GTE Visit # 2

I went to Gran Turismo East (GTE) again to get my tires put on and the car aligned. Tires went on fine and look great (see below). During tire installation, I was informed that my steering rack has some issues and needs to be rebuilt before they can align the car. I also had some issues with the fuel system. After driving about 8 miles, the car just died when I slow down to stop. It idles like a champ but for some reason, it died...3 times....in the middle of intersections where i blocked traffic until I got it started. Oh...and the brake lights no longer work.... Oh...and the fan belts started to squeak. So next items on the pantera are:
1.) Rebuild the steering rack
2.) Get the car aligned
3.) Track down fuel issue
4.) Fix Brake Lights
5.) Replace fan belts
6.) Replace fuel lines....why not?

Interior Work: Steering Wheel

I located a reproduction of the steering wheel cover. Man..this steering wheel is just ugly. I might want to change to a different style. I also put in the trunk mat as well:

New Tires Are Here!

A fellow pantera owner had some spare rear Toyo Proxes 295-50-15's that I bought. Check out these meats! Off to GTE to get them on!

CARB replacement

While I was at GTE for the alignment I noticed that the car was running rich. When we examined the carb, we realized it was a frankenstein of a couple different carbs! I didn't feel like rebuilding a carb with different bowls vs body, etc. So I went out to summit racing and bought a 750 CFM ULTRA DOUBLE PUMPER from Holley. Here are the pictures:

Alignment and Brakes: Gran Turismo Vist #1

I brought my car to Gran Turismo East here in Atlanta to have them double check my brake work and align the car. As they were checking out the brakes, they confirmed for me that the tires, although they have lots of tread, are toast. In fact the front right tire is coming apart. They didn't want to do the alignment with the old tires. So now I have to find rear tires that fit a 15 inch rim. Very tough stuff! Here is a pic of the car on their lift:

Wash, Wax and Detail

This is just a quick post. I spent DAYS washing, waxing and detailing the car. You will see the clay bar below and how much crap was on the paint. The paint buffed up really nice. The engine compartment was rediculously nasty. It was like they took a can of goop, rubbed it all around then forgot to take it off. I scrubbed and scrubbed. It came off just fine. Here are some pics:

Electrical WOOPS

I was disconnecting the battery and my wrench fell across both posts! This resulted in shorting out the voltage regulator. I discovered this as the alternator was trying to blow up my battery :) Anyway, replacement was pretty simple. You have to contort yourself a bit to get to the voltage regulator on the rear wall. I took the opportunity to clean up some of the acid residue that the previous owner just left. Rust isn't bad at all. I put the battery in a box just to keep some sense of containment Here are the pics: