What happened to my Pantera (“funny” history)

...imperfect makes for a car that you won't mind really driving...and that makes it better than perfect....!

Roland, give me a couple of days and I will share my weird story what I found during my continuing (4-years, I work slow) mechanical restoration.   These cars do have histories and scars that just keeps you saying "what happen here", "Why did someone do that".  I wish I could find the owner I bought my cat from to get some of it's history #:3648, 06/1972 build, originally red, now yellow.    Larry

Black Cougar Sport Mirrors helps to tell them apart!

No pictures available, but when I had my rear bumper sandblasted to prep for powder coating, I was told it was chrome underneath the original black paint!  That sounds crazy…  is it truth, or the ravings of a lunatic???

Rocky

Definitely ravings.

@leea posted:

...imperfect makes for a car that you won't mind really driving...and that makes it better than perfect....!

Now that is a great quote!!👍👍

The other big head scratcher I found were the poly bushings on the .. no sleeve inside! Thread: the weirdest poly bushings.

I pretty much document the whole work I’m doing on #4679 here on this forum and in the end ( if there ever is one) print all out… I always find myself wanting to know more when I buy a car (or bike) and if I’m lucky there are some receipt for parts but those don’t tell the whole story!  The next steward of 4679 knows just a bit more…

I can absolutely agree. Several times I stood in front of my Pantera (I bought it from a member here) scratching my head, asking myself "WHY?"

I just bring the examples from the engine:

Because the engine ran quite poorly and had a very extreme camshaft, I removed it and after opening it up I found:

- port stuffers in the intake ports of the heads but standard 4V ports in the Edelbrock Intake, so more than a quarter of the mixture hit a wall

- sheetmetal between exhaust port and manifold which was bent towards the exhaust port, I suppose that should also represent something like a stuffer??? But the exhaust gases flow the other direction, so they were bent back again, partly melted and blocked more than half the exhaust port on 5 cylinders

- Sometimes you get good surprises too. After removing the oilpan, I found out the previous owner "had forgotten" to mention that the engine is a 408...

I found a few trinkets in my car along the way.  It had been in storage since 1985.

Pics are of the day I pulled it out of storage.

Rats nest in glove box with a pioneer tape deck.

NOS pack of Carefree gum.  Check out the price.  Funny thing is I live in Carefree, AZ so thought that was kind of cool.

@jwelch68 posted:

I found a few trinkets in my car along the way.  It had been in storage since 1985.

Pics are of the day I pulled it out of storage.

Rats nest in glove box with a pioneer tape deck.

NOS pack of Carefree gum.  Check out the price.  Funny thing is I live in Carefree, AZ so thought that was kind of cool.

Very cool car… gum is still good!!👍

I'll play, but I don't have much.   the Big "surprises" were the sales points when I saw it first.   The single suck through turbo and the cluster of gauges.   besides the factory under coating, it also had a spray of something amber on underside and wheel wells.

after driving for couple years, then disassembled for couple decades, I only discovered I had three 8 X 15" wheels.   I guess there was a curb rash incident.

the "Mystery" I wish I could get more info on would be the original owner.   the bits I have pieced or fabricated myself.   An Engineer in Ft Laderdale had a buisness to make turbo kits.   there was a corperation formed.   but it looks like the Engineer passed shortly after purchasing 5177.   I did reach out to the corperation secertary, whick now is a wealthy realastate agent, but she ignored my request for info. 

Found the insulation on the ignition wire in the rocker had melted from someone bypassing the ballast resistor. Several feet of bare wire in the wire loom.

I have had several interesting things I have found after my Pantera was parked not running for 20 plus years.  I found mice / rants love Panteras yo hang out in.  Plenty of spots to make there home, like in the tail light.  They also liked the wires.  This is the main positive wire, about 3 inches of exposed copper.

