DeTomaso Mailing List: June 98, Message #108

This subject being fresh in my mind as this is final sand and prime week,
so far I have found original leading in the area holding the latch for
the doors.  Also a significant amount on the tops of the doors just below
the window.  In this case used to align the horizontal plane of the door
the the front fender and rear quarter.  So far, all the lead has been
under all the paint colors, so it's original.
George
#3790

On Thu, 4 Jun 1998 19:26:46 +0000 Debbie Terry <GT5S@erols.com> writes:
>
>
>JDeRyke@aol.com wrote:
>
>> In a message dated 6/3/98 1:31:41 PM, wstevens@snsgraphics.com 
>wrote:
>>
>> < where the
>> rear deck lid fits to the body, specifically in the relative area of 
>the gas
>> filler.>>
>>
>> You may be right- there might be a lot of Panteras carrying leaded 
>bodywork,
>> but I doubt it came from the factory. As I said, our Sept '72L car 
>had up to
>> 1/2" of Bondo/plastic filler inside the channel in this area, not 
>lead, under
>> the original paint. The Jan '72 NZ car was described as having 
>extensive lead
>> on the outside of the body panels near this area, I believe. Lead 
>takes a
>> great deal of skill to apply properly, is more time-consuming to use 
>and costs
>> much more even when bought in bulk. I seriously doubt if Vignale 
>A.G. used
>> lead in Pantera body production except for the well known spot-areas 
>below the
>> tail lights. J DeRyke
>
>  I've got to agree with David. I have seen numerous Panteras at a 
>friends
>restoration shop after being stripped. The Italian body men use lead 
>exclusively
>and extensively for filling and leveling. I have even seen a length of 
>1/8"
>acetylene welding rod attached along the edge of the rear quarter 
>adjacent to the
>line of the deck lid with some stand-offs about 1/4" long. This 
>welding rod was
>used as a guide for the lead work that was applied to bring the 
>quarter in line
>with the deck lid. On my GT5-S lead is still used at the factory as a 
>filler and
>surfacer around the windshield.
>    My friend fabricates and welds in steel filler pieces where the 
>fill area
>exceeds about 1/8". I would recommend the same and then use a good 
>plastic filler.
>Lead is has a different expansion coefficient than steel and will 
>eventually show
>hair line cracking. When I worked in a body shop after high school, 
>plastic
>fillers were just being developed and had a problem adhering. This and 
>the
>tendency to apply them too thick gave these fillers a bad name. This 
>is not the
>case today. As far as lead goes, it is difficult to work if you don't 
>know how. I
>can still work it quite well but prefer the plastics.
>    Fred Terry
>
>
>

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