[DeTomaso] SN 5533 - Mods information and photo file share
Asa Jay Laughton
asajay at asajay.com
Fri Jul 30 00:31:35 EDT 2021
Steve,
Wow. I ran through a large number of photos to see the end-result of
what you've done with 5533. Wow. You have really taken her to the next
level. Looking through all the photos, you have managed to tastefully
implement every item I had hoped to do "someday" but knew I'd never have
the time or money to. Your result looks awesome! I couldn't be happier
with how your team has improved the product and are now campaigning it
regularly with success.
Yes, the Pantera is not the be-all, end-all race car, but it's a great
looking car on the track, can hold it's own when properly prepared, is a
real crowd pleaser and is a blast to drive in the right kind of races.
Again, your team has done a fantastic job of creating a real head-turner
Pantera track vehicle. That is the car I would have built. Glad to see
you got it there. :)
With great sincerity,
Asa Jay
Asa Jay Laughton - W7TSC, MSgt, USAFR, Retired
Spokane County ARES-RACES-ACS EC/RO
******************************
https://w7tsc.org
https://www.teampanteraracing.com
On 7/28/2021 10:52, Steve Lisa wrote:
> All,A
> I have posted some of the photos we have gathered (there are many more)
> showing the modification history for SN5533 in its journey from Asa Jay
> to its current race trim.A I am happy to answer any questions.A There
> are many more photos in my son's (Tony) phone, which I am trying to
> coax out of him.A Here is the link to the file share:
> * [1]https://photos.app.goo.gl/c1NsfZraJ9cdbh5Q9
>
> Briefly, we started with the goal of making the Pantera an SVRA Gold
> Medallion Group 3 racer.A Initially, in the older folders and in the
> trim it raced in Portolan a few years ago, it was indeed limited
> strictly to only the "true" Group 3 mods as allowed as of 12/1972 FIA
> Group 3 specs.
> Our thought was that we have enough of the more modified race cars in
> the stable, and we wanted the Pantera to remain street legal and "out"
> of the more heavily modified categories of vintage racing (e.g., the
> notorious Group 6).A We have spent aA bunch of time racing in Group 6,
> and the cars are heavily modified with huge HP, etc.A We still do race
> in GroupA 6 and Group 10 with our appropriate cars.A But, the goal
> here was to get the Pantera into Group 3 - true early FIA racers.A
> Unfortunately, we quickly found out that a Pantera that was strictly
> compliant with the 12/1972 FIA Group 3 rules was not a fun (or even
> safe) car to drive.A So, we abandoned the goal of limiting the mods
> strictly to the 12/1972 FIA rules, and instead,A try to "walk the fine
> line" by making the mods that were "allowed" by the SVRA and other
> rules outside of Gold Medallion but within Group 3.A A
> When we signed up for the big WIC Challenge at Road America and
> submitted our specifications sheet for the Pantera, we were initially
> put in Group 6, which was incredibly disappointing.A However, when we
> arrived for technical inspection, we were promptly moved to Group 3.A
> Jack Woehrle -- the chief technical inspector for HSR, congratulated us
> on a build that was well within the Group 3 spirit, with only tasteful
> and safety-inspired mods.A Goal accomplished!
> Before getting to the technical mods, I want to say thank you to all
> the members of this forum that contributed to our build, answered my
> (often repeated) questions, showed up the races, and generally kept us
> motivated on the project.A I think we are close to done on the build
> SN5533-- we now intend to race the crap out of it.A We had a
> successful run at Road America a few weeks (first in class and 10th
> overall in Group 3).A Our next race for SN5533 is the Columbia River
> Classic in Portland September 4-5.A From there, we head to the
> Historic Daytona 24-hour classic.A We will bring two cars to Daytona,
> and the Pantera will probably run the HSR sprint races and not the full
> 24-hour race (which we will run in the Panoz GT2 endurance car).A A
> Here is the progression of mods that we made and the logic, and if sort
> the images in the folder by time you can see how the progression
> occurred.A Please feel free to ask any questions.A Also - I am sure
> there are some additional mods you will see in the images that are
> relatively minor and self-apparent (e.g., emergency off switch, some
> additional sensors/gauges, etc.).A Feel free to ask any questions.A
> The limited mods allowed (and made to SN5533) that were specified by
> the FIA as of December 31, 1972:
> 1. plexiglass rear window
> 2. Roll cage and bars to back towers
> 3. Moving the radiator catch can to accommodate the roll bar
> 4. racing seats
> 5. radio delete
> 6. internally adjustable (rebound) Koni shocks
>
> The additional mods also expressly allowed by SVRA Gold Medallion
> rules, and made by us to SN5533:
> 1. improved / modern seats
> 2. improvedA roll cage (driver/passenger intrusion, etc.)
