[DeTomaso] Sad news about Pandora & my planned attendance at the Fun Rally

[Mike Drew]

Chris,

This is an infuriating read. 

If you had spent just a fraction of the time high you wasted writing that big missive instead asking for help, you would have got it.  Years ago, in answer to this same issue from somebody else, I wrote:

The idler pulley bearing can make one hell of a racket.   You can buy a 
replacement bearing, then press (or have a machine shop press) the old bearing 
out and the new bearing in.   But the bearing is expensive, and labor adds 
further to the cost.   

Your local NAPA auto parts store has a replacement pulley with bearing, 
ready to bolt on, that costs less than the cost of just a replacement bearing 
for your old pulley.   It is slightly larger in outside diameter, but 
otherwise functions identically and allows the use of the same-size belt.   

Part number is Duralast 231036.   Cost is about $13-15 if memory serves, 
while just a replacement bearing for your old pulley is more like $25, and you 
haven't started paying machine shop costs.   

Fortunately it’s not too late. It literally takes minutes to install this new pulley. If you get your act together tomorrow morning, you can be ready to leave for the Fun Rally by noon. 

Make it happen!  You owe me a free soda already for the thermostat and gasket I sent, and I want to collect! :)

Mike



Sent from my iPad

> On Jun 5, 2023, at 15:02, Christopher Kimball <ChrisVKimball at msn.com> wrote:
> 
>    Hi all,
> 
>   I was planning on attending the Fun Rally this year and looking forward
>   to keeping a journal of the preparation, the journey, the experiences
>   while at the rally, and the trip home.
> 
>   Unfortunately, I only got as far as the first part.
> 
>   For those of you with a lot of time on your hands, here is the first
>   section of what I had hoped would be a fun article for one of the
>   Profiles magazines.  Now it will just be another unfinished symphony!
> 
>   Sincerely,
> 
>   Chris
> 
>   The Pitfalls and Perils of Pretty Pandora
> 
> 
>   After an extended hiatus, Pandora is itching to attend another POCA Fun
>   Rally.  I knew she'd need some work before she was ready, so beginning
>   in May of 2022 I began delving into what should be done for her (and
>   me) to feel confident we could make the trip.
> 
> 
>   First:  New tires.  I prefer the look of 15" wheels, albeit with wider
>   tires, but trying to find tires with the proper speed rating in that
>   size proved challenging.
> 
> 
>   For the rear tires I ended up finding 295-50-15 Avons from England.  I
>   like things from England because that's where my mom is from.  That
>   makes me half English, so it makes sense that half of Pandora's tires
>   are English.  The fronts, 255-50-15s were new old stock by
>   Pirelli--Pirelli no longer makes that size.  Fortunately, the Pirelli's
>   were only a couple of years old and I was assured by the dealer they
>   had been stored correctly and were as good as new.  But Pirellis are
>   Italian.  I'm not half Italian, so there goes my nationality analogy.
> 
> 
>   The gear oil hadn't been changed in probably 10 years, so Mike Thomas,
>   President of Panteras Northwest, graciously invited Pandora and me to
>   his garage where he showed me the finer points of gear oil
>   extraction.  He mentioned perhaps now I should think of a new name for
>   my Pantera, rather than Pandora, since the story of Pandora's Box has
>   some negative connotations, what with all the demons the box
>   unleashed.
> 
> 
>   I told him I would consider it.
> 
>   The next day I started thinking of alternative names for my beloved
>   Pantera while gazing at her beautiful engine.  As I pondered, the
>   decklid began to close and bonked me on the head.  The decklid struts
>   had failed and needed to be replaced.
> 
> 
>   Then the clutch master cylinder failed.
> 
> 
>   And I had to replace the ball joints.
> 
> 
>   And the stereo began acting up.
> 
> 
>   I also noticed that when raising the headlights a sound was emitted
>   resembling an angry Wookie.
> 
> 
>   And the driver's side headlight's high/low beam system wasn't working
>   correctly.
> 
> 
>   And, occasionally, the tachometer decided to take a nap.
