Vendor Feedback

new 09/16/2004, updated 03/11/06

I've been thinking about this for a while. Sadly, lately I have been distracted. But now with SW9 running strong, I wanted to get this going. I'd appreciate feedback from any of our listed or unlisted vendors that you deal with. Give the good with the bad. It'll help those who have yet to come.

U.L.

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FORD PARTS NETWORK

I got this from Torrie this afternoon. It's only appropriate that it be shared. I see no real self serving purpose on his part for saying this. I think we should all take it as it's meant - a compliment of the highest order.

In a message dated 9/15/2004 3:08:23 PM Central Daylight Time, torrie@fordpartsnetwork.com writes:
To tell you the absolute truth I love the SHO community. Overall they have
been some if not all of the kindest customers I have to deal with. Which
really means a lot from my perspective.

Take care,
Mr. Torrie R. McPhail - (Owner)
http://www.fordpartsnetwork.com
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Torrie and Ford Parts Network provide the SHO community with a valuable service and for that I am very thankful. I am glad he feels the love for our community.

Cheers,

Seth

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Glad you brought that up Larry. Torrie has always provided great service, including sending me parts-counter schematics to find the correct part # when I needed it. A great vendor.
Luiggi

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The feeling is mutual. He always responds to any request, sometimes on a Sunday, no matter how little the part is. He gave me the part #’s for the 2 nuts I need (no comments please) which cost a whopping $7.00. He’s sent me diagrams when I’ve told him I’m not going to order the part from him. Of course, I have also ordered several hundred if not thousand dollars of parts from him.

Paul L Fisher

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09/22/2004

FPS

Douglasville, GA

As some of you are aware over a year ago I had the final drive changed to
3.98 from the stock 3.77. I did this when my TC went south and had the
tranny out anyway. The parts are ~$100.00 and as long as the tranny is out
labor is minimal.

BUT, I had issues with the TC unlocking and slippage across the TC when it
was locked. The unlocking happened at speeds above 75 mph and at WOT in 3rd
gear @6500 rpm. This was not good for the TC as it heated up the ATX fluid.
Going to California this summer with caravan speeds of 80mph + saw the motor
around 3800 rpm and tranny fluid temps of over 200F even with two aux
coolers. This was in addition to the radiator cooling/heating disabled and
the OEM aux cooler.

I have tried first the Ford Chip, then the Ford Chip modified by Brian Apten
without success. Particularly distracting was the TC unlocking at 6500 rpm
as the engine immediately picked up the 300 rpm and went to redline. I also
monitored the torque output of the engine and was getting 230 lb/ft with the
TC locked and it dropped to 214 lb/ft when it unlocked. Slippage across the
TC even when locked was 300-500 rpm and the TC solenoid was only about 50%
duty cycle as opposed to 1-2 rpm for the former and 99-100% for the latter
in stock form.

Doug Lewis promised me he could fix it. At first he tried the SCT tuner but
found it did not work on the pre-'98 SHOs. He then applied his efforts to a
piggy back chip. After a couple of tries he got it right. I am very
pleased that this worked out as the 3.98 final drive gear ratio is a good
mod. Rpm at cruising speed is about 300 rpm lower.

There are also some other very nice tweaks the Doug has done. Particularly
keeping the IRM closed until near WOT. This saves wear on the cable and IRM
drive while also improving gas mileage. The chip gave me about 2-3 more mpg
over the 20-21 mpg that I have consistently got with the new final drive.

Paul Nimz
'97 TR
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03/12/13

Brian King, OH

Hi Larry:
Brad has a close friend and accomplice in the form of a Mr. Brian King. What encounters have your or others you know had with Brian? I was dumb like you would not believe and trusted him as I thought he was a part of the SHO community as most folks I have had interaction with are real genuine folks. Well, first shipment of misc parts didn't arrive as promised. But before I became really alarmed, I had purchased another SHO and found it was a bit of a basket case so needed more parts. So I linked up with him and said to ship the first order with the 2nd to save shipping costs. (What a dumb ass!!!)

