Hey guys. Well I have always wanted a SHO, and after the recent sale of my Mustang I decided that it was time to buy one. I picked up a near mint 95 auto car. An older guy owned it for the past 11 years and has taken meticulous care of it. I can already tell this is going to be an addiction. As far as mods the car is near stock, with only a cold air kit that the guy had put on a few years ago. The car has almost 155,000 miles, but doesnt leak or burn anything. I am hoping to get some input on what is needed to make this car a reliable daily driver. It seems like it is going to be, but the previous owner Im sure drove it nicely. I plan on beating on it a little, besides you can have a car with an engine that cool looking and not beat on it. I was a mechanic for almost 7 years and have worked on a few SHO's but never in any detail. Im assuming this thing is either gonna be an easy one to work on, or its gonna make me an old man fast. Either way Im glad to have found this site. And hopefully I will learn alot more about this beast.
Noob
- Thread starter MightyMax
- Start date
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Eric VerValin
PiMPSKiLLET
If you've worked on them before, and his car was from around here.. you'll be using the heat wrench on the suspension goodies.. other than that.. its just a general pain getting around things.. nothing too crazy.
Where at in Indiana might you be? Seems we're getting more from this state all the time.
Where at in Indiana might you be? Seems we're getting more from this state all the time.
SHOmethewayhome
BAD ROLE MODEL
despite our best efforts to contain.... ;-p
Eric VerValin
PiMPSKiLLET
Hey don't you have a front 60k to go work on.. lol
bubba
ATX Connoisseur
Hmmmm. I wonder if he a fort wayne sho! Indiana is starting to get some people lol
Phoenix
SHOHOLIC
welcome in
I am in Valparaiso Indiana, the car has been a few places. From what I have been told, the car started life in Georgia, then Illinois, then Iowa and finally made it to Indiana. The underbody looks suprisingly clean for a car of this age and living in this area. It doesnt have the normal Taurus rot over the rear wheels, the bottoms of the doors are flawless as is the trunk lid. The only real damage on the car are 3 small dings on the drivers door. I am going to be tearing into the car soon, I want to replace all the normal wear and tear items before they decide to fail on me.
Eric VerValin
PiMPSKiLLET
Well I just parted a rust free 93 and have a shed full of parts if you need something its just a trip down 30. 
We'll have to get everyone around here together sometime.
We'll have to get everyone around here together sometime.
SuperHO
Mental Patient
ya'll put a get-together...together, lemme know and i'll put a few more miles on my SHO.
hawkeye18
Sorta cares
Not from or in IN, but welcome to the forum! Since you went from a Mustang to a SHO you're going to have a lot of weird experiences, esp. if it was a GT. The SHO will never have the torque that a GT does. Ever*. A GT will never have the top end that a SHO does. Every GT I've ever seen that revved to 8k RPM blew'd up.
Most people with SHOs focus on handling and braking. This is because, frankly, getting more HP out of the SHO engine is like getting more money from a GM bean counter. It can be done, but a Holy Hand Grenade is helpful. I would focus on the brakes; they are dangerously underpowered from the factory. You will notice if you go out and stomp on them; after about the second 60-0 stop, they will, for the most part, cease to function.
You will want to do what is called the 11.6" upgrade (so called because you will increase your rotor diameter from 10.9" to the 11.6" brakes used on gen 3 SHOs). For this, you will need a set of brake caliper brackets stamped "FN74" (I happen to have a spare set of these), and a set of 11.6" rotors from a 97-99 SHO. Yes, gen 3s were from 96-99, but parts store catalogs are so hopelessly f***ed up for the 96 that I don't use it.
You'll also want 96-99 brake pads, which are of the 598 variety, instead of the 601 variety for the gen 2s. if you look at the part number it'll make sense. You will reuse the stock calipers and lines, which means no fluid work necessary, though this would be an excellent time for a bleed and flush. You want the 598 pads because they are larger and will take better advantage of the larger rotors.
You'll also want to do a 60K service, which is a doozy if you're not familiar with engine work. go here for a lot of GREAT walkthroughs and pictures on how to do various maintenance projects. The more maintenance you do, the happier your SHO will be, and the less it will leave you calling GEICO for a tow truck.
Overall, though, you came to the right place for SHOs. This forum has saved me, I would estimate, more than $10,000 in labor costs over the almost 5 years I've owned my SHOs, and it has enabled me to know more about SHOs, and cars in general, than I would've ever imagined.
Five years ago, I couldn't tell the difference between a fuel pump and a fuel rail. Now, I work on peoples' cars all the time (sometimes for money) and have become the "car expert" at work, and I owe it all to this forum... hopefully you can get the same level of benefit from it. Again, welcome!
*forced induction notwithstanding
Most people with SHOs focus on handling and braking. This is because, frankly, getting more HP out of the SHO engine is like getting more money from a GM bean counter. It can be done, but a Holy Hand Grenade is helpful. I would focus on the brakes; they are dangerously underpowered from the factory. You will notice if you go out and stomp on them; after about the second 60-0 stop, they will, for the most part, cease to function.
You will want to do what is called the 11.6" upgrade (so called because you will increase your rotor diameter from 10.9" to the 11.6" brakes used on gen 3 SHOs). For this, you will need a set of brake caliper brackets stamped "FN74" (I happen to have a spare set of these), and a set of 11.6" rotors from a 97-99 SHO. Yes, gen 3s were from 96-99, but parts store catalogs are so hopelessly f***ed up for the 96 that I don't use it.
You'll also want 96-99 brake pads, which are of the 598 variety, instead of the 601 variety for the gen 2s. if you look at the part number it'll make sense. You will reuse the stock calipers and lines, which means no fluid work necessary, though this would be an excellent time for a bleed and flush. You want the 598 pads because they are larger and will take better advantage of the larger rotors.
You'll also want to do a 60K service, which is a doozy if you're not familiar with engine work. go here for a lot of GREAT walkthroughs and pictures on how to do various maintenance projects. The more maintenance you do, the happier your SHO will be, and the less it will leave you calling GEICO for a tow truck.
Overall, though, you came to the right place for SHOs. This forum has saved me, I would estimate, more than $10,000 in labor costs over the almost 5 years I've owned my SHOs, and it has enabled me to know more about SHOs, and cars in general, than I would've ever imagined.
Five years ago, I couldn't tell the difference between a fuel pump and a fuel rail. Now, I work on peoples' cars all the time (sometimes for money) and have become the "car expert" at work, and I owe it all to this forum... hopefully you can get the same level of benefit from it. Again, welcome!
*forced induction notwithstanding
Thanks, Yeah I have had Mustang GTs my whole life. The sho is a definet step down in power from my last 96GT, but it seems to handle well for what it is. I will be doing the 60k in the next few days here. And a get together sounds like a cool idea, I am always up to check out what others have done to their cars.
Welcome!
ycode90
SHO Member
Howdy. A mechanic huh ? The SHO 'll cure that.
Welcome aboard! Do the rod bearings!!
