[DeTomaso] Steering rack follies (and a warning...)

Carguy60 sjcarguy60 at yahoo.com
Thu May 14 23:53:59 EDT 2015


Yup,  I've only been an owner a month and Mike has made me feel part of the club already! What a guy!!  The club is lucky to have him!



> On May 13, 2015, at 4:39 PM, Boyd Casey <boyd411 at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Mike,
> When I first met Chris Difani he told me about this POCA member named Mike Drew who rebuilt steering racks for people as a hobby and just because he was a nice guy. I was more then a little skeptical (being from NYC,) where people generally don't do things for other people ( especially when the thing they are doing is an expensive job.) But Low and behold over the years the stories of Mike drew rebuilding Racks for Pantera owners proved to be 100% accurate and that was only a small part of the story. This mystery man also transported parts all over the globe, when there was a part that you just couldn't find chances are Mike drew had it and he would sell it to you without gaffing you and on top of all of this he also wrote  articles for the Poca newsletter and could answer just about any question concerning DeTomaso history. And now you have become a television personality putting to rest the negative reputation that has haunted Panteras since 1971. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for doing so much for so many so unselfishly. And now your lovely bride Lori has been enlisted to join you in your "good works" . POCA should take some of the reported $125,000 in the kitty to erect a monument to the Drew's for all they have done to promote our favorite Marque! Thank you Mike and Lori you two are the best and represent the epitome of what makes Pantera owners so special.
> Sincerely,
> Hugh Boyd Casey
> 
>> On Wed, May 13, 2015 at 1:09 PM, Mike Drew via DeTomaso <detomaso at poca.com> wrote:
>>    In a message dated 5/12/15 22 33 50, sjcarguy60 at yahoo.com writes:
>> 
>>      Thanks for sharing this information.  The '74 I just bought came
>>      with a stack of receipts from "Panteras by Wilkinson" in Southern
>>      California. One of the receipts from 2005 lists a rebuilt steering
>>      rack.  The receipt does not show the mileage but based on other
>>      receipts around the same time I estimate the mileage at about 15,000
>>      at the time.
>> 
>>    >>>That seems absurdly low to rebuild the steering rack?  They don't
>>    normally start showing wear until 30K or more.  I suppose there is no
>>    harm in performing a lifetime fix before it *needs* to be fixed though.
>> 
>>      > The car now has about 24,000 miles.  When I was under the car I
>>      did notice the boots still look clean and new with no sign of
>>      leaking.
>> 
>>    >>>Which either means they are working as designed (they often do), or
>>    all the oil has leaked out already, or the rack has been rebuilt using
>>    grease instead of oil.
>> 
>>      >The car tracks straight without any wondering and I haven't noticed
>>      any noise. Is there any way to tell if it was properly done aside
>>      from waiting to see if it fails?
>> 
>>    >>>Short of taking it apart, no, not really?  I've never heard of a
>>    rack failure from Wilkinson so I would sleep pretty soundly if I were
>>    you.
>> 
>>      > I take it that the boots should be packed with grease rather than
>>      oil?
>> 
>>    >>>It's not the boots, but rather the inner workings of the rack itself
>>    that need to be lubricated.  Whether one uses oil or lightweight moly
>>    grease is a matter for debate; what's positive is that if oil is used
>>    and the oil has leaked out, that's a bad thing. :<(
>> 
>>      >I'm sorry to miss out on the Fun Rally this year. I'll try to plan
>>      for next year!
>> 
>>    >>>You'll love it!
>>    Mike
>> 
>> _______________________________________________
>> 
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> 
-------------- next part --------------
   Yup,  I've only been an owner a month and Mike has made me feel part of
   the club already! What a guy!!  The club is lucky to have him!

   On May 13, 2015, at 4:39 PM, Boyd Casey <[1]boyd411 at gmail.com> wrote:

   Mike,
   When I first met Chris Difani he told me about this POCA member named
   Mike Drew who rebuilt steering racks for people as a hobby and just
   because he was a nice guy. I was more then a little skeptical (being
   from NYC,) where people generally don't do things for other people (
   especially when the thing they are doing is an expensive job.) But Low
   and behold over the years the stories of Mike drew rebuilding Racks for
   Pantera owners proved to be 100% accurate and that was only a small
   part of the story. This mystery man also transported parts all over the
   globe, when there was a part that you just couldn't find chances are
   Mike drew had it and he would sell it to you without gaffing you and on
   top of all of this he also wrote  articles for the Poca newsletter and
   could answer just about any question concerning DeTomaso history. And
   now you have become a television personality putting to rest the
   negative reputation that has haunted Panteras since 1971. I would like
   to take this opportunity to thank you for doing so much for so many so
   unselfishly. And now your lovely bride Lori has been enlisted to join
   you in your "good works" . POCA should take some of the reported
   $125,000 in the kitty to erect a monument to the Drew's for all they
   have done to promote our favorite Marque! Thank you Mike and Lori you
   two are the best and represent the epitome of what makes Pantera owners
   so special.
   Sincerely,
   Hugh Boyd Casey
   On Wed, May 13, 2015 at 1:09 PM, Mike Drew via DeTomaso
   <[2]detomaso at poca.com> wrote:

        In a message dated 5/12/15 22 33 50, [3]sjcarguy60 at yahoo.com
     writes:
          Thanks for sharing this information.  The '74 I just bought
     came
          with a stack of receipts from "Panteras by Wilkinson" in
     Southern
          California. One of the receipts from 2005 lists a rebuilt
     steering
          rack.  The receipt does not show the mileage but based on other
          receipts around the same time I estimate the mileage at about
     15,000
          at the time.
        >>>That seems absurdly low to rebuild the steering rack?  They
     don't
        normally start showing wear until 30K or more.  I suppose there
     is no
        harm in performing a lifetime fix before it *needs* to be fixed
     though.
          > The car now has about 24,000 miles.  When I was under the car
     I
          did notice the boots still look clean and new with no sign of
          leaking.
        >>>Which either means they are working as designed (they often
     do), or
        all the oil has leaked out already, or the rack has been rebuilt
     using
        grease instead of oil.
          >The car tracks straight without any wondering and I haven't
     noticed
          any noise. Is there any way to tell if it was properly done
     aside
          from waiting to see if it fails?
        >>>Short of taking it apart, no, not really?  I've never heard of
     a
        rack failure from Wilkinson so I would sleep pretty soundly if I
     were
        you.
          > I take it that the boots should be packed with grease rather
     than
          oil?
        >>>It's not the boots, but rather the inner workings of the rack
     itself
        that need to be lubricated.  Whether one uses oil or lightweight
     moly
        grease is a matter for debate; what's positive is that if oil is
     used
        and the oil has leaked out, that's a bad thing. :<(
          >I'm sorry to miss out on the Fun Rally this year. I'll try to
     plan
          for next year!
        >>>You'll love it!
        Mike
     _______________________________________________
     Detomaso Forum Managed by POCA
     Posted emails must not exceed 1.5 Megabytes
     DeTomaso mailing list
     [4]DeTomaso at poca.com
     [5]http://poca.com/mailman/listinfo/detomaso_poca.com
     To manage your subscription (change email address, unsubscribe,
     etc.) use the links above.

References

   1. mailto:boyd411 at gmail.com
   2. mailto:detomaso at poca.com
   3. mailto:sjcarguy60 at yahoo.com
   4. mailto:DeTomaso at poca.com
   5. http://poca.com/mailman/listinfo/detomaso_poca.com


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