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They are steel flairs. They have gone thru a few changes over the years. When I made them years ago I couldn't afford to buy steel flairs so I decided to make them myself. I used VW bug fenders and remodled them into these GR4 flairs.


quote:
Originally posted by tajon:
that's a classy looking interior. Nice work. Are those steel GR4 flairs?
I re routed them to the front of the engine. Most of them went away since they were for a mustang wiring harness. The plug and coil wires were just pulled back and extended to come out of the back of the coil cover plates. Since I had just rewired the whole car it wasn't too bad. A friend from the Denver club who owns his own garage (Wheatridge Auto) helped me figure out all the computer wires. once i knew what they were it was pretty easy to put them where i wanted them. It did take 2 weeks for me to re work each wire though.
I put in a Sean Hyland 4.6 DOHC supercharged crate engine. I just had it on the dyno a couple of weeks ago and it has 572rwhp @ 6500 rpm and a max torque of 532. Since I bought it complete as a crate engine I don't remember the details. I talked to him over the phone about a year ago and I was convinced he was building a good engine. I didn't get a spec sheet with it and I never got around to asking him for one. I'm driving it now and it's amazing.
The taillights are from a 92 Acura Legend 2 door. I had to rebuild the whole area around the lights to make them work but I think they make the car a little sleeker looking. I also removed the bumper and with the supertrapps exhaust It all seemed to fit together.


quote:
Originally posted by Denis C:
So did you do any work to the 4.6? Torque ranges are quite different in both engines. How does that compare? What are the taillights from?
Amazing car.

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Thanks for all the kind words. My car # is 2300. As for the dash it is out of a 74. When I first got my car I really liked the 74 dash better so I just bought one and used it instead. I've never been a purest. When I got the car originally it was in pieces. The previous owner had the car dipped to remove rust but he said only half of the car came back out of the tank. He bought all new sheetmetal panels but got tired of working on it and bought one without any rust. All the exterior sheetmetal was off including the roof, fenders, rockers. front end and everything in the backend from the firewall except the 2 frame rails. The good thing about it is that I know my car has no rust and is very solid. Along the way I kept getting ideas for modifying stuff and i guess this is where i ended up (so far).
The hood/cowl was an idea i got a few years ago from our audi 5000. The hood on it was the same width as the Pantera and it had a curve that matched the windshield so I bought one from a salvage yard and started hacking. I removed the old grill/vent sheet metal from the Pantera and fit the old audi hood to the Pantera hood. the audi is one piece full width accross so I had to slice it at the pantera hood/fender seperation and weld in some side edging. Blending in the 2 fenders to the audi hood was the toughest but really not too bad.
The new HVAC system and panel is all from Vintage Air. They make alot of systems for hot rods. They say that Ford even came to them for the Ford GT system.
I looked at the photos of your car. Beautiful color, very sleek looking. I noticed some Pantera performance parts on your car. Dennis is a great guy and has given me alot of advice.
Rick,
Just UNBELIEVEABLE what you've done to your car!! I'll second all the comments from the other guys! I'm not that far away from Denver that I couldn't come see this piece of art in person & I may just consider doing that some weekend as an enjoyable roadtrip. You truely are an artist! Congratulations on your project turning out so GREAT!

Bob
quote:
All the exterior sheetmetal was off including the roof, fenders, rockers. front end and everything in the backend from the firewall except the 2 frame rails.

quote:
so I bought one from a salvage yard and started hacking.


My gawd, man! The more you write, the more awestruck I get. Would love to see it in person....Reno, 2009?
quote:
I noticed some Pantera performance parts on your car.

Yup, a P.O. had a full bare metal restoration done by Dennis. 3 1/2 years and mucho $$$$$. I bought it about seven years after completion, with less than 5,000 miles on the odometer, for about half price. Big Grin Color is Porsche titanium metallic and from years of comments, is THE most admired feature of the car.