> 
> 
>   And the Dakota Digital fan relay no longer worked.
> 
> 
>   No, I think I'll just keep the name Pandora.
> 
> 
>   Throughout all the de-bugging, PNW secretary Doug Braun was immensely
>   helpful.  Often, Brian Devine, another PNW member would join us,
>   offering additional help and moral support.  As mentioned, PNW
>   President Mike Thomas also donated a lot of his time to helping get
>   Pandora ready for the Reno Fun Rally.
> 
> 
>   I've heard the trick in keeping a beautiful Italian woman happy is to
>   shower her with gifts.  My wife is a very understanding spouse, and
>   complains only slightly as I provide Pandora with all sorts of
>   expensive trinkets. For example, Doug helped me install new sway-bar
>   mounts.  They are beautiful pieces of art, inscribed with the DeTomaso
>   logo.  Besides Doug and I, Pandora is probably the only other one who
>   knows about them or will ever see them.
> 
> 
>   I also replaced the gold side graphics which had graced Pandora's
>   rocker panels years before.  Women like gold.
> 
> 
>   This may be a little too personal to share, but I even spent over
>   $2,000 giving Pandora a clear bra.  Risque, I know.   It covers her
>   entire front, and even a little behind the rear wheels.  I figured
>   driving to Reno warranted a little extra paint protection.  I'll never
>   forget on my way to a previous Fun Rally, experiencing for the first
>   time the scourge of well-painted cars everywhere:  The dreaded
>   tumbleweed.  Hitting one of those did serious damage to my paint, and
>   even though a clear bra may not completely shield my new paint from
>   damage, it might help a bit if I encounter another such fiend.
> 
> 
>   Although Metal Magic in Tacoma, WA did a great job applying the gold
>   graphics and clear bra, I discovered a problem.  When trying to put a
>   large basked of flowers in the passenger seat (a Mother's day gift to
>   my wife--yes, I do occasionally get her gifts, too) the passenger door
>   refused to open.  It turned out someone had tried to open the door
>   while it was locked, and used such force as to break off the arm of the
>   handle inside the door.  As a side note, putting a large, floral,
>   hanging basket on the passenger seat of a Pantera is quite challenging
>   when doing it from the driver's side.  I'll be picking petrified flower
>   petals from between the seats for years.
> 
> 
>   I took apart the door, and with a lot of help from the DeTomaso forum
>   determined what I needed to do to repair the damage.  I was able to get
>   some used parts from Larry, my fellow POCA member who lives in
>   California.  A few other items I ordered from one of our Pantera
>   vendors.  I paid extra for shipping so I would get the parts quickly,
>   but they arrived several days late.  Apparently, they were on a train
>   which derailed.  Pandora strikes again!
> 
> 
>   The weather in the Pacific Northwest is known for being
>   wet.  Therefore, when the sun does come out, it's a great excuse to
>   take one's collector car for a drive.  It happened we were graced with
>   such a day, so I decided to take Pandora to my Rotary Club
>   meeting.  All was well until while driving home I noticed the heat
>   gauge moving into the red.
> 
> 
>   The water temperature gauge supplied from the DeTomaso factory is
>   notoriously inaccurate, so years ago I added an additional gauge which
>   gets its signal directly from the engine block rather than the swirl
>   tank, the source for the stock gauge.  But even my secondary gauge was
>   moving upward at an alarming rate.
> 
> 
>   I was getting very nervous.  I have a fear of overheating
>   engines.  Maybe my fear of overheating engines has to do with an
>   embarrassing memory.  When I was young and rather irresponsible, I was
>   driving with my girlfriend in my 1970 Toyota Sprinter.  We were on the
>   freeway, and I was paying far more attention to the girl than the car,
>   so I didn't notice the red light on the dash.  Moments later, however,
>   I did notice the car losing power and the engine seizing.  Can you say,
>   "water in the oil?"  We were stranded for some time, and that little
