[DeTomaso] Magnaflow Exhaust for Pantera

[Charles Engles]

Dear David,


               I remember Borla's effort and the very short marketing run.
I had not heard their opinion of the Hall Big Bore headers.


               About fifteen years ago, I bought some used Big Bore Headers
for my first engine build.  I bolted them up and they were fine--heck,
anything was better than the stock exhausts.  Now, after several years and a
three or four more engines and much more attention to how engine parts fit
together, I disassembled that engine for a rebuild.  I looked at the fitment
of the headers to the exhaust port and was struck by what I would call
suboptimal configuration of the header "throat" to the exhaust port.  I
showed pictures of it to a much more experienced engine builder and he
confirmed my opinion.  The rebuild won't be a big HP engine and I think that
the BBs will handle its modest exhaust adequately, but if I were to go north
of 375 hp, then I would be looking for better headers, probably Wilkinson's
based on Dan Jones' results from the Great Cleveland Engine Dyno Project.

               By the way, if you have not donated something to the GCEDP,
which benefits us all and which is free from the utter unreliability of
magazine dyno tests and engine builds, then please email Dan Jones  Pay Pal
contribution. 



                        Warmest regards, Chuck Engles

  



-----Original Message-----
From: DeTomaso [mailto:detomaso-bounces at poca.com] On Behalf Of David Nunn
Sent: Thursday, November 26, 2015 11:47 AM
To: detomaso at poca.com
Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] Magnaflow Exhaust for Pantera

Some long-time Pantera owners may recall Borla built a Pantera system
(headers and mufflers) about 20 years ago. The Pantera they brought in to
build the prototype system on, had a Hall Big Bore system on it. Borla said
it was the worst "production" exhaust system they had ever seen on any car
of any type! They insisted on basing their system on one of their
off-the-shelf muffler cans. They felt making custom cans would push the
price too high. If I recall, the system retailed for around $1,500. The
system looked OK, even though the muffler can was too long, and sounded
great but Borla discontinued it after one production run. Since it was made
from stainless steel, the price was still too high for most Pantera owners
and just about every one they sold had fitment issues. It seems Borla didn't
anticipate the variations from car to car. They naively thought if it fit
one Pantera, it would fit all Panteras. They also didn't anticipate all the
"whining" about the price, so they scrapped the whole project after about
six months.