PS. Please send 4280/Mark IV help option immediately by urgent priority post . Will guarantee excellent lodgings !!
Thanks for the kind words, and I couldn’t have done it without Wade (4280/Mark IV) as a doer, and a teacher!
Your car looks great!
Rocky
You do great work!
That mod was inspired by one of our AZ Pantera owners who had an electronics fail, and his starter started cranking (without him in it). The car went forward, jumped the curb, and rolled into a wall, stopping forward motion. The starter was still going, slipping the clutch.
He was able to reach in and shut things off instantly.
It was at that time I realized what a valuable mod a battery disconnect could be. I use mine all the time.
Obviously, all the Race Cars have them, so it may even add 5-10 horsepower!
Rocky
Completed my three-point seatbelt upgrade. My stock buckle cover was in the process of disintegrating, and since we have a track day at the end of the month...
I got the FJ-40 Toyota Seat Belt kit. It all went together very smoothly... The main challenge was the retractor mounting on the sill, bending the attachment bracket to a precise 20* angle (so the retractor is vertical), and the fiddly upholstery work to my bulkhead cover.
I think it came out pretty nicely.
The lower mount was made more challenging because my car (5357) didn’t come stock with a bulkhead mounted 3-point belt. If that were the case, this would really be a straightforward install.
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Also worked the carburetor (a 735 CFM Holley 4150).
The carb setup had been dyno’ed, and all the parameters had been optimized for my car.
But it had recently been running rich…. something had changed. It also had a slight bog on acceleration.
I was planning on replacing the power valve, and the accelerator pump diaphragm.
But what I found was that the bowl attachment screws on the primary fuel bowl had worked (slightly) loose. This was allowing fuel to bypass the metering in the metering block, and causing the rich condition.
Happy to get that issue worked out, a no-cost solution!
Rocky
Beautiful!
Another source of annoying noise - FOUND!
I had been struggling with a rattling noise that I was convinced was my shocks / springs losing preload as I went over bumps (because it happened shortly after I first installed them…)
But…. I kept checking them, and they were secure.
Then I found this….
I am pretty sure it’s the culprit, the two halves were loose in the caliper, and I could make them rattle by just touching it….
I’ll let you know (or delete this post) if replacement of the brake pad retained doesn’t solve my noise problem!
Rocky
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Nice! Looks like fun!
Rocky,
Your car is looking great. I'd say the kids are ready for a road trip! What was your process for the lower seat belt mount. I was looking at a floor mount, but I like you solution much better.
Hey Ken – if you scroll up the page, I’ve got my install documented. I used the Cool Cruisers of Texas (Taiwan) Toyota FJ-40 three point harness kit.
The lower mounting point just bolts inside the plate on the rocker.
I drilled through the lower box structure on the rear bulkhead to mount the reel. I put a doubler plate on the back of the box structure.
The CCOT kit comes with all the hardware you need, bolts and brackets. I don’t know if that’s the only place you can find it, but it was very convenient to order.
I think there’s a couple other people here that have used that same kit. Some of the later model cars (‘74s?) that originally had three point belts probably have an easier install.
My ‘73 had the reel inside the rocker, but the non-retractable belt hanging on the bulkhead. My wife always had a terrible time, trying to hook the shoulder belt, and then stab the tongue, while holding all the pieces together…. This is way better than that.
You have to build an angled spacer, or bend the mounting strap, so that the reel is in a vertical position. If not, the reel locks up when you try to pull the belt out.
Good Luck
Chuck
P.S. I think the kit was just shy of $200.
OMG Rocky……. You did everything!!! I am going to ask you a lot of questions if you don’t mind…
what a read….. 👍👍
Panteras are just so effing beautiful!!
Fixed my ignition buzzer today…. Easy.
Read the deets here….
Sent by me!
Thanks for sharing. First pictures I have seen. In So. Calif didn't see a thing.
Orange California with welding mask,😎
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Did you drive the TVR…??
I did…. Primarily because our host knew the Russian Oligarch who bought the TVR Engineering Corporation after Peter Wheeler sold it in the 1990’s…
But make no mistake…. This was a Southern Arizona Pantera Club event!
It was a great trip!
The TVR could always be next to my Pantera! And the Jensen too! What a great combo!👍👍👍
let's see more pics of that TVR. Please.
Nice…. More TVR fans here…!!!!!! 👍👍👍
Yes, I own à 1996 Griffith 500.
Le dim. 28 avr. 2024, 17:44, The De Tomaso Forums <alerts@crowdstack.com> a
écrit :
Le dim. 28 avr. 2024, 17:44, The De Tomaso Forums <alerts@crowdstack.com> a
écrit :
nice looking car!
