[DeTomaso] The bane of the early Pantera

MikeLDrew at aol.com MikeLDrew at aol.com
Sat Oct 2 16:35:25 EDT 2010


In a message dated 10/2/10 13 17 37, cuvee at sbcglobal.net writes:


> Ya got to wonder if back in 1971 there was no rain in Italy? I wonder 
> when our cars were first sold here in to US if no one ever drove them in the 
> rain? With as many of us that talk about the windshield leaking on the right 
> side, did they not leak back in the 70s? DeTomaso or Ford never heard 
> about these problems? 
> 

They just didn't think about it ahead of time.   Nobody connected the dots 
until Seattle-area Pantera owners started walking outside in the morning, 
turning the key and hearing their connecting rods exiting through the sides of 
their engine blocks!

No doubt the thought then (as now!) is, "Who would leave a Pantera sitting 
outside in the rain?"   They failed to consider that some people would use 
these cars as CARS and not as just rolling sunny weather toys.

If you look at the first few issues of Pantera International, there are 
dire warning stories contained therein, submitted by unlucky owners.   When 
things only go a little badly, connecting rods bend (the starter has a LOT of 
torque!).   But when things go especially badly, the engine starts and THEN a 
piston comes up on a cylinder full of water, and BANG!!!   It's new engine 
time....

TSB #6, article #44 addresses the situation directly, by providing a 
blueprint for dealers to construct an aluminum engine cover, measuring 20x20 
inches, and affixing it to the underside of the grille with pop rivets.   Interes
tingly, this new grille cover has a crease in it at the back, and extends 
several inches beyond the back of the stock grille, underneath the decklid 
(effectively covering the entire air cleaner, something the L-model grilles did 
not do).

The TSB states that the factory started providing the covered grilles with 
VIN #4840.   I was fortunate when I bought #3960, that it didn't have a 
grille at all, and Gary Hall threw a late-model grill in with the deal....

Mike



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