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Hello everyone.

Like some people may have noticed, I bought 'roofit7774' project Pantera. It's a -73 model with a VIN 5172.
The Cat arrived just two days ago in a container here in frosty Finland. It took almost two months to ship it from Vancouver.

I haven't yet had a time to get on the car properly, just only managed to get it inside the garage.
Here's some what I know:
- Glass fiber Gr4 arches
- Body completely rust free
- Interior done with Dynamat, leather and Dodge Viper seats
- Engine built by hotrod shop in Canada
- All the wirings done and also the cooling system

To be done during the years (my goal is to get it on the road perhaps summer 2017):
- Big brake kit
- 17" OZ Futura wheels (centers already bought)
- Paint (most likely some deep black)
- All the unattached parts that came with the car
- Probably restoring the original style headlights
- Many other things that will appear when I properly become familiar with the Cat

Excitement was huge. Spent thousands of euros of a car I haven't ever personally seen and has travelled 7 weeks from across the other side of the earth.



My father was once again amazed what I have bought (previously have owned Porsche 911 and Corvette C5). So anxious to have this car in their garage for the next few years Big Grin



Rolling the Pantera towards the garage..



It would take few lonely nights before it's done...





Dat ass...





And the last but not least: The 351.
Last edited {1}
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Hi Camo,
Fantastic looking project. I can appreciate the excitement! Very cool.

I agree also about changing the headlights. Since they are already modified, I think going to something like what Kimmosch shows would be a cool option, with a bad ass look. BTW...with what the OE buckets sell for anymore...this would be much cheaper too.

Keep us posted on your progress..... Thumbs Up!
Some progress with the Cat.
We started modifying the headlights back to the original style with my dad who is way more experienced with welding etc.
Because I didn't manage to get any of the original parts we decided to make those ourself.

Oh, those hideous lights..



Rough cut



Little bit cleaned hole. Gladly original frame was in mostly in good shape.



Welded a bit more lip to the frame.



New selfmade headlight cover. Because the part of the frame was cut away I didn't have correct shape for the cover. We made it close enough the original only using pics from the internet. Can't say thay are OEM, but neither is the car nor the engine.





I will be using those same headlights as there was already modified by previous owner. Just to make the headlight a little bit lower and smoother than the orginal big ones...





Mechanism for the lights will be used with linear actuator. I will post pics of it soon.
Actuator will be only on the other side and it turns the rod as the original motor does.

Then I will also modify those side grills which replaced the small windows behind the doors. I will make side scoops from the glass fiber. I need also fix the glass fiber front hood. It's quite unsuitable and twisted. Also the rear hood quicklock holes need to be welded and build mechanism for the opening.

My goal is to take car to the paintshop this summer.
Last edited by camo
Oh, managed also to get GTS front lip from nick kimmosch. I think it will look pretty neat with that wide Gr4 body. Maybe later I will purchase proper Gr4 front spoiler.



The wheels are also under progress. I have already OZ Futura centers and all the rimbolts and I'm waiting the inner and outer lips for the rear wheels from the Belgium.

Rears will be 14x17" with 335/35 tyres and fronts will be 11,5x17" with 275/35 tyres .
Last edited by camo
A bit more about the lights.

Headlight cover






The bucket itself.









The turning mechanism. Still without any adjustments. The linear actuatos attaches to that lever and there will be screw to adjust the correct angle. Actuators length is 155mm and the travel is 50mm.



Tight fitment.



Adjustment can be done from the side. There will also be covers for boths sides of the bucket.

Last edited by camo
Thanks for the positive comments.

Yes the lever will propably change when I receive the actuator and we manage to adjust entire mechanism completely.

Few kilos aren't so big problem for me. The engine should push over 500bhp and if the car feels too slow, let's tickle a couple more horses out of the engine Big Grin

Oh, I didn't mention that I sold those Dodge Viper seats. Most likely I will put very lightweight Porsche 997 GT3 seats with 6-point harness.
Some recent progress...
Because pictures tell more than 1000 words, here we go!

