Ford Taurus SHO| Grassroots Motorsports forum |

smog7 Dork
12/21/12 4:53 p.m.

I have the opportunity of purchasing a manual '92 SHO for under $1k.

What is there to know about these cars? Anything to check for?

belteshazzar UberDork
12/21/12 5:02 p.m.

$1,000 in your checking account

m4ff3w GRM+ Memberand UltraDork
12/21/12 5:18 p.m.

Inquire when the valves were last shimmed.

ReverendDexter UberDork
12/21/12 5:27 p.m.

Body/interior bad is okay, you can pull parts off of lesser Tauri; engine bad is no bueno, nothing else used that awesome Yamaha 3.0L V6 and my understanding is parts are getting harder to come by.

Tom_Spangler GRM+ Memberand Dork
12/21/12 5:29 p.m.

Awesome engine stuck in a fairly crappy early 90s family sedan. I had one as my first new car in 1993, and I loved it, but it LIVED at the dealership until I lost patience with it and traded it in.

SlickDizzy GRM+ Memberand UberDork
12/21/12 5:38 p.m.

I used to have an '89 that I really enjoyed. It's been a while, but I want to say that the timing chains & guides are a wear item usually due around 140k. Mine made a great sound and was awesome on the freeway. Don't expect BMW handling or quality, though.

Stealthtercel HalfDork
12/21/12 5:48 p.m.

Fun fact (not helpful, but very seasonal): Tim Allen drives one in the first Santa Clause movie. Somewhat more helpful fact: SHO Source has lots of good stuff just waiting to come your way.

For $1k, assuming no horrible rust, I would definitely go for it.

terp83 New Reader
12/21/12 6:02 p.m.

I bought a new one in 1990, then in 1998, traded it in on a 1995 SHO manual with only 17.5k miles. I kept the '95 until last year when it had 160k on the odometer. Just a lot of little things started to go wrong, such as seat motors, door window motors, and door locks. There is a fairly extensive engine servicing required at each 60,000 mile interval. Make sure that this schedule has been followed. I used to drive more extensively than I do now, and neither SHO ever left me stranded. I do think that I went through a couple of starters on the later one, though.

I really enjoyed having SHO's as my daily driver through two decades.

Jerry

smog7 Dork
12/21/12 7:03 p.m.

hmm so

engine =expensive maintenance body=meh taurus

smog7 Dork
12/21/12 7:34 p.m.

stock lsd?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cl88i-Z69Go

yamaha Dork
12/21/12 7:46 p.m.

DO NOT DO BURNOUTS......unless you like looking at a hole in your trans case. I have probably owned more of these than most here, currently have 2. They are fun cars, and easy to work on once you get used to them. For the most part, the engines themselves are very rugged, vaccum leaks are your most common issue. The specific parts can be expensive if you don't look hard enough. If you would like, i can email you my phone number so I can tell you what you need to look for. They aren't that bad. 92 is the oddball, still has the gen1 rear brakes and sway bars, but gen 2 body and interior.

smog7 Dork
12/21/12 11:25 p.m.

Would I be able to daily drive one without breaking the bank? How do they do on gas? I'm guessing they take premium? Would I have to order most parts online, or will the local auto parts store have most of what will be needed?

yamaha SuperDork
12/22/12 12:45 a.m.

Most parts are typical taurus, they will get 25-30mpg highway, only certain unique parts would be online order. At that point, shoforum is your new best friend. Most of us have multiple cars and multiple parts of everything.

belteshazzar UberDork
12/22/12 8:04 a.m.

non-interference!

shadetree30 Reader
12/22/12 2:14 p.m.

I seem to recall an observation in GRM that they are one car that would be expected to do well at LeMons but surprisingly don't last long under those conditions. As a DD? Go for it.

yamaha SuperDork
12/22/12 2:53 p.m.

In reply to shadetree30:

They have a reputation for unreliability in lemons due to lack of maintenance. If you get a maintained one for cheap, it shouldn't break. They also have a reputation for being fast in lemons......lol

bwh998 New Reader
12/22/12 3:01 p.m.

They are also fast in sand rails.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sG16m2e4O6I

yamaha SuperDork
12/22/12 5:59 p.m.

That sandrail was sold this year too......iirc

It was turbocharged though.....

smog7 Dork
12/23/12 4:42 p.m.

hmm the guy selling the car has not responded to my emails.

I have no idea how many miles are on the car, or if any major maintenance has been done.

HappyAndy Dork
12/23/12 9:39 p.m.

Pardon the threadjack: will that engine bolt up to any decent RWD gearboxes?

singleslammer HalfDork
12/23/12 9:54 p.m.

Decent? No. There is a mazda unit used in the ranger/b3000 with the 3.0l motor. That is the only "Bolt on" unit. Quads for Rods sells a bell housing for a t5, I think.