[DeTomaso] Grp IV Clone on Ebay

mark skwarek ehpantera at yahoo.com
Sat Apr 16 23:17:52 EDT 2011


I believe that the rear uprights are custom magnesium pieces based on a conversation with Wally a few tears ago.
 
Mark

--- On Sat, 4/16/11, MikeLDrew at aol.com <MikeLDrew at aol.com> wrote:


From: MikeLDrew at aol.com <MikeLDrew at aol.com>
Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] Grp IV Clone on Ebay
To: charlesmccall at gmail.com, JJD1010 at aol.com, mbefthomas at comcast.net, detomaso at realbig.com
Date: Saturday, April 16, 2011, 7:05 PM



In a message dated 4/16/11 9 28 41, charlesmccall at gmail.com writes:


> IT's Wally Baldyga's Pantera, which is in fact fairly well known. I've 
> read
> about it in past PI and POCA magazines and should be known to NE Pantera
> owners.
> 

Here is the story of its construction, written by Andy DiFatta, published 
in the Spring 1995 POCA Profiles:

====

This is a conglomeration of a series of articles on the creation of a 
purpose-built Pantera race car which first appeared in the Pantera Owners of the 
Northeast (PONE) newsletter.   Although I have the mechanical knowledge of a 
goldfish, I’ll do my best to describe the technical aspects of building the 
vehicle.   My efforts will also test the saying that a picture is worth 
1,000 words.   After all, why should you struggle trying to comprehend my 
ramblings on car construction when a photo will probably give you far more 
insight?

GENESIS

In the beginning, there were raw materials, energy, knowledge, limited 
funds, and unlimited enthusiasm.   With these ingredients in hand, a desire was 
expressed, a concept honed, and the PONE EXPRESS Race Car Project officially 
launched in October of 1993.
Just as the Phoenix bird rises out of its own ashes, our Pantera race car 
rose from the ashes to become a mighty track warrior.   The base vehicle was 
the victim of a garage fire before being acquired by that noted wrecked 
Pantera collector, Wally Baldyga.   I guess beauty is truly in the eyes of the 
beholder.   Anyhow, Wally says that the car was burned from the outside in, 
rather than the inside out. (I haven’t a clue as to why that’s important!)   

Those of you that were fortunate enough to attend Wally’s last two cookouts 
may remember seeing the shell in Wally’s lower garage.   A second wreck was 
also cannibalized to replaced badly damaged structural components and the 
roof.   The motor is based on an Australian block Cleveland.   Its 
transformation into a killer race motor will be covered in a future story.   Once the 
basic elements were gathered, it was time to initiate the project by 
bringing the car to the chemical stripping facility.

THE BIG DIPPER (or, Tanks for the Memories)

To the casual observer, a garage fire and years of neglect and exposure to 
the elements had resulted in a useless, worthless, rusted-out Pantera shell. 
  One man’s pile of junk, however, was a treasure to Wally Baldyga.
Wally knew that the car (seen in photo #1) could be resurrected.   With 
Gary Archambault’s unquenchable thirst for speed and Patrick Mical’s vast 
technical knowledge, these three men became the nucleus of the team that formed 
to work this miracle.
Because there was rust everywhere on the body and chassis (see photo #2), 
it was decided to have the car “dipped” to remove all traces of corrosion.   
Patrick had used the hot tank alkaline stripping process on several 
restorations including Koji Kubota’s yellow GT5-S with outstanding results.   The 
shell was brought to Metal Strip of New England in Worcester, MA to be 
treated.
The process takes three to four weeks and starts with immersing the shell 
in a tank of solvent to remove any paint, undercoating, and body filler.   
Next the shell is washed and then placed in a heated tank containing a strong 
alkaline solution through which an electric current is continually passed.   
This eats all traces of rust from the car—where you can see it and where 
you can’t—between seams and inside frame rails!
When finished, the now rust-free shell is chemically treated to neutralize 
the alkaline solution and sprayed with a rust preventative to keep it that 
way.   What you end up with is bare metal ready for primer or holes that tell 
you where you need to weld fresh metal in.   When it comes time to restore 
your Pantera and you want to be sure the car is rust-free and will stay that 
way, and you want to be sure there are no structural weaknesses, this is 
the way to go.   It’s not cheap, figure around $2,000, but the results are 
well worth it in the long run.
Wally, Don Castonguay, and I were on hand when the shell was taken out of 
the tank for the last time and washed down.   Ready Strip is an interesting 
place to visit, but I wouldn’t recommend taking a date there.   As we were 
loading the shell into Wally’s trailer, it was evident even to my 
inexperienced eyes that the back of the shell was beyond salvation.
Wally was way ahead of me and already had a replacement rear clip ready to 
be dipped.   We took the shell back to Wally’s to be installed on Patrick’s 
custom-made rotary chassis jig.   Bolted to the car’s chassis pickup 
points, the jig ensures that everything stays in alignment when the back clip is 
cut off and the replacement welded onto the monocoque.
The Australian block 351C destined to become the heart and soul of the PONE 
Express race car had started on its trip to “horsepower heaven.”   The 
heads were reconditioned by Mike Piedmont at Auto Mechanic in South Windsor, 
CN.   Wally planned to stay with the installed solid lifters and go with new 
valves, springs, and guides along with an aluminum water pump.
At this point, Wally, Gary, and Patrick had the project rolling right 
along.   Several other PONE members started to get involved which helped even 
further.   

