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This car pays homage to the hot street rods of the '50s and '60s I read about as a child. It is my Modern American Hotrod.
A family sedan customized to maximize performance at the lowest cost with a hot, loud V8. The high-revving Japanese
built Yamaha 3.4L V8 with MagnaFlow mufflers sounds like every hard working countryside V8 pick-up truck at relaxed cruising,
and like an exotic sports car at wide open throttle. The noise is addictive.
3-1-09
On a bit of a whim I listed the SHO in the Taurus Car Club of America's classifieds. Within 24 hours I had several inquiries.
I did not post an asking price or any information, just that I was taking offers. One party was truly interested and within
a couple weeks we had agreed on a deal. He flew in from Oklahoma on Saturday, picked up the car, and drove it home. I was
sad to see it go, but I proved to myself that I can give up a car, even one I really like, instead of just continually acquiring
them. Good luck buddy! Be good to your new owner.
1-4-08
One year and almost 6000 miles later.... the V8 SHO is running well and does not consume or leak oil. It has been my
daily driver for quite a while. It can be very grumpy on cold mornings, and needs a moment to wake up. I understand... I'm
the same way when I haven't had my morning coffee. "Just gimme a moment, dammit!" I love the car, but the stereo could be
better... the JBL sub rattles a little bit and doesn't have the bump I'm used to.
3-15-08
I finally tracked down the cause of a recurring check engine light. The new O2 sensors were crap. They were inexpensive,
but brand new parts should not be defective out of the box. After ruling out everything else, the sensors were the last thing
I checked.... they were bad. Repalced with some low mileage Ford sensors, and the car is running pretty well. I have also
minimized it's oil consumption. Most was leaking from the rear cam cover. I think the rest is leaking from the front main
seal.
1-8-08
I've put about 1000 miles since getting the car on the road. It runs well, but has an air leak somewhere... it keeps
setting a lean code on the front bank. The exhaust is getting alot of compliments. It's a fun car.
12-5-07
It's back together. I had some MagnaFlow mufflers installed and along with the cat-less y-pipe, it sounds MEAN!!! It's
strange sitting in the driver's seat of a family sedan, cranking the engine, and a V8 growls to life. It's a blast to drive
too.
11-26-07
So it's almost back together. So many things were either missing or broken. This repair presented more challenges because
I wasn't aware of these problems at the beginning.
Mods include:
EGR and SAI delete
Bypassed throttle body warmer
removed secondary butterflies
catless y-pipe
1 step colder plugs
9-30-07
Well, much more work is required to put this car back on the road. With the exception of the struts, springs, and sway
bar, every suspension component needs replacement... they are all worn out. I'm spending much more money than I had anticipated.
From what I understand, that's just part of old SHO ownership.
9-10-07
The old engine is almost out. So far I have not run into any major dilemas during the deconstruction... hopefully reconstruction
is as straight foreward.
9-3-07
Happy Birthday to me :)
A replacement engine has arrived from a '96 with ~90k miles. It was sent out to have the cams welded before it shipped
to me. I've taken the car to Mike Halligan's shop to have a place to work on it. A few new parts as well as basic maintenance
stuff have been arriving in the mail.
8-6-07
I bought a '98 SHO from a fellow local Taurus owner. The car is one of many that suffered from the infamous Yamaha V8
SHO cam failure. Overall, it's in good shape, decent considering it's at almost 100k miles. I'm not sure if it's originally
a Texas car as there are a few rusty spots. It may be from the Texas coast.
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