[DeTomaso] Resurrection

[Charles McCall]

1) ..and on the third day, they pushed the rock aside (opened the garage
door) and found the cave empty with the exception of a loincloth (California
Car Cover). The Pantera has come back to life again, for the first time of
the year! 

 

2) Resurrection of a subject kicked around last year but without coming to
conclusions.. My engine for the past couple of years has had an intermittent
problem where it feels like a couple of cylinders cut out. I'd like to
resurrect the subject to see if we can come up with some new ideas. 

 

At first I suspected it was a fuel issue, and disassembled the carb. I did
find a lot of very fine powder in the float bowls, which I cleaned out, and
installed a fuel filter. 

 

I changed the spark plugs to rule out a fouling or failing plug. I haven't
changed the wires. 

 

Symptoms - car can run fine for hours or days or months. Then it feels like
a switch has been thrown and one or perhaps two cylinders stop firing. I
have to put my foot into it to keep the engine running. Black smoke comes
out the exhaust, and it I let the revs drop below 2000, the engine will die.
This may last for as little as 5 minutes, or as long as 20, although the
rough running tends to be interrupted by arriving at my destination. But as
quickly as the problem arrives, it suddenly heals itself, the engine goes
back to firing on all cylinders, idles happily at 1000rpm, and all is well.
Perhaps for a day, perhaps for a month, or perhaps for an hour. 

 

My engine - 351C, Compcamps 282S cam, Aussie 2v closed chamber heads, Weiand
Excelerator intake, Holley 700DP, MSD 6AL, MSD coil. Motorcraft AF42 plugs.
MSD plug wires. 

 

We had just started talking about whether MSD boxes could act like this when
the thread dropped off last year. If this isn't fuel related and is spark
related, what can I check? 

 

Thanks!

 

Charles McCall
Raising Pantera Awareness Across Europe
1985 DeTomaso Pantera #9375
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