[DeTomaso] Who makes the best clutch for the Pantera?

[Edward Comber]

Richard,
I put the Centerforce in my "P" car, the motor should be in the 500 HP range and is stroked also. It works fine. I like the fact it uses a little less leg power to depress and it hooks up great. No shutter or any side affects that I have detected. The only problem I had was it uses a centerforce fly wheel and I had already bought a Ram. I called centerforce and they sent me the hole pattern for the clutch and I set the fly wheel up and drilled and tapped the holes in the correct place. It has been in the car for about 5 years and no problems yet. If you want more details let me know and I'll do what I can to help.

Ed

> Date: Tue, 12 Oct 2010 18:51:41 -0700
> From: erpike at ymail.com
> To: rschulze at uis-usa.com; detomaso at realbig.com
> Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] Who makes the best clutch for the Pantera?
> 
> Richard,
> 
> Like Michael said you will probably get a lot of different opinions. I have no 
> experience with a centerforce or a stock clutch. When I got my 74 it had a 
> Mcleod 3 finger clutch in it whick promptly self destructed about 2 weeks after 
> I got the car. No fault of the clutch - it was old. I put another Mcleod 3 
> finger clutch in it and got about 17,000 miles out of it. It came from PI 
> motorsports and it worked great. It had one annoying (for me) tendency to 
> shudder a bit during slow to moderate take offs. It occurred between 1000 and 
> 2000 RPM. It turned out to be a characteristic of the clutch and with a little 
> practice I learned to work around it. I just replaced it with a Mcleod diaphram 
> clutch and have about 250 miles on it and it works well with no shudder. My car 
> is set up to drive daily (weather permitting) and has about 425 hp and stock 
> flywheel. The clutch required a long throw slave. 
> 
> 
> I think alot depends on how you drive it daily or every once in a while, how 
> much Hp you want to run and how hard you drive it. This is just my opinion but 
> if you drive it hard and or not very often the three finger Mcleod would 
> probably work. Personally I like the Mcleod diaphram clutch. It fits how I use 
> the car.
> 
> I am sure that there are some guys that have experience with the Centerforce and 
> will provide some insight as well.
> 
> If you want to look into the diaphram Mcleod I would recommend you talk with 
> Dennis Quella at Pantera Performance. He was very helpful in getting me what I 
> needed for my set up. He could also give you some input on the difference 
> between Mcleod's.
> 
> Any way just my opinion. 
> 
> Good Luck,
> 
> Ed....
> 
> 
> ________________________________
> From: Richard H. Schulze <rschulze at uis-usa.com>
> To: detomaso at realbig.com
> Sent: Tue, October 12, 2010 12:29:16 PM
> Subject: [DeTomaso] Who makes the best clutch for the Pantera?
> 
> Who makes the best clutch for the Pantera?  I guess it might be a bad
> question given that I have only found three clutches, two of them made by
> Centerforce.  The third clutch is offered by PI Motorsports.  
> 
> 
> 
> I like the looks of the centerforce clutch, but I am not sure how well it
> works or if it requires a special flywheel.  Any advice?  Are there any
> other options that don't cost $1000.00?  Most of the clutches cost about
> $375 and only the PI Motorsports kit comes with a throw out bearing.  There
> is no talk of a throw out bearing in the centerforce clutch advertisements.
> Can a stock throw out bearing be used on the centerforce clutches?
> 
> 
> 
> I have a 351 Cleveland that has been stroked and bored to 400 cid with
> aluminum closed chamber heads and small ports.  I have about 450 HP with no
> plans for nitrous or more horse power.  
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks, 
> 
> Richard Schulze in Dallas, Texas
> 
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