>   mishap cost a poor college student a lot of money!
> 
> 
>   But back to today...  Fortunately, halfway home from the Rotary meeting
>   the temperature suddenly returned to normal.  I knew I couldn't risk
>   driving to Reno with an intermittent cooling problem, so once again I
>   asked the forum for help.  The most consistent answer I got was Pandora
>   was suffering from a stuck thermostat.
> 
> 
>   Although everyone assured me replacing a thermostat was an easy job, I
>   felt ill-equipped to do it alone, so I again prevailed upon Doug,
>   Brian, and Mike for help.  The following Saturday they converged on my
>   garage, bringing all sorts of tools, jacks, testing equipment, and
>   more.
> 
> 
>   There was much discussion on the forum concerning which thermostat and
>   gasket to use, but I was pretty sure I had ordered the correct
>   parts.  Just in case, Mike brought an extra gasket.  His doing so
>   turned out to be prescient, as you'll see.
> 
> 
>   I removed the firewall hump and the thermostat cover was easily
>   accessible.  "Wow--this should be easy," I thought.  WRONG!  As we
>   began loosening the bolts holding the cover in place, we discovered the
>   rear bolt couldn't be removed because the flange on the Edelbrock
>   aluminum head extended too far over the location of the bolt!
> 
> 
>   We realized the only way we could remove the bolt was to literally
>   hacksaw off a piece of the aluminum.  Mike graciously volunteered to
>   take his life into his hands and travel to the closest Harbor Freight
>   located in a sketchy part of town.  There he purchased a hacksaw kit
>   which he felt could do the job.
> 
> 
>   Mike returned safely and we all took turns sawing the
>   aluminum.  Eventually we managed to remove enough of the medium to
>   extract the bolt, and the old thermostat and gasket were removed.
> 
> 
>   As we began to install the new unit, I noticed the gasket was
>   protruding on one side of the thermostat. Upon closer inspection it
>   turned out the gasket wasn't the correct shape--the ears seemed out of
>   alignment.  I remember a kid in grade school with the same problem.
> 
> 
>   As I mentioned, Mike had the foresight to bring an extra gasket, and
>   even though it came in the same exact packaging as the one I purchased
>   from Summit, the gaskets were different.  We installed Mike's and it
>   worked perfectly.  I am going to demand a full refund of $27.95 from
>   Summit for the faulty gasket!  Actually, I did, and they cheerfully
>   refunded me about $15.00.  I guess they don't refund shipping costs.
>   At least, that's what I thought.  When I wrote a review of my
>   transaction with them, I included the lack of shipping reimbursement.
>   Strangely enough, a week or so after that I got a second refund from
>   Summit--for the shipping!
> 
> 
>   Another interesting Pandora-esque discovery--when draining some of the
>   coolant in preparation for the thermostat switch, we discovered the
>   coolant mix was practically 100% coolant!  To replace the fluid we
>   drained during the operation we needed to add only water to achieve the
>   preferred 50/50 blend.
> 
> 
>   While Mike, Brian, and I were working on the thermostat, Doug was
>   busing troubleshooting the driver's side headlight problem.  What he
>   found was strange, and very Pandora-like.  On the driver's side
>   headlight, not only were both the high and low beams constantly on, the
>   high beam seemed to be getting its power from the parking light
>   circuit.  He surmised there was some kind of mix-up in the fuse
>   box.  Although we didn't have time to solve the problem completely,
>   Doug disconnected the high-beam wire so at least I can operate the car
>   with both of the low beams operating correctly.  With the amount of
>   road rage that's out there these days, driving with one's high beams
>   always on could be hazardous to one's health!
> 
> 
>   Doug, Brian, Mike, and I had been working on the thermostat replacement
>   and headlight problem since the morning, and the day was almost
>   over.  We were all pretty tired, and I was starting to get a little
>   frustrated with all the ongoing issues Pandora was handing me.  I got
