Potential SHO, your thoughts? (pics)

[Fsho]

Hey guys, I've read the thread for buyers "tips and tricks" and have been researching 1st and 2nd gen SHOs for about 6 months now but I was wondering if I could call on your guys' expertise in analyzing this potential candidate I'm considering purchasing.

I'm looking for a solid SHO I can DD over the winter in the meantime while slowly but surely upgrading into a boosted daily in the next year or two.

1994, MTX, 146,000K miles (aprox. 90K on newer engine, 10K after recent 60k), green with 50/50 beige int., 'newer' clutch, brakes, tie-rods, engine mounts, battery, and starter...sellers asking $2500

This thread would be worthless without pics, so here we go: (taken w/a camera phone sorry about the quality)









Couple rust areas:





Few Cracks in the dash (EATC buttons are in pretty poor condition)







Has a few minor bolt-ons, engine bay looks pretty clean



I test drove it for about 10 minutes, seemed to drive fairly smoothly, MPH needle bounced around a bit but seemed to be fairly accurate over 20mph, and the clutch and trans felt pretty smooth. My only concerns were occasionally I would feel a little vibration from the brake pedal, not while braking, but while stationary at idle, it also seemed to be running a little hot, according to the factory gauge at least. The needle was about a 1/2 inch over the middle of the gauge which is a bit higher than my sable usual reads.

So what do you guys think? Any and all advice or opinions would be appreciated as I know you guys defiantly know your stuff, thanks in advance!

-Kurt

 

[JRA2000TL]

Looks like a nice average condition SHO. A few things...why was the engine replaced? Did it spin a bearing? These engines tend to run at lower oil pressure, so replacing the rod bearings is good preventative maintenance on the MTX cars. Inquire about this and why the engine was replaced. If it has 146k and the new motor has 90k on it, that means it would have been replaced at only 56k....something went wrong. These motors last beyond that. I doubt it spun a bearing with only 56k...definitely want more info on that.

The temp needle, although odd, is considered fine as long as it's anywhere in the NORMAL wording on the gauge. This doesn't seem right as the N is up there near the H....some of these cars have the needles creep up there. As long as you drove the car for a bit and it stays anywhere within the normal range, you should be ok.

Vibration from the brake pedal? I have no idea.

Does the a/c and heat work? Any noises from the suspension? Tires look decent from the pics.

FWIW, I paid $1900 for a clean, rust free 95 MTX with 144k 2 months ago. See if you can get him down to $2k. IMO, that would be fair.

 

[msteiny]

Looks good, Id try talking him down if I were you. The things I can see wrong is the pass. vent is broken, as you say the EATC button are gone, a new unit around $100. The intake supports are missing and the firewall cover is missing. I might be knit-pickin but for 2500 I would want more. Just my opinion.

 

[jonheese]

What bolt-ons does it have?

I noticed red calipers; are those just painted stockers, or were they upgraded?

 

[rubydist]

in this part of the world you can find a lot nicer car than that for less than $2500 if you have 6 months to look. I would keep looking, but that's just me and I'm spoiled with the no-rust cars we have out here.

 

[Fsho]

Looks like a nice average condition SHO. A few things...why was the engine replaced? Did it spin a bearing?

Vibration from the brake pedal? I have no idea.

Does the a/c and heat work? Any noises from the suspension? Tires look decent from the pics.

FWIW, I paid $1900 for a clean, rust free 95 MTX with 144k 2 months ago. See if you can get him down to $2k. IMO, that would be fair.

From what I understand, the original engine was neglected by the original owner and (the sellers theory) due to a lack of a 60k the engine was "shot" a few months after he got it (5 years ago) when he had a shop install another engine with 80k miles on it and did the 60k at this time, when the car itself had approx. 100,000 miles, but that is a good point, I should get more details about the whole swap situation.

A/C doesn't work, says the reason is a leaky line, heat does work.

1.9k for a rustless 95, nice work! Yeah, 2,000 seems a lot more fair now that more details that are being pointed out, thanks JRA

Looks good, Id try talking him down if I were you. The things I can see wrong is the pass. vent is broken, as you say the EATC button are gone, a new unit around $100. The intake supports are missing and the firewall cover is missing. I might be knit-pickin but for 2500 I would want more. Just my opinion.

No, I appreciate the knit-picking, not knowing exactly what to look for I didn't even realize the missing intake supports or firewall cover, thanks for pointing those out...firewall cover doesn't seem to serious, but what about the intake supports?

What bolt-ons does it have?

I noticed red calipers; are those just painted stockers, or were they upgraded?

It has a magnaflow y-pipe and big bore intake and butterflys, and the brakes are just the stockers unfortunately with newer pads.

 

[SuperchargedSHOguy]

I would offer no more than $2000 if your heart is set on it. With green being the most built color and least desirable SHO, especially with rust in those places, that seems fair for the buyer and seller if it indeed has the y pipe with BBBs and the fresher 60k ect claimed.

 

[Fsho]

in this part of the world you can find a lot nicer car than that for less than $2500 if you have 6 months to look. I would keep looking, but that's just me and I'm spoiled with the no-rust cars we have out here.

Yeah, I was a little skeptical of the price at first and its being confirmed by all your guys opinions, I now see that its really worth about 2k at best. I've been researching SHOs for 6 months, only looking to purchase one for a week or two but I'm defiantly swaying towards your idea of continuing the search. I'm jealous about the rust free cars, wish IL didn't use so much salt.

 

[dohcsable]

me personally, I prolly wouldn't give more than 1200 for it with that rust....lol

 

[Radical540]

FWIW....if it matters to you, please also consider that the SHO gets horrible gas mileage!

 

[ycode90]

^WAT .
My blower car gets 28mpg .

Most times.

 

[rubydist]

FWIW....if it matters to you, please also consider that the SHO gets horrible gas mileage!

compared to what? a Vespa?

a SHO will get better mileage than a regular Taurus and better than any other mid-90s mid-sized sedan that I have found

 

[Ocnaj]

^What they said. My '90 gets 31 MPG on the highway and around 22-25 around town.

 

[JRA2000TL]

If you decide to keep looking, definitely expand your search to the South. I traveled out of town to get both of mine. The 90 came from Houston, TX, and the 95 came from Huntsville, AL. Do a nationwide search on craigslist. They pop up all the time. If you travel a long distance to get a car, make sure you get detailed pictures, a complete description of the car, service history, etc. Then you can just rent a car one way or fly in and drive home.

 

[zblackbeast]

FWIW....if it matters to you, please also consider that the SHO gets horrible gas mileage!

Heh?

You must have a massive vacuum leak and consistanly keep the motor spinning over 4 grand.... OR yyour brakes are sticking or something.. shoot..

 

[TwistedMunky]

Being from Washington I dont know alot about that "rust" stuff you guys have. I would be worried about whats under the cladding.

 

[riden2low]

Here's a nice little unit in the Portland OR. area. 91 on craigslist.

 

[sperold]

Although it is not a steal, $2500.00 is not too much for the car. Sure it would be great to get it cheaper and you should give it a try.
That "newer" clutch just saved you $800.00 and the other stuff is good to have.
I usually don't like cars that have the motor swapped, but if you get the codes and everything turns out OK, then it should be OK. I worry that things are not connected correctly on a motor swap, and you end up with problems that never get solved.

 

[SHOtime2511]

That is a $1700-$2000 car tops.

 

[Radical540]

I'm not exactly sure where some of you guys are getting your inflated mpg numbers from, but according to my employer AND the (very accurate) gov't website; my '93 ATX should (only) get 16 city & 24 hwy- a combined mpg of 18!! See the link below:
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/findacar.htm