Cutted those vents away..





My first idea was to make those scoops from glassfiber, but once again my dad's ideas seems to be more easier with better resolution. Now sidescoops will be made of aluminium.
Here is a cardboard model of the scoops.





My car was missing the rear grill. It was made easily and following the original style.

Been quite busy lately, but managed to make some progress today.

My welding skills arent't as good as my fathers, but still I welded those deltawing mounting holes and rear decklid quick release holes.



Moved the position of front sidemarkers/parking lights little bit lower.



The base for the parking lights.



And the parking lights tight against the base, which will be welded to the body.
Yes, these aren't the original Pantera lights, don't lynch me for that. I was unable to find original two color sidemarkers so after couple of hours in ebay I found these KE30 Toyota Corolla lights. If you as me, they fit very nicely to the Panteras body shape and were a whole lot cheaper than original ones would have been.

quote:
Originally posted by UFO-LOW:
Camo, that is a very clever choice for lights. They are so flat, they must be LED. You may have started a trend.

How did you make the base? That is a nice piece of work. Rodney.


Actually they are not LED. There will be another piece inside and holes for the bulbs to the base.
Baseplate is made just with correct size ironmold and huge hydraulic press.
quote:
Originally posted by David_Nunn:
Camo,

Did you know, the 2nd Si prototype (9602) was fitted with OZ Futuras? Here's a photo:

Do yours have the same center caps?


Wow, I really didn't know that.

I don't yet have the center caps, but either I'll manufacture those myself or I search ebay if someone has the original caps.
Try Wheel Couture (e-mail: wheelcouture@workmail.com). They might have a set of OZ Futura center caps for sale. I know they've sold a few sets of reconditioned Futuras recently. There were at least two different styles of Futura center cap, so make sure you get photos, so you know what you're getting. The later style had a carbon fiber ring and recessed logo, which you may not like as much as the early style that was used on Si 9602.
Some progress finally. I really try to get the car to the paintshop this July.

While I was on vacation, my dad manufactured the new aluminium hood. Previously the hood was made of fiberglass, but it was cracked and twisted and didn't follow the shape of the nose correctly. It would had need a whole lot of work with fiberglass so we decided to try to manufacture the skin and the frame by ourself.













A little tryout with the GT5 vents..





quote:
Originally posted by Rocky:
That hood is great! Wow, really nice work.

Would your Dad be mad if you didn't install those grills? That hood looks best all by itself.

Rocky


Sorry, but a bit too late Big Grin
I really like those GT5 grills so the holes were made. Well, we can always make a new hood if I want to get rid of those grills..







Then to the problems. The engine won't start. I have MSD ignition system with Optima RedTop battery. It has been tested also with other battery. The engine cranks but the spark is missing. I'm totally lost with the electrics so I don't know what to do. Is the problem in the ignition box or the coil or in the distributor?
Last edited by camo
Go down to your local auto supply and buy a 12volt tester( about $10.00, You are looking to make sure you have + and - current. I know it is frustrating,but, no spark starts at the positive supply into your box or distributor, or resistor.
Follow the current. No current check your GROUNDS, most of the time, a bad ground will be the culprit. Fabrication is much more complicated, you can do it.
quote:
Originally posted by pantera chris:
Go down to your local auto supply and buy a 12volt tester( about $10.00, You are looking to make sure you have + and - current. I know it is frustrating,but, no spark starts at the positive supply into your box or distributor, or resistor.
Follow the current. No current check your GROUNDS, most of the time, a bad ground will be the culprit. Fabrication is much more complicated, you can do it.


quote:
Originally posted by forestg:
Go to the MSD web page and follow their troubleshooting steps.


MSD instructions tested. No spark. I'm still a little uncertain because I really don't even understand what I'm doing with the electrics. Big Grin
Green and purple wire attached with the jumper and tested also grounding the white wire. No spark from the coil. How do I know is the ignition box or the coil faulty or do I have to buy both to test the system?
quote:
Originally posted by Michael 1424:
Love that front hood work! Nicely done. I might have to do the same thing myself.