Larry
I just added a few pictures to the album. Larry i am hoping to go to Reno next year if things work out. Years ago I went to Vegas a couple of times.
The mirrors I used are 93? Testarosa side mirrors. Kinda expensive but I think they fit the car well. I would like to put the Detomaso emblem back on the tail end but with the new lights being bigger it just dosen't fit anymore. Most people don't know what it is. I do get asked alot.
Bob if you ever do decide to come to Denver I'd love to meet you. Call me and we can set something up next spring or summer. 303-435-5427
Rick
Fantastic pictures ...

Can we have MORE?

Do you have engine covers for your car (stock or otherwise)? Or, do you leave it exposed as in your pictures?

Early car with the late front bumbers? Like you, I like the look of later bumpers on the car. I changed the original one to a fibreglass copy to save weight however.

I have been looking at ideas to provide a fresh air intake for my 4.6. I have the stock fuel door in the left gill. What you have done to your left gill gives me ideas for a right side Fresh air intake. What did you make your modified gill out of? How much sheet metal did you cut? etc.

Where did you mount your engine management computer? My concern is heat - computer components need to be kept ventilated for longevity.

Are your wheels BBS, Kenisis, Kodiak or ....?

Thanks

B.G.
I don't have any other covers for the engine. I think it's so beautiful I didn't want to hide it. In fact I even cut my rear decklid opening larger so I could see it better. The computer is behind the drivers seat. Since I made new tanks and they were not slanted like the original I had some extra room. I cut in a recessed firewall to give more room for computer. I also mounted the engine fuse & relay panel bach there close to the engine for simplicity. My wheels ars Kenisis. I got them from Dennis at Pantera Performance.
quote:
Originally posted by andriyko:
Fantastic pictures ...

Can we have MORE?

Do you have engine covers for your car (stock or otherwise)? Or, do you leave it exposed as in your pictures?

Early car with the late front bumbers? Like you, I like the look of later bumpers on the car. I changed the original one to a fibreglass copy to save weight however.

I have been looking at ideas to provide a fresh air intake for my 4.6. I have the stock fuel door in the left gill. What you have done to your left gill gives me ideas for a right side Fresh air intake. What did you make your modified gill out of? How much sheet metal did you cut? etc.

Where did you mount your engine management computer? My concern is heat - computer components need to be kept ventilated for longevity.

Are your wheels BBS, Kenisis, Kodiak or ....?

Thanks

B.G.

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Here is a picture of my first try at the side scoop. I was trying to keep it more like the original louvered look. After spending several days making this first one I decided to start over. If you are planning on putting a scoop only on one side maybe you could slot out the back side of the existing piece and put a screen on it. Just need to cut out the sheet metal under it and decide how you want to direct it. Then it would look stock but be active.

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Yes, I am installing the DeTomaso/Wilkinson homologated 4.6 DOHC Teksid engine in my '74. I may install the Kenny Bell supercharger kit down the road.

I really think you have done a masterful job on your car. You have given me some great ideas as well.

B.G. http://pantera.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/7650045562/m/8620035385/p/4

P.S. I have black leather Recaros in my car as well - they do much better with a flat firewall.
You know i gotta tell you i never thought about having a fresh air intake. I know it takes in air from the passenger compartment. I'll call Vintage air and ask them about that. The hood I used at the windshield was off a mid to late 80's Audi 5000 (not a quatro). I don't remember the exact year. I have a 3 ring binder full of info, details and receipts about the parts and work i've done but it amazes me how many details aren't there.
Rick

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quote:
Originally posted by Pantera 4134:
Rick,
I wish I had your talent. Absolutely a magnificent job. The car is gorgeous. If Alejandro was building a Pantera today this should be it!
Jeff


I couldn't agree more! Alejandro may not be building Panteras anymore but a few of the vendors are. I hope they're seeing this.

I'm particulary impressed with the wide cut rear deck lid showing off the blown mod 4.6 ... similar to the the Ford GT's blown 5.4 display. An amazingly clean (non-bling) engine bay that means business and transports the Pantera to the 21st century.

