...I have been planning this Road-Test for Years. August 1-4, 2019
Take the Pantera to Americas' Southwest Deserts and Photograph and Video, ALL. The Hottest Place On Earth, the Hottest Time of the Year. Take the Kat Beyond the 'Point of No Return' and Bring Her Back, Alive, Running Stronger.
First Destination: 'Emigrant Pass', on the 'Old Spanish Trail' (Highway), In the Northern Mojave Desert, California. This Runs between the North and South Nopah Range Wilderness.
A video camera both 'In Cockpit' And One Mounted on the Rear Wing, right then left. There is some drone video. A Lot of 'in cockpit' video, Most of it showing Both Coolant Temp Gauges. Also showing the Time on My Wristwatch. Amazing! The Faster I Drive, The Slower the Watch Moves! Or, So It Appears.
The Cockpit Camera shows a View of, Most of the Dash, very little of the Driver, the Rearview TV Monitor...But Mostly the View is of a Passengers' Perspective Straight Out the Windshield and to Infinity, as far as one can see, Framed by the Windshield. The Distant, Always coming towards You, FAST.
Also, we were running a Rear-View/Blind-Spot, CCTV Camera with 11" Monitor, which was Very Handy, and shows up in Most of the Videos. Marlin was Crazy Enough to Pull This Off! Faith in the Pantera and his Maintenance of the 351 Cleveland, and the Cat.
The Desert was 'Only' 118F Degrees at Emigrant Pass Aug 2, 2019 2:30PM . AC? What, are You Kidding Me? NO! I Laughed at the HEAT and Ignored it! Except, I Never Ignored the (2) 'Coolant Gauges' (Analog and Digital), Or the Engine and Transaxle, Digital, 'Oil Temp Gauge' (switchable).
Equipment:
(1) Sony Camcorder
(2) Two GoPro Cameras
The Gopros could Handle the Heat, One Camera was always out in direct sunlight, Clamped to the Wing. The Inside Cam was Suction-Cupped, up-side-down, to the Sunroof. It was near impossible to Read the Touchscreen in Bright Direct Sunlight. The Only Shade was ME! I Couldn't see the RED LED indicating the Camera was ON. Turns-0ut...It Was On!
This Pantera Liked to just Cruise at 80 MPH. 82 would rise in Temp, 78 would Cool Back Down. Phenomenal. Digital Gauge would read 200F to 214F. The Veglia (Factory Gauge Marked as (90-160-230) F Degrees, (Sender in the Block) would Show 158F, Just under the '160'F Mark, being Straight-Up On The Gauge . When Hottest, would Read 162F = 190F, just to the Right of '160'F. The Hottest reading I saw on this gauge was 190F, that time when we pulled off to get gas and were crawling behind semis, on the off ramp. That was after 3 hrs, sustained at 90MPH. I-5 South. Allowing for slower traffic, ofcourse. Outside Temp 100F+. The R. Plate and 180F Thermostat, were Doing Their Jobs, Very Well. CONCLUSION: The Vaglia Gauge Showing at '160F' Equals a actual 190F Degrees. With a 180F RS Thermostat and Brass Restrictor.
The Pantera 'NEVER Missed a Beat'. She Fired-Up First Time, EVERY Time. When Shut-down, She Shuts-Off Right Now!! There was No Ticking, Hissing Cooling sounds...Nothing, Silence! With the Distributor-LESS Ignition, there was No Run-On, Dieseling.
Last of the Cameras, 1 Video Drone. The Drone performed Perfectly. I have Never Flown A Drone Before. I have watched multiple 'Video Classes', such as ' Cinema with a Drone' and 'How to Drone Video Cars'. My Thanks to those Teachers!
THIS was My First Learning/Practice Session, and NOT Forgetting to Turn ON the Drone Video Camera, OR Forget to peel-off the Camera Lens protection Sticker, after mounting the 4 Props, connecting Batteries...HOT and Breezy, I thought it might Not Fly, IT Proved Me Wrong! NO Crashes. Just send Her STRAIGHT-UP Up to 200+ Feet, and Fly, Hover...Pan! Took-Off from the Roof of the Pantera (Sunroof), Twice, and Ended the Second Flight, Landing Back onto the Roof. Skilled! And in the Wind, it's All on Video. You do Not want to 'Take-Off' from the Ground, as this Kicks Up Dust into the Motors. The First flight, Ended by Snatching the Drone Out of a Hover, Hands full, I shut down the Motors using one elbow (Video to follow). Flying with the GPS On, I Did NOT use the 'Return to Home'. Thanks for the Breeze, by the Way! I Filmed about 40 Minutes worth (2 Drone Batteries, 2 Sessions). I finished up with the Drone, before the Wind became Strong Enough to make the 'Loose Gravel' Sign and Post, wave and Twist. Shown in a Last Videoed, Hand-Held Panorama, with the sound of rushing wind.
I could Not get Drone Video of the Pantera Cruising, as I had No One Else with Me to Operate It. No One wanted to go with Me (Smart) and I did not want to 'Torture' a 'Innocent' Person, who did Not Know What to Expect! Turns out, There was No Room for a passenger, anyway. I don't Travel with the 'Trunk Tub', and, all of My Gear occupied the Passenger Seat. Tool Bag, Spare Parts and Oil, were in the Nose. My Drone has a 'Follow-Me' setting, but I did not have enough experience to use it.
NO spare Tire! But, had a 'Tubeless Tire Repair-Kit' and a 12 Volt Compressor. The Rear Tires were 'Brand-New', The fronts were Goodyears...19 Years Old. After getting Her back in the Garage, I Felt Lucky, I had Zero Problems with any of the 4 Tires. THAT was a very Lucky thing!! as I left in Haste, forgetting the Jack AND the 'KEY' to the Rear Lug Nuts. Didn't carry a spare anyway. Did have the Fire Ext. My Logistics called to Leave the Curb at 3:00 PM, I Left at 3:30. Expected to get to My Reservation, in Barstow by 9:00. Rolled in at 10.
Marlin
CLICK ON PHOTOS TO ENLARGE