And, check all the connections on the electrics (12V and ignition leads). As the other guys have said it's probably as simple as that. Hopefully its a simple fix.


Yeah, I think so too. The engine has run before so it couldn't be terribly big issue, because the car have been in the garage the whole time.


Thank you all for the positive comments. Hopefully I get the engine running and the car to the paintshop soon so I can really start getting all the pieces together.
A few photos about what's going on at the garage.

Installed those GT5 grills (yeah, the car is full of dirty fingerprints..)





Package from Hall Pantera..



I made the front quarterwindows from polycarbonate. Easier to install the sidemirrors which will be mounted to the glass and bolted through.



The rear declid still needs to be assigned properly in it's place. Installed the new molding to the hole.



Then couple pics of the sidescoops. They are now just put in their place, not attached.







And the great wide ass. I need to take the car out of the garage before the winter to take better pics.




quote:
Originally posted by kim k:
Wow really nice! you just have the fun and easy work left!


I must disagree, because there is still a whole lot money spending ahead Big Grin

Biggest parts on to-buy-list:
- Willwood big brake kit
- Porsche 997 GT3 bucket seats (which I don't know will they fit)
- custom gauges propably from Speedhut
quote:
Originally posted by Camo:
Can't find any discussion about 345/40R17 tires in Pantera? Can they fit or are they way too chubby?


The answer is yes they will fit the GT5 flares you have, but it does depend on what wheel backspace/offset you have chosen and your shock spring/ride height. The stock wheel offsets will accommodate a 345 wide (I run 500 lb springs in rear).
Haven't got motivation for garagedays lately and it's been busy at work also.

Wrapped up the interior firewall today. The middlesection will be removable so you don't have to remove entire interior and rollbar if you need to get hands on the engine.
Bolted the rollbar on it's place. Also tried the shoulderharness on it's place.
Harness are yellow 5-point TRS. 4 inch shoulder and waist belts and camlock release.
The firewall interiorpanel is black leather and black alcantara in the middle. Yellow diamond stitching. Same pattern will continue in doorpanels and headliner.

My photobank is closed and I'll try to transfer the projectphotos to my new bank soon.

Right now I've had a couple weeks vacation and got something done at the garage.

Made some interior. New doorpanels made from 4mm plywood. Center black alcantara anr surroundings black walknappa leather.





Same thing for the headliner..

Alright. It's been a while again with the Pantera. Got myself a new stupid project with new apartment so the car will stay on hold for a while now. My first goal was to get it on the street this summer but let's face it. It will take another year atleast.

Well I can always buy stuff if there isn't enough time for the garage.
Some progress with the brakes. First I bought Mitsubishi Evo discs. Front 350x32mm and rear 320x32mm.
Today I received a package from Great Britain containing calipers. These are HiSpec calipers with EBC Yellow Stuff pads.














quote:
Originally posted by JTpantera:
Those calipers look like a nice upgrade from Wilwoods. Piston seals, all internal passages. Looking at their website, it wasn't obvious that they have adapter brackets for the Pantera. Do they or are you modifying one of their universal adapters?


I will draw myself adapters and have them machined in a nearby company.
Hi JT.

They have adapters there fits for Pantera
they use my old Brake for mesurements

Call Them and talk with Alex.
Say Helle from me.

Kjeld Pedersen
Denmark

quote:
Originally posted by JTpantera:
Those calipers look like a nice upgrade from Wilwoods. Piston seals, all internal passages. Looking at their website, it wasn't obvious that they have adapter brackets for the Pantera. Do they or are you modifying one of their universal adapters?
I have heard nothing but good regarding the Hi-Spec calipers, especially the rears incorporating a handbrake. They are the go to choice for kits in the UK to pass the IVA or MoT test which include a rolling road resistance test and the handbrake has to hold the vehicle evenly distributed on each wheel.

