Old Sho Owners Woes Vs Sho Hobbiests

[eli terry]

So outside of warranty what is any car really? True the gen 3 SHO's have been outdated. To hang onto them and cry of mechanical woes and high miles will always be "The old car syndrome". Fix em and drive em, or part em out or make a hobby of them. Live with it, like it or get rid of it! Buy a newer car or a new car in warranty for a daily driver and park your SHO for tinkering and fair weather drives. This is what I have done.

Use it as a daily driver and it will make it just another car on the road heading to the same destination!

So owning a SHO is a choice. Daily driver, SHO enthusiast or both? I know there are SHO members from all arenas on the forum. The SHO Forum is also a place for the enthusiasts to share their SHO as a hobby. So if it is not your project car or hobby but you have one as a daily driver only, and your not a enthusiast that is cool. But respect the Sho enthusiasts who enjoy their SHO as a hobby. And want to SHO talk!

Do cams need welded? Probably. Is it the fastest, coolest car out there? No, but that is not why you own one! Right?

Park it as a project car for meets and fun. Join the forums, clubs and have fun with your SHO hobby.

 

[SHOZ123]

You're post and thanks are all ones!!

eli terry

SHO Member


Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Davenport, Ia
Posts: 111
Thanks: 11
Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post

 

[kikkinasphalt]

You're post and thanks are all ones!!

eli terry

SHO Member


Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Davenport, Ia
Posts: 111
Thanks: 11
Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post

wow

:sun:

 

[38SHO]

I daily drive mine and I'm an enthusiast.......

I plan on taking it to the convention from south florida this year.... I don't really race it but some drag racing isn't out of the question.....

 

[HoustinoJillian]

keeping up with a modified car is tough, mine was my hobby and my DD... which is why it's sold now

 

[SHOspazz92]

The best thing I did for my 95 SHO was buy a daily driver. I honestly enjoyed the car so much more not worrying if I was going to make it to work tomorrow because I just slammed through the gears. :sun:

-Sam

 

[SHOCH]

Same here, can't risk job over unreliable car. Mine's sleeping until April waiting for O2's, hood paint, seat skin, and brake work.
I'd drive a SHO every day if I had a heated shop, and time to wrench but that's just not in the plans. It is Chicago winters not Florida so that has alot to do with it.
I do have a DD but don't feel the need to list every car I have or ever had. Not dissing those who list SHOs and fun cars, just think it's funny when members list a Pontiac 6000 from 8 years ago. Same way I think it's funny when members say crap like "it's still slower than a ______" or "My _____ is faste" duh and who cares, we know, it's like being a Cubs fan, ya love them cuz they are yours! And the people are freakin cool! 98% of them lol

 

[eli terry]

You're post and thanks are all ones!!

eli terry

SHO Member


Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Davenport, Ia
Posts: 111
Thanks: 11
Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post

Amazing!!!!!

 

[platoribs]

Same here, can't risk job over unreliable car. Mine's sleeping until April waiting for O2's, hood paint, seat skin, and brake work.
I'd drive a SHO every day if I had a heated shop, and time to wrench but that's just not in the plans. It is Chicago winters not Florida so that has alot to do with it.
I do have a DD but don't feel the need to list every car I have or ever had. Not dissing those who list SHOs and fun cars, just think it's funny when members list a Pontiac 6000 from 8 years ago. Same way I think it's funny when members say crap like "it's still slower than a ______" or "My _____ is faste" duh and who cares, we know, it's like being a Cubs fan, ya love them cuz they are yours! And the people are freakin cool! 98% of them lol

Some of my SHO's are faster than some of my other SHO's and my Thunderbird SC will faster than the SHO's but it won't drive worth poo in the snow. All of them are DD's just that each car has a different day its driven on.

2%r

PS: Tom, your ratio of thanks to posts is 17%, mine is only 3%. I guess I should help out more. (2%r)
:wave:

 

[DaSho97]

my SHO is my D/D but im also an enthusiast. ive had the car for a few months and love the vehicle. its just the rarity of the car that i think makes it impressive. i know im a newbie compared to most of you guys/ gals on the here but im going to get more into it once im done with school.

 

[aarmel732]

SHO is a DD because it fits my needs. I treat the car like an enthusiast, nice mods, clean, repairs are handled quickly (and usually include an upgrade). But this car fills specific needs.
The 66 fills the need to not get laughed out of a car show and is nicely modified, but stays in the garage.
The 84, well, that fills the need to be able to spank 8 cyls with a four banger, but set up to be very unforgiving on the road.
I think people just need to be realistic with their goals and enthusiasm for vehicles. I know the SHO will never be fast, but it is a DD because it is always fun.

 

[LJRuddy]

My SHO is a DD and I never worry about it breaking down wherever I go. I have put about 45k on my car this year and I still don't even have a single screw driver in my trunk. Yea, it leaks some oil and there are a few interior blemishes but it has never failed me even though it sees more redline time than most race cars . Just keep up on the maintainence and it is a very reliable car. I would not hesitate for a second to hop in it and drive from KC to Maine and back knowing that I have nothing tool wise to fix it if it does break down simply because I know it wont. Maybe that is part of the reason that I am 19 and have owned 4 SHOs already. I will never understand why so many SHO owners are so terrified of driving these cars over long distances.

For the record, I will be driving my SHO to the 20th SHO convention, racing the **** out of it and driving it back home.

 

[stephen newberg]

Mine remains a daily driver and is heading toward being as long term reliable as my '81 VW Scirocco was. Once the cam sprockets are secure, with good maintenance and decent treatment the car is a Timex, or for the younger people that do not remember those ads, an Energizer Bunny. I am sure you can **** them, but it requires either mistreatment or neglect.

