[DeTomaso] The status of Asa's Pantera

Asa Jay Laughton asajay at asajay.com
Sat Oct 17 01:40:01 EDT 2009


All,
I've had a few folks email me off-list to ask about my Pantera.  I've 
not written much in a while so I thought I'd try to recap for those 
interested.  Note, some of this may get a little personal (more near the 
end), so you can skip those parts and I won't feel bad about it at all.

The cooling system had air in it, lots of air.  I most likely had a 
vapor lock at the water pump.  I finally got it purged and it has not 
come close to overheating once since I got it all back on the ground.

I replaced the clutch master with a stock unit.  The slave was replaced 
with a long throw from Marino at Pantera East (Thank you Marino).  I 
also have a new stock slave as well.  I adjusted the best I can and it 
seems to work.

The car made it back on the ground in time to make it to Silver State.  
<gasp>  Yes, it's true.
But I didn't go.

Sam, our six year old son went into the hospital the first day I had the 
Pantera on the ground and got it aligned.  This would have been the day 
prior to me leaving for the ORR event.  The Pantera did not get driven 
again for four days until after Sam came back out of the hospital.

I drove it everyday the following week, to and from work, a 60+ mile 
round trip.  Then Sam went back into the Hospital again and the Pantera 
went to the back of the garage.

The Pantera needs to go back in the air and have things checked.  The 
brakes need to be bled again, as does the clutch.  It feels like there 
is a little air in there so we need to check it out.  I have a clunking 
in the front end on bumpy roads (shall we just say ALL OF SPOKANE).  As 
I know all the suspension is brand new and tight, I think the cooling 
tubes are hammering on the cross brace or the sway bar.  I need to check 
it out and fix it somehow.  I need to check the engine for new leaks and 
see about sealing things up.  I'm getting a small drip under the engine, 
none under the ZF as yet (I'm really liking that Hondabond, thanks 
Coz).  I need to do a tune up, points, timing, cap/rotor, etc.  
Otherwise the Pantera seems to be in good shape thanks to everyone here 
who participated in the process that was my daily adventures in Pantera 
work.  Thank you very much for your advice, suggestions and encouragement.




Sam ended up having an Iliostomy, and now has a stoma on his belly where 
all his poop comes out.  The fear was they needed to take out his entire 
colon but once the surgeons got started it looks like we may be able to 
save it, but Sam will need to go through therapies to exercise his anus 
and get used to things passing through.  This is partly a function of 
his Autism.  Autistic kids normally get constipated, which Sam never 
really had a problem with that we know of.  But he -did- have a 
difficult time in understanding how that back door works and eventually 
just held it tightly shut which blew up his colon to unhealthy 
proportions.  If his colon recovers, -and- if we have success with anal 
dilatation and biofeedback exercises, then we might be able to hook him 
up normal again.  That is our next prayer goal.

Sam came home a week ago last Wednesday, one week after his surgery and 
nearly two weeks in the hospital.  This was sooner than the surgeon had 
thought, but Sam was recovering very well.  He started back to school 
last Monday and appears to be doing fine.

This was a huge shock for Shelley and me, not to mention little Sam.  
Now that we are a couple weeks into it, we are getting acclimated to 
it.  Sam is coming to terms with his new poop paradigm, and Mom and Dad 
are beginning to return to normal lives, with a bit of a twist in 
helping Sam with his Ostomy needs.

When we started down this road, we were scared and unsure if we could do 
this.  It was all new and it was our little boy.  This is the stuff that 
monster movies used to be made of, and here it was out little boy.  I 
stayed strong for Mom for the longest time, but eventually had my own 
emotional breakdown.  Now that I've got that out of my system, and 
thanks to a wonderful network of friends and relatives who have been 
praying for all of us, life is returning to normal.

Many on this list have been supportive behind the scenes and we 
appreciate that.

We still have no idea how much this is going to cost us.  I do have 
insurance through my employer, but we've -never- gone through something 
this big.  We are praying all is well and we are able to make whatever 
bills come our way.  I think you all probably know what will happen if 
we can't.  So far... so good, let's pray it stays that way.

I am still wishing to make at least one ORR event this next year and 
you'll see me trying to push others into it.  That's my alter ego for 
2010, don't let it bother you.  ;)

Thank you for your understanding and prayers these past few weeks, they 
have meant a world of love to us.

Sincerely,
Asa Jay

Asa Jay Laughton, MSgt, USAFR, Retired

& Shelley Marie
Spokane, WA

1971 Mach I Mustang  [ASA JAY]
1973 Pantera L 5533  [ASASCAT]
    
******************************     
http://www.asajay.com
http://www.teampanteraracing.com
  





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