But it gets worse as the 2nd shipment does not arrive and the excuses start to get old. He then came up with the great excuse that I should have blown through in a New York second and that was that the shipment just arrived back as no one was at my destination address who would sign for the shipment. Sounded like BS but believe it or not, I even added more items to the "returned shipment" and sent him a 3rd check. Well, soon I realized the excuses were running out so really pressed him and his reactions was to just break off communications.

Nine months later and $2,000.00 in legal fees, I have a judgment against him and lien on his house and all his cars. If you were in this position, would you just hold tight and wait for him to try to sell one of the autos or would you take further action and force the sheriff to repo the autos and sell at auction to repay the judgment and any funds borrowed against each vehicle? Or would you go for the house he live in? A lot more money to pay off the liens ahead of my position but may be the best approach.

My attorney would also like to speak with others who have been harmed by him. Are you aware of others that have fallen prey?

Your thoughts and suggestions on how to proceed would certainly be appreciated. Our expanded family has three ex-marines who all think I am crazy in screwing with the legal system. They have a very different plan but I feel this is the best way to go?
Richard
Boise, Idaho
Larry, Please send response to my primary IP address which is:
rleonard1@cableone.net
I just use the AOL site for the club messages so important emails to that address are usually deleted before I get time to read them.

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In the spirit of being fair following is Brian's response. 03/13/06

I find it ironic that most posting on this rant,
should actually be a part of this rant. They have both
had their fair share of issues w/unhappy customers to
this day. Hmmmmm.
I hired a lady to take care of my failed business
affairs (used parts) and close them out just before
x-mas. The $ I ok`ed to be released (Barker, Adam,
Broom) was w/drawn from the bank and I assume was sent
as I never heard anything else from them or the girl I
hired to take care of these issues after X-mass. She
stuck me for a few undo I loaned her, but I chalked
it up as Karma and wrote it off.
As far as Paul's engine goes, he did contact me
stating that a plug thread was stripped and I did
offer to re-reimburse him for the $20.00 10 minute fix.
It was a damn good engine and the cams where welded by
a true professional welder (here we go again) coupled
to a good trans and still on the sub frame as a
complete unit. Paul never contacted me again on the
issue, so I figured all was well and I knew he could
handle the minute problem w/ease. Maybe he just wrote
it off after the data disk he sold me wouldn't work.
Damn, looks like this one has come full circle.
I just service/save the cars now for private owners
and local dealers that buy SHO`s to sell. They are
truly satisfied and I no longer offer any used parts.
I junked most of what I had, that's right, JUNKED, so
I wouldn't have to deal w/this BS again! It was solo
much easier.

You guys really need to get a grip and think twice
about casting stones.
Kirk you have had your share of issues for sure.
One related to this that I personally seen was the 13"
Brembo brakes you sold BC. Those rotors were junk and
unsafe. Don`t act like you are anything more than
human.
Bob, I sent you a cam for free shipping and all as
a good gesture and you still owe people, but like you
said, some do change.
Paul this disc never worked. No need for another
now, I have the cars down pact. I`ve collected more
knowledge from you than anyone. If I owe you anything
on that plug fix, let me know privately.
I think Brad just moved on to bigger/better things
and abandoned the SHO leaving a big ole mess behind.
He's a crude business/sales man/broker indeed. Not a
mechanic. That dude could sell dildos to nuns. His
shop was like a big SHO candy store and I can see how
those that got taken, could have fallen in.
Jason, you're a dick and don't even own an SHO
anymore.
Larry, I like you man. There's only a hand full on
here I would like to personally meet and will sooner or
later.
My advice to all buyers on line or anywhere is to
always bring a stick. We all are snake in one way or
another thanks to Eve and the OH MIGHTY dollar. No
matter how good a person we feel we are, money does
interfere w/our judgments from time to time. I don't
care who you are.