> 3. fire system
> 4. removal of all glass (and glass systems) with replacement using
> plexiglass (except for front window).A [Note side plexiglass
> quarter windows]
>
> The SVRA also allows the following on theA PanteraA outsideA of Gold
> Medallion, which we made to SN5533:
> 1. AccusumpA
> 2. Weber carbs (or similar) and manifold
> 3. Period lip spoiler (must be mounted completely below the hub
> centerline)
> 4. Stock appearing aftermarket heads of correct material and plug
> location
> 5. Roller type camshaft and roller rocker arms
> 6. MSD type electronic ignition, must be triggered from distributor
>
> Additional mods were made to SN5533 that weA believed would not kick us
> out of Group 3.A Most of these mods were at some point allowed in the
> later Group 3 FIA rules:
> 1. 10" rear and 8" front wheels (initially Bassett wheels to test, but
> later purchased the Superlite's you see in the pics with custom
> backspacing)A
> 2. replacement fan for the radiator
> 3. brake ducting in the front
> 4. use of the '73 GTS Exhaust and hollowed mufflers
> 5. GTS front spoiler that is on the car with proper ducting
> 6. Smallest Wildwood brake, master cylinder, pedal upgrade
> (pre-approved by SVRA as safety upgrade)
> 7. bigger swaybars front and rear
> 8. Complete rewiring of the car, using as much of the original wiring
> and routing as possible, with upgraded fuse paneling
> 9. removal of a/c components
> 10. lowering of seats
> 11. A few spring rates for the F/R shocks
> 12. 10-quartA racing oil pan
> 13. Racing brake lines and racing fluid hoses
> 14. re-routing the oil cooler to back
> 15. upgraded racing radiator
> 16. cutting air holes in front bay and pinning/raising front hood 2
> inches
> 17. Additional bracing underneath rear top suspension points
> 18. stripping and repainting trunk
>
> Engine configuration - we have three engines for SN5533.A A
> 1. The original motor was rebuilt and put away with only dyno time.A
> We made no mods whatsoever to that engine, and do not intend to use
> it.A A
> 2. We have a second motor, which is a 351 Cleveland built to 1969 SCCA
> Trans-Am specs.A The build sheet has running at around 475 HP and
> 450 ft-lbs.A Unfortunately, when we put it in the car it felt soft
> with not great oil pressure.A You can see some of the pics of that
> motor in the car with the GTS exhaust system and gutted motors.A
> Sounded awesome, but ran poorly.A So, that motor was taken out and
> sent to our motor builder in Tucson (making our NASCAR motors).A
> TheA rebuild with further and better "oiling fixes" is nearly done
> on a complete rebuild with further upgrades, and will be our
> primary engine when done - but it very rowdy and loud with the GTS
> headers and gutted exhaust.A A
> 3. Our third motor is CLEVOR race motor that, frankly, is an awesome
> motor.A It has a ton of HP and torque (about 450 each), runs low
> (unstressed) RPM's (limited at 6000 rpm) and works just fine (so
> far).A We are running the CLEVOR with the 100% stock 1973 exhaust
> system.A It is an easy motor to drive, streetable, quiet, but
> raceable.A That is what we ran at Road America to a top speed of
> 145 mph on the front straight and a low time of 2:36.A The engine
> was welcome in HSR Group 3 -- again, mission accomplished.A
>
> Transaxle - we have two transaxles for SN5533
> 1. The original ZF, which we sent out for rebuild to our desert
> transaxle builder.A He said the condition was a-ok.A So, we are
> currently racing the ZF.A I am not anxious to continue racing the
> original ZF for SN5533.
> 2. So, we have a Quiaffe ZF that I bought many years ago for our CAV
> GT40 race car.A We have had it flipped for use in the Pantera.A
> We are looking to engineer and complete that swap early next
> year.A
>
> A A Finally, we also paid attention to the following article written
> years ago by Mike Drew:
> GROUP 3A PANTERA
> While a Group 4A PanteraA is a dedicated, purpose-built race car that
> usedA PanteraA architecture but a unique chassis and suspension, the
> FIA Group 3 rules were far more restrictive, as the FIA intended for
> this class to consist solely of essentially stock, unmodified
> production sports cars.A Initially, modifications from standard,
> production-car specification were few, mostly relating to pure safety
> issues, but after a few years, as the series evolved, the list of
> allowable modifications grew for all cars competing in Group 3.
