Off the Ground

Congrats.... go to the vendor links.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by AJThree:
[B]I am now the proud owner of 1971 pantera. The car arrived 3 days ago and I already have a list of modifications that I want to make. The bad part is that my manuals have not arrived yet! Modification 1 is having the wheels redone. What is the proper way to jack up the car to get it on jack stands? Also is there a place I can go to find the part number of the stock silver color paint for the wheels?

Congratulations AJ. I bought my '74 this past August. I know that Hall Pantera has the grey paint for the Campy wheels. Regarding jacking: the rear is pretty easy, plenty of room, just under the ZF in the center of the cross-member. Be careful in the front not to have your jacking shoe press on the bottom of the radiator. A good trick is to remove the shoe/pad from your floor jack and put a 2-foot 2x4 in it's place, this way when you lift the car, the metal on the frame cross member doesn't distort.

AJThree. Be carefull NOT to put your car on stands at the normal jacking points. (ie the indented "dimples" with holes under the body). The car will be rear heavy.

Bob

This is how I get all four wheels off the ground. Use quality jack stands. Loosen all lug nuts. Just behind each door and 10" or so inboard, you will find a chassis member with a round hole about 1 1/2" diameter. This is the stock jack lifting point and works very well. Slide your floor jack in that location and lift. That entire side of the car will lift. Get it high enough to put one jack stand under the pinch weld of the 'frame' next to the plate that has the three bolts holding the motor mounts in place. Up front, place another stand under the similar frame rail pinch weld near to the front, by the lower a-arm. Now, go to the other side and repeat. A little scary the first time or two, but you should find it quite sturdy and safe. I've preferred this to lifting the rear and front as it uses factory lift points. Put a 1x4 under the rear-of-ZF crossmember if you need to lift just the rear, or you will crush that crossmember, as many have done before you:-( I have never found a likely spot for lifting just the front, but you may find a spot that looks good to you. For day to day maintainance, $20 will buy you a set of plastic Rhino Ramps at Pep Boys or Kragen that work great for oil changes, etc. Low front spoilers should not be a problem unless you have a radical GT5 item.

Larry

Hall and the other vendors sell a jacking pad kit. They are either steel (weld on, I believe) or aluminum (bolt on) They are a 5 piece kit. One piece mounts on the frame behind the tranny, one below each motor mount and one on each side just behind the front wheels. There is a curved section of reinforcement on the floor pan support. I jack my car up from the rear using a full sized floor jack and support the lower arms w/ jackstands. I have 2 smaller jacks that I then lift each side and place jackstands at each corner right behind the front tire.

Good luck with your new baby and welcome to the club!!
Gary #06984

p.s. what area of the country are you from?

You folks are great. Thanks. I am located West of Chicago. The Pantera season is short here, but it should be a good one. I plan to do some driving!!