If anyone has any problems w/me, bring it to me.
Leave me out of public rants. Damnit I tried to
satisfy everyone and did 97%. If it wasn`t for selling
used parts, it would be 99.98%.
I`ve stepped back on here and just lurk now in
hopes to learn something new and keep up to date. I
still own my 96 and I am still enthusiastic about it
and love driving it. I had it out just the other
weekend for a 2000+ mile road trip. What a car indeed
for the money and time invested.

This is one to stop here, it`s gone full circle.

B.King

B.King 13
"96" SF Flowbees, Enkeis, tigged , cowl hood , CAI .
"89" SHO Black , SHO SHOp exhaust , Gen lll chrome wheels .

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03/11/2006

Brad Hogue - SHOFAST

Brad owes me $10,000 but I planning on suing for a hell of alot more since he had my car for 2 years. When I finally got my car back after 2 years of shit and lies, he said all I needed was to dyno tune it then It would be done. The car when I towed it back home didn't even start. My battery was dead, the car had leaves and shit all over it, smelled like shit on the inside, and lots more. I spent $5,000 when I got it back because the " New Trans" he put in went out after 1 month of driving and whole bunch more went wrong. He wired everything with speaker wires. I paid him $2,000 to paint my car but it wasn't painted when I got it. I bought new chrome rims and tires for the car, those weren't on there either. I couldn't even get a job cuz that was the only car I had. He fucked me for over 50,000 from all the shit he did and because the money that I couldn't make working. He made my life a living hell for the past 2 years and now I am in a hell of alot of credit card debt. HELP!!!

Mike

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03/11/2006

I don't know, I guess I got "lucky" and dodged most of the issues everybody else has had with Brad, though I still have some unresolved issues. None of these issues nearly as major as what I have read, though I spent a lot more then originally quoted, but that seems to be a SOP though. I was told $4k for my supercharger mods, I went way over $7 and closer to $8k then I care to think about. And before I hear from the peanut gallery that mine is running, I am 100% confident had I not pulled this car apart a couple times a year to fix problems with he drive and mounting assembly it would not be running and would certainly have not made it to Indy last year (3 years after the initial install).
I seriously do not like getting involved with public "stoning" especially of people who seem to have made an effort to help me, but I do have to admit that several items came up short of what I was lead to expect and one personal incident in particular chaps my ass like no other:
I was scheduled to be out in Cincinnati on December 1, 2003 to "assist" Brad with mounting the supercharger on the SHO Wagon, Brad's own ES and assist in figuring out what to do with Mike's car as well. On the Friday morning of the day I was planning on departing Arkansas to travel out there Brad calls me to tell me the parts he was waiting for to put on the Wagon and his car were not in yet and he wasn't sure if they would be in before I had to leave Cincinnati the following weekend so he tells me to cancel my travel plans. In hind-site, it was a good idea since had I traveled out to Ohio, I am sure I would not be here to be writing this as many of you know what happened to me that Monday. In any case, I had phone calls and cards from people of the SHO community I had never met while I was struggling to survive in the ICU over the next 21 days, but my wife told me not once over that period did I receive a call or a card from a person who insisted he considered himself as one of my closest friends. That action spoke volumes about him and his true disposition. Due to some obvious delusions, I seriously believed I was going to get the updated blower assembly and several other components to make my supercharger a "complete system" that was going to work right out of the box. I spent a lot of my own time and additional money to just get it back home from Florida let alone through the year.
I ended up having the tranny expire three weeks before the SanFrancisco convention and paid an additional $1,200 to expedite a replacement from Brad so I could have it in time to get the car back together to make the convention. It showed up by truck the last morning I could leave and still make the convention, in a rented Nissan.
In his defense, he did get me in contact with the guy who actually fabbed the initial parts for the blower, but I had to do a lot to complete it and keep it running. IMNSHO, Brad missed his calling, he should be in politics or in the Mexican government.

