Pantera Fumes

My wife was never happy when she had clothes hang drying in the garage and I started the Pantera.

quote:

No wonder folks don't spend much time tailgating me.

They don't, because they can't ... we've all seen your videos


I know what you mean though, my eldest keeps asking "what's that smell" when I take him for a drive.

I have my list to run through with him depending on how acrid the stench is - Oh, just the exhaust, or or a little clutch material, or some overheating wires. You know, regular car smells - then I crack the window a bit further and wait for a chance to open her up and clear the cockpit.

At this point, I still like the smell (the exhaust anyway, I can do without the overheated wires), it rounds out the sensory impact of the car - but then again, the smell in the underground of the hotel in Kingston was pretty strong when the 15+ cats fired up and departed back in Sept.

Alright maybe I am an oddball ...

There is a very distinct smell about the Pantera - in all respects.

I have always loved it.

B.G.

Not only does my wife hate the smell of the exhaust and on me after a drive, she can also tell when I've just been sitting in the car without even starting it.

I have come to associate that smell with driving the Pantera, so whenever I smell it I feel happy, elated.
"I LOVE THE SMELL OF PANTERA AFTER I DRIVE IT!. It smells like...victory!"
Robert Duvall in "Apocalypse Now!"

EDIT: I changed it from Bill to Bob. I ain't real good with names. Also misspelled Apocalypse.

Typically, it's running rich. I had my Pantera dyno-tuned (installed and O2 sensor) and the carb re-jetted appropriately, but it still smells rich. At least my eyes don't burn from the fumes after only seconds standing behind the car at idle like they used to.

My wife also complains that her clothes smell whenever we go out of town in the Pantera and her suitcase rides in the trunk. I wrap it in a garbage bag now.

Hey Garth do like one of the group does, send her stuff by Fed X. No complaints and more room for your stuff. Or do what I do and leave her at home.
Richard

Yup, I've distinctly noticed that, especially in traffic where who is faster than who is not an issue, people do not like sitting behind the pantera. Even when my son and I go blasting around in the mountains he backs off a 1/2 K.
Says "it's just &%$@$% terrible being right behind that thing". Hey, no pollution controls, short pipes, bad mufflers, I'm doing my part to deplete the ozone layer.
Doug M

Well I'm glad to see it's not just a problem with me or my car, but a general bad ass cat malaise.

But what about the fumes from regular street traffic? How come exterior fumes while in traffic (not those created by the Pantera) are much worse in the Pantera as compared to my SUV?

less than 1m30s

That's the time it takes for me to set off the carbon monoxide alarm in my underground parking garage, which also starts up the auxiliary vent fans. I intend to take advantage of this in the winter to control the temperature & humidity.

All I have to do is start my car in the garage and the wife complains that I smell like exhaust when I come in. I do have it running at Stoich or slightly leaner at cruise so It shouldnt be too bad following me.

Blaine

On one occasion I was confronted by an individual asking if I knew what damage I was doing to the enviroment with a car that emitted such smelly exhaust. My reply was that with so many people now conserving energy there was an excess of unused "carbon credits" and I was doing my part to "recycle" the unused credits. Admittedly it was a weak answer, but it shut the guy up.

Just remind them that cars DID NOT create CO2 emissions until they required catalytic converters!!!

Fuel fragrance is the answer!

I can’t believe no one chimed in on this. You can buy the fuel additive in Grape, Bubblegum, Pina Colada, Watermelon, & Cherry. I am told Grape is the most fragrant. I used the grape additive. Drive into a group and people ask what is that smell? Smells like grape! Italian hence grape. I just say it runs on cheap wine. The fragrance does linger in the garage.

I think it was developed to mask race gas.
IndyDave

I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it myself ...



But at $9.99 for 4oz, that's about $320 per gallon (we Canucks are on the metric system, I think it's 128oz/gallon, but I'm open to correction) ... boy that doesn't sound like cheap wine to me ... makes gas seem cheap though!
JEGS has about 18 flavours available at $12.99/bottle - If y'all are getting heck for coming in smelling like rocket fuel, just think what's gonna happen if you come home smelling all fruity or like you've been out drinking pina coladas!
Not to mention the critters it would probably attract to your garage - Those of you in Bear country may want to think twice ...

quote:

How come exterior fumes while in traffic (not those created by the Pantera) are much worse in the Pantera as compared to my SUV?

Uh, most of what you're smelling is probably your own Pantera fumes. And if you are smelling the other cars around you more in the Pantera than your SUV, it's because your modern SUV seals up much tighter than your Pantera with leaky 30 year old weatherstripping, holes in the firewall with worn boots and grommets for shift linkages, heater hoses and wiring, and 30 year old manufacturing tolerances which are far from today's standards for automotive manufacturing.

