out in a good mood and the engine went in with little problem. For some reason the transaxle wouldn't seat. I'll have to check the clutch disc alignment tomorrow as we ran out of time.

This car is merciless. Aligned the clutch disc again and in the process broke a pressure plate mounting bolt. Luckily it drilled out easily and running a tap cleared it out. Once that was done the ZF slid right in without problem. Connected the starter and frame braces without any problems. The passenger headers went in easily but the driver's side header is giving me a problem lining up and mounting to the head. Quit for the day, will tackle tomorrow. Stay tuned for the next episode of the "Three stooges garage"

Started the car up today. Surprisingly it started on first try! As I said, merciless. As the engine warmed, I noticed the temperature climb rapidly. The fans didn't come on and closer inspections showed that the radiator was barely warm. I was thinking stuck thermostat (even if it is new) but closer inspection revealed a lower radiator hose kinked shut from too hard a bend. I trimmed it back, reinstalled and all is good! Not ready for a road test yet but hopefully the replaced clutch system behaves itself!

After fixing my lower radiator hose problem, I was still having heating problems though not as bad. Thanks to 'Goose 'wiz Steve L. I found the problem to be a misrouted pressure tank hose. Geez this car is finicky. I ran the car and all was well until the oil pressure gauge hit zero. I shut it off immediately. I suspect a bad sending wire as it is really brittle but have not checked it yet. These are videos of the break in and subsequent idle run:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDd84QDm6CQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pn2-G690cz4

I'M BEGINNING TO THINK THAT THIS CAR HATES ME!

Nice, keep up the great work.

Hurray! As suspected, it was the sending wire cooked and brittle after 38 years. I replaced the wire and I have oil pressure on the gauge again! Finally a break! This car has fought me every foot of the way in this project. Working on the Pantera is a breeze compared to this, I'll never complain about my cats again! Hopefully, no more problems! I think I'll name her "Christine"

Dennis, don't lose hope. Some cars just want to make sure you really are committed to them before they return the love. You're doing a great job and soon you'll be prowling the countryside in her.

Of course, if it gets really unbearable, let me know and I'll make room for her in my Garage...

Brrrr from the great white north...
Mark

Mark,

How right you are. Cars are females! They constantly test your patience and make you prove your loyalty to them. What cars probably don't realize is that "break up" and "divorce" are words that also apply to them!

I posted this problem in the engine section but thought I'd add it here to see if anyone who monitors this forum has any ideas.

My newly installed 302 Mangusta engine is doing something weird. It starts and runs well, doesn't overheat, confirmed with the temp gauge and infrared thermometer. After running for about 15 minutes and warming up, the idle will suddenly start to drop until the engine dies. While it starts to stumble and die, applying throttle and raising the idle will keep it running. While throttling up at this point the motor sounds good but will stumble if let back to idle. It will idle and run well as long as the idle is kept above 1000 rpm. Carburetor bowls are full of fuel. I've played with timing and carburetor adjustment. I've checked for external vacuum leaks and have not found any. Vacuum is about 15hg until it starts to stumble and then it steadily drops until the motor dies.

I plan to overhaul the carb since its due anyway,someone suggested an internal vacuum leak form the lifter valley which I may have to look into if the carb overhaul doesn't solve the problem. Any other ideas? Thanks in advance!

I pulled off the jack shaft which allowed me to use carburetors off of my other cars on the goose. It ran with the same symptoms which rules out the carburetor being the culprit. I’m down to having to pull off the intake and try sealing it again. Process of elimination has started!



Happy New Year to all!

I resealed and installed the intake and put back on all of the bolt ons except for the jackshaft which gives me more room to work. i'll put that back on after I'm satisfied that everything is working right. I'm going to wait a day to let the sealer cure and hopefully the problem will be solved.

On the bright side my wife returned from visiting my daughter/new grandson in San Fran. While there, she picked up my Mangusta carpet kit from Hall Pantera. What a deal! Every single piece of carpet for the cockpit and engine compartment for $350! I can't believe how many pieces it came with! It was their last set. The carpet is good quality and looking.