> Unlike the Group 4 Panteras which were built utilizing special
> components, all Group 3 Panteras were constructed from ordinary,
> production-line European Panteras.A As they were all built to
> individual customer order, itas difficult to generalize about them.A
> Furthermore, the nature of bespoke De Tomaso automobiles makes it even
> more difficult to differentiate between different models, since it was
> possible for any European customer to order each of the components used
> to create a Gr3A PanteraA directly from the factory, and modify a
> standard car to that specification after the fact and then race it.A A
> It was also possible to order a Euro GTS and then have it built with
> all the Gr3 components at the factory.A So there is a very fine line
> between a factory-built Gr3 race car, a Euro GTS fitted with Gr3
> components, and a race car converted to Gr3 specs by a private party.A
> While the De Tomaso factory public relations personnel are extremely
> helpful, and are capable of answering a query to determine if a
> specific car was constructed as a Gr3, at this time they donat have a
> complete list of all Gr3 cars made, but they have committed to
> researching the information for the next edition of the De Tomaso
> registry.
> The process of building a Gr3A PanteraA started in the engine room.A
> De Tomaso certified the Gr3A PanteraA with either a standard cast-iron
> intake manifold and Motorcraft carburetor, or an optional aluminum Ford
> manifold with a Holley R-4777 650 cfm manual-secondary carburetor.A
> The stock oil pan was replaced with a large (8 liter on early cars, 10
> liter on later cars) pan with an integral windage tray and an optional
> removable chassis cross member.
> Standard exhaust manifolds, and later European GTS exhaust headers were
> fitted (consisting of 4-into-2-into-1 headers with a 2 1/2 inch
> collector), and the 2 1/2 inch tailpipes fed into either
> low-restriction ANSA GTS mufflers, or the so-called Gr3 mufflers
> (GTS-style muffler cans with no internals, and hence no sound-reduction
> capabilities.)A Finally, the entire muffler assemblies could be
> deleted and replaced by simple straight exhaust pipes.A One would hope
> the engines were thoroughly checked over and received careful
> blueprinting and hand-assembly at the factory, but there is no evidence
> the De Tomaso engine-builders werenat simply affixing these bolt-on
> parts to otherwise-standard engines.
> The radiator was unmodified, although optional 8-bladed fans replaced
> the standard units. The chassis received only subtle tweaks
> initially.A The same Ariston adjustable shocks fitted to conventional
> Panteras were standard on the Gr3 version, but there were two levels of
> Koni shock upgrades available.A The first featured internal rebound
> adjustment only, while the top-of-the-line shocks had a threaded
> aluminum body with ride-height adjustment, and external controls for
> compression and rebound adjustment, with over 100 different
> combinations available.A The top-of-the-line shock package cost an
> additional $1,000 back in 1973, quite a serious investment when you
> consider you could buy an entire streetA PanteraA for under $10,000!
> The Gr3 Panteras were equipped with the same springs as the European
> GTS, with only one optional spacer listed (presumably for rally
> cars.)A The steering rack was repositioned using spacers to alleviate
> bump-steer concerns, but the control arms and sway bars were the same
> as those fitted on production Panteras.
> The brakes consisted of standardA PanteraA calipers squeezing
> ventilated discs measuring 282mm in diameter and 20mm thick, and
> actuated by a standard master cylinder; this was a common option for
> Euro GTS Panteras as well.A Standard 7- and 8-inch Campagnolo wheels
> and Michelin radial XWX 185/70 and 215/70 tires were fitted.
> In 1974, the FIA approved further modifications to the suspension.A
> The rear hub carriers and front spindles were replaced by heavier Group
> 4 units, and the brakes were changed by using a larger master cylinder,
> larger cast-iron three-piston front calipers with 288mm x 31.75mm front
> rotors, and larger cast-iron three-piston rear calipers with standard
> GTS vented rotors and stronger axles with heavy-duty wheel
> studs.Although similar in appearance, these were not the same brakes as
> used on the Group 4 Panteras, but this system later became standard
> issue on the GT5 and GT5-S.A Small auxiliary rear calipers with their
> own small pads were used for the parking brake.