>   in the car to move her back into the garage, turned the ignition key,
>   and...nothing.  The entire system was dead.  Now what?
> 
> 
>   After yet more troubleshooting we found the ground-lift switch
>   (installed years ago) was faulty.  For no apparent reason, it just
>   decided to quit.  Go belly-up.  Start pushing up the
>   daisies.  Terminate.  Die.  Shuffle off this mortal
>   coil.  Break.  Fizzle.  Deteriorate.  Go wrong.  Hit the skids.  Go
>   south.  Expire.  Stop working.
> 
> 
>   Frankly, by that point I was about ready to do the same!  I was glad
>   the guys were there to offer that last bit of moral support I needed as
>   I worked on the wiring to bypass the no-longer-functioning
>   switch.  Once that was done, Pandora roared to life and things began to
>   look a bit brighter.
> 
> 
>   I had also been trying to figure out why my Dakota Digital fan relay
>   system was failing to turn on my third radiator fan.  I called Dakota
>   Digital's tech help line, and the general consensus was, "It's
>   busted."  I added a manual switch to turn on the fan so at least I
>   could use that if needed on my trip to Reno and back, in case a new
>   unit wouldn't arrive in time.  However, the new unit I ordered arrived
>   in just a few days (I'm guessing via another mode of transportation
>   other than by train).  By the way, I'd like to thank Forest Goodhart
>   for his advice.  He spent some time on the phone helping me decide on
>   the best solution.
> 
> 
>   A week or so later, the door handle parts arrived and I successfully
>   reassembled the mechanism.  Does this mean I can say I finally got a
>   handle on Pandora?
> 
> 
>   Not quite.
> 
> 
>   As I backed out of the garage to work on the door handle, to my
>   frustration I saw two puddles of antifreeze. That's not a sight anyone
>   wants to see.
> 
> 
>   I think my displeasure seeing anti-freeze harkens back to another
>   embarrassing memory.  The first really nice car I had was a Cadillac
>   Seville STS with the Northstar engine.  I was really proud of that car
>   (and you know what they say pride goeth before).  I was taking a good
>   friend and fellow car-guy around town in my big, fancy Cadillac to
>   various establishments where cool cars were on display, and I was
>   beaming with pride the entire time.  Beaming, that is, until we came
>   out of one of the businesses to find a large pool of antifreeze flowing
>   from the bowels of the Northstar.
> 
> 
>   It's always a humbling experience to see one's car being loaded onto a
>   flatbed tow-truck.
> 
> 
>   As far as my Pandora pooling problem, that evening I jacked up the car,
>   examined the underside and found a small leak coming from the petcock
>   at the base of the radiator.  Hoping against hope the fix would be as
>   simple as it appeared, I used pliers to gently tighten the petcock just
>   a little bit.
> 
> 
>   I sprang out of bed the next morning as if it were Christmas and I was
>   five years old.  I couldn't wait to see if Santa brought me a dry
>   floor.  Amazingly, there wasn't a drop of anti-freeze anywhere in
>   sight.  It was a Christmas miracle in May!
> 
> 
>   Since the new Dakota Digital fan controller had arrived, and since my
>   petcock fix was so successful, I thought I should tackle the fan
>   project, too.
> 
> 
>   I installed the new Dakota Digital box and after calling the nice techs
>   at Dakota Digital--their customer service is wonderful--I was able to
>   get the unit calibrated.  I wasn't sure what kind of sending unit I had
>   since it was installed over a decade ago, so we had to guess a bit when
>   making the adjustments.
> 
> 
>   To determine if the fan controller would work correctly I took Pandora
>   for an extended drive.  All three fans worked perfectly and things were
>   going swimmingly until my nose began to detect something.
> 
> 
>   They say a dog's sense of smell is a million times more sensitive than
>   a human's, but it didn't take a canine snout to realize something,
>   ostensibly made of rubber, was melting.  Judging from the amount of
>   smoke I saw in my rear-view mirror it was melting fast!
> 
> 
>   I was close to home so I figured I should risk it and try to get there
