[DeTomaso] Why you should always DRIVE your Pantera somewhere!
Boyd Casey
boyd411 at gmail.com
Tue May 20 16:59:21 EDT 2014
I was planning on joining our small Long Island Poca group on a trip to
Saratoga this past weekend. According to Google maps it's 3 1/2 hours one
way. I was concerned because my car had been stored since the fall and
although I started it a few times over the winter and had a trickle charger
on all winter, I never feel comfortable taking a long trip after just
coming out of storage. I took the car out a few weeks earlier and
immediately noticed a problem with the clutch. I thought it was the slave
cylinder and promptly replaced it. After a week of deteriorating
performance I realized I needed a new clutch master. I decided to upgrade
to a CNC with SS sleeve ( which also matched my dual CNC brake masters with
balance bar so it looked nice and was a mechanical improvement. An
anodized slave cylinder with a SS sleeve and a long throw set up I finally
had a clutch that felt 100% and was tickled pink, that is until I realized
that there was a noise coming from the front of the motor. This coincided
with a low voltage reading ion the voltmeter and I had been having charging
issues since upgrading the AC last spring to a new system with dual
condenser fans so it seemed like an opportune time to upgrade to a higher
output alternator. I installed a new 90 amp alternator. Just when it
seemed like I would be ready for the trip we realized that the "mystery
noise " coming from the front of the engine hadn't subsided . This is when
an astute observer noticed that the harmonic balancer was coming apart. So
add a new balancer and the car was good to go. I felt fairly confident
that the prospect of completing a 400 mile round trip without a major
incident wasn't an unreasonable expectation. So as I drove home from the
shop after the latest 2 week visit at the local Pantera rest and rehab
facility , I was really enjoying driving my cat. In fact I was enjoying it
more then I have ever remembered in the six years since I bought the car.
My local Pantera mechanic who is also a member of our local Pantera club
has a his shop around 40 miles from my home. I had driven around 36 miles
enjoying every mile when as they say at NASA I experienced a catastrophic
failure. It appears either a rod or wrist pin let go and m trip home came
to a sudden stop. The moral of my story is no matter how well prepared you
think you are Murphy raises his ugly head and his law brings your best laid
plans and dashes them into small pieces like cheap carnival glass. If I
had left on the trip to Saratoga I could have had a trip ending event if
only one the four events previously mentioned events had taken place. I
have a friend who owns a crew cab pick up truck and a 24 foot enclosed
trailer. He was willing to act as an escort or emergency rescue vehicle in
return for the club covering his gas and hotel room. Unfortunately we
didn't have enough Pantera participants to cover this cost. To my thinking
having some one following the caravan of pant eras with a trailer large
enough to hold two cars as well as tools, spare parts ,a compressor , etc.
It would allow everyone to enjoy driving their cars on a nice trip as well
as having the peace of mind of knowing that in the event of a unforeseen
event you would not be faced with the prospect of leaving your baby on the
side of the road or with some back woods mechanic. We couldn't work out the
logistics of having our escort on this trip but had I been able to take the
trip with the escort and had m car experienced any one of the breakdowns
that it has had in the past four weeks but instead of at home somewhere on
the road between NyC and Saratoga it would have taken a situation that
would have been a disaster and ruined a great weekend and turned it into a
minor inconvenience . So I would highly recommend that future Pantera
groups planning on long distance road trips to explore the possibility of
arranging for this type of Guardian angel to accompany them on their trip.
Statistically the chances of several Panteras breaking down is not a
statistical impossibility but is far less likely the the prospect of one
breaking down and the added benefit of spare parts , tools , and an
entourage of people accustomed to working on Panteras, I would suggest that
the entire trip including the days leading up to the departure would be a
lot less stressful and the trip would be much more enjoyable. My current
situation doesn't have me jumping for joy but my situation would be a lot
worse had my break down occurred 200 miles from home. So I will chalk up
my situation as one of the many high and low points that come along with
owning an exotic car like a Pantera. The low point I am currently
experiencing just make the high points that much more enjoyable ( when they
finally reappear).
Boyd
On Tue, May 20, 2014 at 3:49 PM, Kirby Schrader <kirby.schrader at gmail.com>wrote:
> Jerry,
> Trip to hell and back, indeed. Pretty lousy weekend!
> Trying to follow your trip....
> 12 miles directly north of Tomball is REAL close to where I live!
