DeTomaso Mailing List: July 97, Message #2
     



From: "S. Martin" <smmartin@u.washington.edu>

Subject: Re: Hot starting troubles solved (and what I learned at the autocross)

Date: Tue, 1 Jul 1997 08:20:03 -0700 (PDT)



Andy, I have rust over the muffler like you, mostly of the left side.  I

have it on top and bottom, the mounting bracket for the muffler came loose

from the body because the metal was weak from rust.  I don't know if the

heat from the mufflers is causing this?



The chipping around the rear deck lid is from the body twisting, the only

way to stop this is a stiff roll cage, which will help your handling.



Scott Martin

n



On Tue, 1 Jul 1997, Andy Poling wrote:



> Here's how I fixed my hot starting problems: I took my kitty autocrossing.

> 

> Well, OK... not exactly, but I did discover the problem in a roundabout way

> at the autox.

> 

> On my second run after an ugly curved slalom the car went dead.  No power,

> no gauges, etc.  The battery had come loose from the tie-down clamping bar

> and had consequently pulled the positive cables out of the battery post

> clamp.  That explained the lack of juice.

> 

> What I discovered afterward, though, was that carefully attaching the

> battery cables to the battery post clamp restored my starter to a happy

> cranker under all conditions (I ran four straight heats - 12 full-tilt runs

> - in near-100 F temps with nary a starting problem).  No more worries about

> hot starting at all!

> 

> I'd visually inspected this connection before, but I should have unbolted

> everything and re-connected it to be sure.  now I know that.

> 

> It'll cost you nothing to try this.  Just be careful not to short the

> positive battery post to the car in while you're at it.  Removing the

> negative cable while you're messing around is a really good idea.

> 

> For what it's worth...

> 

> Other things I discovered at the autox:

> 

> 	- the braided lines for the Wilwood brakes (from PPC) will rub on

> 		the rims at full lock and make loud horrible noises if not

> 		routed very carefully (not yet completely solved)

> 

> 	- the (significantly) wider front brake rotors in the PPC kit leave

> 		about a millimeter clearance between the rotor and the lower

> 		ball joint.  The brake shield must fit into this narrow

> 		space (my mechanic spent some time just making it fit).

> 

> 	- my right front 245/45 tire is rubbing the inner fenderwell at full

> 		lock and kissing the outer fender lip on bumps.

> 

> 	- my left rear 335/35 tire is rubbing the inner fenderwell at the

> 		top under load.  Incidentally this is the opposite corner to

> 		the front rubbing.  hmm...

> 

> 	- I found rust in an unlikely (I think) location.  In the left rear

> 		corner behind the inner fender well and halfway up - right

> 		in the middle of that large sort of triangular mostly flat

> 		area directly above the muffler.  Isn't that a strange area

> 		for rust?  It's not yet showing much, but you can feel it

> 		when you knock... (five different experienced Pantera people

> 		missed this when they inspected the car for rust - I found

> 		it by chance because the flat black paint there is beginning

> 		to blister)

> 

> 	- I have the chipping problem from the rear deck lid at the right

> 		rear corner of the body but not the left.  I forget... what

> 		can be done to minimize this?

> 

> 	- the Woodhouse/Gehling adjustable swaybars really are and can, in

> 		fact, be adjusted (with just an allen wrench) in a couple of

> 		minutes once you've muddled through the process once.

> 

> 	- the Woodhouse/Gehling adjustable swaybars are actually adjustable

> 		enough that you can offset a great deal of the natural

> 		understeer of the car (especially with 335/35 tires in back)

> 		so that trailing throttle oversteer is a gradual and

> 		enjoyable thing.

> 

> 	- you can run a semi-tight autocross course almost entirely in first

> 		gear and provoke throttle-induced oversteer at will even with

> 		335/35 BFG R-1's on the rear.

> 

> 	- the steering is too slow and we don't have sufficient caster for a

> 		semi-tight autocross course - you'll tear up your arms (and

> 		hands) dialing in lock in both directions repeatedly

> 

> 	- if you bring a Pantera to an autocross, you will garner a great

> 		deal of attention from competitors and spectators alike

> 		(especially if you usually compete in a Miata) :-)

> 

> -Andy

> #3822

> 

> PS - I've forgotten how to adjust the original shocks - how do you do that

> again?

> 

> 72 Pantera: wicked fast      91 Miata: easy fast      96 A4Q: surprisingly fast

>                              84 RZ350: scary fast

> 

> 





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