>   as soon as I could, rather than be stuck on the side of the
>   road.  Also, I reasoned, if before I arrived home the car did catch on
>   fire and burn to a crisp, at least I'd have some insurance money!  I'M
>   KIDDING!  That thought process is dangerously close to insurance fraud
>   which I would never condone.  Getting on the wrong side of the law is
>   never fun.  My aversion to doing things which are illegal is probably a
>   result of another embarrassing memory.  But since it's only a memory
>   and nothing can be proven because all the records have been expunged,
>   rather than sharing it with you now, I'll just carry on with my Pandora
>   story.
> 
> 
>   Because I was nervous about the smoke coming from the engine bay, I
>   didn't pay close attention to negotiating the edge of our
>   driveway.  Thanks to my carelessness, I entered the driveway at a
>   90-degree angle from the horizontal dip running along the front edge,
>   and succeeded in cracking the front air dam.  Did I say dam?  I think
>   that could be what I yelled at that point.
> 
> 
>   I stopped the car, pulled out the trunk and looked for the charred
>   carnage.  But there was no sign of any trouble.  In fact, even the
>   smell was gone.  As I pondered this Pandora mystery, my wife came out
>   of the house, pointed at the driveway behind the car and said, "What's
>   that?"
> 
> 
>   What it was, was the remains of the alternator belt which had melted in
>   half.
> 
> 
>   Why it self-destructed, I didn't know.  Since I was supposed to be
>   leaving for the Reno trip in less than 2 weeks, and because one can
>   only call up so many favors from Pantera friends before one becomes
>   "that guy" no one wants to hang out with anymore because he is so
>   needy, I decided to take Pandora to my regular car shop (Total
>   Performance in Tacoma) to have them replace the belt and hopefully
>   determine the cause of the failure.  I mean, belts just don't suddenly
>   snap without a reason.  For example, there's a very good reason my
>   wardrobe belts have been snapping recently; I'm 40 pounds overweight!
> 
> 
>   After a few days in the shop I got a call that the belt had been
>   replaced and I could retrieve the car.
> 
> 
>   You know what's worse than having a mechanical failure and discovering
>   one's car has a major problem?  Having a mechanical failure and not
>   finding one's car has a major problem--or any problem at all!
> 
> 
>   The mechanics could find no reason why the alternator belt should
>   fail.  They ran the car with and without the A/C on, they checked the
>   alternator for seizing (it spun freely), and the pully alignment seemed
>   just fine.  They suggested I drive locally for a few days and then
>   again have them visually inspect the belt to see if there were any
>   tell-tale signs of what might be lurking in the dark recesses of the
>   engine bay which could wreak such havoc on my poor belts.
> 
> 
>   The folks at Total Performance did observe that one side of the broken
>   belt was very worn and melty-looking (my term, not theirs) but couldn't
>   determine the cause.  I suppose the belt and the pulley could have
>   gotten into a political argument--that would have caused some
>   friction!
> 
> 
>   The next day I drove to Centralia, about 60 miles south of University
>   Place, to visit my mom and one of my sisters who was visiting her for
>   the weekend.  My mom, who is 92, said she heard me driving through the
>   retirement community where she lives, and could tell it was a Pantera
>   and "not a delivery truck."  Bless her heart, she is always interested
>   in my Pantera exploits and was worried about my upcoming trip to Reno
>   with a car that has been unpredictable, to say the least.  But what is
>   a mom to do if not worry?
> 
> 
>   The good news is Pandora made the trip down and back with no
>   drama.  Upon arriving in Centralia I took off the bulkhead cover to see
>   if I could see evidence of any calcitrant belt activity.  Peering into
>   the engine bay I couldn't see anything wrong with the belts, but did I
>   notice a bit of black dust.  Had it sloughed off a belt?  I couldn't
>   tell if it was leftover residue from the belt that died or new dust
