[DeTomaso] MY NEW 74 PANTERA

[Asa Jay Laughton]

Ian,
Congratulations!  With a little bit of work and not that much money, I'm 
sure you'll have a car worthy of an every day drive before too long, if 
that is your desire.

Many great recommendations already.  Here are mine.

Don't drive on those tires.  If you want to keep them, that's okay, 
either pick up a set of spare Campy wheels or buy after markets but 
don't drive on those tires.  I know where you can get a set of 7" and 8" 
Campy's if you need.

Change the oil right away and have an oil analysis done.  My preferred 
vendor is Blackstone Labs https://www.blackstone-labs.com/
Order up a free kit and pay when it's analyzed.

Switch to a good oil.  Many opinions on this.  Mobile 1 and Amsoil 
Signature are two good brands.

Take the carb off, give it a good soak in carb cleaner, buy a kit for it 
at your local Napa and put it back together.  Take all the numbers you 
can find on the carb with you.  They won't be able to look up a Pantera 
(most likely) but can work with carb numbers pretty well.  My guess is 
that's the biggest issue.  However, -do- check for vacuum leaks.

The brake booster, as indicated earlier, runs a larger vacuum line from 
the front trunk, down under the car alongside the coolant tubes and back 
up the engine to the intake.  The should be a metal pipe transition in 
between the front and rear.  The hose is not easy to replace and might 
not be an issue.  Also check all other ports on the carb and any hoses 
attached.  Doug Braun had a good procedure for checking.  Get of set of 
various size vacuum caps while your at Napa, they come in handy for 
troubleshooting.

Grab a can of carb clean in a spay can too.  You -can- use other stuff 
but carb clean works well.  While running the engine, spray it around 
the manifold where it meets the heads.  If you get a change in RPM, then 
you may have an intake-to-head leak. That entails removing the intake to 
reseal with new gaskets, but I'm doubting you really need to do that.

Replacing the intake and carb is a matter of personal preference and is 
-not- necessary to get the car running and driving like a good 
performance car.  I ran with the stock intake and a replacement Holley 
625 for years.  However, I will emphatically state that when I went to 
the Blue Thunder intake with a Holley 750... OMG, it really woke it up.  
Note, I also had some other magic things in that engine too.  ;)

Do a basic tune-up.  Buy new spark plugs, 8mm wires, cap, rotor and 
points, you won't be sorry unless they were just recently replaced. A 
quick and easy ignition upgrade is to get a Pertronix module. 
https://pertronixbrands.com/products/pertronix-71281-ignitor-iii-adaptive-dwell-control-multiple-spark-with-digital-rev-limiter-ford-8-cyl?variant=31797275394084
It's what I used for years and very much enjoyed it.  No more messing 
around with points -and- it has a built-in rev limiter (something my 
heavy right foot needed, yes, I have stories).

Let's talk about brakes. Being able to go fast is nothing.... if you 
can't stop.  Flush and refill the entire brake system from the master 
all the way through each caliper on each corner.  While you are there, 
inspect the pads.  If worn, most folks running stock brakes will buy 
form Porterfield.
Fronts:  https://www.porterfield-brakes.com/Product/3208.html
Rears:  https://www.porterfield-brakes.com/Product/3904.html
Be sure to -phone- in your order and specify you need the pins installed 
on the rear pads.  You -will- need to trim the pins down to size (grind 
or file) but they -are- needed to prevent the piston from rotating and 
essentially nullifying your braking power in the back.  More information 
on that is available from this group when you get to that point.

I'd recommend a flush and refill of the cooling system as well. That can 
be a real chore, so just let this group know when you are about to 
embark on that one and you'll get a lot of good advice on how to do it.

Change the air filter, unless it's been changed recently.

I'd also recommend draining and refilling the ZF, but maybe wait on that 
as long as the car is shifting well right now.  More opinions on the 
right kind of oil to use there too.  When you are ready to tackle that 
one, just pipe up here. :)

That should give you a pretty good punch list of things to look at and 
take care of a little at a time.  You are going to enjoy the journey.
:)

Asa Jay

Asa Jay Laughton - W7TSC, MSgt, USAFR, Retired
Spokane County ARES-RACES-ACS EC/RO
******************************
https://w7tsc.org
https://www.teampanteraracing.com

On 1/15/2022 13:35, Ian Deffebach via DeTomaso wrote:
>     That makes me feel good! I just bought my 1st 74 Pantera, paid 136,000
>     plus $1500 to have it shipped to me in Texas. Previous owner claims it
>     has 7500 original miles and now that I have it and checked it out, I
>     believe it? However, he also claims that it was sitting for 10 years,
>     and I believe that too. Won't idle? feels like it has a vacuum leak,
>     took for a drive ran pretty well but every time a came to a stop it
>     would start to die (lot of heel and toeing). Took it easy as it has the
>     original Arriva Goodyears 48 years old on it, ran cool for a while then
>     got up to 230 before I got it back to the house, guess it par for the
>     course 48-year-old super car.
>       Everything is original! where would you start manifold gaskets, carb,
>     drain the coolant ?
>     Ian Deffebach
>     Owner, Deffebach Trucking
>     818-472-9655
>     | "An asset based company."
>     [7243690c-3537-43c1-be25-d8471a8633b7.png]
>
>
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