2019 Space City Panteras 11th Annual Pig Roast and Tech Session
What a great day! The weather exceeded the expectations of most and behaved as weatherman, Gray Gregory, had predicted. Dry for those arriving early and sunny by early afternoon. Temperature was great and Heidi & Gray did a fine job with the smoker preparing the feast. I witnessed an assist by John Vincent. Plenty of food for all and it was delicious.
Mike and Lori Drew made it in from Oakland and Mike was ambitious with helping owners address Pantera issues.
Fred Foreman brought his steering rack from home and gave it the full cleaning and lubrication with the Drew assist.
Randy Pike, who was feeling a bit under the weather, with a bit of prodding from Mike, put his GTS on the lift and swapped out his worn steering rack with a rebuilt unit that Mike had carried from Oakland.
Inspection of the Vincent pantera steering rack with the car on the lift showed it to be in fine shape. Wheel play was due play in the sliding shafts connecting the steering column to the rack. Mike showed us a new way to remove the sliding shaft slop and it looked like a superior approach to me as well. Unfortunately, we were unable successfully get a 220V line into the main service area to run the MIG welder; so, that project was moved to another day.
Mike Drew drove my recently renovated Pantera, to the event, that was resurrected from hurricane Harvey. He noticed undesirable movement in the steering wheel attachment to the column. Disassembling the unit at the Pig Roast, there was some benefit to be gained by adding a spring spacer under the main column attaching nut. However, the real issue is the poor connection fitting used by the Chinese aftermarket quick release steering wheel mechanism. Nothing we can do about that movement issue other than revert back to the stock attachment setup.
Rob Pink knowingly drove his Pantera to the Roast with a non-working alternator. As we call in racing a total loss electrical system. He made it fine as predicted. The plan was to swap out the alternator with a new unit Santos Rivera had and was bringing to the roast. Rob and Santos mounted it in Rob's Pantera with minor modifications. All was thought to be good.
It was nice to see the gang again as Orville Burg and Randy Pike came by. Rob Pink, Ed Nagle, Fred Foreman and Steve Hawkins were there after just two weeks ago logging over 500 miles on a drive near Nacogdoches,TX with our Italian brethren. David Bell, Wally Meyer and Bill Vasser came by to help out and swap stories.
Ken Montana joined the fun after traveling from Biloxi MI. Ken owns a GT5S, his third pantera that he has owned over many years. He fit right in with the gang and we only wish that he lived closer so as to be a part of more club activities. A very genuine guy.
Thanks to the spouses and family members who participated and contributed to the menu.
A special thanks to Heidi and Gray, who again created some terrific BBQ and showed everyone great hospitality at the Ranch.
Our day concluded with a little drama. Leaving Gray's Ranch on Clemons' Switch, Rob pulled over as his amp gauge was already extremely hot. Apparent the combination of high output alternator and a low charged battery drew excessive amperage through the gauge exceeding its 75amp capacity. We decided to disconnect the alternator wiring and run the return trip to Kingwood without an alternator charging. Another total loss trip. It would be close as the day was late and using headlights would drain the battery more swiftly. We were a caravan of three Panteras with Mike driving my Pantera and John Vincent driving another with Lori as a passenger. Rob got as far as 610 East when the Pantera stopped propelling itself and he was able to exit onto a side street. We surmise that damage to the amp gauge had been so severe that it eventually stopped transferring electrons from one terminal to the other. While we technically could have simply bypassed the amp gauge by connecting both wires to a single terminal on its backside, Rob determined it would be safer with darkness approaching to trailer it the remaining few miles. A good call. Kevin and Drew Vincent met us within 45 minutes with a trailer and the car was loaded 10 minutes later. Shortly, the Pantera was back in Rob's garage.
A great day, good adventure and new friends - a recipe for a good life! I'll forward pics to Kirby for the website.
Our next Space City Club meeting will be held at Angleton during lunch at MSR - Houston, Saturday May 4th. Gray, Dave, Kirby, Tom, Rob and I will be refining our driving skills at excessive speeds during the Vintage races. Please come and cheer us on. Dave will be breaking in his new Swift SE3 FC. You may never go to another race where so many of your friends are participating and two high powered Panteras are spanking the competition.. Does it really get better than that? Come and find out.
Cordially
JT
