DeTomaso Mailing List: July 99, Message #236

Hello All!

Thanks for all the suggestions so far. I've heard foil side toward the
inside and I've heard foil side the other way. My take: there will be
none of that (well, almost). Someone else suggested that I Dynamat the
skin of the door first (after POR-ing it), then apply the foil/foam it.
Apparently the combo is suppose to attenuate high and low frequencies of
sound. I can buy that. Essentially, a bandstop filter. Cool! In the
meantime, I'm biding my time (or should I say, biting my nails).

Looking at the cat, there are more nit-noid stuff to take care of. While
I'm waiting for the POR and Dynamat to come in, I continuing cleaning up
whatever tarry stuff is left. I'm going to have to deal with the rust
that is also inside several hard to reach places. Trying to get that off
as much surface rust as possible. I'm hoping that a solid application of
the POR will arrest all of that stuff but who knows? Still, it's worth
doing to me. After that is done, I'm hanging the Hall mirrors on and
wiring up my homebrew armrest/radio dash combination. Before mounting
that into the cat, I'm going to have the armrest upholstered to
something that matches the interior of the Pantera (after I remove the
el-cheapo especial radio tape deck that only rewinds in one direction
and plug it up with a repro Pantera black out panel). I'm making the
armrest in the following manner: Integral VDO clock on a brushed
alodined aluminum plate with hexagonal screws to set it into a black
krinkle glove leather armrest with the Kenwood stereo system (mounted
into an instrument case) facing the driver (me) at a proper angel. All
no holes bolting/mounting.  Ought to be "bitchin' ". I've already lined
up a Kenwood sound system and eyed the Hall overhead speaker system.
Something tells me, however, that I can fabricate that unit too, saving
me another $200.

Continuing on, the forward trunk needs refreshing. A little surface rust
on the inside and the that black velvet cloth is getting tattered. Also,
I was missing the battery hold down bracket and hardware. Got the Hall
bracket yesterday and found out it didn't fit the Eveready that is
currently installed. So Optima, here I come. The black rubber matting
that covered the battery base is disentegrating and has to come off.
This looks fairly replaceable so no problem there. The biggest "problem"
is removing the brake system and refreshing the proportioning valve and
some of the stainless hardline so it looks decent. After that, more POR
and a redux of new black velvet cloth on the front trunk. I'm cleaning
up the wiring that was partially finished with the installation of the
new radiator core.

The old carb needs to come out. I'm seriously taking a look at a
list-members Edelbrock and that new Demon carb. I haven't decided yet
but I do know that the Holley 4778-2 is shot and is going. Don't want to
rebuild something that is dripping fuel.

Continuing on, I took a look from at the back of the cat. It looks like
the tops of the tires may be ever so slightly pointing inside more than
the bottoms. It needs that camber adjusting cross brace. That's also
going to come on sometime during this resto. I'll probably follow on
with a brace kit sometime later in the future.

Then,  fabricating a machined stock of aluminum plate 1/4" thick to
cover the hole in that Piloto steering wheel I found sometime ago.
Making my own "reverse plastic" black and gold Isis symbol to crown the
achievement. Adding an extra horn button to match so I can have "honk
capability". I heard someone was using a Ferrari horn during the last
PCNC tech session. I might have to try that. How much does a 308 horn
cost anyway?

Finally,  few more tasteful exterior refinements once I paint up the
doors and take care of all the scratches. Oh yeah, Mike, you were right:
those Apollo (or is it Hercules?) fasterner holes in the trunk
fiberglass shell unit weren't installed. I'm going to the local
canvasser, grabbing a bag, and putting them on the shell. I also know of
a source for these fasteners. My amateur radio Collins equipment uses
the same stuff. And, I have radio connections for these restoration
tidbits. Ain't it great to have hobbies that intersect?

I'm gunning for August 26-29 as my completion date for this first phase
of restoration. Dates should be obvious: Laguna Seca here I come! (Also,
I'll unveil the cat to my parents who don't know I purchased her yet).
Now back to work. Cal. #2428.