> The stock sway bars were replaced with an adjustable system,
> philosophically similar to, but mechanically different from, the
> adjustable bars featured on the Group 4 Panteras.A The then-common
> 10-inch Campagnolo Euro GTS wheel was allowed for fitment in the rear,
> and 8-inch wheels were issued for the front.
> The interior of the Gr3A PanteraA was surprisingly mundane.A Earlier
> cars had the two-pod dashboard, while later cars received either the
> one-piece molded USA L-model dashboard, or the similar-appearing
> two-piece upholstered Euro GTS dashboard; all were fitted with metric
> gauges and European switchgear.A The stock seat belts were retained
> with a race harness installed for the driver only, and the
> standardA PanteraA seats were supplanted by one-piece racing bucket
> seats, the same as those in the Group 4 Panteras.
> (Interestingly enough, these one-piece racing seats were actually
> constructed from the remains of the prototypeA Panteraas radical
> apicket fencea seats.A Those seats consisted of a sheetmetal frame,
> fitted with yellow foam blocks.A Visually striking, but judged by Ford
> as being too weird for the marketplace, they never went into
> production.A As De Tomaso had already produced many of these frames,
> they simply upholstered them with light padding and turned them into
> race car seats.)
> Heavily padded bolsters, as used in the Group 4 cars, were sometimes
> fitted to the door panels on one or both sides.
> On some cars, the ignition switch was later relocated from under the
> dashboard to the middle of the center console, behind the ashtray, and
> within easy reach of the driver while he was belted in.A A fire
> extinguisher was bolted to the floor in front of the passenger seat.
> The USA-model steering wheel was standard equipment, but buyers had the
> option of fitting theA three-spoke Euro GTS Momo Prototipo wheel or
> the smaller Group 4 Momo Prototipo wheel instead.A Interestingly, the
> Gr3 Panteras were sold with full heating and air conditioning, electric
> windows, a radio aerial bolted to the roof, and a pair of speakers
> installed in the center kick panels (one in front of the gas pedal, and
> the other pointing into the passenger footwell), but no radio was
> included.A Air horns were also optional.
> The plexiglass rear window and six-point roll cage of the Group
> 4A PanteraA were standard issue in the Gr3 cars as well.A Furthermore,
> the front engine cover was modified to allow easy access to the front
> of the engine without requiring the removal of the entire back panel
> (which would have required removal of the roll cage!)
> Cosmetically, the Gr3 Panteras slowly changed as the production
> Panteras changed.A Early Gr3 cars carried standard two-piece front and
> rear bumperettes.A After the introduction of the L-modelA Pantera,
> some Gr3 cars were equipped with early-style front bumperettes
> incorporating the front turn signals, while others had European L-model
> bumperettes with the turn signals residing in the standard L-model pods
> on the underside of the front fenders.A Turn signal lenses were either
> clear with a colored bulb, or bi-color with an amber and a clear
> section.
> Some cars retained two-piece rear bumperettes while others received the
> European L-model one-piece rear bumper (which was the same as the USA
> L-model bumper, except that instead of being mounted on hydraulic rams,
> it was mounted on solid brackets, considerably closer to the caras
> body.)A Both front and rear bumpers on Gr3 cars were normally chrome.
> There were various driving and fog light packages issued; some cars
> received Carello fog lights, while others received massive lighting
> arrays for nighttime rally racing.A For the first few years, a simple
> flat blade front spoiler with cooling ducts for the front brakes was
> installed while later cars got a miniature air dam (also a common
> option on the post-1976 European GTS) and small, riveted-on GTS flares.
> Apparently few of the Gr3 cars received the Euro GTS paint scheme, with
> a blacked-out front hood and rear decklid and blacked-out rocker
> panels.A The Gr3A PanteraA shown in the factory brochure and postcards
> is solid yellow.A In most cases, the European GTS rocker panel decal
> (which said aDe Tomasoa in large letters, then had the words aPanteraa
> in smaller script, above the word aGTSa) was used, but modified to
> delete the mention of aGTS.a
> As with the Group 4 cars, rubber tie-downs were used to secure the
> front hood and rear decklid, although unlike the Group 4, the sheet
> metal was standard steel instead of aluminum.A An external battery
> cut-off switch without a removable key was fitted to the right front
> fender; the same switch was mounted on the Group 4 cars.
> The documentation on racing Panteras is sketchy at best; itas difficult
> to say exactly how many were built.A At least one owner claims that
> his Gr3 is one of only 10 cars produced by the factory, but the De
> Tomaso Registrary now lists at least 13 claimed Gr3 cars (although itas
> possible that some of those were converted from regular production
> Panteras.)A A A
> Regards,A
> Steven G. Lisa, Esq.
> The Law Offices of Lisa & Lesko, LLC
> Email: SteveLisa at PatentIt.comA
> Direct: 480-442-0297
> [2]www.PatentIt.com
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>
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-------------- next part --------------
Steve,
Wow. I ran through a large number of photos to see the end-result of
what you've done with 5533. Wow. You have really taken her to the
next level. Looking through all the photos, you have managed to
tastefully implement every item I had hoped to do "someday" but knew
I'd never have the time or money to. Your result looks awesome! I
couldn't be happier with how your team has improved the product and are
now campaigning it regularly with success.
Yes, the Pantera is not the be-all, end-all race car, but it's a great
looking car on the track, can hold it's own when properly prepared, is
a real crowd pleaser and is a blast to drive in the right kind of
races.
Again, your team has done a fantastic job of creating a real
head-turner Pantera track vehicle. That is the car I would have
built. Glad to see you got it there. :)
With great sincerity,
Asa Jay
Asa Jay Laughton - W7TSC, MSgt, USAFR, Retired
Spokane County ARES-RACES-ACS EC/RO
******************************
[1]https://w7tsc.org
[2]https://www.teampanteraracing.com
On 7/28/2021 10:52, Steve Lisa wrote:
All,A
I have posted some of the photos we have gathered (there are many more)
showing the modification history for SN5533 in its journey from Asa Jay
to its current race trim.A I am happy to answer any questions.A There
are many more photos in my son's (Tony) phone, which I am trying to
coax out of him.A Here is the link to the file share:
* [1][3]https://photos.app.goo.gl/c1NsfZraJ9cdbh5Q9
Briefly, we started with the goal of making the Pantera an SVRA Gold
Medallion Group 3 racer.A Initially, in the older folders and in the
trim it raced in Portolan a few years ago, it was indeed limited
strictly to only the "true" Group 3 mods as allowed as of 12/1972 FIA
Group 3 specs.
Our thought was that we have enough of the more modified race cars in
the stable, and we wanted the Pantera to remain street legal and "out"
of the more heavily modified categories of vintage racing (e.g., the
notorious Group 6).A We have spent aA bunch of time racing in Group 6,
and the cars are heavily modified with huge HP, etc.A We still do race
in GroupA 6 and Group 10 with our appropriate cars.A But, the goal
here was to get the Pantera into Group 3 - true early FIA racers.A
Unfortunately, we quickly found out that a Pantera that was strictly
compliant with the 12/1972 FIA Group 3 rules was not a fun (or even
safe) car to drive.A So, we abandoned the goal of limiting the mods
strictly to the 12/1972 FIA rules, and instead,A try to "walk the fine
line" by making the mods that were "allowed" by the SVRA and other
rules outside of Gold Medallion but within Group 3.A A
When we signed up for the big WIC Challenge at Road America and
submitted our specifications sheet for the Pantera, we were initially
put in Group 6, which was incredibly disappointing.A However, when we
arrived for technical inspection, we were promptly moved to Group 3.A
Jack Woehrle -- the chief technical inspector for HSR, congratulated us
on a build that was well within the Group 3 spirit, with only tasteful
and safety-inspired mods.A Goal accomplished!
Before getting to the technical mods, I want to say thank you to all
the members of this forum that contributed to our build, answered my
(often repeated) questions, showed up the races, and generally kept us
motivated on the project.A I think we are close to done on the build
SN5533-- we now intend to race the crap out of it.A We had a
successful run at Road America a few weeks (first in class and 10th
overall in Group 3).A Our next race for SN5533 is the Columbia River
Classic in Portland September 4-5.A From there, we head to the
Historic Daytona 24-hour classic.A We will bring two cars to Daytona,
and the Pantera will probably run the HSR sprint races and not the full
24-hour race (which we will run in the Panoz GT2 endurance car).A A
Here is the progression of mods that we made and the logic, and if sort
the images in the folder by time you can see how the progression
occurred.A Please feel free to ask any questions.A Also - I am sure
there are some additional mods you will see in the images that are
relatively minor and self-apparent (e.g., emergency off switch, some
additional sensors/gauges, etc.).A Feel free to ask any questions.A
The limited mods allowed (and made to SN5533) that were specified by
the FIA as of December 31, 1972:
1. plexiglass rear window
2. Roll cage and bars to back towers
3. Moving the radiator catch can to accommodate the roll bar
4. racing seats
5. radio delete
6. internally adjustable (rebound) Koni shocks
The additional mods also expressly allowed by SVRA Gold Medallion
rules, and made by us to SN5533:
1. improved / modern seats
2. improvedA roll cage (driver/passenger intrusion, etc.)
