[DeTomaso] Pantera #3461 idling in my driveway...

MikeLDrew at aol.com MikeLDrew at aol.com
Sun Jul 5 21:16:41 EDT 2015


In a message dated 7/5/15 17 40 0, byrdjf at embarqmail.com writes:


> Very nice Car!  Sounds great too.
> 
>>>I don't know the spec of the motor (although I could find out easily 
enough).   It's got Edelbrock heads, Edelbrock 2V intake, ANSA GTS headers and 
Mind Train tailpipes (which fit a little wonky--if it was my car I'd take it 
to a muffler shop for some heating and bending).
> 
> >And in just a quick outline, what would that "bunch of simple" items have
> been?
> 
>>>Well, the radiator had no temp switches in it.   Instead, it had an 
adjustable thermoswitch with a probe jammed into the fins of the radiator.   A 
big fat wire led from the battery, via a 30-amp fuse, to this switch, and 
from the switch to the fans.   Rotating the knob on the switch altered the temp 
that the fans turned on.

Problem is, it was hot-wired to the battery so the fans would run on after 
the car was shut down.   Apparently the owner's ritual was to then raise the 
hood and turn the switch all the way to the right which shut the fans off 
completely.   He would then have to remember to turn the switch back before 
setting out on his next drive.

By the time the car arrived here, that little bit of info had been lost.   
The prospective buyer took it for a test drive with Lori while I was in 
Miami, the fans were shut off, and it overheated badly.

He was not impressed.

So when I came home, I lit into it.   After draining the coolant (and 
fitting that drain valve w/hose I mentioned a few days ago), I installed a pair 
of thermoswitches in the radiator.   I then turned Marcus Smith loose on it, 
as he has the big head when it comes to electricity.   We removed some 
dangerous home-brew wiring (including an override switch directly from the 
battery, to the unused bottom toggle switch, to the fans), and he rigged up new 
four-post relays and connected them to the thermoswitches, and the ignition 
key.   Now, although the fans are still being powered directly from the 
battery, the relays are actuated by the ignition switch.   Turn off the key, the 
relays open and the fans stop.   And with the key on, the fans come on 
sequentially, on an as-needed basis.

I thought the car acted as though it had a 351W thermostat so I busted it 
open to change it, and found a proper 351C unit there.   I tested the old and 
new one on the stove and both worked fine, but I went ahead and installed 
the new one.   

The overflow bottle was flopping loose in the mounting bracket, so I had to 
undertake some repairs there.   I then filled the cooling system, bled it 
with a vacuum bleeder tool, and included two bottles of Redline Water Wetter.

And that's it.   I think the system had a fair amount of air in it before, 
certainly after it blew its guts all over the ground when the fans didn't 
turn on.   But now it's as close to perfect as you could hope for.   Getting 
the air out and having the proper thermostat are the two keys to the 
operation.   Oh, and having radiator fans that work properly helps too!

Mike
-------------- next part --------------
   In a message dated 7/5/15 17 40 0, byrdjf at embarqmail.com writes:

     Very nice Car!  Sounds great too.

   >>>I don't know the spec of the motor (although I could find out easily
   enough).  It's got Edelbrock heads, Edelbrock 2V intake, ANSA GTS
   headers and Mind Train tailpipes (which fit a little wonky--if it was
   my car I'd take it to a muffler shop for some heating and bending).

     >And in just a quick outline, what would that "bunch of simple"
     items have
     been?

   >>>Well, the radiator had no temp switches in it.  Instead, it had an
   adjustable thermoswitch with a probe jammed into the fins of the
   radiator.  A big fat wire led from the battery, via a 30-amp fuse, to
   this switch, and from the switch to the fans.  Rotating the knob on the
   switch altered the temp that the fans turned on.
   Problem is, it was hot-wired to the battery so the fans would run on
   after the car was shut down.  Apparently the owner's ritual was to then
   raise the hood and turn the switch all the way to the right which shut
   the fans off completely.  He would then have to remember to turn the
   switch back before setting out on his next drive.
   By the time the car arrived here, that little bit of info had been
   lost.  The prospective buyer took it for a test drive with Lori while I
   was in Miami, the fans were shut off, and it overheated badly.
   He was not impressed.
   So when I came home, I lit into it.  After draining the coolant (and
   fitting that drain valve w/hose I mentioned a few days ago), I
   installed a pair of thermoswitches in the radiator.  I then turned
   Marcus Smith loose on it, as he has the big head when it comes to
   electricity.  We removed some dangerous home-brew wiring (including an
   override switch directly from the battery, to the unused bottom toggle
   switch, to the fans), and he rigged up new four-post relays and
   connected them to the thermoswitches, and the ignition key.  Now,
   although the fans are still being powered directly from the battery,
   the relays are actuated by the ignition switch.  Turn off the key, the
   relays open and the fans stop.  And with the key on, the fans come on
   sequentially, on an as-needed basis.
   I thought the car acted as though it had a 351W thermostat so I busted
   it open to change it, and found a proper 351C unit there.  I tested the
   old and new one on the stove and both worked fine, but I went ahead and
   installed the new one.
   The overflow bottle was flopping loose in the mounting bracket, so I
   had to undertake some repairs there.  I then filled the cooling system,
   bled it with a vacuum bleeder tool, and included two bottles of Redline
   Water Wetter.
   And that's it.  I think the system had a fair amount of air in it
   before, certainly after it blew its guts all over the ground when the
   fans didn't turn on.  But now it's as close to perfect as you could
   hope for.  Getting the air out and having the proper thermostat are the
   two keys to the operation.  Oh, and having radiator fans that work
   properly helps too!
   Mike


More information about the DeTomaso mailing list