considering buying a sho

[layingbody86]

well i ran across a 94 sho the guy only wants 1100 for it. the tranny was rebuilt a few hundered miles ago and showed paper work on it but it shifts really hard, the guy told me (well its a dealership) that the guy they sold it to had the tranny rebuilt and had a shift kit put in it then they bought it back. BUT the main thing keeping me from buying it is that it has 164k miles on it. about how long do these motors last? its been well taken care of as far as i can tell (i know it has been ragged on a little in its life but all in all it looks like a clean car) so what do yall think?

164k miles
rebuilt tranny
clean inside and out no rust
paint very nice
$1100

good deal or should i pass?


thanks for any info you guys can give me.

 

[Brett]

There are people on this forum with 250-300k that still autocross there cars monthly. If you maintain them well they'll last forever! Its the trannys you have to watch out for! You should question the seller of the car, see how much he knows about SHOs. If he knows squat, i wouldnt trust the whole "shift kit" deal.

 

[38SHO]

well if you like SHO's look at it this way:

if its truly a good body, rusty free SHO, you will atleast have yourself a decent platform to work with for 1100 bucks.... If the paint and inside are in good shape then its defintely worth it.

whatever you do with it after that is up to you, I don't know what your goals are for this car.

I would suggest doing a 60k service, timing belt change, and changing the rod bearings. This lets you know the weaker points of the SHO have been taken care of and maintained properly.

now if everything was good when you do all this maintenance and nothing is already hurt, I would say you will have a good, reliable ENGINE for 60-100k miles that shouldn't need any major work, depending on useage, driver technique, oil changes........

Lots of people have high mileage SHO's. It is almost average to have a SHO with over 100k miles I think. There are some on the forum with over 300k miles on their SHO's still running the original engines if I remeber correctly.

 

[1993MTXSHO]

yeah most shos have abotu 150k id say and yes there are a bunch of peopel over 200k and soem at 300k on the original engines. But yes the trannys are the weak point

 

[SuperHO]

I read somewhere (delpi forum, I believe) that someone had a 400k mile SHO with stock internals except rod bearings and valve shims.

 

[layingbody86]

thanks guys im going to go and ask and bunch more questions and test drive it and feel this "shift kit" my self and see whats all up with it here are a few pics of the car

 

[SuperHO]

black handles on a 94? Did I miss a memo?

Anyway, looks pretty sharp. take her for a spin and give us your impressions.

 

[SHOtime2511]

ask for some paperwork for the rebuild,then take it to a shop and see what they think about the tranny,if it feels strange that is.

 

[SASHO91]

1100...thats not bad at all....

As said, double check the tranny.

This car, if treated properly, will last a very long time. If that trans is in fact rebuilt w/ a shift kit, you can double the mileage on the car now without worry. That is with the normal trans fluid flushes etc...
As for the motor, Rod bearings would be the FIRST items to get done. No questions asked. A simple job that will only take a few hrs. or so and will add years to the life of the car. Next a 60k(or 120k if you want to be specific- they both included adjusting the valve lash) that will set the motor completly up for many many miles...

After that, suspension would be a great place to head to. A small selction to choose from, but will still get the job done very well. your call on that though, if you want a smooth Daily Driver or a full blown track car... it can be done....

And if you want a few extra ponies...... there is a nice aftermarket for these cars. Not as broad as ford's other creation the Mustang, but still enough to get you to pass a Vette's and assorted high end cars.... (talking boost here)
But if your just looking for that extra bump, there are plenty of bolt ons. But be prepaired to not receive in full what you put in(money wise). As price per hp on these cars gets up there fast. However, if your looking for just that extra little bump, these cars LOVE the go-go juice. They respond nicely to nitrous. And being that the trans in the car you are looking to purchase is to be rebuilt w/ a shift kit, you have nothing major to worry about.(allthough to side track alittle, a bigger trans cooler is a GOOD investment, as well as a computer out of a 94-95ATX, this will help the trans out in different ways)

In short, you can be very pleased with these cars if you put alittle time into them, as well as alittle cash. IMO and as most other members opinion, more so than you would be with a mustang, GTP, etc.....

My 02....

Hope that helps.

