[DeTomaso] Several comments & questions

Thu Oct 2 18:59:11 EDT 2008

To me 180's like IR-EFI is just something I always wanted....I just couldn't afford either one for the 1st 8-10 years I owned the Pantera.

  Obviously no one (but mine) came from the factory with this equipment! ;-]>

  But to be honest I could not of cared less if I gained or lost HP.... You own a Pantera with 500 RWHP that can be driven on the street, or the track or any open road race that sounds like a screaming bangee at 180 mph...and you can catch up and pass a Viper, Porsche or Vette at Silver State ...man, thats a beautiful thing.

  None of it was cheap...... but the 180's surprisingly made  HP increases in the midrange to top end I never counted on or expected.........and the IR-EFI system that Mike Trusty built actually made more HP & TQ completely across the rpm range ffrom low to high....that was a big surprise to me...not necessarily to Mike.  

  And the most important reward for me is the grins and the nods of approval I get from everyone who sees or hears the Pantera. 

  After 20+ years I've still got a "ohhhh-sheeeit-I-just-ate-the-canary-grin" on my face. If I could just find one woman that could do that...okaynever mind - just kidding ;-]>

  dawg, just counting my blessings

  Dawg, considering going Rat Rod black for 2009 ORR Season  
Charles McCall <charlesmccall at gmail.com> wrote:
  180 Headers? After hours (actually minutes) of research if found that
more of the 70s era prototypes an road racers didnot actually use 180s,
seemed to be a Ford GT thing. I've seem many T-70s, Chapparals, McClarens
etc. which just used longtube headers and a cross over behind the
collectors. Since I've heard so many comments about the 180s on Panteras
beingmore visual than functional I started wondering about this. I know the
advantages of longer smooth flowing tubes, but you'dget the fancy schmancy
looks and not have the suspension interference issues...easier to build and
less connections too.

***I'm guessing that this is because 180 degree headers are typically only
used on a particular type of crank design... Basically connecting a
Ford-style crank to 180 degree headers connects the cylinders to the same
header pipe as a flat-plane crank with "normal" headers. Hence the sound of
a 180-degree system on a Pantera engine converts the sound to a more
Ferrari-like one because the engine pulses are evened out on a flat plane.
The uneven firing of the Cleveland that gives the lumpiness is eliminated by
filling in the "gap" of firing by bringing an exhaust pipe over from the
other side of the engine - one that *is* firing. 

Wow, what a lousy job of trying to explain that, but my point was that I
wonder if the Chapparals, McClarens, etc use a flat-plane crank? The
McClaren may, being Mercedes?

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Mad Dawg Antenucci 
Team Pantera Racing 
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