[Shotimes] 11.87 second SHO...
Donald Mallinson
dmall@mwonline.net
Wed, 28 May 2003 09:36:53 -0500
Ron,
Yes, Del is/was a friend of mine...haven't talked to him but
once since the One Lap, and at the time I didn't agree 100%
with what he wrote, but I wasn't in charge of the magazine,
and it wasn't my place to do anything about it.
I told him I thought the power-up was bogus, but he loved it.
Almost nobody believed the Borla 32 hp ads, but they were
running in a LOT of other magazines and a lot of companies
were taken in by a shady dyno shop that gave big numbers in
order to get the dyno business from a lot of hop-up part
companies.
I think I put in an article with more realistic estimates of
power from things like the UDP, Cat-back, High Flo Y-pipe
and Pro-M/K&N combo. I think I was even a bit high on that
one, but dyno testing later proved the combo fairly close to
what I wrote. That was based on my Vericom.
In his defense, I think the Pro-M is still the best MAF to
have, bar none. The Hypertech isn't my cup of tea, but it
did some good at a time when nothing else was available.,
the Borla DID add some HP, just nothing close to the 32
claimed, more like 5-8. And I wish I had bought one way back
when, so I would not have spent so much time and money
replacing Walker systems! Wheels and tires are a personal
preference so Del liked them, you didn't. Tire technology
has come a long way, and I don't think even YOU can argue
with the thought that the Firestones were better than the
stock tires the car came with!
The Centerforce clutch was and is a good one. I had one and
loved it. There wasn't much else available at the time and
the stock clutch wasn't the equal of the Centerforce for
sure. now we have more and better choices. But not back then.
Logicam was a respected company that offered some good
stuff. The cams did make HP, just not as much as Del
Claimed. People are still putting in modified cams, the
Logicam allowed people to use stock shims, I think that is
better than the cut down cams offered now. Later on some of
them broke, but at the time, Del couldn't know that. Also
cheap dyno time wasn't available "way" back then.
Koni is still a very good strut insert and nothing wrong
with talking about them.
Power-up...well, as I said, I even called Del on that one,
but didn't have any say in what was put in the magazine.
What he wrote isn't any different than what you see in car
magazines on the stand every day. New stuff is tested and
usually found to be "good". Some of the crap that people I
know and usually respect, hawk to get money for their
cable/TV shows/magazines makes me sick. Del was a lot
better than what I see everyday today.
I won't trash Del because he wrote those articles, I would
have done it different, and I like to think I have good
automotive press habits with the current magazine (other
than the publishing schedule). The SHO Registry was never
about great press or engineering dazzle, it was about the
club and the car and the people. Not much was available to
write about so just about anything got in. I know, I
probably put in some stuff that I would like to take back,
but then, hindsight is great.
Most of what Del wrote about is good stuff. I don't
remember seeing any indignation from you, me or anyone else
show up after those articles, and Bill would have put it in,
he wasn't opposed to letting people voice their thoughts,
same as I am now. But it was a glorious time when Ford
still accepted us as part of the family, the car was winning
award after award, and anything of interest about the car
was looked forward to, by the much bigger club membership.
Today, age and reality can let us look back and make fun of
that somewhat naive view of the world and the SHO, but I
prefer to see it for what it was,....the early days when
everything was good.
Don Mallinson
Ron Porter wrote:
> OK, I went and dug out the old Registry magazines.
>
> Don, I know that Del Smith was/is a friend of yours, so no offense,
> but......
>
> SHO Registry Volume 2 Number 4 Winter 92-93: First article on the "Super
> SHO" (my quotes), describing the "incredible' performance from the Pro-M
> 77mm MAF, the Borla catback, and the Hypertech chip. Also talks about new
> Speedline wheels and Firestone SVXZ tires. I feel nausea coming on.....
>
> SHO Registry Volume 3 Number 3 Summer 1993: the "Super SHO" gets the
> Logicams, and a new Centerforce Clutch. Claims that 0-60 is now 5 seconds,
> with 1/4 mile times in the low 12s with a best of 11.87!!!!! First off, a
> 5-second 0-60 would hardly get you to the 13s. At this point, I have a
> wastebasket nearby as the nausea and the smell of b*llsh*t gets very
> strong!!
>
> SHO Registry Volume 3 Number 4 Winter 93-94: No more about the
> "11-second-Super SHO", but Del Smith writes an article about Koni inserts
> and POWERUP. First thought is that he must be able to hold his breath for a
> long time, considering how long he had his nose up the ass of the Koni and
> POWERUP sales reps so he could get freebies.
>
> Looking back on it, I don't know Del Smith personally, and maybe he's a nice
> guy, but anything that he wrote for the SHO Registry magazine is absolute
> BS, and not to be believed. It is the "Dark Ages" of SHO history, as far as
> I'm concerned.
>
>
> Ron Porter