Incredible work!
Last edited by panther
Thanks for the info. I didn't remember any access in my old system for fresh air. but it's hard to remember all the details. I guess the system should work OK then.
Rick

quote:
Originally posted by andriyko:
Rick,

The fresh air intake from the front (windshield valance) grills was available on early cars (roughly under s/n 2000) and late cars (roughly above s/n 6500). There was no fresh air intake for the mid S/N numbered cars (roughly 4000 vehicles).

HTH

B.G.
I just noticed it looks like you shaved off the drip rail on the car. Is that correct
Dave[/QUOTE]

I did cut off the driprails to smooth out the car a little. That is where the roof attaches to the car. After cutting them off I just welded all the steel together and made sure everything was made solid again. I wish I had cleaned up the window trim on the doors also. I would like to make the window frames flush up with the roof and pillar line so they flow into the body like newer cars do. I'm not sure if the frame should be black or blue to match the rest of the body. I guess I could still do it without messing with the rest of the car since it is completly seperate.
Rick,

Great looking car, some really novel aspects that work extremely well.

What mirrors are you using, they appear to have a good extension to see over the flares.

I assume the headlights are the Hella 50mm version? If so I looked at these a couple times in preference to the usual 75mm ones used on Pantera's as they'd be easier to fit and lower profile. They appear to give good light qualities too, which was my only worry with such a small unit, so now I'm convinced!
Ron
When I set this wing on my car the first time, I fell in love with it. I know alot of guys don't like them. I don't like the big airplane wing look but this one just seemed to fit my car. One thing I like about it is that it dosen't block the rear view at all. The bottom of the wing is just barely visable in my rear view mirror. It also gives me a third break light thats kinda high up so people can see me better. As for the front bumper, I put it on a long time ago. Lately I've been thinking about redoing the front end without it but that is a whole different project.

QUOTE]Originally posted by r mccall:
I absolutely LOVE the car!!! The only things I don't like are the front bumper and the rear wing. The tail lights and "gills" look spectacular!
Nice work!
Ron[/QUOTE]
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Julian
I am using 93 Testarosa mirrors. They do let me see really well. My old mirrors had a pretty big blind spot but with these whatever is just leaving my center rear view mirror is just starting to come into my side mirrors so I don't have a blind spot anymore.
As for the headlights they are the Hella 50mm projectors and are both HID Xenon. I called them about a year and a half ago telling them what I was doing and they said they made these for custom applications. They seem to put out great light and they are the lowest profile light I've seen.
Here is a link to SusquehannaMotor Sports where I got them. This is a picture of the lights with thier frame and the angled bracket I made to mount them in my buckets. I still need to make a shroud to cover the guts and make it look nice when they are in the up position.

http://www.rallylights.com/detail.aspx?ID=1797

quote:
Originally posted by Joules5:
Rick,
Great looking car, some really novel aspects that work extremely well.
What mirrors are you using, they appear to have a good extension to see over the flares.
I assume the headlights are the Hella 50mm version? If so I looked at these a couple times in preference to the usual 75mm ones used on Pantera's as they'd be easier to fit and lower profile. They appear to give good light qualities too, which was my only worry with such a small unit, so now I'm convinced!

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Trust me guys, as good as this looks in the pictures, it looks way better in person. Our beloved "Herbie" (the car even had a personalized plate with that name at one time) has gone through many years of customizing at the hands of this master craftsman. The more you look, the more details you find. Like the rear transaxle mounts being shaped by hand out of a couple of solid blocks of billet aluminum.... look closely at the shape of them and think of the time!

Rick, do you have a copy of the dyno sheet you can post? I know you don't like to brag, but those are fairly impressive curves, especially for a driver engine.
Dave
Thanks for telling everyone my car was called Herbie. It is kinda funny. My Herbie lisence plate is still on my garage wall.
Here is the dyno sheet. This is the RWHP for the engine. They said it is probably 670 hp at the crank. The max torque is 532ft lbs but the thing that is so crazy about this engine is that at 2500 RPM it already has 460 ft lbs of torque. That makes it really fun to drive.
Rick

quote:

Rick, do you have a copy of the dyno sheet you can post? I know you don't like to brag, but those are fairly impressive curves, especially for a driver engine.

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