Sweet…🍒🍭🍩
So Mr. LeMans850i is making me feel bad with his unrelenting progress, therefore I had to jump into another "upgrade". I decided to install a Pedal Extender (Amerisport) and while I was at it, machine my pedal assembly for needle bearings installation on the main shaft (4x), clutch effort reduction assembly (3x) and accelerator pedal (2x).
I got all the needle bearing specs from Rene4406, and tips on how to implement it.
I will be using the mills at Pima Community College as an "Independent Project" (MAC296) to do the machining.
I got the pedal box removed and disassembled today.
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Couple of Tricks for Disassembly:
(NOTE: The pedal box CAN be removed with the clutch linkage connected without cutting a notch in the pedal box...)
1. Get in the car, take out the front driver's seat, and take off / loosen everything you can from underneath first. Getting rid of all the braces, accelerator pedal, etc. gives you more access.
2. (Lemans850 Tip) Use a zip tie to compress / restrain the coil springs so the pedals don't keep flying forward.
3. Lots of 2-Man jobs on this one. Thanks to Mrs. Rocky for not complaining about unscrewing nuts while I cursed and held wrenches under the steering wheel.
4. The real secret to the removal of the pedal assembly is to have the clutch pedal and associated linkage in the position it would be if the clutch was fully depressed. That brings it into a compact state and gives you the 0.5mm you need to slip the assembly out of the pedal box.
Rocky
PS> Another note.... the need for this is kind of a crapshoot, because you can't really be sure the needle bearing upgrade is needed from a casual observation. Of course I was worried about my linkage being "wallowed out", as I have seen reported by others. But when I took my linkage apart, everything was fairly greasy, and the linkage was in good shape. But if you are "in for a dime, you are in for a dollar"*!
* From Marlin's thread....
Here's a picture I saw of an effort reduction piece that needs help - and wear in this area reduces the throw on your clutch slave cylinder!
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@rocky posted:Couple of Tricks for Disassembly:
(NOTE: The pedal box CAN be removed with the clutch linkage connected without cutting a notch in the pedal box...)
1. Get in the car, take out the front driver's seat, and take off / loosen everything you can from underneath first. Getting rid of all the braces, accelerator pedal, etc. gives you more access.
2. (Lemans850 Tip) use a zip tie to compress / restrain the coil springs so the pedals don't keep flying forward.
3. Lots of 2-Man jobs on this one. Thanks to Mrs. Rocky for not complaining about unscrewing nuts while I cursed and held wrenches under the steering wheel.
4. The real secret to the removal of the pedal assembly is to have the clutch pedal and associated linkage in the position it would be if the clutch was fully depressed. That brings it into a compact state and gives you the 0.5mm you need to slip the assembly out of the pedal box.
Rocky
Very very good!!!👍 Bring on the pictures!
My wife always says I have a bad influence!!! 😜
By far, not as bad as yours, but I got one of those too…
but with return springs zip tight, linkage, relaxed, and turning the pin 90° it came out!
The new Fork on the clutch master cylinder is just a pressed steel part while the original one was a machined part… I couldn’t save the Machined part - sadly!
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Making a little more progress…
1) Bushings pushed out of the pedal assembly… all parts ready for machining.
2) I’m going with a “straight” return spring to my clutch (instead of spending $35 on one that will break in 25K miles), so I drilled a hole in the clutch pedal.
3) Replaced the front length of vacuum line to the brake booster. Line is 12mm ID, you need about 1 1/2’ of it. It is available at any VW supply store!
I guess the old “Aeroquip” line was from a PO upgrade, I’d be surprised if they used that kind of tubing originally in Italy!
It was hard as a rock, and crumbly at the ends!
Rocky
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Gonna be nice to just hang this spring in once everything is back assembled!
brake pedal the same?
No, I’m going to “roll the bones”, and stick with my unbroken brake pedal spring, but…. It is probably good insurance to “pre-drill” the brake pedal, as well.
This will guarantee the brake pedal spring never breaks!
@rocky posted:No, I’m going to “roll the bones”, and stick with my unbroken brake pedal spring, but…. It is probably good insurance to “pre-drill” the brake pedal, as well.
This will guarantee the brake pedal spring never breaks!
I wish that logic really works… I carry a crank and pistons and a clutch with me… 🤪
I am also replacing my passenger door handle tub with one from PI Motorsports. I took Tsolo's advice in his thread here, and fabricated a "spring pressure diffuser" for the Hall Pantera door handle spring. It came out good.
Hall door handle springs? | The De Tomaso Forums (infopop.cc)
Now all I have to do is find the three screws that hold the lock barrel in place, that I lost in my garage somewhere!
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Got these surplus M6 x1.0 nut plates installed…. Very cool. These are to securely (re)attach the door handle. One was stripped out…
The plastic inserts in the door were hard as rocks…
NOTE: You only need two (per door), the fixture on the top forward part of the armrest is rigidly attached to the door metal. BUT… the long M6 - 1.0 machine screws fit the stock attachment as well!
