PROBLEM/SOLUTION:
Do feel like your dragging an anchor. You can feel surges of power and then
it sort of
plateaus out.
We found that the pantera gains low end torque and 12 horse power to the rear
wheels by replacing just the intake manifold. This gain is because back in
the late
60's bigger was better. Ford designed the 351 Cleveland to run NASCAR. They
basically put big block heads on a small block motor. This was fine at 7500
RPM, but
we do not run at that speed unless we spend big bucks on the motor to spin
that fast and
stay together. They have later found that bigger is not necessarily better
in this
case because the atomized fuel droplets are flowing so slowly through the induction
system that they actually fall out of suspension. This produces bigger
droplets which
leads to incomplete combustion and loss of power.
BENEFIT:
The Edelbrock performer manifold reduces the size of the plenum runners
which increases
the rate of flow, which keeps the fuel in suspension better and produces
the extra HP and a lot more low end torque. In a Pantera low end torque is
what really sets this
car apart from other higher priced exotics. There are lots of
improvements that have been made on the Cleveland motor in regards to increasing
torque and power but this is the simplest and by far the biggest bang
for the dollar.
By doing a number of chassis dyno tests we found that by just changing the
original Autolite
carburetor to a new smog legal 600 Holly that we picked up 12 house power.
This is again accomplished through better fuel atomization which the Holly's do
much better. This requires intack manifold machining since the butterflies don't
line up with the ports. Replacing the manifold with a new Edelbrock is
surely the
best solution and results in a combined 25 horsepower increase. This is
surely the
best single power/economy improvement you can make to the Pantera.
PART NUMBERS:
Part#
Description
List Price
Sale Price
08407E
2V Edlebrock intake manifold
228.95
195.00
05037P
4V Edlebrock intake manifold
228.95
195.00
08406C
Smog Legal Holly 600
395.00
350.00
Time for job:
PPC - Pantera Parts Connection
300 Edison Way, Reno NV 89502
PH: 775-856-7011
FX: 775-856-7010