[DeTomaso] I did actually get my Pantera back...

Tue Feb 9 06:50:23 EST 2010

I've received a lot of questions, so let me try to answer them all in one place. Thanks very much for the complements!
I found that getting into it and driving it was like meeting up with an old friend after years of separation.
:-)

And for those who haven't driven them to compare, the Pantera feels like a limo compared to the GT40...

1661 is/was roadworthy back  in December. Taxes, licensed and insured again. Some friends and I spent the New Year weekend doing EFI tuning and work on both cars.

However, I have the intake off of the Pantera at the moment.
Another long story.... So give me a couple of weeks and it will be on the road again.

Pictures and blurb about my cars can be found at http://web.mac.comkirbyschrader
It's the first hit on Google if you type in Kirby Schrader....  :-)
There are pages with pictures for the Pantera, the GT40. There is also the Longchamp GTS I used to own.

The wheelhouse brace is the one from Hall. It is the 'standard' square tubed normal spreader bar they sell, but it also comes with a second, smaller bar for the lower part, two pads to weld on and then two brace tubes that you have to cut to fit and then weld between the two spreader bars. It all came as part of the chassis rigidity kit. This kit (and others) has been discussed at great length before and it is one Pantera modification I highly recommend.
If you don't want to buy the entire kit, then start with the upper rear brace that you see in the picture of the rear bay. Then go with the front upper brace. Then the lower front and finally the lower rear. Just my opinion.... I think you'll be amazed at the difference in the car's handling with just the brace in the upper rear.
And yes, that spreader bar does come off in one piece. Just jack up the car, slightly loosen both spreader bars, remove the four bolts and out it comes.

The rear louvers are the old Mind Train design, the 'turbo wing' is an old Kirk Evans design and the car has steel GTS flares on it. Both of these 'features' have been on the car since the mid 80's when I first had the car restored as well as the wider wheels and tires. The black up to the 'belt line' is also part of what Quella calls 'the Kirby look'.
:-)

My car was featured some years ago in an article as a bad example for aftermarket wheels when I put the 18" wheels on it. The fronts hit the fenders and I had to raise it up quite a bit to make the tires clear. This made it look pretty stupid. The front wheels have now been modified which brought the tires in just enough and now the front can be lowered back to where I have a nose down stance again. One could certainly make the argument for going one size in diameter smaller in the front, but I have what I have now and spent way too much money on them already. So they stay like they are...

 I had to change the Michelins that I put on new in late 2001... Even though they looked 'new', after 9 years they were cracked, had flat spots from the car sitting for years and were really hard. I now have BF Goodrich g-Force T/A KDW 2's with 285/30x18 front and 335/30x18 rear.

The deck lid prop was installed by Dennis Quella. I don't know where he sourced them, but I like them. I used to use a piece of tubing with rubber on each end to hold up my rear deck because the original props wouldn't hold it up. And, as some of you know, if you go too strong on the props, you start bending the deck lid. These new style mounts hold the deck lid up no problem with the slats and the spoiler. One of the to do list items is to cut off the original prop mounts on the chassis. I see now that Larry Finch has answered this question. They are from IPSCO.

The mufflers ARE painted! They and the exhaust pipes are nicely coated with battleship gray. Quella seems to be into that color these days... note the color of my valve covers... The damper and front pulleys are the same color. With all the talk of the restrictions created by the GTS mufflers, I have modifications to those on the list also.

Hope that answers everyone's questions! If you have any others, let me know.

Kirby

On 8 Feb 2010, at 10:51 PM, Peter Kovacs wrote:

> Congrats! Looks great. I picked mine up the night before last too. Also needs more work rather than being driveable as anticipated. But mine went down in 06 so I guess I have a few more years to go. What is the timeline for yours to be roadworthy again? 
>  
> Peter Kovacs
> 209 345-6708
> 209 436-2000 fx
> 
> 
> From: Kirby Schrader <kirby.schrader at gmail.com>
> To: Pantera List <detomaso at realbig.com>
> Sent: Mon, February 8, 2010 8:05:48 PM
> Subject: [DeTomaso] I did actually get my Pantera back...
> 
> 
> Some Pantera content. 
> 
> For those of you not aware of my long running saga... Short version:
> I burnt a piston in March 2002 at TWS.
> I contend it was my fault. Let's not get into the details. All that was hashed out 8 years ago...
> 
> That was the last time I drove the car before I went off to Brunei for a year... and then another...and another... etc.
> Got back to the USofA in April 2007 and my Pantera was still not finished. Main job was rust removal, paint and a rebuilt engine.
> 
> While waiting, I played with my GT40 that I received in June 2007.
> 
> On December 19th, 2009,  I drove up to Castle Rock with truck and trailer and got my Pantera.
> It was still not finished, but I got it anyway.
> 
> It's back in my garage.
> 
> Some pics on my website.
> 
> http://web.mac.com/kirbyschrader/pantera/2009%20Pantera%20pics/Pantera200912.html
> 
> http://web.mac.com/kirbyschrader/pantera/engine%20rebuild.html
> 
> It's good to have it back, even though I'm still working on it.
> 
> FWIW,
> Kirby
> 
> 
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