3. fire system
4. removal of all glass (and glass systems) with replacement using
plexiglass (except for front window).A [Note side plexiglass
quarter windows]
The SVRA also allows the following on theA PanteraA outsideA of Gold
Medallion, which we made to SN5533:
1. AccusumpA
2. Weber carbs (or similar) and manifold
3. Period lip spoiler (must be mounted completely below the hub
centerline)
4. Stock appearing aftermarket heads of correct material and plug
location
5. Roller type camshaft and roller rocker arms
6. MSD type electronic ignition, must be triggered from distributor
Additional mods were made to SN5533 that weA believed would not kick us
out of Group 3.A Most of these mods were at some point allowed in the
later Group 3 FIA rules:
1. 10" rear and 8" front wheels (initially Bassett wheels to test, but
later purchased the Superlite's you see in the pics with custom
backspacing)A
2. replacement fan for the radiator
3. brake ducting in the front
4. use of the '73 GTS Exhaust and hollowed mufflers
5. GTS front spoiler that is on the car with proper ducting
6. Smallest Wildwood brake, master cylinder, pedal upgrade
(pre-approved by SVRA as safety upgrade)
7. bigger swaybars front and rear
8. Complete rewiring of the car, using as much of the original wiring
and routing as possible, with upgraded fuse paneling
9. removal of a/c components
10. lowering of seats
11. A few spring rates for the F/R shocks
12. 10-quartA racing oil pan
13. Racing brake lines and racing fluid hoses
14. re-routing the oil cooler to back
15. upgraded racing radiator
16. cutting air holes in front bay and pinning/raising front hood 2
inches
17. Additional bracing underneath rear top suspension points
18. stripping and repainting trunk
Engine configuration - we have three engines for SN5533.A A
1. The original motor was rebuilt and put away with only dyno time.A
We made no mods whatsoever to that engine, and do not intend to use
it.A A
2. We have a second motor, which is a 351 Cleveland built to 1969 SCCA
Trans-Am specs.A The build sheet has running at around 475 HP and
450 ft-lbs.A Unfortunately, when we put it in the car it felt soft
with not great oil pressure.A You can see some of the pics of that
motor in the car with the GTS exhaust system and gutted motors.A
Sounded awesome, but ran poorly.A So, that motor was taken out and
sent to our motor builder in Tucson (making our NASCAR motors).A
TheA rebuild with further and better "oiling fixes" is nearly done
on a complete rebuild with further upgrades, and will be our
primary engine when done - but it very rowdy and loud with the GTS
headers and gutted exhaust.A A
3. Our third motor is CLEVOR race motor that, frankly, is an awesome
motor.A It has a ton of HP and torque (about 450 each), runs low
(unstressed) RPM's (limited at 6000 rpm) and works just fine (so
far).A We are running the CLEVOR with the 100% stock 1973 exhaust
system.A It is an easy motor to drive, streetable, quiet, but
raceable.A That is what we ran at Road America to a top speed of
145 mph on the front straight and a low time of 2:36.A The engine
was welcome in HSR Group 3 -- again, mission accomplished.A
Transaxle - we have two transaxles for SN5533
1. The original ZF, which we sent out for rebuild to our desert
transaxle builder.A He said the condition was a-ok.A So, we are
currently racing the ZF.A I am not anxious to continue racing the
original ZF for SN5533.
2. So, we have a Quiaffe ZF that I bought many years ago for our CAV
GT40 race car.A We have had it flipped for use in the Pantera.A
We are looking to engineer and complete that swap early next
year.A
A A Finally, we also paid attention to the following article written
years ago by Mike Drew:
GROUP 3A PANTERA
While a Group 4A PanteraA is a dedicated, purpose-built race car that
usedA PanteraA architecture but a unique chassis and suspension, the
FIA Group 3 rules were far more restrictive, as the FIA intended for
this class to consist solely of essentially stock, unmodified
production sports cars.A Initially, modifications from standard,
production-car specification were few, mostly relating to pure safety
issues, but after a few years, as the series evolved, the list of
allowable modifications grew for all cars competing in Group 3.