NO RUST FOR THE WEARY

Question: What do you get when you “dip” (alkaline strip) a seriously 
rusty Pantera?   Answer: The automotive equivalent of Swiss Cheese.   Photo #3 
shows the body shell back at Wally’s shop after being retrieved from Metal 
Strip.   Doesn’t look too bad, does it?   Well, the rust damage was so 
extensive it was obvious that everything from the firewall back would have to be 
replaced.   Our intrepid crew gathered up drills, saws, and implements of 
destruction and attacked the shell.   The results can be seen in photos #4 and 
#5.   I’ve make it sound simple but it was, in actuality, an incredibly 
time-consuming process.   All the factory spot welds had to be carefully drilled 
out to cleanly separate the monocoque.   Gary and Wally spent almost every 
night for several months in the garage working on the car (honest Joan, Gary 
really was there!) doing guy things such as cutting, drilling, grinding, 
fabricating, and welding.   It was at this stage in the building process that I 
really began to appreciate the Pantera’s structural integrity.
What was I doing all this time?   With little regard for my own safety, I 
was right in the thick of things taking pictures.   After several months of 
laughing at danger, I felt that I was ready to take on even greater risks.   
I would work on the car!   Deciding to try a dry run on my own Pantera, I 
asked Wally how to remove the rear bumpers on my 1972 so I could get them 
rechromed.   He laughed and showed me where to find the four bolts that held the 
bumpers on.   One Saturday after leaving Wally’s, I decided to throw 
caution to the wind and try my hand at turning wrenches.   I located my tool box 
cowering under several inches of dust and took out the appropriate size 
socket and a ratchet...I was ready!   The first bolt immediately snapped in two 
bringing me back to reality.   Some people can work with tools...others are 
better off working with film.   The moral?   If you’re not mechanically 
inclined, take your car to a reputable Pantera specialist.
Back to the race car.   Photo #6 shows some of Wally’s custom fabrication 
work.   Photo #7 shows the car with the rear clip from the donor car 
attached.   New rocker panels were fabricated using an English Wheel by Charlie 
Baltronis at Twin Brooks Restoration in Suffield, CN.  (Charlie recently joined 
PONE after purchasing a red Pantera that he plans to convert to a Group 5 
sometime next year).   The race car features a custom-made aluminum hood skin 
crimped onto the stock hood frame, and aluminum headlight covers.   Gotta 
take that weight out wherever you can.   By the way Gary, when did you say you 
were starting your diet?   The completed hood with air vents and fuel 
filler for the forward-mounted fuel cell is shown in photo #8.
Photo #9 shows the six-point roll cage Wally bent up from 4130 chromemoly 
tubing being TIG-welded into place by Chris Blakely.   Gary used his dentist’
s skills (photo #10) to great effect throughout the project.   The only 
problem was getting used to working on something that didn’t kick and scream.   
After months of intense labor, the car was ready for primer.   Photo #11 
shows Wally giving the car a coat of primer, almost ready to go to Joe Cipriano’
s body shop for paint. 
WAR PAINT