> The local Pantera gang would have been more than happy to have helped.
> I'm curious why you ended up in Madisonville with the truck when it
> died in Tomball?
> That's a long way to go without an alternator?
> And don't you mean you took I10 to I45? I35 is over in San Antonio and
> Austin...
> And Centerville, Madisonville and Fairfield are all on I45.
> Just being pedantic....
> Glad you made it back in one piece!
> Regards,
> Kirby
> On Tue, May 20, 2014 at 1:48 PM, Jerry Knotts <[1]knottsj at galstar.com>
> wrote:
>
> Michael,
> I certainly have to agree with you. A Two weeks ago I made the trip
> to hell and back to pick up a car. A I traveled from Nowata Oklahoma
> to Houston Texas to pic up a car. A I blew the alternator on the
> truck Friday at 4pm 12 miles north of Tomball. A The trailer was
> left in Tomball and the truck was left in Madisonville to get a new
> alternator on Saturday. A My daughter and grandson drove from Katy
> to pick me up (100 miles). A The next morning she drove me to
> Friendswood to pick up the car and drive it back to Katy (120 round
> trip). A Then she drove me to Madisonville to pick up the finished
> truck so I could go to Tomball and wait for over an hour for them to
> open the storage lot to get the trailer and drive back to Katy to
> load the car(230 round trip). A Sunday I took I10 to I35 so as not
> to have to wait at the many toll gate lines. A I got to 610 loop and
> it took over an hour to get to Tidwell. A I then blew a trailer tire
> on the other side of Centerville. A The wrecker was dispatched
> thinking it was a truck tire. A We had to dismount the car for me to
> drive and start the pickup in neutral so he could tow the truck with
> the trailer with the blown tire 25 miles to Fairfield. A Arrived
> about 4 Sunday afternoon and had a new tire and was back on the road
> with the car reloaded by 6. A Sunday I left Dallas and got within 15
> miles of the house and blew another trailer tire on the other side .
> A I drove it in on the flat.
> I was A specific on Texas places for our Texas bretheren.
> Driven lots of miles hauling a trailer without problems. A The only
> saving grace is I didn't have a cattle trailer full.
> I go with a trailer every time.
> jerry knotts
> On 5/19/2014 8:07 AM, [2]michael at michaelshortt.com wrote:
>
> A A I couldn't agree more, while I love driving the Pantera, had I
> a
> A A trailer to hitch onto the Excursion, I would have towed as
> well.
> A A Why,A
> A A 1) in the event that one or more of us had issues, a remedy
> would have
> A A been available.
> A A 2) I also needed to be back on time
> A A 3) The Excursion is far more comfortable and gets the same MPG
> A A 4) Less wear and tear on the car
> A A 5) If something did happen, I could bring it home to a trusted
> repair
> A A person, not stay with it or leave it with some Goober.
> A A I am quietly looking for deals on a trailer, my problem is
> storage, I
> A A already have way too many trailers, cars, RV taking upA
> A A very limited space.
> A A Michael Shortt
> A A On Mon, May 19, 2014 at 8:37 AM, Rob Dumoulin
> <[1][3]rob at dumoulins.net>
> A A wrote:
>
> _______________________________________________
> Detomaso Forum Managed by POCA
> DeTomaso mailing list
> [4]DeTomaso at poca.com
> [5]http://poca.com/mailman/listinfo/detomaso_poca.com
>
> References
>
> 1. mailto:knottsj at galstar.com
> 2. mailto:michael at michaelshortt.com
> 3. mailto:rob at dumoulins.net
> 4. mailto:DeTomaso at poca.com
> 5. http://poca.com/mailman/listinfo/detomaso_poca.com
>
> _______________________________________________
>
> Detomaso Forum Managed by POCA
>
> DeTomaso mailing list
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> http://poca.com/mailman/listinfo/detomaso_poca.com
>
>
-------------- next part --------------
I was planning on joining our small Long Island Poca group on a trip to
Saratoga this A past weekend. According to Google maps it's 3 1/2 hours
one way. I was concerned because my car had been stored since the fall
and although I started it a few times over the winter and had a trickle
charger on all winter, I never feel comfortable taking a long trip
after just coming out of storage. I took the car out a few weeks
earlier and immediately noticed a problem with the clutch. I thought it
was the slave cylinder and promptly replaced it. After a week of
deteriorating A performance I realized I needed a new clutch master. I
decided to upgrade to a CNC with SS sleeve ( which also matched my dual
CNC brake masters with balance bar so it looked nice and was a
mechanical improvement. A An anodized slave cylinder with a SS sleeve
and a long throw set up I finally had a clutch that felt 100% and was
tickled pink, that is until I realized that there was a noise coming
from the front of the motor. This coincided with a low voltage reading
ion the voltmeter and I had been having charging issues since upgrading
the AC last spring to a new system with dual condenser fans so it
seemed like an opportune time to upgrade to a higher output alternator.
