New to the taurus,, looking for mecinicly inclined info on different models.

[Nighthawk]

Hello everyone,, this is my first post here, looks like a great bourd and im glad i found it!
My Fiance owns a 97' Taurus 3.0 12v, which is a decent car,, i like how easy it is to work on, and the amount of room around the engine under the hood.
So now im consitering in the future getting my hands on a SHO model,, got a few ?'s,, im a big ford nut always have been and have been working on them for years,
Whats the difference between the 3.0 24v and the 3.2 24v, other then the oviose, or as you guys here reference them as the "ATX" and "MTX" which im pretty sure your talking manual and auto trans.
also,, which gen body style (95' and earlyer) or the (96' and up) sho's are easyer to work on, Easyer to mod, and more reliable.
Thanx for any info that you guys can give.

Isaac.

 

[AutoSHO]

To start, go to http://www.shotimes.com/ That is the single best SHO info resource out there.

The 3.0 came backed by the MTX (manual transaxle) only. From 89-92 this was the only drivetrain configuration available. If you're looking for speed, look no further, the MTX is the way to go. It was built from 93 to 95 also. Always the same drivetrain.

The 3.2 is the same as the 3.0 but is bored .120" over to yield the extra displacement. the 3.2 only came backed by the ATX (automatic transaxle) and the full potential cannot truly be realized in the atx configuration. The 3.2 can be swapped into the MTX cars and will produce more power (MTX cams had slightly better lift on the intake side) and be much more fun.

The V-6 sho's are very reliable if maintained well. The 60K maintanence is Crucial to their life-span. Doing a search will net you with more info than you ever wanted to know about this maintanence.

As a recap:
3.0 - 220 hp - 200 Ft. Ibs Tq. - MTX Only
3.2 - 220 hp - 215 Ft. Ibs Tq. - ATX Only

For the enthusiast, buy a stickshift. Only then is the true SHO power realized.

 

[Nighthawk]

cool,, Thanx alot for taking the time to post all that info!
Thanx!

 

[jthomas68]

AutoSHO:


For the enthusiast, buy a stickshift. Only then is the true SHO power realized.

I have to disagree,as TomW is hitting 13.4X in his ATX.