For History Buffs: Ford/de Tomaso problems with ZF over Pantera transmissions


Xcentric

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Jul 9, 2012
5,213
Myakka City, Florida
I stumbled on this piece of history while researching info on Pantera ZF transmissions. It's a 1970 report by Frank Theyleg (who worked with Roy Lunn and who designed the transaxle for the experimental Mustang I), labeled "Confidential," resulting from technical, production and delivery problems that de Tomaso was having with ZF.

The full document is here: http://www.spacecitypanteras.com/Technical/ZF Transaxle Requirements.pdf

Lots of interesting tidbits buried in with 44 pages of program tedium. Unit cost of a transmission was $342. Ray Geddes had to travel to Germany to kick ZF in the ass. Letter of apology/excuses from ZF.

A couple of highlights.

1. The cover sheet. Check out the names. Ray Geddes. Lee Iacocca. Bill Innes. Jacques Passino.

New Doc 2018-02-26_3.jpg


2. Memo to Ray Geddes from none other than Alejandro de Tomaso complaining of mediocre ZF quality, terrible ZF customer support, ridiculous prices, and the German attitude towards Italians!

New Doc 2018-02-26_1.jpg

New Doc 2018-02-26_2.jpg
 
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DakotaGT

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Dec 9, 2012
1,694
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Ha! Interesting, indeed. Thank you for sharing.
 

SteveA

GT Owner/B.O.D
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Dec 13, 2005
3,694
Sandpoint Id
Love it!
 

Cobrar

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Jun 24, 2006
4,017
Metro Detroit
Now there’s an interesting find! Friends who own the cars will really appreciate it!

Thanks for sharing!
 

djs

GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Jun 7, 2007
2,082
This makes me wonder if Ford had to micro manage/rebuild the GT40 units. I know the ZF 5 speed couldn’t handle the 427’s torque, but the 68 & 69 small block cars were ZF units, and I don’t recall any quality issues when they won LeMans back to back.
 

Xcentric

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Jul 9, 2012
5,213
Myakka City, Florida
This makes me wonder if Ford had to micro manage/rebuild the GT40 units. I know the ZF 5 speed couldn’t handle the 427’s torque, but the 68 & 69 small block cars were ZF units, and I don’t recall any quality issues when they won LeMans back to back.

The first GT40s were plagued with gearbox failures....Italian Colottis. The switch to ZFs fixed that.
 

Xcentric

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Jul 9, 2012
5,213
Myakka City, Florida
Apropos of nothing, the names "ZF" and "Zahnradfabrik" are interesting like many foreign names. A bit exotic sounding. A bit of coolness.

However, some of the aura gets lost in translation. Zahnradfabrik means Gear Factory.

Him: What transmission is that?
Me: ZF
Him: Cool!

Him: What transmission is that?
Me: Gear Factory
Him: Umm...
 
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NorthwoodGT

GT Owner
Jun 12, 2009
1,215
Michigan
gary, nice find. I'm sure memos like that wouldn't be emailed around the world today. back then, these guys were real car people who spoke their mind, stepping on toes or not, as long as the job got done. would never happen today in the PC climate we live in today not to mention lack of real car people in the automotive industry. unfortunately a dieing breed.
I didn't read the whole memo but was there mention of the ZF having to be installed upside down to clear the Pantera chassis? I found that interesting when I met a guy at a cars and coffee with a gorgeous Pantera. he was extremely educated on the car and told me about the transaxle.
 

CJ428

Farm GT
Mark II Lifetime
Le Mans 2010 Supporter
May 21, 2008
1,473
NJ
you your telling me that Italians and Germans didn't trust each other and get along, go figure.:lol
 

Howard

GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Apr 26, 2007
1,135
Florida/North Jersey
Yes, the memo addresses the inverted installation of the ZF.
 

Tomcat

GT Owner
Very cool!
A lot of this is Pantera lore...its great to see it in print.