@jfb05177 posted:

I'll play, but I don't have much.   the Big "surprises" were the sales points when I saw it first.   The single suck through turbo and the cluster of gauges.   besides the factory under coating, it also had a spray of something amber on underside and wheel wells.

after driving for couple years, then disassembled for couple decades, I only discovered I had three 8 X 15" wheels.   I guess there was a curb rash incident.

the "Mystery" I wish I could get more info on would be the original owner.   the bits I have pieced or fabricated myself.   An Engineer in Ft Laderdale had a buisness to make turbo kits.   there was a corperation formed.   but it looks like the Engineer passed shortly after purchasing 5177.   I did reach out to the corperation secertary, whick now is a wealthy realastate agent, but she ignored my request for info.

do you have any pictures of the turbo set up  or gauge cluster?

@LeMans850i posted:

do you have any pictures of the turbo set up  or gauge cluster?

Priceless!!!!!!!! I got a big stupid smile on my face !!! 😁

thank you for sharing!!!

today’s special find…

WiFi temp sensor???

and no wire to be seen anywhere…

it's the temp. sensor , later they replace this sensor and wiring to the front of the engine on the front of the thermostath housing.

Simon

That looks like 1970s Wifi for sure.

Maybe the previous owner left that installed and added the temp sensor to the front passenger side of the block just above the water pump.

I agree, especially if your temp gauge works.  It’s just as easy to leave the sender in as find a plug for your swirl tank.

Rocky

I will have a look if I can find / see the new location of the temperature Sender.
thank you all!

Safety is for pussies…

My shaft is solid 😎

Some guy thought it would be a great idea to just put a bolt through it…sleeve and shaft.. !  And slightly offset to give it character!
because it feels better😛

When I took my engine out, there were 3 vacuum lines. A big one from the manifold went to the brake booster, one small one from the carb went to the distributer but the other smaller from the carb went to a copper tube that disappeared down to the RHS of the bulkhead.

It bugged me trying to think what it'd be for... a few weeks later, whilst replacing all the hoses, I blew into it to see if there was any resistance... free flowing. I removed the fuse box cover at the front right and there was the copper pipe disappearing up under the dash...only for about 6 inches and then it turned to a rubber tube... of 2 inches... dangling free. Vacuum gauge or boost gauge??

once I have seen this copper tube before too on a Pantera.

dont know which function it has.

I'd hypothesize for vacuum gauge

@jtpantera posted:

I'd hypothesize for vacuum gauge

One of those..

no think not, the copper pipe  has not a logical route for this.

first I was thinking it was for venting the battery caps, like how a 69/70 Mustang Boss429 use a hose for venting the battery into the trunk.

Simon

@simon posted:

no think not, the copper pipe  has not a logical route for this.

first I was thinking it was for venting the battery caps, like how a 69/70 Mustang Boss429 use a hose for venting the battery into the trunk.

Simon

I would assume that the objective would be to keep the hydrogen away from the Parts which could ignite the hydrogen..

routing it TO the engine compartment, would be counterproductive… 💥

Now doing the radiator conversion on my car I can definitely say it kissed 💋 something… a long time ago on the left front…

interesting welding exercises … but nothing a angle grinder and a MIG welder didn’t fix…

was to be expected 👍

There was an interesting discovery!

I was always wondering why driver side door was a little bit on the wobbly side and low in the back …

well, here is what I found:

Why.. just why…

Glad your door didn’t fall off!

Haven’t see that.. ever…

instead of fake news, we have a fake fuse

Used to live in here.. (for sale)

Aren’t those the “standard” GBC (Euro) fuses?

They used them on Faux-V’s (VW’s).

I might have some spare fuses for you…

@rocky posted:

Aren’t those the “standard” GBC (Euro) fuses?

They used them on Faux-V’s (VW’s).

I might have some spare fuses for you…

Thank you…

I got a bunch but a manufacturer defect like that is just crazy!

That does not look like a factory defect but rather a high resistance causing the plastic to melt. I have seen this before.

@forestg posted:

That does not look like a factory defect but rather a high resistance causing the plastic to melt. I have seen this before.

Without the metal part discoloring and warping, or having any indication of heat?

Yes.

Me too !

“Before” they were made of heat-resistant bakelite, but now they are often made in China and made of ordinary plastic that melts in the heat.

@rene4406 posted:

“Before” they were made of heat-resistant bakelite, but now they are often made in China and made of ordinary plastic that melts in the heat.

I didn’t realize they are plastic 😳

they look like the real thing… cheap shit