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Rocky, Looks like a good upgrade. What Surplus did you find them? Any left? Thanks, Larry
They’re from a little store in Tucson, I think somehow they have a connection to Davis-Monthan AFB and/or The Boneyard (a.k.a. AAMARG).
I believe McMaster-Carr carries something similar.
I used this:
These are 6x100 metric spring captive nuts which correspond exactly to the square holes in the door, they are installed in 5 seconds and obviously the 6 x 100 screws can be purchased in any hardware store in Europe.
They are for sale on Ebay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/15597...tkp%3ABk9SR7Km-euBZA
Maybe the same thing exists in 1/4''?
Very cool.
They use those captive nuts in electronics racks to mount rack mount electronic equipment!
Great solution!
I've had these nuts for a long time but I remember actually getting them from an electronics rack 
Got more machining done on my pedal assembly. Did the clutch pedal cross shaft for the 12mm needle bearing, and drilled out the main holes for the 26mm cross shaft bearings to 1”.
Fixturing and alignment were the main challenge.
The cross shaft was easiest, we had a collet clamp of the correct size we mounted to the mill table.
The setup of the pedal bracket assembly and truing it up was the hard part. We could only drill two of the four holes at a time (due to the length of our tooling), and then had to flip the piece over.
We did find that the machined surfaces on the “ears” were all true to each other, and so setup for drilling the second pair of holes was eased by using a 1-2-3 block at the bottom of the part for alignment on the machined surface.
I don’t have any pictures of our setup for the second pair of holes, but I assure you, the second half of the operation took about 1/4 the time as the setup for the first pair!
We have a 26mm reamer that is long enough to “align bore” all four holes with one setup, but unfortunately our tool holder is way too long to fit in the manual mill…. So we’re working on getting the appropriate holder for the final operation. We’ll do it in the CNC machine.
But good progress was accomplished today!
Rocky
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Progress!!! 👍👍
Following onto related thread, I temporally installed my pedal assembly on tomorrow Kirk Evans spacer.
I am going to finish up the machining tomorrow on the pedal assembly, and will begin the reinstall soon.
I did take Steve’s advice and moved the vacuum hose forward. Considering doing the same to the clutch hardline.
Kirk Evans sent me a threaded throttle cable extender…. Need to test fit that as well.
Rocky
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@rocky posted:Following onto related thread, I temporally installed my pedal assembly on tomorrow Kirk Evans spacer.
I am going to finish up the machining tomorrow on the pedal assembly, and will begin the reinstall soon.
I did take Steve’s advice and moved the vacuum hose forward. Considering doing the same to the clutch hardline.
Kirk Evans sent me a threaded throttle cable extender…. Need to test fit that as well.
Rocky
I’ll have a question for you.
On my original set up there was a small hole drilled in the gas pedal who had a return spring on it. It was hooked to the pedal stop. Then The new billet gas pedal does not have the hole… Does it supposed to have a return spring… I would guess yes, Otherwise, the gas pedal would be very touchy…
Yes, my pedal has a small hole about 2.5 cm below the pivot point, and a short (5 cm?) spring for the gas pedal that hooks to the dash structure.
There is also the return spring on the throttle cable at the carb linkage end.
I’ll add the hole and spring once I’m done with Covid…. 😫
One of the essential recommendations was to have two nested springs at the return spring location on the throttle cable at the carb linkage end.
Just to be sure to be sure ....!
Did you weld a nut to the L bracket that holds the bottom bolt of the clutch master?
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I installed helicoils in the aluminum plate, so I can thread the bolts in from the back.
Then the bolts act as studs (in the front trunk) to fit the clutch master, and they hold that brace in place in the back…
@rocky posted:I installed helicoils in the aluminum plate, so I can thread the bolts in from the back.
Then the bolts act as studs (in the front trunk) to fit the clutch master, and they hold that brace in place in the back…
Wow… I hope the system is working out for you…!!! It does sound like a PITA turning the bolts down there…
I have all my nuts in the front..
Now that sounds wrong…🤔 LOL
@rocky posted:It’s all back together, with a successful test drive!
Whoo-Hoo!
Just in time for Saturday’s “Drive Your Pantera Day”!!!
PS. Please ignore the Honda in the back. My wife whipped in just as I was taking the picture and photo-bombed me!
Congratulations, my friend !!
you are overtaking me….
Just one more picture of what's inside your "Hall Big Bore" collectors if you are still running them. Look down in there at those flanges! Could cause "swirl"!
Just wanted to post this up for posterity before they go to the recycle pile!
Rocky
PS> I heard the "Big Bore" headers were from ski boats with 351Cs (Mastercraft, maybe Ski Nautiques?)
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While looking at my exhaust, I noticed that my passenger side muffler can seem to be a little wiggly up and down.
If you recall, we had converted it to 2 1/2 inch input tubing.
