[DeTomaso] Brake cooling ducts installed

MikeLDrew at aol.com MikeLDrew at aol.com
Wed Apr 30 21:01:00 EDT 2014


Hi guys,

My Pantera has been in the air for at least four months, due mostly to my 
own inertia and lack of time.   What started off as a simple brake system 
upgrade turned into an unending series of nightmares, as my new calipers 
wouldn't clear my stock wheels, the old calipers I was going to move to the rear 
wouldn't work with the existing rear discs, the new hard line kit I'd ordered 
didn't fit properly and I had to remake some of the lines myself, etc. etc.

It's all come good though, and today Lori and I filled and bled the clutch 
and brake systems.

Along the way, a few months ago I ordered brake cooling ducts from Cory 
Gehling at Collector's Choice:

http://www.snakeoylproducts.com/product.php?productid=17530&cat=336&page=1

Cory originally had these molded for Porsche Cup race cars; they were 
getting so much brake heat that they were sizzling the front bearings.   These 
molded scoops attach to the lower A-arm and capture air flowing underneath the 
car and direct it at the hubs and rotors.

He has been a Pantera specialist for years, but of late he has concentrated 
on his Viper business.   The kit in the link consists of a pair of molded 
plastic ducts, and a pair of aluminum mounting brackets designed to allow 
them to bolt easily to the Viper.

When I got them, there were some generic instructions to adapt them to the 
Pantera, but I found that it required a lot of creativity.   After much 
experimentation, I determined that the aluminum brackets were useless in the 
Pantera application, and discarded them.  The outboard ends of the plastic 
ducts needed to be cut away to clear the rotors, and the inboard end needed to 
be heated up with a heat gun and bent to conform to the contour of the lower 
A-arms.   A pair of holes were drilled in each A-arm to mount the ducts.

(photo attached)

The result, I think, should be quite effective.   Given that a substantial 
percentage of the cost of this kit is wrapped up in the aluminum brackets, 
if you're interested in trying them out yourself, I'd urge you to negotiate a 
price for the ducts alone.

I hope to be running a track day soon, and will report on their 
effectiveness as much as I can.   Of course, considering that I will be running new 
calipers and rotors as well, it will be difficult to attribute success or 
failure to a specific component, but I figure they can't hurt!

Mike
-------------- next part --------------
   Hi guys,
   My Pantera has been in the air for at least four months, due mostly to
   my own inertia and lack of time.  What started off as a simple brake
   system upgrade turned into an unending series of nightmares, as my new
   calipers wouldn't clear my stock wheels, the old calipers I was going
   to move to the rear wouldn't work with the existing rear discs, the new
   hard line kit I'd ordered didn't fit properly and I had to remake some
   of the lines myself, etc. etc.
   It's all come good though, and today Lori and I filled and bled the
   clutch and brake systems.
   Along the way, a few months ago I ordered brake cooling ducts from Cory
   Gehling at Collector's Choice:
   http://www.snakeoylproducts.com/product.php?productid=17530&cat=336&pag
   e=1
   Cory originally had these molded for Porsche Cup race cars; they were
   getting so much brake heat that they were sizzling the front bearings.
   These molded scoops attach to the lower A-arm and capture air flowing
   underneath the car and direct it at the hubs and rotors.
   He has been a Pantera specialist for years, but of late he has
   concentrated on his Viper business.  The kit in the link consists of a
   pair of molded plastic ducts, and a pair of aluminum mounting brackets
   designed to allow them to bolt easily to the Viper.
   When I got them, there were some generic instructions to adapt them to
   the Pantera, but I found that it required a lot of creativity.  After
   much experimentation, I determined that the aluminum brackets were
   useless in the Pantera application, and discarded them. The outboard
   ends of the plastic ducts needed to be cut away to clear the rotors,
   and the inboard end needed to be heated up with a heat gun and bent to
   conform to the contour of the lower A-arms.  A pair of holes were
   drilled in each A-arm to mount the ducts.
   (photo attached)
   The result, I think, should be quite effective.  Given that a
   substantial percentage of the cost of this kit is wrapped up in the
   aluminum brackets, if you're interested in trying them out yourself,
   I'd urge you to negotiate a price for the ducts alone.
   I hope to be running a track day soon, and will report on their
   effectiveness as much as I can.  Of course, considering that I will be
   running new calipers and rotors as well, it will be difficult to
   attribute success or failure to a specific component, but I figure they
   can't hurt!
   Mike
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