Got my Pantera two days ago (#3989). Want Campys, prefer 8" width as I suppose everyone does. Also stock-type hatch struts if they're still functional.
Oh, and a jack. And a toolkit. And...
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Congratulations! Nice looking car.
Try to find your wheels locally to avoid shipping costs. There's plenty of them out there.
The cars came with 7's on the fronts and 8's on the rear. If you go to 8's all around, make sure they match. There's several variations of the wheels.
Try to find your wheels locally to avoid shipping costs. There's plenty of them out there.
The cars came with 7's on the fronts and 8's on the rear. If you go to 8's all around, make sure they match. There's several variations of the wheels.
I seem to recall a discussion where a vendor was rebuilding the stock type decklid struts. It may have been Larry Stock.
I have a set, semi functional i.e. they still have gas in them but not enough to hold the decklid up fully. If you can find out who was rebuilding them and you are happy with the cost they are yours for the cost of shipping, either to you or direct to the rebuilder. (If it is Larry then I can drop them to him, next trip home).
I have a set, semi functional i.e. they still have gas in them but not enough to hold the decklid up fully. If you can find out who was rebuilding them and you are happy with the cost they are yours for the cost of shipping, either to you or direct to the rebuilder. (If it is Larry then I can drop them to him, next trip home).
quote:Location: Morgan Hill, California, USA |
Since you are a NorCal owner, you should - if you haven't already - hook up with PCNC
www.panteraclubnorcal.com
Next meeting is on the 25th.
Larry
Dan's been coming to our PCNC meetings for several months now, as well as Concorso. His car is one of the cleanest rust free cars I've inspected. Congrats on finding a great car Dan!
Here are a few pics of the underside...
On the lift
Rear up-close
Koni's, aluminized exhaust and chromed half-shafts
Rebuilt engine & powdercoated ZF and stainless coolant tanks
Pristine lower front valance - no rust or dents
Upgraded brake and clutch master cylinders
Cortina fan blades on stock Lucas motors
Here are a few pics of the underside...
On the lift
Rear up-close
Koni's, aluminized exhaust and chromed half-shafts
Rebuilt engine & powdercoated ZF and stainless coolant tanks
Pristine lower front valance - no rust or dents
Upgraded brake and clutch master cylinders
Cortina fan blades on stock Lucas motors
quote:Since you are a NorCal owner, you should - if you haven't already - hook up with PCNC
I crashed the PCNC meeting in July, hit the Concorso Italiano in August, got leads on two Panteras in September, and bought one in October.
I read about guys who searched long and hard for their Panteras, so I feel lucky that one found me through PI so quickly. The car was just too clean to pass up.
But I'm still down the curve, so any input is appreciated. Anyone know anyone rebuilding the stock hatch struts?
Dan
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Nice car looks well kept, I bet those mufflers make some noise
I haven't looked too close but I think those are the classic 40-series Flowmasters. Something closer to stock appearance is on my wish list.
quote:Originally posted by cat7195:
Congratulations! Nice looking car.
Try to find your wheels locally to avoid shipping costs. There's plenty of them out there.
The cars came with 7's on the fronts and 8's on the rear. If you go to 8's all around, make sure they match. There's several variations of the wheels.
I presume that you know that there is a reason that the Pantera uses stock 7" front wheels and 8" rear wheels?
You may be new to the Detomasos so let me just pass this along under the presumption that you are and was unaware.
The execution of the mid-engine concept in the Mangusta and the Pantera is similar.
When the Mangusta was first produced Ford passed on sponsering it for a bunch of reasons but trailing throttle oversteer was a major one.
To put it in a nutshell, in order to keep the rear from coming around and passing the front, the major part of the fix was to have wider wheels in the rear then the front.
The production Pantera continued this concept and the fix with 7 and 8" wide rims.
If there is anything that you do to the car it is imperative that one maintains the proportion of the width ratios front to back.
Trailing throttle oversteer should be considered lethal.
http://strutwise.com/index.php Check out these guys for strut rebuilding. They said they have done Pantera struts before. I was quoted $130.00 for the pair. They rebuild struts for Ferrari Daytona owners too which use the same Cortte&Cosso struts.
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Thanks, racerdave. I'll give them a try.
(And I thought the reason the front and back tires were of two different sizes was because it looked cool...)
(And I thought the reason the front and back tires were of two different sizes was because it looked cool...)
quote:If there is anything that you do to the car it is imperative that one maintains the proportion of the width ratios front to back.
FWIW, DeTomaso switched to 8" Campys for the front on the competition cars (along with 10" Campy's on the rear). 8" Campys on the front will improve handling characteristics of a Pantera over 7" Campys because the wheel dimensions provide a better scrub radius.
The stock tire sizes were: Toyo Proxes being used on 15" wheels now:
Fr: C60V-15, or 215/60-15 Fr: 225/50-15
Rr: H60V-15, or 255/60-15 Rr: 295/50-15
Size Sidewall Height Section Width Overall Diameter Ratio Fr/Rr
215/60-15 05.08" 08.46" 25.16" 84%
255/60-15 06.02" 10.04" 27.05"
225/50-15 01.77" 08.86" 18.54" 76%
295/50-15 05.81" 11.61" 26.61"
When you run 8" wheels all the way around, yet mount the currently favored Toyos in the sizes noted above, you still maintain a sufficient difference between the front and rear section widths. Actually, these tires result in an increase, albiet nominal, in the ratio of rear section width to front section width over stock.
So, go ahead and put 8" Campys all the way around your car. The tires you mount will maintain the proportion of the width ratios front to back and actually reduce any trailing throttle oversteer tendencies more than the stock tire sizes did. Most likely, you will want to increase the size of your rear sway bar to compensate for the car's tendency to understeer.
You are probably right Garth but it is the wheel that maintains the largest proportion of the side load stiffness.
On a stiff bias ply walled tire it is probably less signifigant then a radial tire.
I know that wheel proportion is an issue on a Mangusta. The Turbo 911's have similar oversteer traits.
I am not a professional driver so I find it a difficult reation to put my foot into the accellerator to pull the car up as it breaks away.
Actually now that I think of it when I am towing with my van high winds can whip the trailer a bit and then the van as well.
The fix is to put your foot into the accellerator to pull up on the trailer and not let it pull you.
That all works fine as long as you can accellerate and not have to panic stop.
There is no fix for oversteer in a panic stop. The rear will come around. There are some that like an oversteering car on a race track but I don't.
Snap steer can under certain conditions get the car through a turn faster. It is too exilerating for me. I don't need to jump start my heart just yet. That kind of adrenalin rush hurts.
And yes I know about the 8/10 GTS rear bar with 225-50-15 and 295-50-15 Toyos. That is what I run.
On a stiff bias ply walled tire it is probably less signifigant then a radial tire.
I know that wheel proportion is an issue on a Mangusta. The Turbo 911's have similar oversteer traits.
I am not a professional driver so I find it a difficult reation to put my foot into the accellerator to pull the car up as it breaks away.
Actually now that I think of it when I am towing with my van high winds can whip the trailer a bit and then the van as well.
The fix is to put your foot into the accellerator to pull up on the trailer and not let it pull you.
That all works fine as long as you can accellerate and not have to panic stop.
There is no fix for oversteer in a panic stop. The rear will come around. There are some that like an oversteering car on a race track but I don't.
Snap steer can under certain conditions get the car through a turn faster. It is too exilerating for me. I don't need to jump start my heart just yet. That kind of adrenalin rush hurts.
And yes I know about the 8/10 GTS rear bar with 225-50-15 and 295-50-15 Toyos. That is what I run.
Still need a jack?