Just part of the sensory-experience of driving a Pantera!

Garth, I agree. When burning the grape, I will often smell the fumes at a light, depending on the wind direction. The fumes flow under/around the car & back up through the windows. The fumes, at least the strong fumes, come from the end of the tail pipes not the engine compartment.

Regarding the fragrance, you only need to use about 1/2 the bottle or 2 oz per full tank. The manufacturer would like for you to use an entire bottle but you really only need to use 1/2 for the full effect. $9.99 is the average price. Check your local speed shop or http://www.speedwaymotors.com/p/1656,58_Fuel-Fragrance-...mNo=fuel%20fragrance

Pretty cool idea. I'll hand out that smelly stuff next big Pantera event and see if we can actually drive behind eachother that way.

Hey Garth, I don't think it's my own fumes that I smell when in traffic in the cat. I've done some experimenting, eg - if I start choking on fumes behind some car and then change lanes or drop back it goes away.

Sitting in stop and go traffic in the cat with my windows open or closed I can smell the exhausts of other cars. In my SUV with the windows open or closed I can't. I think it is the height (or lack of it) that makes all the difference.

David some thing minor to consider ... I found while cutting out my floors ... 12 little V's cut into the sheet metal and most had a 1/16" openings and the location that really caught my eye was the 4 in the bottom of the console that potentially allowed fumes to come in to the Cockpit. Also I think we discussed this once before that the Pantera has no vents cut into the doors to allow air OUT. As the AC or heat is circulating this could potentially create a vacumn and pull exhaust in thru small holes .. Sorry my HVAC backround is kicking is ... am I over thinking this ? I didnt notice fresh air inlet on the P car ?

9138 I add dyno mat and sealed all the potential opening last year and it made a big difference .. but ahrd to shut the doors with the windows closed.

Ron

David,
I wonder if it is the fans in the Pantera, are they working harder than the average car at moving air through the rad, and then over the windshield (through the vents), and under the cockpit where they concentrate more than they would in an SUV (not a lot of room under the cat for air to escape easily).
A possible experiment would be to cover the hood vents, get out in traffic see how strong the fumes are, then pull into a gas station, uncover them and see if it changes - or even try it with the Pantera parked behind your idling SUV. Start with the Pantera off, then with the fans on (both covered and then uncovered), then with the car running and vents covered and uncovered.
- I don't advocate doing this in a closed garage or for extended periods of time ;-)

P.S. Dibs on "Light 'em Up Black Licorice" scent

quote:

but ahrd to shut the doors with the windows closed.

You know Ron the newer Vettes windows roll down just a little when you open them, that way when you close them the door fully shuts, then the windows shut. Sorry to hijack this but I thought some totally useless info might be needed.
Jeff

This is not a Pantera specific issue. Ride behind any domestic carbureted V-8 and you will get the same wonderful aroma. It brings me back to my misspent youth with muscle cars and my first Pantera.

On another aroma issue. The smell of fine Italian “pleather” when you first open up your cat after a few days or more does seem Pantera specific. Not sure how DeTomaso did this but I remember this same aroma from the first Pantera back in 75.

quote:

Originally posted by Pantera 4134:
This is not a Pantera specific issue. Ride behind any domestic carbureted V-8 and you will get the same wonderful aroma. It brings me back to my misspent youth with muscle cars and my first Pantera.

On another aroma issue. The smell of fine Italian “pleather” when you first open up your cat after a few days or more does seem Pantera specific. Not sure how DeTomaso did this but I remember this same aroma from the first Pantera back in 75.

Now that this thread bears NO resemblance to the original, (thanks Jeff!) I don't feel so bad to include...

My Herrig seats are indeed leather but do not 'smell' anything like the leather in my other car, which is THAT superb old library leather smell. I took the scraps from that car's reupholstery and put them under Gary's seats. Left the car a few days and the next time in... Voila! Made a difference.

My 'old' pure vinyl interior had the typical Pantera smell, so unquestionably that 'wonderful aroma' is coming from the seats... which are being completely redone at the moment.

quote:

My Herrig seats are indeed leather but do not 'smell' anything like the leather in my other car, which is THAT superb old library leather smell. I took the scraps from that car's reupholstery and put them under Gary's seats. Left the car a few days and the next time in... Voila! Made a difference.

Adams,
"Other car”? Should that not read "cars”?
And does the F car and Viper not have leather?