I pulled the whole thing down, and lo and behold, it wasn’t the welds that are cracked, but the sheet metal on the muffler can, top and bottom.
Pretty straightforward repair, but I’m going to try to come up with a way to stabilize the cans and tips, to prevent up them from vibrating up and down.
Rocky
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i can"t "see" what is going on !
Good idea Rocky
One of my favorite mods was simply cutting the bottom of the brake pedal off. It makes a huge difference and getting foot off gas and ON brake. I got this Tip from this site!
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Just finished my Tesla EPB install.
Mounted the control & status panel where the handbrake lever was originally mounted. All the switching circuitry goes in there too.
The status is a "dual color" LED light connected to a latching relay... RED for applied, GREEN for released.
The red button is an "interlock", so you have to push both the red button and the rocker switch to apply - only push back on the rocker to release.
Made the adapter brackets myself on a mill... (Yes - I know in this picture the bracket is on the wrong side of the caliper!)
Rocky
PS... It was a lot of work. Not sure I would do it again if my parking brake was working fine (as my stock one was!)
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Well done….
By far, not an easy Set up !
I should bring you over to California to twiddle on my electric….
I agree. Roland's driveway is super steep. He needs all the emergency brake he can get. 
I did it also and don't see it as a difficult installation? It is comprehensive in a sense but look at the bright side. Now you have a parking brake that holds.
I think that the electric power steering is a difficult installation but also worthwhile.
34,000 + views. Wow! You're a popular guy!
Oh...nice job incidentally!
Thanks, All!
I guess I don't have a very steep driveway... and I did most of the work myself. If I wasn't so cheap, I might have saved 20-30 hours in the fabrication of the mounting bracket, and in the electronics design and build by just buying the "off the shelf" solution.
I did buy the PE connectors and harness wire... that was a good investment.
To Doug's point - once I had the brackets done, and the electronics panel wired and bench tested, installing everything in the car took me only about 4 hours...
Rocky
PS... I think LeMans850 would have more views.... If he only put all his posts in one spot!
Off the shelf solution? Where? There is very little that is off the shelf for a Pantera.
There is fabrication and aesthetic choices to make for everything that is not stock. Seemingly even "complete bolt in kits"?
You even need to choose between air and nitrogen in the tires. What you say? You are only using air? Boy, you aren't keeping up!
There are more views here then Panteras ever made. I guess some folks need to come back for more and just can't believe "these guys"?
Face it Rocky, you are just a legend in your own time and didn't even know it. 
@rocky posted:PS... I think LeMans850 would have more views.... If he only put all his posts in one spot!
there’s no way I ever could compete with you… You did a lot to your car and this thread is running for 11 years! (I’m running just for a little over a year)
I chopped my thread up because I print each one out once I’m done with it and keep them with the car… If you ever have to look anything up or if I ever sell the car, somebody can read what I did.
LeMans - but you never know when the project is going to end, like your underwear thread!
I’m gonna just tell the next owner to use the Internet “way-back” machine (it’s a thing), and look it up on line!!
Doug - I was talking about the brackets and the EPB controller from Pantera Electronics. The brackets are $95, and I probably spent 6-8 hours designing and milling mine…. And the control box took a while to design it, get the parts, and build / test it.
I’d call most of the PE stuff “off the shelf”!
But I appreciate the notice!
@rocky posted:LeMans - but you never know when the project is going to end, like your underwear thread!
I’m gonna just tell the next owner to use the Internet “way-back” machine (it’s a thing), and look it up on line!!
I gave my threads a bunch of stupid names … didn’t I….
While I’m there.. can of worms … Lol
https://pantera.infopop.cc/top...uld-the-can-of-worms
that’s definitely one that drags on forever…
@rocky posted:LeMans - but you never know when the project is going to end, like your underwear thread!
I’m gonna just tell the next owner to use the Internet “way-back” machine (it’s a thing), and look it up on line!!
Doug - I was talking about the brackets and the EPB controller from Pantera Electronics. The brackets are $95, and I probably spent 6-8 hours designing and milling mine…. And the control box took a while to design it, get the parts, and build / test it.I’d call most of the PE stuff “off the shelf”!
But I appreciate the notice!
Ha! You work cheap.
My son went out and bought a tire mounting machine, a spin balance machine, a bubble balance machine and spent two days mounting the tires. He has your labor rates beat.
Now the reason I know about the tires is he brought the machines here, left them on my deck along with the old tires.
He could have saved some money by paying a shop the $28 per tire they charge and not added to the "let's go annoy Dad with my junk" scenario as well?
Now I have to make a deal with my garbage men to take the tires. Do you think that was his plan all along to save the $4 per tire disposal fee?
Tigers are known to eat their own young you know? I'm sure there is a lot of agita involved even with that? 
Car looks fantastic next to the cactus !