[DeTomaso] Pantera Steering Rack Interchange Ferrari 308

Sat Feb 22 13:10:02 EST 2014

I don't have the geometry, but I have driven a GT5-S and an Si back to back
and can confirm that the Si drove much differently, with much lighter
steering and none of the tramlining. At least I didn't notice any
tramlining, but after driving the 5-S on some rather poor roads, even a
moderate amount would seem negligible!

-----Original Message-----
From: DeTomaso [mailto:detomaso-bounces at poca.com] On Behalf Of Julian Kift
Sent: sábado, 22 de febrero de 2014 18:44
To: thomas; MikeLDrew at aol.com
Cc: De Tomaso List
Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] Pantera Steering Rack Interchange Ferrari 308

Thomas,
You may very well be right, I can still feel a little bit of play in the
rack and that might be just the tolerance on the rack & pinion, but this is
the last thing to change before I have to just accept it was it is or sell
it. I modified my front a-arms for the full 7 degrees of caster too. New
tires improved it a little I now have the Michelin PS2, whereas the previous
Michelin Sport was the old Chevron tread style.
Off topic but the suspension geometry on the Si was changed and I have heard
the Si's are great cars to drive. I assume the body width was the same as
GT5S and they moved the center line of the wheels out via use of longer
a-arms. Anyone have dimensions of the Si suspension to hand?
Julian

> CC: julian_kift at hotmail.com; detomaso at poca.com
> From: thomas at hax.se
> Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] Pantera Steering Rack Interchange Ferrari 308
> Date: Sat, 22 Feb 2014 10:56:20 +0100
> To: MikeLDrew at aol.com
> 
> I rebuilt the rack in #9321 (1984 GT5) using a brass bushing that Mike
supplied, and I believe it is the later rack.
> 
> Later I removed some of the thin shims to reduce steering wheel play.
> 
> I have Marino's offset poly bushings and it is still a white knuckle ride
with the 285-40/15 Yokohama AVS-1 tires.
> 
> I don't think this can be fixed with a new rack alone.
> 
> Thomas
> 
> > 22 feb 2014 kl. 08:13 skrev MikeLDrew at aol.com:
> > 
> >   In a message dated 2/21/14 21 43 19, julian_kift at hotmail.com writes:
> > 
> >     As you know I have replaced just about everything on the steering
> >     end of my GT5 in an effort to try and make it an enjoyable drive,
> >     alas it is still a white knuckle ride tram lining the slightest rut
> >     in the road and darting when one changes lanes over the center
> >     crest. The rack was rebuilt at some point by someone who was heavy
> >     handed with vice grips and I have never been happy with it, so my
> >     last ditch effort is to just change out the rack for a new one.
> >     Mine being an early GT5 where Alejandro was still using up leftover
> >     Ford parts has the same rack as my '74, so I'd be keen to know if
> >     what you have in the box there fits. That said I'm intrigued that
> >     later GT5's had a different rack, are they dimensionally the same or
> >     does the later rack alter (improve) the steering geometry?
> > 
> >>>> The later rack appears to be dimensionally the same.  The rack
> >   housing tube is a smaller diameter, and there are crude spacers that
> >   wrap around the outside of it to make up the difference between the
> >   small tube and the larger opening in the Pantera rack housing clamps.
> >   Here is what arrived at my house for me to repair, plucked from the
> >   GT5:
> >
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ferrari-Testarossa-TRW-Steering-Rack-/121278970
> >   012
> >   At least, I'm 99.9% certain it's the same.  The tie rods are
completely
> >   different from an early Pantera rack, the rack is different, the
> >   housing is different, although the boot on the driver's side seems
> >   largely the same (the passenger side is very different.  You can see
> >   the tube is much smaller in diameter as well.
> >   But functionally it seems to be identical.  As I said, I'm going to
> >   fully compare the worn-out GT5 rack, a standard Pantera rack that I
> >   keep on hand as a visual aid, and the new early 308 rack I just
bought,
> >   and we will see wot's wot.
> >   BTW Rick Moseley's 1980 308 uses a later-style rack I believe, with a
> >   different housing with the mounting clamps cast integral with the
> >   housing.  But internally it is the same as the Pantera rack, needs the
> >   same bronze bushing for a quality repair, etc. etc.  Rick is the one
> >   who contacted TRW (the outfit that purchased Cam Gears UK, the
original
> >   maker of the Pantera and Ferrari racks) and asked what to use as a
> >   lubricant; they told him in no uncertain terms that gear oil was no
> >   longer in vogue and 0-weight grease was the lube of choice.  The
> >   GT5/Testa Rossa rack comes filled with this grease, as did the TRW
> >   racks that some vendors were selling a few years ago, and also the
ones
> >   that Roland was selling.  I have no doubt the new rack we just bought
> >   will have grease as well.
> >   (As an aside, I just replaced the worn-out rack on one of my VW
> >   Sciroccos today.  The new rack came from the German manufacturer
filled
> >   with grease too).
> >   Rick and I worked together with the fellow you saw on the F-chat
forum,
> >   who has an early 308 GT4 Dino and had a blown-out rack.  Some thief
had
> >   charged him over $1000 to 'repair' his rack; he threw a home-made
> >   nylong bushing inside, bludgeoned some later-style tie rods onto the
> >   rack, and overtightened them to the point where they were bound up
> >   solid.  The poor guy got the rack installed in his car with some
> >   difficulty, but the car was virtually undriveable.  He managed to get
> >   it to an alignment shop and they literally couldn't turn the tie rods
> >   to set the toe, so they sent him home.
> >   With much long-distance hand-holding, he took the rack apart, dumped
> >   the new parts, got three (!) Pantera rack bushings from three
different
> >   Pantera vendors, chose the one we told him to choose in the first
> >   place, and put his rack back together using his original tie rods.
The
> >   result was perfection and he was quite pleased, not only with the
> >   results, but with himself for having taken on the challenge and
> >   prevailing.
> >   He has been trying to sell one of his three rack bushings on E-bay for
> >   quite some time now, with no takers; oddly, the other one sold almost
> >   instantly?
> >   Mike
> > 
> > 
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