[DeTomaso] Coil overs

[MikeLDrew at aol.com]

In a message dated 1/20/11 10 35 19, D421996 at aol.com writes:


> Where is the best place to get coil overs for a 74?  What does Koni  
> charge
> for rebuilding?  Mine is a street car not a race car, any  thoughts?
> 

"Best" has different connotations depending on how you drive.

I had Carrera (now QA1) shocks on my Pantera.   I liked them but I found 
the ride too soft.   Only after   sold them did I discover that the problem 
was that I had bought them from Larry Stock; he has very strange ideas on 
suspension and actually sets his shocks up with softer springs than the stock 
ones!   Everybody else uses slightly stiffer-than-stock rates of 450 lbs 
front/550 lbs rear.   I'm sure if I had bought them with the proper spring rates 
I would have been much happier with them.

You can get Carrera shocks with 450/550 from Wilkinson.   For slightly more 
money (last time I checked), you can get Konis (which I have now and LOVE) 
from either Pantera East or Pantera Performance Center.   They are available 
with either steel or aluminum bodies; the aluminum ones are a tidge lighter 
and much more expensive, and a waste of money IMHO.

Although they offer more adjustment possibilities, adjusting them requires 
removal from the car, which is a pain.   They come pre-adjusted however, and 
mine were perfect right out of the box.

Hall and Byars sell Aldan shocks.   On paper they look like they could be 
viable, but personally I wouldn't put them on a shopping cart.   The tales of 
Aldan shock failures are legion; they just can't seem to build them in a 
manner that allows them to live, at least on a Pantera.   I have personally 
been involved as an intermediary between Aldan and Pantera owners in Europe, 
and have shipped shocks back and forth across the Atlantic more times than I 
can count.   In most cases, the Europeans finally gave up and just trashed 
them and bought Konis and lived happily ever after.

As for rebuilding your existing shocks--do you have old-school Koni shocks 
at the moment?   Konis were available as a stock replacement shock for 
years, with the stock springs.   Koni charges about $150 each to rebuild them.   
The L-models came with Telecar shocks, which were fairly cheap, and are not 
rebuildable.

Cheers!

Mike