A I installed a new 90 amp A alternator. Just when it seemed like I
would be ready for the trip we realized that the "mystery noise "
coming from the front of the engine hadn't subsided A . This is when an
astute observer noticed that the harmonic balancer was coming apart. So
add a new balancer and the car was good to go. A I felt fairly
confident that the prospect of completing A a 400 mile round trip
without a major incident wasn't an unreasonable expectation. So as I
drove home from the shop after the latest 2 week visit at the local
Pantera rest and rehab facility , I was really enjoying driving my cat.
In fact I was enjoying it more then I have ever remembered in the six
years since I bought the car. A My local Pantera mechanic who is also a
member of our local Pantera club has a his shop around 40 miles from my
home. I had driven around 36 miles enjoying every mile when as they say
at NASA I experienced a catastrophic failure. A It appears either a rod
or wrist pin let go and m trip home came to a sudden stop. A The moral
of my story is no matter how well prepared you think you are Murphy
raises his ugly head and his law brings your best laid plans and dashes
them into small pieces like cheap carnival glass. A If I had left on
the trip to Saratoga I could have had a trip ending event if only one
the four events previously A mentioned events had taken place. A I
have a friend who owns a crew cab pick up truck and a 24 foot enclosed
trailer. He was willing to act as A an escort or emergency rescue
vehicle in return for the club covering his gas and hotel room.
Unfortunately we didn't have enough A Pantera participants to cover
this cost. To my thinking having some one following the caravan of pant
eras with a trailer large enough to hold two cars as well as tools,
spare parts ,a compressor , etc. It would allow everyone to enjoy
driving their cars on a nice trip as well as having the peace of mind
of knowing that in the event of a unforeseen event you would not be
faced with the prospect of leaving your baby on the side of the road or
with some back woods mechanic. We couldn't work out the logistics of
having our escort on this trip but had I been able to take the trip
with the escort and had m car experienced any one of the breakdowns
that it has had in the past four weeks but instead of at home somewhere
on the road between NyC and Saratoga it would have taken a situation
that would have been a disaster and ruined a great weekend and turned
it into a minor inconvenience . So I would highly recommend that future
Pantera groups planning on long distance road trips to explore the
possibility of arranging for this type of Guardian angel to accompany
them on their trip. Statistically the chances of several Panteras
breaking down is not a statistical impossibility A but is far less
likely the the prospect of one breaking down and the added benefit of
spare parts , tools , and an entourage of people accustomed to working
on Panteras, I would suggest that the entire trip including the days
leading up to the departure would be a lot less stressful and the trip
would be much more enjoyable. My current situation doesn't have me
A jumping for joy but my situation would be a lot worse had my break
down occurred A 200 miles from home. So I will chalk up my situation as
one of the A many high and low points that come along with owning an
exotic car like a Pantera. The low point I am currently experiencing
just make the high points that much more enjoyable ( when they finally
reappear).
Boyd
On Tue, May 20, 2014 at 3:49 PM, Kirby Schrader
<[1]kirby.schrader at gmail.com> wrote:
A A Jerry,
A A Trip to hell and back, indeed. Pretty lousy weekend!
A A Trying to follow your trip....
A A 12 miles directly north of Tomball is REAL close to where I
live!
A A The local Pantera gang would have been more than happy to have
helped.
A A I'm curious why you ended up in Madisonville with the truck
when it
A A died in Tomball?
A A That's a long way to go without an alternator?
A A And don't you mean you took I10 to I45? I35 is over in San
Antonio and
A A Austin...
A A And Centerville, Madisonville and Fairfield are all on I45.
A A Just being pedantic....
A A Glad you made it back in one piece!
