SHO restore costs

[Spencedaddy95]

hey guys! i'm new on this forum, i came from the lightning forums, as i'm a former owner of a 95 lightning.

i wrecked the truck, so now i'm buying a 92 SHO, and i have a couple questions as to how to go about making this car "bulletproof"

it has 117k on it, a new clutch and new tires, i'd be the third owner, the two previous owners were middle aged women, interior is supposedly clean, i'm going to look at it today, she says she hasn't started it in a year, but it ran fine when she parked it

its a pretty good deal, but i need to know what i can do to make this thing last a long time and produce pretty good power, i was running 9.2's in my truck at the 1/8th mile, and i'd like to get that in this car, is that a fairly easy goal?

what can i expect to do to make this motor perfect, a simple freshen up or a full rebuild? about how much would it cost to do those things ?

how long do these 5 speeds last? better yet, what kind of power can they take?

is there anything that specifically needs to be looked for? i'll be starting it, supposedly it doesn't smoke, but are there any noises or occurances that i should look for

i will be looking to have a decent daily, so i plan on dropping this thing a little, and making the motor perfect, but not too powerful, like i said, i just need 9.2's or a little less

this will be the first performance fwd i've had, and i'm used to big rwd muscle...so i'm gonna be learning on this car

thanks for your help guys, i just wanna make an informed decision as to how much this car will cost me to make it really reliable and quick

btw, my budget is about 6 grand, and the car is 1800 bucks

 

[sperold]

See if the A/C unit works and make sure the blend door operates (punch in different temperatures and see if the air temp changes). Look for anything amiss with the heater core. These problems are only solved by removing the dash, which ends up being an 8-hour job.
Be gentle with the motor when you start it up after sitting so long. Ideally, put some tranny fluid in the cylinders, but you can probably get away without it.
Plan on a starter, an alternator, a water pump, new rad hoses, and a battery. When you are doing the water pump, do the front 60K and do an upper 60K at your convenience.
Get familiar with RockAuto and other sites that sell stuff for this vehicle and buy stuff on clear-outs when you can.
With a little luck, you won't have to do anything right off the bat. Drive it for awhile but avoid cross country excursions. Avoid overheating it at all costs and if anything is suspicious, change the thermostat and rad if necessary (both are reasonable).
You will be happy with the performance.
No matter how "new" the clutch is, you will have trouble with it eventually (throw out bearing and clutch fingers).
You are paying enough for the car so make sure it is better than you expect. Take a look at the ones for sale on this site for comparison. Most prices here are very good and the cars have been well taken care of.

 

[warmonger]

search dif pins,rod bearings and 60k. you'll find plenty of info

 

[SHOtime2511]

my SHO went 9.2 in the 1/8th and 14.2 in the 1/4 @ 98/99 mph.
it takes some good mods to get it to that point.
3.2L swap and bolt ons should get you there if you want to stay N/A otherwise id just spray it.

 

[Spencedaddy95]

so it is possible for this E/T to occur, good, what sort of mods do you have done to your SHO? i read something about this 3.2 swap, any pointers as to where i can acquire a nice 3.2?

i'll try and get some pics of the car, man is it hard to find low mileage ones, i have found like 3 that are under 100k, and they're all autos

are these 60k adjustments easy enough to do? i've done quite a bit of work on cars, but never messed with valves and such

 

[sperold]

Get familiar with motor mounts and transmission mounts. These cars need them to be reinforced; and all the 3.0 mounts can't be bought new.
Nothing is easy on these cars. The front wheel drive makes even a water pump change a big deal. To do the rocker cover gaskets, the intake has to come off. For the first few things, take it to someone who does this for a living (from this forum for example).
Don't be too enthralled with a manual transmission car. A 94 - 95 automatic car will work just as well, and might even be less headaches.

