[DeTomaso] Shock tower crossmember measurement

[Thomas Borcich]

Thanks Jack...I'm ok without bling and am considering the cross member that will also has the X configuration that supports the upper rear arm joint, not sure if the additional support is necessary but I figure it can't hurt. 

Interesting strategy to slowly sneak up on the full tower adjustment, makes sense. Since my motor is out, I would assume with less weight it might not give a true weighted sag and it will be more important to adjust slowly once the motor is back in.

Thanks for the comments.



Tom 




From: JDeRyke at aol.com
Date: Mon, 3 Aug 2009 15:57:26 -0400
Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] Shock tower crossmember measurement
To: tborcich at msn.com; detomaso at realbig.com

In a message dated 8/2/09 11:58:45 AM, tborcich at msn.com writes:



Guys, can anyone give me the standard measurement for the rear crossmember shock tower? Pocket end to pocket end? My bolt holes are very elongated on both sides, actually look like ovals.



Oh-oh. The stock boltholes ARE elongated from the factory, and the measurement will vary for every single Pantera on the road. What happens over time is, the spot-welded chassis relaxes a little, the upper subframe rails move inboard and the upper rear a-arm alignment changes. That's why a vital assessory is an adjustable bay-brace bar above the bellhousing. After 35+ years, the whole rear assembly has sagged a little so the amount of bar-preload your particular car needs should not all be cranked in at once, or you risk buckling the outer fender panels. Instead, add a little at a time over maybe a few weeks, with driving in between, until the rear wheel alignment shows the wheels are again somewhere near zero camber (topside tip-in). 

Finally, get an adjustable bay-brace that has ends long enough to jam into the welded pockets so the bar isn't trying to take all the cornering load thru sloppy slotted holes in sheet-metal tabs. It it absolutely impossible to tighten the bay-brace bar bolts enough to prevent movement without using the backside of the pockets to help. The pockets are actually the upper, inner part of the rear shock mounts, and ARE stiff enough to take the loads. The only bar known to work properly is a black steel square-tube assembly sold by Hall and now, all the vendors. If you prefer the pretty polished aluminum bars, have a TIG-welder extend the too-short ends as described so your bar actually works better than a stock one. Some owners into 'bling' have had the square steel bars chromed. All this is even more important if your Pantera runs much wider than stock rear tires so cornering loads are much higher than stock. This will help prevent cracking in the body just behind the 'gills', which is an indication of the sagging and stresses involved. Good luck- J Deryke