Asa, I know you don't have the car anymore, but FYI, I would do some research before attempting to put a Sniper (or any throttle body EFI conversion system relying on a MAP sensor) on an engine with low vacuum at idle. I don't believe they work well with low vacuum. I've read about guys succeeding, but most of what I've learned is not good if you're pulling less than at least 10 inches. I installed a Sniper on my car and it came with loose connections to two of the injectors creating all kinds of problems so we swapped it out for a Terminator X Stealth unit and it works extremely well. But, my engine is pulling a fraction shy of 15 inches at idle. Richard Austin, TX -----Original Message----- From: Asa Jay Laughton via DeTomaso <detomaso@detomasolist.com> Sent: Wednesday, June 25, 2025 10:24 AM To: Ben Roper <ben_roper@yahoo.com> Cc: detomaso@detomasolist.com Subject: [DeTomaso] Re: New member Just to clarify, the car was at Pantera International Motorsports (PIM), not Prestige. There it underwent some measure of restoration, paint, new engine, etc. After a prolonged period with no progress, the owner demanded its release and took it home. Now it’s been a matter of sorting out things that were never done or done wrong. The cam provides very little vacuum at idle. An external vacuum pump was installed that works well. The tubing is all in place and capped at both ends for the day a different engine is swapped in. The port on the carb that had been used for the brake booster is now being used for PCV. I thought I got it all sorted so it wasn’t dying on hard braking anymore but I guess not. Certainly the brake booster is out of the equation. The carb is a Demon, I forget exactly which model but it’s older. Here are the numbers: We talked about replacing it with a Sniper last year but had no time to get it done before the race. I still think it may be a good idea. I can’t say for certain why it’s dying on braking but fuel slosh sounds likely. I’m glad you got the AC working. It was on the list but real low priority and we ran out of time. As for R12 in the mix, I’m doubting it, but because of the shoddy work I’ve seen from PIM on this car, it wouldn’t surprise me if they used old components without thoroughly flushing. I don’t mean to be a Debbie Downer about that, just stating what I feel. You’re making great progress on an exciting car to own. Asa Jay MSgT, USAFR, Retired “Within the covers of the Bible are the answers for all the problems men face.” Ronald Reagan
On Jun 25, 2025, at 06:37, Ben Roper via DeTomaso <detomaso@detomasolist.com> wrote:
Still new here so I’m hopefully replying in the correct manner.
Wanted to give an update on my AC debacle, after speaking with Larry Stock yesterday I wanted to get another eyeball on the compressor wiring and decided to try something maybe not so intelligent but I’m happy to report that it worked out. Being that the relay in the drivers footwell was receiving power but the compressor wasn’t, I wanted to try jumping the connection with alligator leads. And that’s exactly what I did, followed by a satisfying click of the compressor. I quickly then had cool air coming from the vents. I then disconnected the jumper leads and allowed the car to function as it should. I power cycled the system several times, via key on/off, started and shut off engine a couple times. Then drove the car around and all seems well thus far and the AC is functioning perfectly.
However Larry did bring up a rather scary point that if the system is contaminated with oil from the factory r12 setup it may not last long. Let’s hope that isn’t the case because I do not want to pull the dashboard out of the car. This car had a ton of work including the AC done at Prestige Motorsports and I am less than impressed by what I have seen so far. They gave the car back to the owner without Freon in the system, let alone function testing any of it. After updating everything with new lines, condenser and compressor I’m having a hard time understanding why a business would do something so idiotic. Asa Jay also had this car at one point and he has had to do quite a bit of wrenching to clean up the mess those guys made with this car. Asa has been a pivotal source of information for me and I am very thankful for every bit of help he has given me, he’s been a godsend in getting this car dialed into what it deserves to be. So thank you Asa, genuinely. It’s really disgusting what those people at Prestige did to a high dollar paying customer (owner of the car). I’m hoping to be able to spend a lot of time tidying things up fixing all of their shortcomings and keeping this beautiful car on the road for many years to come.
On that note, I am having a very strange issue with hard braking. If I stab the brakes hard, the car will idle way down and even die. I did a vacuum leak test around the carb and intake manifold yesterday and didn’t find anything. However the car is equipped with an auxiliary vacuum pump on the booster so vacuum shouldn’t (?) be an issue. The carb floats are set center line, but I have a hunch I still need to lower the rear float despite the carb having whistle vent tubes it seems like fuel is flooding into the butterfly’s. I have read some posts by Asa regarding the carb being a real pain in the ass to tune, and the cam not hardly making any vacuum which are most likely contributing factors. But my hunch is that fuel is sloshing. What can I do to mitigate or test this?
Sent from my iPhone
On Jun 24, 2025, at 11:04 AM, Scott Mead <scott@scottmeadphotography.com> wrote:
Hello Ben - welcome to the Pantera family! I replaced the stock Girling brakes on my ‘74 L with a complete Wilwood system from Scott Bell at SACC Restorations ([1]https://www.saccrestorations.net/). Scott’s kits are thorough and come with complete step-by-step instructions. Many of his brake kits retain the rear Girling calipers as dedicated parking brake calipers. As the stock parking brake handle can be a pain to reach (and rather ineffective) I installed an E-Stopp actuator, which works like a champ! Have fun with the Pantera!!!
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From: Ben Roper via DeTomaso <detomaso@detomasolist.com> Sent: Tuesday, June 24, 2025 9:50:22 AM To: detomaso@detomasolist.com <detomaso@detomasolist.com> Subject: [DeTomaso] New member
Hello everyone, I am new here and recently in possession of a ‘74 Pantera that I have been doing some work on for my FIL. I tried joining the PI forum several weeks ago, and have been waiting for administrator approval. Can anyone provide insight on that as to why it still hasn’t been approved?
I’m currently trying to diagnose an AC problem and I’m on the verge of getting figured out. I’m also interested In drive ability upgrades, possibly chassis bracing, and brake pads with a better bite in on cold rotors for the aftermarket wilwoods on the car. Sent from my iPhone Detomaso Email List is not managed by POCA Posted emails must not exceed 1.5 Megabytes DeTomaso mailing list DeTomaso@server.detomasolist.com [3]https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__server.detomas ol ist.com_mailman_listinfo_detomaso&d=DwIGaQ&c=euGZstcaTDllvimEN8b7jXrw qO f-v5A_CdpgnVfiiMM&r=mxm2g1hl9awD5Ei_9FoJNQLsSZO-Lp4JO1VlfGnrH38&m=pHR Bg 42cNi1q2FiMI9aw7FyXH5HrM1fFFNxWz8EG3mE47N9Vxmy6dB-8TSIxkTH6&s=WrhzpOt _X PxPSSs_jtdFOMNF6vxyFh0EFeYFhcOuLoU&e= To manage your subscription (change email address, unsubscribe, etc.) use the links above. Members who post to this list grant license to the list to forward any message posted here to all past, current, or future members of the list. They also grant the list owner permission to maintain an archive or approve the archiving of list messages.
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