Julian
quote:
Originally posted by René #4406:
Why not use a hydraulic handbrake?


...Because it would be Risky and Dangerous! It could Release/Creep on-it's-own, when parked on a Steep Hill with the Temperature Change from Hot to Cold, say Overnight.

And Second! You would Have NO EMERGENCY BRAKE!!
Because you believe in the effectiveness of a mechanical handbrake for something other than a parking brake?

And there is a double circuit on the Pantera, so yes, I think a hydraulic handbrake on the rear cricuit is safer than a cable handbrake, especially if there is a damage in the front hydraulic circuit.

But everyone does as he prefers, it was just a simple question.
Yes, the biggest reason for not having hydraulic handbrake is that it is illegal here in Finland.
I wanted the easiest and cheapest way to have the handbrake, because I really don't use it that much. It's mainly for the every year inspection to show the car is road legal. My Pantera will not be the trackcar nor I won't push it to the limits frequently.
Chris, I have a relatively early set of Wilwoods bought from Pantera East back in the early '90s. Perhaps, Wilwood has made some improvements since then. I've owned them long enough to learn a thing or two. I have no issue with their stopping ability and have used different pads for track and street.

My issues are two fold:

1) A lack of seals around the pistons. This condition invites moisture corrosion and premature seal failure from dirt. I've owned mine long enough to replace parts (pistons & seals) many times despite limited mileage. Thus, they benefit from occasional disassembly and cleaning of the pistons. Not an exercise that I enjoy.

2) the pads rattle and rock. The pads rock and then noisely click in their perch when the brakes are initially tapped. This worsened over time as the aluminum perch wore. I fabbed a steel spacer to remedy the aluminum wear and minimize the noise. Actually it is more the caliper perch deforming (rather then wearing) from the steel backing of the pad slamming the aluminum caliper upon application. Granted, the Pantera saw substantial track time and hard braking, but still less than ideal. As loud as my car is, I still hear them when braking.

The attraction of the Wilwoods are that they are inexpensive and stop well when maintained. However, I see them as a racing brake set up and not optimally designed for street application due primary to a lack of piston seals.

There is a reason that competitors brake calipers with rattle pads, that are machined for and come with piston seals, and are cast with internal passages eliminating external crossover lines cost more. These are benefits that I would have paid more for in hindsight. Live and learn.
Some things have been done, some doesn't..
Manufacturing the adapters for the brakes, finishing the interior, installing some tiny important stuff and still seems there's a whole lot to do.

Well, got gauges from Speedhut.

Next will be the clutch master cylinder and doing the clutch and brake lines. Clutchline will be completely braided stainless steel. And most of the brakelines too.

Sexy photo of the gauges:

Newbie question Don't want to hijack this post, my apologizes in advance but I am unable to see any of the posted pictures. Anyone have a quick answer? I just see a non-clickable Picture icons. I can see most other post pics but not all

Intro JerrySr (New owner 1 week) 1972, starting restoration. Been stalking for weeks, Great website and info. Thanks
Parts and more parts..

Got my brakecaliper adapters today from the paintshop. Okay, we have the paintline at work so it was easy to put these hanging among our own products.



Picked up the armsrests for the doors from a familyfriend who is working at the furniturefactory. Same leather as the doorpanels.





Selfmade louvers under the windshield. They need still some grinding and sanding and ofcourse the gloss black paint.





Quick fitting for the Wilwood clutch master cylinder I brought home from a NYC trip.



Started also fixing the photos from the beginning of the thread. Still huge amount of photos left to transfer to the new photobank and link to here.
quote:
Originally posted by garth66: Inquiring minds want to know about your brake caliper adapters. Also, what are the part numbers for the HiSpec Calipers you're using?

Thanks!


Front calipers are Monster 4 series for the max. 360mm rotor. Partnumber M4360-154.

Rear calipers are Billet 4 SVA. Partnumber SVA140.

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