The race car was delivered, in primer, to Joe’s new shop (Plymouth Auto) in 
May 1994.   Several of us thought that it was all ready to be painted 
except that Joe is gifted (or cursed, as we’d soon learn) with an eye for detail. 
  Photo #12 shows the car as delivered.   From this point the car’s body 
received extensive reworking.   Dan Bergeron can personally testify to the 
countless hours spent sanding the car “to get it right.”   Joe takes great 
pride in the work that’s done in his shop.   The race car was not going to be 
an exception to that philosophy.
The spray booth soon looked like a scene from the movie Coma—only this time 
body parts (instead of people) were hung from the ceiling.   Once Joe’s 
spray booth was decorated in this fashion, logic dictated that the body shell 
would not be far behind.   With time running out, Joe and a select crew put 
forth a major effort to complete this phase of the project.   They ended up 
working all night on the paint job.   This is where the cursing mentioned 
above came in.   Rumor has it that Dan sanded all day, all night, and into the 
next morning and that his arm continued to move back and forth when he 
finally took a break.
Wally and Gary wanted the car to stand out on the track.   Bright red was 
considered, but then it would be just another red car.   After much 
deliberation, yellow was agreed upon and Joe painted the car 1994 Corvette 
Competition Yellow accented with black trim.   The result is stunning as you can see 
in photo #13.   It looks mean just standing still.   When Wally picked up the 
car, Joe gave him a simple tip for taking care of the paint.   “Make sure 
Gary keeps the yellow side up.”   Initial assembly took place at Wally’s 
shop with the help of a number of people (photos #14 and #15).   The car was 
then taken to Pat’s shop, Future Auto in Chelmsford, MA, where Pat and the 
crew were to install the suspension, brakes, electrical system, and drivetrain. 
  Everyone was working hard to get the car ready for its debut at The 
Italian Challenge at Pocono Raceway over Fourth of July weekend.
By this point, The PONE Express project had evolved into a genuine Pantera 
race car.   Although it made The Italian Challenge at Pocono Fourth of July 
weekend, minor “new car gremlins” kept it from making its much-anticipated 
on-track debut—the motor had been installed the night before in an all-night 
thrash, but when the key was turned, it made expensive, unhappy noises, and 
the crew wisely decided to shut it off immediately.   Not having the time 
to diagnose the problem, they loaded the car onto the trailer and drove it 
all night to Pocono in time to get it into the display hall, where it drew 
kudos from everyone for the high level of attention to detail.
The PONE Express race car would first roar onto the track July 22nd for The 
Italian Stampede at historic Lime Rock Park in Connecticut.   Photos #16 
and #17 show the car in a few quiet moments in the pits, but these moments 
were the exception, not the rule.   With Pat and Wally having worked the 
initial bugs out, driver Gary Archambault was able to run hard for most of the 
day.   Joe Moore of EPA was also on hand to lend moral support and help Pat and 
Wally with the car.
The car’s coming out party was not without its challenges.   Pat and Joe 
changed the carburetor three times before they got one that would allow the 
motor to perform as expected.   The car was finally ready for the grid, as 
seen in photo #18. Ironically, the good carb came off of Gary’s red GT-5 that 
he drove to the track.   This is the same car that ran with Gary Hall’s 
Burgundy Express at The Italian Challenge when the PONE Express race car didn’t 
make the curtain call.
With Gary’s carb in place, the race motor finally was able to flex its 
muscles.   The next challenge to be overcome was a flat tire in the morning 
session that dramatized the project’s limited budget.   There had been money for 
only one set of Hoosier racing slicks.   It was mid-afternoon before 
Patrick returned with the repaired tire and announced that “it should be okay” in 
spite of a slow leak through the patch.
The car was sent back out onto the track to continue with the “sorting out”
process.   After a few laps, Gary came in to report that the brake bias 
was way off which forced him to start braking very early into the turns, 
costing him a lot of time.   Wally and Pat determined that all of the braking was 
being done by the front brakes and that the dual master cylinders would 
have to be adjusted to dial in more braking force at the rear.   As it was late 
in the day, this would have to wait until the car’s next outing.
Other upgrades are also being considered.   Patrick has suggested that a 
change to 16 inch wheels and radial slicks would improve the car’s handling 
even further, allow for larger brake rotors, and be more resistant to 
punctures.   Over the winter, the plan is to fuel-inject the motor for even more 
horsepower.    While the driving forces behind this ongoing project were Wally, 
Gary, and Pat, several other PONE members are also involved.   In fact, any 
contribution of time, money, and materials will be welcome.   Call Wally, 
Gary, or Pat if you want to learn how you too can participate in this 
exciting, life-affirming undertaking.
All this confirms the lessons I learned while documenting the creation of 
the PONE express race car.   Essentially, it goes like this: race cars evolve 
over time.   I now know that a race car is never really finished.   It just 
keeps changing as time, money, and inspiration allow.

The revelations are simple:

The car is beautiful.

It runs and sounds strong.

Handling, braking and horsepower will continue to be improved.

This yellow and black Group 4   Pantera Race car is a testament to the 
enthusiasm and dedication of all of the people who have contributed to its 
creation.   On behalf of the members of PONE and all Pantera owners everywhere, 
thank you for making this project possible.
_______________________________________________

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