@ 185k+ these days...

pax, smn

 

[IM Buddy8]

My black on black 93 was a DD and I barely had any problems besides baaaad gas mileage and normal oil seepage :S.. But when I bought this 95 Silver MTX I planned on drivin my focus as a DD. But atm I'm not sure if I'm gonna keep the 95 :'( I want a MINT GEN II to dump money into but they are so hard to come across and I don't have a garage to keep it in.. My 95 is in Great shape the body is NEAR MINT. Interior would be mint with drivers and passanger seat from a different car (seam spreading) Brakes are in good shape and it's got koni/intrax. But do I want to dump 2,000 into it and alot of agravating work when I'm starting college soon? I don't know what I'm goin to do..

 

[SHOCH]

" I have nothing tool wise to fix it if it does break down simply because I know it won't"
OMG you are soooooo 19 all right. Good thing you'll be with a great bunch of people that carry tools and parts.
I too will be driving my sho to the convention, I'll track the car too, but I don't care how much maintainence you do, things can happen.
FWIW I drove mine daily for years, just didn't want to speed up the rust with winter salt anymore and traffic with a clutch sux round here.

 

[HoustinoJillian]

Some of my SHO's are faster than some of my other SHO's and my Thunderbird SC will faster than the SHO's but it won't drive worth poo in the snow. All of them are DD's just that each car has a different day its driven on.

2%r

PS: Tom, your ratio of thanks to posts is 17%, mine is only 3%. I guess I should help out more. (2%r)
:wave:

don't worry about it, a lot of my thanked posts seem to be posts that arent as "thanks worthy" as a lot of posts by others ive seen that are unthanked

 

[LJRuddy]

" I have nothing tool wise to fix it if it does break down simply because I know it won't"
OMG you are soooooo 19 all right. Good thing you'll be with a great bunch of people that carry tools and parts.
I too will be driving my sho to the convention, I'll track the car too, but I don't care how much maintainence you do, things can happen.
FWIW I drove mine daily for years, just didn't want to speed up the rust with winter salt anymore and traffic with a clutch sux round here.

Maybe if you knew my reputation with cars you might be able to understand how I feel about my car.

If my car does not see redline at least once a day, I'm either not driving it or I am below E on gas. Ask any of the Nebraska SHO guys how I drive my cars. I bought my Mustang GT eith 62k on the clock. It now has 140k 2.5 years later. That car has seen a total of about 9-11 hours on the Heartland Park, Topeka road course and I guarantee if i were to rig an hour meter on it that only turns on when the needle is less than 1,000 rpms from redline, you probably wouldnt know how to count those high of numbers. Its the same story with my SHO.

I keep up with maintainence. This year alone, my SHO has seen 3 tranny fluid swaps, oil changes at 2,000 miles, P/S fluid has been replaced twice this year... All of that within a 40K mile (+/-) span. And even with all of the abuse I have thrown at my 2 vehicles, neither of them has left me stranded anywhere. ****, my SHO still has the OEM alternator and PS pump and they have 161,400 miles on them. Granted, I will be replacing them at the next 60k service... Either way, I do believe that goes to show you that even though I drive the crap out of my cars, they are still just as reliable as day 1.

Again, I would not hesitate to make a coast to coast drive in either of my vehicles knowing that I have zero tools/spare parts in the trunk.


Either way,

 

[SHOCH]

So I'm clear here, the 19 yr old reference was about being such an optmist, no old man knows everything attack intended.
With a 14 yr old car things will break, especialy if you drive it like alot of us do, and you make it sound impossible to break, pipedream. Unless you've changed every wire, little antifreese hose going into the firewall etc. **** I managed to break my shifter box at the Hotel before Gingerman with TCCA, even Kirk said he hasn't seen that before. But because this is a GREAT group of people WITH tools, it was removed welded and and re installed by midnight that night (Thanks to Kirk, Hamal, and all who helped)
Next day Kurt Metros had a brand new 2 pc rotor break, he got a bad one. He had a spare one at home, on his bench, but who needs it when there's a new one on there. Sometimes you are only as good as your parts, and you can't do quality control on every part.
I never questioned your maintainence skills, I never said anything about your car NOT making it anywhere, I'm just more of a realist.
I went to my first races to see my Dad run before I was 1, pretty sure I've seen cars break at every event for 40+ years. It doesn't stop my from going sideways tryin to catch Porters Legacy GT or run the drags.
I truly hope you never break down.

 

[afick]

I brought my 98 sho 1 day before thanksgiving and I love it. I traveled 600 miles round trip to get it. I have had a number of ford tauruses and boy they don't compare to the sho. I knew how much I loved the car driving it back from Atlanta, Ga to Charleston, SC when my brother tried to race me in my 2000 taurus. Boy was that a joke. I got back into town 10:00 p.m. And my first stop was at Parks Autoparts to purchase 2 super 40 flowmasters. I love the sound. Right now I am driving the sho as a DD because I love it so much but I plan on driving it only a few days a week. The car has 105k+ miles on it and I wanted to make sure it lasted so I purchased a extended warranty off line. I am covered for 5 years and it costed me $1,600 with no deductable ( they have terms down to 3 years around $1,000). My monthly payments are $131.00 dollars a month for 11 months w/ a small down payment. It covers the major engine componets(camshaft, alternator, water pump, piston , valves, and etc.. Up to $3,300). It covers the transmission up to $2,500(major brake compents and suspension) and if your car breaks down you can have it towed up to 50 miles free, free road side help, if you are stuck out of town it will pay you $40.00 a day.

I have had many extended warranties before like this but usually I have to pay first and wait to get my money back but this company pays over the phone with a credit card.

Andre

 

[Silvapain]

If there's gas in it, I drive it
If it breaks, I fix it
If it doesn't break, I'm not driving it hard enough