Dannyboy
New Member
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2016
- Messages
- 17
- Reaction score
- 8
Hello Ya'll!
I can't remember not wanting to drive fast. I mean even as a toddler all I wanted to do was watch Bow and Luke get that General Lee sideways or jump something! My first car was a 66 GTO and it was fast! I had it charging down our local drag strip in 12-13 seconds by the time I was 18. My best friends drove Mustangs, Camaros, and even an occasional Chrysler product, they were all fast, that's just what we did. We were always greasy, dirty and talking hot rods. I think we had girlfriends? I can't really remember, but to this day I could tell ya every part that was on my buddy's 69 Mach 1!
I was the youngest of us all, but we were all the same, brothers in a family of fast drivers and hard fists. We were legit cool, because we didn't care at all about being cool. So you can imagine my shock when my best friend pulled up in front of my house in a four door sedan! WTF?!
In his defense he was the first of us to bring home a baby (in a 71 Super Cobra Jet!) and get married. I had never really payed attention to newer cars so I had no idea what a SHO Taurus was the first time I saw it. Once he took me for a ride I never forgot it though! I couldn't believe a car like that was being built in 92! A 4 door with balls?! That hadn't been done in decades as far as I new. Ya gotta remember the early 90's was when car makers were just starting to wake up from a long nap away from the Muscle Cars of the 60's and 70's. It seems to me that newer cars have only gotten better since the SHO was new. HP has steadily increased along with strength and style. Arguably materials and craftsmanship seem to have gotten better as well. European and Asian cars have nothing over our home grown USA made cars these days in my opinion.
Through the years as I have aged and raised a family of my own, I have grown to appreciate other aspects of driving a well built car. Even a well set up road racer. Awe how life was simple when all a car had to do to impress me was go fast in a straight line! Now I could fill a binder with formulas and settings. Chassis, engine, suspension and brakes connected to a track with today's tire technology, man, what a wide world indeed.
I haven't built a car from scratch in a while now. I was busy learning how to win championships wrenching and riding on 2 wheels! Six under my belt all together now. Not bad for an old hot rodder, but when your talking Street Bikes and road racing, with age and wisdom (racecraft) comes pain and brittle bones! Crashing at close to 200 mph a few times makes a young man old very fast.
So here I am, having an early mid life crisis maybe? My wife would say yes. Retired from the 2 wheel game, I am feeling like getting back to my roots. Build an old hot rod again. Only this time I'll make it turn and stop as well as haul some proverbial ass! With that in mind I found a deal I could not pass up on an old Austin Healey Bugeye Sprite. A 58 MK1 project car. I always liked those little cars thouvh I would have never admitted as much when I was 18!
When it came time to pick a drivetrain the choice was easy. Due to it's diminutive engine bay a proper V6 would be a tight squeeze but not impossible! After all there is that whole power to weight thing right? I just so happened to have a Tremec T-56 sitting next to a Vortex super charger in my shop. I also have some very nice fully adjustable coil overs that would probably fit quite nicely on a home built tube chassis under a Bugeye body.
Yesterday I brought home a running, driving 92 Taurus SHO mtx. Well used as it is, I think even the heartiest of SHO purists might approve of it being a good Donner car. And even if they didn't, we'll, I don't really give a $hot! Hopefully there are enough good-hearted people on this forum that will still help with dumb questions I may have along the way. I'm no SHO expert, never touched one before, so please feel free to throw any info you think might help.
Now I know this has been done before, albeit abandoned most of the time about half way done. I even found the Bugeye in Oceanside with the exact same engine, just a 5 speed instead of the 6 I hope to use. Wow! Just when ya think your on to something that might not have been done yet! LOL! I read as many of those stories as I could find over the last couple weeks. A SHO in a Bugeye that is actually done and on the street surely must still be a rare find? If not, mine will deffinatly stand on it's own as a one off chassis built for speed and style, that you can be sure of.
If your still reading this by now I must say, I'm very impressed with your commitment and I very much appreciate you taking the time. I had fun talking down memory lane! I will be posting pics soon as I have something more then a pile of parts. I plan on being an active member of this forum with any help I may be able to offer and I hope to make some friends along the way.