A A Regards,
A A Kirby
A A On Tue, May 20, 2014 at 1:48 PM, Jerry Knotts
<[1][2]knottsj at galstar.com>
A A wrote:
A A A Michael,
A A A I certainly have to agree with you. A Two weeks ago I made
the trip
A A A to hell and back to pick up a car. A I traveled from Nowata
Oklahoma
A A A to Houston Texas to pic up a car. A I blew the alternator on
the
A A A truck Friday at 4pm 12 miles north of Tomball. A The trailer
was
A A A left in Tomball and the truck was left in Madisonville to get a
new
A A A alternator on Saturday. A My daughter and grandson drove
from Katy
A A A to pick me up (100 miles). A The next morning she drove me
to
A A A Friendswood to pick up the car and drive it back to Katy (120
round
A A A trip). A Then she drove me to Madisonville to pick up the
finished
A A A truck so I could go to Tomball and wait for over an hour for
them to
A A A open the storage lot to get the trailer and drive back to Katy
to
A A A load the car(230 round trip). A Sunday I took I10 to I35 so
as not
A A A to have to wait at the many toll gate lines. A I got to 610
loop and
A A A it took over an hour to get to Tidwell. A I then blew a
trailer tire
A A A on the other side of Centerville. A The wrecker was
dispatched
A A A thinking it was a truck tire. A We had to dismount the car
for me to
A A A drive and start the pickup in neutral so he could tow the truck
with
A A A the trailer with the blown tire 25 miles to Fairfield. A
Arrived
A A A about 4 Sunday afternoon and had a new tire and was back on the
road
A A A with the car reloaded by 6. A Sunday I left Dallas and got
within 15
A A A miles of the house and blew another trailer tire on the other
side .
A A A A I drove it in on the flat.
A A A I was A specific on Texas places for our Texas bretheren.
A A A Driven lots of miles hauling a trailer without problems. A
The only
A A A saving grace is I didn't have a cattle trailer full.
A A A I go with a trailer every time.
A A A jerry knotts
A A A On 5/19/2014 8:07 AM, [2][3]michael at michaelshortt.com wrote:
A A A A A A A I couldn't agree more, while I love driving the
Pantera, had I
A A A a
A A A A A A A trailer to hitch onto the Excursion, I would have
towed as
A A A well.
A A A A A A A Why,A
A A A A A A A 1) in the event that one or more of us had issues, a
remedy
A A A would have
A A A A A A A been available.
A A A A A A A 2) I also needed to be back on time
A A A A A A A 3) The Excursion is far more comfortable and gets
the same MPG
A A A A A A A 4) Less wear and tear on the car
A A A A A A A 5) If something did happen, I could bring it home to
a trusted
A A A repair
A A A A A A A person, not stay with it or leave it with some
Goober.
A A A A A A A I am quietly looking for deals on a trailer, my
problem is
A A A storage, I
A A A A A A A already have way too many trailers, cars, RV taking
upA
A A A A A A A very limited space.
A A A A A A A Michael Shortt
A A A A A A A On Mon, May 19, 2014 at 8:37 AM, Rob Dumoulin
A A A <[1][3][4]rob at dumoulins.net>
A A A A A A A wrote:
A A A _______________________________________________
A A A Detomaso Forum Managed by POCA
A A A DeTomaso mailing list
A A A [4][5]DeTomaso at poca.com
A A A [5][6]http://poca.com/mailman/listinfo/detomaso_poca.com
References
A A 1. mailto:[7]knottsj at galstar.com
A A 2. mailto:[8]michael at michaelshortt.com
A A 3. mailto:[9]rob at dumoulins.net
A A 4. mailto:[10]DeTomaso at poca.com
A A 5. [11]http://poca.com/mailman/listinfo/detomaso_poca.com
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Detomaso Forum Managed by POCA
DeTomaso mailing list
[12]DeTomaso at poca.com
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References
1. mailto:kirby.schrader at gmail.com
2. mailto:knottsj at galstar.com
3. mailto:michael at michaelshortt.com
4. mailto:rob at dumoulins.net
5. mailto:DeTomaso at poca.com
6. http://poca.com/mailman/listinfo/detomaso_poca.com
7. mailto:knottsj at galstar.com
8. mailto:michael at michaelshortt.com
9. mailto:rob at dumoulins.net
10. mailto:DeTomaso at poca.com
11. http://poca.com/mailman/listinfo/detomaso_poca.com
12. mailto:DeTomaso at poca.com
13. http://poca.com/mailman/listinfo/detomaso_poca.com
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