[DeTomaso] headlight rings/brakes

[MikeLDrew at aol.com]

In a message dated 6/16/09 19 57 53, boyd411 at gmail.com writes:


> Mike, That would be perfect for me. I could finally take advantage of my 
> 20/20 hindsight! 
> 
>>>HAHAHAHA!!!


> By the way did you get the headlight rings i sent you? 
> 
>>>Got them today, thanks!

Now, I need to figure out exactly what to do with them.   The fellow in 
Europe who I thought asked me to get some for him (above and beyond the two 
sets I got and already sent to Stephane Bergeron) now says that he doesn't need 
them.

Doesn't *somebody* in Europe who is on this forum need a good set of chrome 
headlight rings?


> And while I have your undivided attention do you know which wilwood brake 
> kit is the appropeiate one for use on upgrading a Pantera with over size 
> wheels? 17" x 9.5 front and 18" x 12" rear . ( I need the one withe the 
> parking brake feature) Do you think the wilwood is the best choice for an 
> upgrade?
> 
>>>Best for what?   Driving on the track?   Driving on the street?   
Meeting a specific budget?   Those are different challenges.

I wouldn't bother wasting my time and trying to kluge together a homemade 
brake setup yourself.  Others have done so with apparent success (I say this 
because Chris Difani's Porsche 911-based Brembo setup looks absolutely 
awesome, but he hasn't actually driven the car yet to verify function) but unless 
you are a professional or have access to your own machine shop (like Chris 
does), you'd be wasting a lot of time and would likely be disappointed with 
the results.   

If you are looking for excellent street brakes, it's tough to beat the 
Corvette-based package that Bobby Byars sells.   It is relatively cheap, 
appropriate for 17-inch or larger wheels, has an integral parking brake, and has 
the advantage of OEM quality which ensures function even after years and years 
of owner neglect.

I have a middle-of-the-line Wilwood package from Dennis Quella on my car, 
and I love it.   He offers an entry-level setup which uses Wilwood calipers 
on the stock cast-iron rotors; this is probably just fine for tooling around 
LonGYland, but would probably suffer if you really started beating on the 
car on a racetrack.   My middle-level package worked just fine at some pretty 
elevated speeds on the track, but I'm not pushing them anywhere near their 
potential due to the low coefficient of friction of my stock, crusty tires.   
My system has some really cheap (albeit 1.25 inch thick) rotors too, which 
have warped twice and have longevity issues (although they seem to be fine 
at the moment).

When and if it becomes necessary to replace my rotors I will definitely opt 
for better-quality Wilwood rotors, which are more expensive, for a reason.

Larry Stock's Sierra brake setup, and the Wilwood-based setups of Marino 
Perna, Steve Wilkinson and Gary Hall are all broadly similar to one another; 
all of them are excellent.   None, however, incorporate a parking brake.

Geoff Peters in London recently discovered a brake manufacturer in the UK 
that makes a really meaty four-piston caliper which incorporates a built-in 
(as opposed to added-on) parking brake.   The caliper is about the same size 
as a large Wilwood caliper, and will clear even 15-inch wheels, and probably 
uses the standard Wilwood-type brake pads.   But having the parking brake 
built in is a huge plus.

He's mentioned them to Dennis Quella, who may be intrigued enough to start 
importing them here.   The challenge is getting brackets custom-made to 
adapt them to the Pantera upright--hard for you, simple for the vendors!

Mike



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