The resealing of the intake didn't fix the problem but you'll never believe this. After reinstalling the intake and in the process of reinstalling the distributor (removal was not necessary but I removed it for more working room), several plug wires became detached from the distributor cap. I can't be sure but I think 1 of the spark plug wires was in the wrong firing order position. I redid the firing order from scratch and the car's been running like a champ! Another member from the Detomaso Archives who's been trying to help me troubleshoot told me that he had a similar problem when he first purchased his Pantera. It ran (I don't know how bad) but didn't seem like it was running correctly and he discovered that his firing order was off. Can an engine run just about normal with a slightly incorrect firing order? I've never experienced this, usually when my firing order is off the engine either doesn't run or back fires a lot. In any case, my goose is running fine . . . at least for now!

I also kept getting a coolant leak at the thermostat housing. After 2 failed attempts at it, I remembered hearing that the Mangusta didn't come with a thermostat installed. Mine was also missing the thermostat when I first removed the engine. It seems that the housing is a one off that isn't machined for the thermostat which causes it to leak when installed. Reinstalled the housing without the thermostat and the leak is gone!

As I said, this car is fighting me every step of the way but I'm getting near to the end. What a learning experience!

Glad you got it resolved Dennis. I hope that's the end of the bugs and it's on to the driving and wowing part now. Thanks for the posts!

Mark

Well, I finally took her out on the road today and all seems to have run OK with only a slight clutch adjustment needing to be done. I installed most of the carpet kit that I bought from Hall Pantera. It was their last and was missing two driver's compartment pieces, hopefully Tara will be able to locate the missing pieces for me.

Dennis

Can't tell from pics, did you put Goose up on jacks before pulling motor? What did you use as jack points in the rear?

Mark

No need to jack up the rear to remove the motor. A long boom crane helps. My normal sized one's reach was too short (as it is with the pantera) so I borrowed a friends "diesel" crane. For me, removing the trans and the engine seperately was easier than at one time. Same thing for the installation. When I need to get it up in the air, I use a padded jack under the rear cross member and place the jack stands under the frame rails one each side of the engine. Disassembling this car was not fun, I will never complain about working on my Panteras again!

Well, she's back together and on the road again. I'm still having some problems with her which I think may be carburetor related. I'm going to overhaul it this week and hopefully that will be it!

I put her away on the upper deck of the lift. I've just been having too much problems pop up and am just too frustrated and tired of working on her for now. I figure a break from her is what I need.

After the carb overhaul, it seemed to run OK, then the primary fuel bowl overflowed and no adjustment would settle the float. I disassembled the fuel bowls and checked the needle valves, cleaned them out and even replaced them with spares without success. I was tempted to set a match to her but came to my senses! It's like being with a bad woman, somehow we just don't seem to be compatible! I'm actually having visions of getting rid of her.

I think a break from the goose and working on my other neglected cars (who appreciate me more) will be a good thing until I'm ready to tackle her temperamental fits again. Oh well, at least she looks good, new carpeting in the drivers compartment and the engine bay.

Wow, I just discovered this thread. I know, a sorry person. That was fantastic. SUPER JOB on the comments and photos.

Did you ever get your carb probs ironed out? A happy ending? Did a match ever get near?

Would love to know the outcome! Great job.

quote:

Originally posted by 4NFORD:
It's like being with a bad woman, somehow we just don't seem to be compatible! I'm actually having visions of getting rid of her.

I know that's just the frustration talking, but if you still feel that way after a cooling-off period, let me know. I like bad women.

I do hope all the evil is behind you now.

Mark

I think that I've finally got the problems ironed out. The major problem was the valves were adjusted too tight. Amazing how such a little bit of adjustment could affect the engine that much. Less than a quarter turn of the lock nut caused my problems. I adjusted the valves with a vacuum gauge hooked up and you could see the vacuum drop when the valves were tightened just a bit tight. She's really a sensative bitch! My vacuum doubled to 19hg and she seems to be running well. I have not taken her on a lengthly test trip yet. Thanks for the interest and support.