Thanks again for sticking with me,
Dannyboy.
I can't remember not wanting to drive fast. I mean even as a toddler all I wanted to do was watch Bow and Luke get that General Lee sideways or jump something! My first car was a 66 GTO and it was fast! I had it charging down our local drag strip in 12-13 seconds by the time I was 18. My best friends drove Mustangs, Camaros, and even an occasional Chrysler product, they were all fast, that's just what we did. We were always greasy, dirty and talking hot rods. I think we had girlfriends? I can't really remember, but to this day I could tell ya every part that was on my buddy's 69 Mach 1!
I was the youngest of us all, but we were all the same, brothers in a family of fast drivers and hard fists. We were legit cool, because we didn't care at all about being cool. So you can imagine my shock when my best friend pulled up in front of my house in a four door sedan! WTF?!
In his defense he was the first of us to bring home a baby (in a 71 Super Cobra Jet!) and get married. I had never really payed attention to newer cars so I had no idea what a SHO Taurus was the first time I saw it. Once he took me for a ride I never forgot it though! I couldn't believe a car like that was being built in 92! A 4 door with balls?! That hadn't been done in decades as far as I new. Ya gotta remember the early 90's was when car makers were just starting to wake up from a long nap away from the Muscle Cars of the 60's and 70's. It seems to me that newer cars have only gotten better since the SHO was new. HP has steadily increased along with strength and style. Arguably materials and craftsmanship seem to have gotten better as well. European and Asian cars have nothing over our home grown USA made cars these days in my opinion.
Through the years as I have aged and raised a family of my own, I have grown to appreciate other aspects of driving a well built car. Even a well set up road racer. Awe how life was simple when all a car had to do to impress me was go fast in a straight line! Now I could fill a binder with formulas and settings. Chassis, engine, suspension and brakes connected to a track with today's tire technology, man, what a wide world indeed.
I haven't built a car from scratch in a while now. I was busy learning how to win championships wrenching and riding on 2 wheels! Six under my belt all together now. Not bad for an old hot rodder, but when your talking Street Bikes and road racing, with age and wisdom (racecraft) comes pain and brittle bones! Crashing at close to 200 mph a few times makes a young man old very fast.
So here I am, having an early mid life crisis maybe? My wife would say yes. Retired from the 2 wheel game, I am feeling like getting back to my roots. Build an old hot rod again. Only this time I'll make it turn and stop as well as haul some proverbial ass! With that in mind I found a deal I could not pass up on an old Austin Healey Bugeye Sprite. A 58 MK1 project car. I always liked those little cars thouvh I would have never admitted as much when I was 18!
When it came time to pick a drivetrain the choice was easy. Due to it's diminutive engine bay a proper V6 would be a tight squeeze but not impossible! After all there is that whole power to weight thing right? I just so happened to have a Tremec T-56 sitting next to a Vortex super charger in my shop. I also have some very nice fully adjustable coil overs that would probably fit quite nicely on a home built tube chassis under a Bugeye body.
Yesterday I brought home a running, driving 92 Taurus SHO mtx. Well used as it is, I think even the heartiest of SHO purists might approve of it being a good Donner car. And even if they didn't, we'll, I don't really give a $hot! Hopefully there are enough good-hearted people on this forum that will still help with dumb questions I may have along the way. I'm no SHO expert, never touched one before, so please feel free to throw any info you think might help.
Now I know this has been done before, albeit abandoned most of the time about half way done. I even found the Bugeye in Oceanside with the exact same engine, just a 5 speed instead of the 6 I hope to use. Wow! Just when ya think your on to something that might not have been done yet! LOL! I read as many of those stories as I could find over the last couple weeks. A SHO in a Bugeye that is actually done and on the street surely must still be a rare find? If not, mine will deffinatly stand on it's own as a one off chassis built for speed and style, that you can be sure of.
If your still reading this by now I must say, I'm very impressed with your commitment and I very much appreciate you taking the time. I had fun talking down memory lane! I will be posting pics soon as I have something more then a pile of parts. I plan on being an active member of this forum with any help I may be able to offer and I hope to make some friends along the way.
Thanks again for sticking with me,
Dannyboy.
