[DeTomaso] Pantera Handling 101

[JDeRyke at aol.com]

Sean, one thing that helps quite a bit is to add a so-called 'GTS' rear 
swaybar- 7/8" OD size. And a sharper response comes from polyurethane swaybar 
bushings on the centers of each bar and sphere-ball bar ends at the front & rear 
a-arms. 
Another thing is to check for the presence of a '70% locker' in your ZF. This 
is an unmarked varient that has four clutch plates in the limited slip rather 
than the more common three. Excess tightness in the limited slip will cause a 
masssive 'push' at low speeds that will not respond to chassis tweeks. 
Unfortunately, disassembly is needed to correct it but the actual presence of high 
breakaway torque 
can be found with a simple torque wrench: jack up one rear tire and put the 
wrench on a lug nut. It should take about 40 ft-lbs of torque to rotate that 
wheel; this is termed a '40% locker'. More torque than this probably points to a 
70% locker. 
Finally, a stock 7" x 15 front wheel is too small and has the wrong offset to 
mount a badly-needed wider front tire; I recommend running 8" x 15 rear 
Campi's on both ends (or 10 x 15 rears if you can afford them) with 245-50x 15" 
front tires. This is the widest tire that will fit under a mildly hammer-fitted 
front fender. There have been a large number of such 'handling' tweeks written 
up in your POCA newsletters in the last few years- perhaps its time to review 
your back issues? Good luck- J DeRyke


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