Also, are you getting away from your period correct theme? Japanese radio, Japanese tires and now leather seats

I just got home from a few days on the road for business. My wife and 5-yr-old son were out decorating the house for Hallow'een and while I was playing with my little guy on the front lawn she opened the garage and I took in a big whiff of PANTERA!!!

That smell is so unique. It never seems to dull or go away. I love it!

I'm thinking we should bottle the Pantera exhaust scent and sell that as a fuel additive for everyone else? Hey, if we can fill up on gas for under $10/gallon (I'm trying to be inclusive of our European friends here), then capture and mix the exhaust scent with a little motor oil and ethanol (I'm guessing at how they make the real scented stuff), then sell it for $320/gallon, we can all retire rich!

And of course a Pantera 'Pleather Spritzer' for car interiors.

I'm off to the patent office tomorrow with a jar of exhaust fumes ... not to be mistaken with the jars of wire-harness smoke that Lucas used to sell through their service network.
http://www3.telus.net/bc_triumph_registry/smoke.htm

Ron,

My floors, console and all else is sealed well. All the openings were welded closed AND lots of Dynomat was added.

Years ago I installed the Hall circulation kit - we installed vents in the doors at the jambs and added grilled intakes inside the door pulls. Since I redid the interior two years ago, the intake in the door pull no longer is open to the cockpit. It's something to consider, but I doubt it will have a huge impact.

Russ,

Regarding the rad fans, I checked that out also. I have experienced the choking fumes from cars in front of me with NO fans running at all.


Don't get me wrong. I love the smell of a warm Pantera. The scent of hot oil, swelled gaskets and liquids ciculating thru hot metal makes me appreciate it all that much more.

My only issue is the INCOMING fumes from traffic in front of me.

As for the poor folks stuck BEHIND me, I'll try out the new bottled perfumes posted here!

quote:

Originally posted by Pantera 4134:
Adams,
"Other car”? Should that not read "cars”?
And does the F car and Viper not have leather?

Also, are you getting away from your period correct theme? Japanese radio, Japanese tires and now leather seats

HOLD ON YOU, YOU, NON CORRECT CAR OWNER! My vertical radio IS period correct, 1974 as it turns out. The Herrig seats are another story, but they DO have the same pattern, sort of, if you squint and turn your head. But my 'real' seats are being done in the correct vinyl now by a PI member in the upholstery business in Californy who needed a 'test' set to build.

Should be done soon enough, and I'll save 'em for any originality buff who MUST have the correct, plasticky, spine numbing seats.

All this discussion of the 'smells' coming through the front of the car, I never noticed that. However, when my rad got a little weepy, I could smell the sickly sweet antifreeze smell in the car. Maybe the same entry point.

David,

I'll bet Mel can drum up a few Military Issued US gas masks for you ...they have a wonderful set of lenses and communication has been improved from the 1945 issued version ?

Ron

Well David, since you are sitting but 4" off the road and the vent intake is maybe a few feet in heighht, it may be possible you are smelling heavier than air VOCs from other cars as well. You can fix that by jacking up the car and putting on those 28" wheels and spinner hub caps that are so prominent around here in Memphis. Those cars, usualy older chebbies and crown vics, sit a good four feet up into the stratosphere and far away from the exausts of others.

DT, is this what you're thinking? (I've been looking for a chance to re-use this shot)...
Sorry, I don't have the spinning wheel hubs, these are the snow tires and rims ;-)

Cool. Mine's almost ready for the Baja 1000 too.

Backside...

Wanna see something funny?? This one is real!!
Apologies in advance as I don't own a DT yet.

I was out today for a quick run, and came up behind an older Ford Escort that was dripping something black and sludgy from its exhaust, but I didn't smell anything beyond the eau de Pantera - and we were stuck at the stop sign for a good minute or more. I'll keep trying (any excuse to go for a run) and report back if I find others' odours are getting into my car.

quote:

Originally posted by Russ D:
DT, is this what you're thinking? (I've been looking for a chance to re-use this shot)...
Sorry, I don't have the spinning wheel hubs, these are the snow tires and rims ;-)

HELL YEAH!!! That is perfect for the potholed roads around here.

Try backing into your garage on a lift where you may spend 5 minutes or so trying to position yourself on the lift. My red 5S with 417 aluminum block with carb is especially bad news. I keep fans running but the fumes hurt my eyes so much that I can hardly finish parking the car (no smoke what so ever though). I actually have two problems, the burning eyes and da wife yelling from the house "shut it down, it stinks in here!". I deal with the second issue by punching it to 6K before shut down, shaking some pictures off the wall.

If you set it up like Russ's car you can just walk under it. Voila, no more need for a hoist.