Racing Against Autism

A Brief History

The DeTomaso Pantera is a mid-engine Italian exotic hybrid originally made in Italy and sporting a Ford 351 Cleveland powerplant. The Pantera was sold through Ford's Lincoln-Mercury dealerships from 1971 to 1974. Although commonly mistaken for a Ford, the Pantera was manufactured by DeTomaso in Modena, Italy.

Ford terminated their contract with DeTomaso in 1974 but DeTomaso continued to develop and sell the Pantera up until 1996; however, later models were difficult to purchase in the United States due to import restrictions. One man took on the market after 1974 to bring the Pantera to America, his name was Kirk Evans and the company he founded to import the Pantera was called Amerisport Industries.

Kirk developed a smog system for the Pantera to pass the new DOT and EPA standards. Each incoming Pantera from Italy had to have an engine fit to it, as all the imported cars came without one. This venture of importing Panteras after the Ford years did not last as long as the factory made them. Even so Kirk developed many accessories and improvements that are still sought after today. Kirk is still in business providing parts, service and good advice to Pantera owners.

Many other businesses in the United States also continue to support the Pantera with parts and service. These vendors continue to keep the DeTomaso Pantera on the road. In addition to the vendors, the premier club for Pantera owners is the Pantera Owners Club of America (POCA), of which Asa Jay has been a member for over 10 years.

POWER:

The Pantera is powered by a Ford 351 Cleveland engine coupled to a German ZF 5-speed transmission. The entire assembly is mounted behind the driver with the differential integrated with the transmission and driving two half-shafts to the rear wheels mounted on independent suspension. This arrangement results in less parasitic loss from the engine to the rear wheels, resulting in more horsepower reaching the road. Weight distribution is nearly 50/50, actually about 48/52, giving the Pantera good balance on the road. With it's wide low stance coupled with some good sticky tires, the Pantera can corner like it was on rails. Unleashing the raw potential of the driving experience in this car is not for the feint of heart.

Asa's Pantera is a 1973 L model. The L stood for "Lusso" or Luxury. An updated single pod dashboard and larger front and rear bumpers set the L models apart from their earlier cousins. A few additional detail items are different as well but the underlying mechanical platform is virtually unchanged.

Factory differences in the 1973 model include a bump-steer kit that overcame corning problems, and in 1973 the Ford 351C engine was slightly de-tuned for new emission standards. Thus the 1973 is slightly less powerful than the earlier model but nonetheless fun to drive.

Asa acquired his Pantera in 1999 from the estate of the original owner. The car came available through the University of Southern California, as the owner has willed his entire estate to them. Read the full story of how Asa purchased his Pantera on his personal web site.

This Pantera was about as stock as they come. The original owner used the car as an everyday driver for many years. He also took the car in for regular maintenance, keeping nearly all his receipts for 20 years. When Asa took delivery of the Pantera, the only non-stock items he could find were the Holley carburetor and the CNC clutch master cylinder. The carb he later found out had been installed after the original Motorcraft 4300D carburetor had been rebuilt three times, according to the receipts. The clutch master had been replaced during a mechanical inspection prior to advertising the car for sale. The rest of the engine appeared to be stock with no major tear down services shown in the receipts.

Here are the stock specs from the Window Sticker:

• - 1973 Pantera L 2-door Coupe
• - White
• - Air Conditioning
• - Magnesium Sport Wheels
• - 351C-4V Engine
• - 5-Speed Transmission
• - Power Disc Brakes - 4 Wheel
• - Power Windows
• - Tinted Glass - Complete
• - Full Instrumentation

Total Price $9,110.00 - in 1973

Technology has advanced since the Pantera was first introduced in 1971. The last Panteras rolled out of the factory in 1996 and still there are things that can be done to the Pantera to improve its performance. Asa has endeavored to make logical improvements to the car in order to maintain its road worthiness and driving experience. Here are some of the things he's done to the car so far.

• Improved cooling by adding an aftermarket Fluidyne Aluminum radiator.
• Removed the stock electric "pusher" radiator fans and replaced them with a pair of higher efficiency electric "sucker" fans mounted behind the radiator.
• Replaced the CNC clutch master cylinder with a stock unit.
• Added a bronze bushing in the steering rack, to replace the worn nylon bushing, preventing the rack from flexing and causing steering problems.
• Replaced all the a-arm bushings and ball joints.
• Added greasable sway bar mounts.Replaced the stock engine starter with a higher torque, lower current starter.
• Replaced the stock water pump with a higher efficiency Flow Kooler.
• Replaced all the cooling hoses with Gates Green Stripe or Napa equivalent.
• Replaced all the stock rubber engine valve stem seals with new ones.
• Added sheepskin seat covers.
• Added DeTomaso logo floor mats donated by another Pantera owner.
• Added a Rick Mosley relay kit.
• Resurfaced flywheel.
• New clutch pressure plate and disc.
• New stainless steel cooling tubes.
• New long-throw clutch slave cylinder.

Many of these maintenance items and improvements are documented in Asa's photo album on the Team Pantera Racing web site.

When Asa made the decision to race the Pantera for a while, partially fulfilling the dream of most boys to go fast in a cool sports car, there were many things he needed to do in order to get the car to pass tech inspections -and- be safe to drive in racing events. To that end, he reviewed rule books for various events and began making improvements to the car so it would pass tech, be safe and comfortable to drive.

The highest priority is safety, so most improvements are in that vein. In addition, there are a few things he's worked on to improve the performance of the car. Here is a list of items that have been accomplished or are in process of being worked.

• 7/8" rear sway bar, with sphere-ball mounts at the ends.
• Rear uprights rebuilt by Kirk Evans of Amerisport Industries.
• Rebuilt all brake calipers.
• Stainless braided flex brake lines to the calipers.
• Porterfield R4S brake pads.
• Roll Cage.
• Race Harnesses.
• Safety wired ring gear (in transmission/differential)
• Heater hose shut-off valves (in engine compartment)

Here are some planned future modifications and installs:

• Battery disconnect switch.
• On-board Fire extinguishing system.

Many of these race improvements are documented in Asa's photo album on the Team Pantera Racing web site.