Unlike the Group 4 Panteras which were built utilizing special
components, all Group 3 Panteras were constructed from ordinary,
production-line European Panteras.A As they were all built to
individual customer order, itas difficult to generalize about them.A
Furthermore, the nature of bespoke De Tomaso automobiles makes it even
more difficult to differentiate between different models, since it was
possible for any European customer to order each of the components used
to create a Gr3A PanteraA directly from the factory, and modify a
standard car to that specification after the fact and then race it.A A
It was also possible to order a Euro GTS and then have it built with
all the Gr3 components at the factory.A So there is a very fine line
between a factory-built Gr3 race car, a Euro GTS fitted with Gr3
components, and a race car converted to Gr3 specs by a private party.A
While the De Tomaso factory public relations personnel are extremely
helpful, and are capable of answering a query to determine if a
specific car was constructed as a Gr3, at this time they donat have a
complete list of all Gr3 cars made, but they have committed to
researching the information for the next edition of the De Tomaso
registry.
The process of building a Gr3A PanteraA started in the engine room.A
De Tomaso certified the Gr3A PanteraA with either a standard cast-iron
intake manifold and Motorcraft carburetor, or an optional aluminum Ford
manifold with a Holley R-4777 650 cfm manual-secondary carburetor.A
The stock oil pan was replaced with a large (8 liter on early cars, 10
liter on later cars) pan with an integral windage tray and an optional
removable chassis cross member.
Standard exhaust manifolds, and later European GTS exhaust headers were
fitted (consisting of 4-into-2-into-1 headers with a 2 1/2 inch
collector), and the 2 1/2 inch tailpipes fed into either
low-restriction ANSA GTS mufflers, or the so-called Gr3 mufflers
(GTS-style muffler cans with no internals, and hence no sound-reduction
capabilities.)A Finally, the entire muffler assemblies could be
deleted and replaced by simple straight exhaust pipes.A One would hope
the engines were thoroughly checked over and received careful
blueprinting and hand-assembly at the factory, but there is no evidence
the De Tomaso engine-builders werenat simply affixing these bolt-on
parts to otherwise-standard engines.
The radiator was unmodified, although optional 8-bladed fans replaced
the standard units. The chassis received only subtle tweaks
initially.A The same Ariston adjustable shocks fitted to conventional
Panteras were standard on the Gr3 version, but there were two levels of
Koni shock upgrades available.A The first featured internal rebound
adjustment only, while the top-of-the-line shocks had a threaded
aluminum body with ride-height adjustment, and external controls for
compression and rebound adjustment, with over 100 different
combinations available.A The top-of-the-line shock package cost an
additional $1,000 back in 1973, quite a serious investment when you
consider you could buy an entire streetA PanteraA for under $10,000!
The Gr3 Panteras were equipped with the same springs as the European
GTS, with only one optional spacer listed (presumably for rally
cars.)A The steering rack was repositioned using spacers to alleviate
bump-steer concerns, but the control arms and sway bars were the same
as those fitted on production Panteras.
The brakes consisted of standardA PanteraA calipers squeezing
ventilated discs measuring 282mm in diameter and 20mm thick, and
actuated by a standard master cylinder; this was a common option for
Euro GTS Panteras as well.A Standard 7- and 8-inch Campagnolo wheels
and Michelin radial XWX 185/70 and 215/70 tires were fitted.
In 1974, the FIA approved further modifications to the suspension.A
The rear hub carriers and front spindles were replaced by heavier Group
4 units, and the brakes were changed by using a larger master cylinder,
larger cast-iron three-piston front calipers with 288mm x 31.75mm front
rotors, and larger cast-iron three-piston rear calipers with standard
GTS vented rotors and stronger axles with heavy-duty wheel
studs.Although similar in appearance, these were not the same brakes as
used on the Group 4 Panteras, but this system later became standard
issue on the GT5 and GT5-S.A Small auxiliary rear calipers with their
own small pads were used for the parking brake.
The stock sway bars were replaced with an adjustable system,
philosophically similar to, but mechanically different from, the
adjustable bars featured on the Group 4 Panteras.A The then-common
10-inch Campagnolo Euro GTS wheel was allowed for fitment in the rear,
and 8-inch wheels were issued for the front.