>   from a belt which was misaligned.  For all I know, maybe that's normal
>   for new belts and I shouldn't worry.  But what's a Pantera owner to do
>   if not worry?
> 
> 
>   Since ignorance is bliss I didn't look again once I returned
>   home.  Anyway, I was scheduled to take the car back to Total
>   Performance the following Monday to let them inspect it.  I figured I'd
>   rely on their judgement to give me the green light (or red light, as
>   the case may be) concerning the Reno trip.
> 
> 
>   Plus, I was planning to drive to Brian Devine's house after my visit to
>   Total Performance so we could reinstall the belly pan which wasn't put
>   back in place during the car's restoration.  I probably wouldn't bother
>   with it except the motor drips oil, and the only thing more
>   embarrassing than a car wearing a diaper is a car not wearing one and
>   ruining someone's floor.  I figured while at Brian's place I could also
>   get a second opinion from him concerning the road-worthiness of
>   Pandora.
> 
> 
>   The other thing which was a nagging concern was the high-pitched whine
>   coming from the motor.  It almost sounded as if someone snuck into my
>   garage one night and installed a supercharger.  As great as that would
>   be, I no longer believe in Santa Clause (despite my Christmas miracle
>   mentioned earlier), and my wife probably wouldn't want me to be able to
>   drive any faster than I already do, so there's undoubtedly a different
>   reason for the sound.  I hoped the guys at Total Performance and/or
>   Brian would know what was up.
> 
> 
>   I went to Total Performance this morning, and the good news is they
>   didn't see anything wrong with the belts. The bad news is I pressed
>   them on the whine (get it--pressed, wine?) so they used their
>   stethoscope and determined the whine was coming from the idler pulley
>   on the belt which connects the water pump to the engine.
> 
> 
>   It turns out whining is bad, and I could lose my bearings.  I think my
>   wife would say the exact thing about some of her interactions with me.
> 
> 
>   I removed the pulley and took it to my local NAPA store where they
>   pressed out the bearing and looked for a replacement.  Alas, the
>   bearing which I had purchased probably 15 years ago was an odd size
>   they couldn't match.  Another Pandora mystery!
> 
> 
>   I called many places and drove to more than a few, but no luck.  The
>   width of my bearing was 14mm and apparently the current in-vogue size
>   is 12mm.  I called Pantera Performance, where I had purchased the
>   original bearing, and Dennis said he was sure he could get me something
>   which would work--and he could even overnight it to me.  But alas, I
>   was supposed to leave in less than 24 hours, so there's no way I could
>   get the part in time for the trip.
> 
> 
>   So, unfortunately, and with great disappointment, I've made the
>   difficult decision to miss yet another Fun Rally.  Sure, I could drive
>   down in another vehicle, but the only car I currently have which is
>   drivable is my 1987 Fiero GT, and its oil pressure gauge is acting very
>   strange, so I don't really trust it.  Pontiac may have built
>   excitement, but engine trouble in the middle of the desert isn't the
>   kind of excitement I relish!  My Cadillac is in the shop after sliding
>   down an ice-covered driveway into the side of a building (major repairs
>   needed), my Mini is being worked on due to a couple of problems, and my
>   wife needs to use our SUV for normal living-type activities.  If I
>   tried to take my V-Max to Reno, I'd have to stop every 100 miles for
>   gas, and after riding that far I don't think my posterior would ever
>   forgive me!
> 
> 
>   One positive note, I stopped by Metal Magic (the place who did the
>   clear bra and broke my door handle) and they insisted on reimbursing me
>   for the cost of all the parts I had to buy to repair the handle.  I
>   thought that was pretty nice of them.
> 
> 
>   I hope everyone enjoys themselves at the POCA Fun Rally.  As for me--I
>   guess there's always next year!
> _______________________________________________
> 
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