Carter Fuji

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03/13/2006

Carter I’ve know you for a long time and like you. So understand where this comes from and shut the hell up. You got the shaft 5 times worse than anyone here man! You car looks like a million dollars and it is a one of a kind but your driving a country squire wagon and paid for a porche! 5 times over. You need to sit back and think about this, or give Tammy all of your receipts and ask her what she thinks.
The SHOWAGON.
All parts for this car were purchased to make this car new except a blower from Brad by Bill, I had the car and parts and was going to install the blower and all the parts but could not do it in the time frame that Bill wanted (4 weeks before the convention) I told bill that and bill got mad at me and sent the car to Brad along will all the parts. Well the parts were sold, the blower never existed for that car, and then there was a fake motor swap that happened that Bill never paid for so Brad issued a lien on the car. There was a deal struck where bill paid some for the motor swap and gave Brad the car so Bill would not have to go to court. Then Brad sold the car to someone in PA, I cant remember his name where I fixed a ton of stuff and welded the said car.
Your trannies are made at a ammaco shop, I was there when he dropped one off for you. I kind of explained to you that you were getting fucked, and should either see Doug, or option B was to go with my guy that was more expensive than Doug. You took the route of I like Brad so will I continue, and as far as contacting the maker of the kits well that was not that hard seeing that you went there and paid him yourself, I bet he talked you into paying for all 3 kits (yours, Mine and Brads)
Like I said before I like you, like my older brother that fell down the mine shaft and was rediscovered 20 years later I just wish you would stop with the SHOFAST shit it all went terribly wrong, Brad is a hell of a nice guy as a person but put money there and its different.

Enough already or Ill get my country squire to beat up your country squire!
Kirk J Doucette

03/11/06

Guess I got Lucky on BOTH accounts. I've gotten along Swell with Brian
King and would do Business with him.
I actually sent Bruce My Entire V8SHO Rotunda Toolkit last Spring. He
used it and I got it back inside of Two Weeks.

Guess I dodge Some Bullets better than Others.

The Bastard I want to see Fried is Brad from SHOFAST. He F#@&3D Mike B
REALLY REALLY Hard. A $2000.00 Low Mile 99 Engine swap turned into a
$10,000 + Fiasco lasting 2 years and coming home with a sick running
late 97 motor that is so ugly a Seagull wouldn't Schyte on it.

Hey Brad - Where is the FMU? The Borla Stainless Steel Exhaust? The
Appearance cover? the Low Mile 99 Engine? The Wheels and Tires that
were on the car when I saw it in your shop? Nice wrecked paintjob you
Ass-Bandit!
You are supposed to connect ALL The wires before you give the car
back. Where are the $400.00 worth of Cobalt Gauges I put on the car?

Stand Back when this Boy gets lit up - He's gonna Burn Bright and Hot.
I've shut my mouth through this whole thing because there was nothing
I could do to help Mike and I saw a handful of cars Brad Screwed OTHER
People out of and Figured Mike could be next if I rocked the boat with
commentary.

I Hope Mike Sues His Ass Off - and that's a LOT of Ass to Sue...
E1

03/11/06

***Please note, strong language that is totally appropriate, but not encouraged****

And I have been quiet long enough on how Mr Hogue (hereafter referred to as assbandit) stole Bill Murray's 97 SF wagon that was supposed to be turned into and whoosh mobile complete with bells and whistles. I do not fault the guy who ultimately bought the car as I'm sure brad lied his ass of to him. But that was Bills car. Brad, you know where I live bring your fat thieving ass on by. We can have a nice chat. BTW I saved all the bullshit IM's you sent me years back lying about Mikes car.
Those that have known me for quite some time know I'm way over the top right now. I don't encourage this type of personal attack, but the volume of evidence is simply overwhelming as to Mr Hogue's reputation. Makes Bruce look like a NAPA dealer.
Simply stated Brad, you're a (Editor's note - Larry wanted to express the thought that Brad was neither reliable nor trustworthy- Buford) that needs to go far far away.
Of course other than that I have no opinions.

Larry E
97 Red
Mods
Webmaster, www.v8sho.com

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