The interior of the Gr3A PanteraA was surprisingly mundane.A Earlier
cars had the two-pod dashboard, while later cars received either the
one-piece molded USA L-model dashboard, or the similar-appearing
two-piece upholstered Euro GTS dashboard; all were fitted with metric
gauges and European switchgear.A The stock seat belts were retained
with a race harness installed for the driver only, and the
standardA PanteraA seats were supplanted by one-piece racing bucket
seats, the same as those in the Group 4 Panteras.
(Interestingly enough, these one-piece racing seats were actually
constructed from the remains of the prototypeA Panteraas radical
apicket fencea seats.A Those seats consisted of a sheetmetal frame,
fitted with yellow foam blocks.A Visually striking, but judged by Ford
as being too weird for the marketplace, they never went into
production.A As De Tomaso had already produced many of these frames,
they simply upholstered them with light padding and turned them into
race car seats.)
Heavily padded bolsters, as used in the Group 4 cars, were sometimes
fitted to the door panels on one or both sides.
On some cars, the ignition switch was later relocated from under the
dashboard to the middle of the center console, behind the ashtray, and
within easy reach of the driver while he was belted in.A A fire
extinguisher was bolted to the floor in front of the passenger seat.
The USA-model steering wheel was standard equipment, but buyers had the
option of fitting theA three-spoke Euro GTS Momo Prototipo wheel or
the smaller Group 4 Momo Prototipo wheel instead.A Interestingly, the
Gr3 Panteras were sold with full heating and air conditioning, electric
windows, a radio aerial bolted to the roof, and a pair of speakers
installed in the center kick panels (one in front of the gas pedal, and
the other pointing into the passenger footwell), but no radio was
included.A Air horns were also optional.
The plexiglass rear window and six-point roll cage of the Group
4A PanteraA were standard issue in the Gr3 cars as well.A Furthermore,
the front engine cover was modified to allow easy access to the front
of the engine without requiring the removal of the entire back panel
(which would have required removal of the roll cage!)
Cosmetically, the Gr3 Panteras slowly changed as the production
Panteras changed.A Early Gr3 cars carried standard two-piece front and
rear bumperettes.A After the introduction of the L-modelA Pantera,
some Gr3 cars were equipped with early-style front bumperettes
incorporating the front turn signals, while others had European L-model
bumperettes with the turn signals residing in the standard L-model pods
on the underside of the front fenders.A Turn signal lenses were either
clear with a colored bulb, or bi-color with an amber and a clear
section.
Some cars retained two-piece rear bumperettes while others received the
European L-model one-piece rear bumper (which was the same as the USA
L-model bumper, except that instead of being mounted on hydraulic rams,
it was mounted on solid brackets, considerably closer to the caras
body.)A Both front and rear bumpers on Gr3 cars were normally chrome.
There were various driving and fog light packages issued; some cars
received Carello fog lights, while others received massive lighting
arrays for nighttime rally racing.A For the first few years, a simple
flat blade front spoiler with cooling ducts for the front brakes was
installed while later cars got a miniature air dam (also a common
option on the post-1976 European GTS) and small, riveted-on GTS flares.
Apparently few of the Gr3 cars received the Euro GTS paint scheme, with
a blacked-out front hood and rear decklid and blacked-out rocker
panels.A The Gr3A PanteraA shown in the factory brochure and postcards
is solid yellow.A In most cases, the European GTS rocker panel decal
(which said aDe Tomasoa in large letters, then had the words aPanteraa
in smaller script, above the word aGTSa) was used, but modified to
delete the mention of aGTS.a
As with the Group 4 cars, rubber tie-downs were used to secure the
front hood and rear decklid, although unlike the Group 4, the sheet
metal was standard steel instead of aluminum.A An external battery
cut-off switch without a removable key was fitted to the right front
fender; the same switch was mounted on the Group 4 cars.
The documentation on racing Panteras is sketchy at best; itas difficult
to say exactly how many were built.A At least one owner claims that
his Gr3 is one of only 10 cars produced by the factory, but the De
Tomaso Registrary now lists at least 13 claimed Gr3 cars (although itas
possible that some of those were converted from regular production
Panteras.)A A A
Regards,A
Steven G. Lisa, Esq.
The Law Offices of Lisa & Lesko, LLC
Email: [4]SteveLisa at PatentIt.comA
Direct: 480-442-0297
[2]www.PatentIt.com
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