SHO 'em what i got

[rockin86ranger]

Well once i get my money in for school im going to pick up a new project for my auto body class, its a 1990 Ford Taurus SHO with a 5-speed manual. A friend is selling it to me for $250 so i figure i can go wrong, worse comes to worse ill scrap it and break even. It is white, with a sunroof and black leather interior, it has electronic climate control and a little compartment in the back package tray, Hope this helps with identifying anything with the car, like rareness/special package. The interior is ok, but needs a good cleaning and the driver seat is in sad shape. The outside is very dirty but not in bad shape.

He was driving it and the transmission acted up and they fixed it and then i think he drove it once and died and they havent been able to get it to start again, he said he put new plugs in it and did a few things not sure what all, and said it acted like it was fixing to fire. So i need to get it running, so ill probably be asking a lot of question on here about it, im kinda hoping i find one of those situation where the gas gauge is broke and i can just put gas in it and drive it, but i doubt it.

Plans are to repaint it and redo the interior and add a stereo system to it and put some rims on it, then do a full exhaust system and maybe a set of performance cams and underdrive pulleys in it. This is gonna be my "Thesis" for my auto body class. And since i know you guys love pictures heres one, i took it with my cell phone and the garage was tiny and couldn't get a good picture.

Plans are to be able to beat my friends 1989 Ford Mustang GT Hatchback with exhaust and a cam in it on the 1/8 mile while his girlfriend is in my passenger seat.

So we got any SHO fanatics that will be able to help me get it running and tell me what im gonna need to beat a Mustang.

This is gonna be my SHOcase car to show what kind of work i can do, hence the title.

 

[LittleHorse]

you're already fairly close to an 89 Mustang stock for stock in the power to weight department, but you're always going to struggle putting the power down with FWD.

I had an '89 SHO, bought it with 79k miles in 2000 and put about 20k on it before selling it to a friend.

I put Eibach lowering springs on it and some 17" wheels...thing would smoke the tires ALL DAY. Like literally, it would just continue spinning as long as I held the pedal down, had to let up to get the car to start moving.

It cornered decent and had more than enough to outrun the ricers, but I think it's going to be tought to beat a Mustang. Especially a Mustang with a cam. The SHO is already tuned toward the top of it's flow limits without forced induction...now you throw a Vortech on there and that's a completely different story.

 

[rockin86ranger]

Thats pretty nice. i think i might try to go with 18s, and lower it a little. I think the 18s will fill the wheel wells pretty good

 

[LittleHorse]

18's would fill them in a little better...at the time I had that car the big wheel craze was just taking off, so Corvettes and M3's were about the only thing out there that had anything 17" or larger. Even if 18" were popular at the time I probably wouldn't have done it, because

1. The 17" still left enough sidewall for a decently comfortable ride.
2. The brake rotors already look retarded small behind a 17".
3. Wheel weight. I've never had anything larger than 17" because it seems like that's about the point where the weight starts piling on and I don't think that the performance gained from the low profile tire is worth the performance lost from the rotational inertia.

That said, it's your car so you do what you want with it. 18" would definitely look the best so it may be the right choice for what you're doing with it.

 

[shane96ranger]

I think it's going to be tought to beat a Mustang. Especially a Mustang with a cam.

I agree. I have an 89 GT, and I never had an SHO hang with me when my car was all stock. You're close in horsepower (220 vs 225), but you have roughly 85 ft. lb. of torque to make up. That's a lot to make up without a little help from a puffer of some sort. They are fun cars though. I'd own one.

P.S. You would probably hang with him from a roll

 

[rockin86ranger]

Im considering doing a nitrous fogger system to it, that will give me an excuse to build a custom mount for the nitrous tank , plus its just a little extra kick, but that will be a little ways down the road since the kits are kinda high.

Cant wait to get her drug up to the house, anybody know a good color on these cars, im kinda thinkin about a light to medium blue, or doing a pearlescent white, i like the way it looks in white. Yellow is my favorite color but i dont think yellow would work on a taurus

 

[Boggin]

 

[mentalbreakdown00]

I might just have fell in love with your car FO SHO

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

My brother just put a engine in a mid '90's SHO a couple months ago. Cam gear came off and the interferance engine was all too happy to eat the valves.

I personally would run, parts for the engine are hard to find, expensive to buy and a PITA to install.

 

[Tony Raine]

I'll give ya $260 for it, haha.

cool car, looks like a fun project.

 

[rockin86ranger]

I'll give ya $260 for it, haha.

cool car, looks like a fun project.

hmmmm, throw in some taco bell and we will talk, lol jk jk.



And yeah i know engine parts are crazy high for it, but if it needs to much ill just part/scrap it and wont be out much. or put the 3.8l out of moms in it and dd it