 

[SlowHeavyObject]

sorry if i'm a downer, but i'd be wary of the "well maintained" claim. the dealers sure spruce it up for the sale. i'm sure it will run perfectly on the test drive but something tells me it looks fishy.

obviously, the car has been repainted - as evidenced by the b and c pillar trim being white. also the door handles might have been replaced seeing as they are not body color - suggesting maybe a whole door replacement or some body work. wouldn't be surprised to find out it was in a minor collision or t-bone. another thing is that it looks completely stock with the exception of the wheels, which are white - which suggests (unless they were replaced or painted) it is a 93 model because of the wing (wing option required body color door handles too).

i would have to agree along with everyone that you should find out if the dealer knows what kind of car they are selling and how much about it they know. me and a couple of my friends used to consistently buy used mustangs from a dealer who favorited selling them because they were fast movers. he would constantly try to make a sale but got all of the details about the car wrong. even went to the point to tell me that a 92 4-cyl was a 6-cyl car when 6-cyl wasn't even offered (obviously he assumed all were either 8 or 6 based on the current models). also went as far as to claim an 85 model was an 86. we still bought some good cars off of him even after all that.

even with all that it still seems like a deal at that price. depends on how much your money is worth to you (like if you want a car that may have been in a minor accident). just check out the car's history. check to see if the paint looks "too new." also check those black door handles to see if the flat black is "too glossy" or faded - that would explain the paint job on the pillars if they're faded. just all of the exterior body work tells me something is up.

 

[brucebender]

Go by your gut reaction.

When I bought my SHO, I used my gut reaction. It is usually correct. My car has 147k and I do some of the rapirs because of cost. This car is one bad boy.I never evperienced the acceleration with a suspension like this. I heard but I never saw the four wheel drive SHO. I've heard that is another bad boy.
I have also heard that these cars are using Mazda transmissions. I heard you can find short stroke shifters but I don,t know the job.

If you hesitate on this purchase. Sleep on it over night. I think that is sound advice. Good Luck too.

Bender
Pittsburgh

P.S. Hey you guys, can anybody tell me where the autocross is in Pittsburgh.

 

[layingbody86]

sorry if i'm a downer, but i'd be wary of the "well maintained" claim. the dealers sure spruce it up for the sale. i'm sure it will run perfectly on the test drive but something tells me it looks fishy.

obviously, the car has been repainted - as evidenced by the b and c pillar trim being white. also the door handles might have been replaced seeing as they are not body color - suggesting maybe a whole door replacement or some body work. wouldn't be surprised to find out it was in a minor collision or t-bone. another thing is that it looks completely stock with the exception of the wheels, which are white - which suggests (unless they were replaced or painted) it is a 93 model because of the wing (wing option required body color door handles too).

i would have to agree along with everyone that you should find out if the dealer knows what kind of car they are selling and how much about it they know. me and a couple of my friends used to consistently buy used mustangs from a dealer who favorited selling them because they were fast movers. he would constantly try to make a sale but got all of the details about the car wrong. even went to the point to tell me that a 92 4-cyl was a 6-cyl car when 6-cyl wasn't even offered (obviously he assumed all were either 8 or 6 based on the current models). also went as far as to claim an 85 model was an 86. we still bought some good cars off of him even after all that.

even with all that it still seems like a deal at that price. depends on how much your money is worth to you (like if you want a car that may have been in a minor accident). just check out the car's history. check to see if the paint looks "too new." also check those black door handles to see if the flat black is "too glossy" or faded - that would explain the paint job on the pillars if they're faded. just all of the exterior body work tells me something is up.

thanks for the info about the paint and what not ill have to check it out. all that stuff makes sence to me but what kinda throws me now is he is offering a buy back deal and claims it has never been in a wreck and says he has a clean carfax history. but i guess all werecks are not reported to insurance so it could of been and then just fixed on their own time. it wouldnt surprise me if it has been in a wreck the car is coming from a small shady used car lot, but he was asking 2000 and i talked him down to 1100

 

[SHO--ripper]

That's a good deal for $1100.

 

[LookAtThatSHO]

That is not a 94, it's a 93 by the looks of it (b/c of the spoiler). You will love the black interior. Heh you could probably sell the interior alone and get close to $1,000 from someone here on the forum. $1,100 isn't bad!

EDIT: Just saw SlowHeavyObject beat me to it, but the black interior also suggests this is a 93 since this was the last year it was offered.

 

[LookAtThatSHO]

I have also heard that these cars are using Mazda transmissions.

Mazda made the gearbox.

I heard you can find short stroke shifters but I don,t know the job.

There is a SHOrt Shifter and SHOrty Shifter that's been created by one of the members here on the forum. His name is Jose. A must have for the SHO. Do a search, as there is plenty of information on this.

 

[layingbody86]

so if its a '93 i can check on the door tag right or is it somewhere else? firewall/underhood area?

 

[SuperHO]

does it have chrome trim around the windows?

Also.....get a carfax for yourself or make the dealer show you again....not a printed piece of paper, but have him hit the website and show you straight from there.

Gads, this seems awefully fishy...