 

[raff18]

umm not to burst a big bubble right now but a 9.2 et from what i have been reading on here is going to cost u way more than 6k in cash
i realy wouldent set a gole that low if ur tight on cash and want to daily drive this car
ur going to have to strip this car down do a 3.2 swap heavy dudty axals a turbo on big boost and a **** of alot of other work u could buy one swwet sho on here for 6k thats had most of this work done and not have to worrie about much
hope i havent killed ur dream to bad

 

[frosho]

umm not to burst a big bubble right now but a 9.2 et from what i have been reading on here is going to cost u way more than 6k in cash
i realy wouldent set a gole that low if ur tight on cash and want to daily drive this car
ur going to have to strip this car down do a 3.2 swap heavy dudty axals a turbo on big boost and a **** of alot of other work u could buy one swwet sho on here for 6k thats had most of this work done and not have to worrie about much
hope i havent killed ur dream to bad

He's looking for a 9.2 in the 1/8th mile, not 1/4. It's doable without forced induction.

 

[Phoenix]

Welcome in

First off , the MTX trannies are pretty tough except for the diff pin , they tend to launch themselves out of the tranny case. Sometime it happens on the highway or while doing or after a burnout. 2 ways to solve this , one you weld the pins or 2 you change the diff with a 1500$ Quaife (autotech) ATB torque biasing diff. They can easily take 300HP+. At 400hp you begin to see the 3rd gear shaft split in 2 and broken axles.

For the engine , to enjoy a SHO you need the proper maintenance done (plenny of infos here). When thats done , there's tons of engine mods to be done. First thing to replace is the Front Y pipe. You can obtain 300 crank hp N/A (about) and 350+hp when boosted. These engines loves Nitro and boost.

These are the vendors you need to look for (order doesnt matter):

http://www.shosource.com/catalog/
http://www.rcmautomotive.com/
http://www.shonutperformance.com/
http://www.rockauto.com/

 

[SHO_91]

I'd bring it up-to-date regarding 60K, rod bearings, clutch (if necessary), MTX fluid, etc. before modding. Good info on all this can be found on http://shophoenixproject.com . This is also a good way to get familiar with common tasks, like removing the intake. I know that the TOB is a weak spot on the SHO, and this can be remedied somewhat with a ceramic TOB (SHONut performance?) with your next clutch R&R. I have, however, yet to experience a TOB failure. Welded diff is probably also a good idea, if you like doing burnouts, or, like stated above, do it right and get a Quaife. My diff is the original and 270k miles old, but then again, I try not to light up the tires too much. Also, before doing any performance mods, I'd personally make sure the suspension bits, motor & tranny mounts are in working order, and I'd consider a brake upgrade, as the stock ones are... well, weak.

 

[bigblock]

you could say im restoring a sho. i bought my 93 for $250 with a ticking problematic engine, a still present but ripped out rear seat and a lot of cleaning to do (sat for about 5yrs). i then bought a low millage 3.2 for $500 that included a spec stage 2 clutch,solid motor mounts, and 9lb flywheel. i bought a full bottom end gasket kit along with cam gaskets and water pump gaskets. while i was swapping out the oil pans i checked the rod bearings. everything else stayed the way it was. all that stuff including fluids, spark plugs and belts. cost around 250. so in the end i had a solid running sho for just over 1k.

with a 6k budget you could have a very nice running sho, if you do the work yourself.

like everyone else said start with maintenance. i didnt change the sensors or wires on my 3.2 as they looked pretty good. just hit them with some sensitive electrical cleaner. if you got the $ just buy new sensors and keep the old as back up. belts, plugs, wires, clean the maff, rad flush, if you got oil in the plug wells change the gaskets. while your in there check the valve lash (rent a kit from sho source). from what i understand its not critical as in performance. proper lash helps reduce wear on the valve train. good oil, and changing the oil at the right time is what keeps these engines healthy.

what to look for: oil seeping from the front or rear of the motor. means bad main seal. oil in the plug wells. means valve cover gaskets need replacing. shinny spot on the front of the intake/excessive motor movement/clunking on a hard downshift. means bad front motor mount. ask if you can remove the top of the timing cover. than check behind the cam sprockets for oil. means bad cam seals. check the water pump for leaks. i think you can do that with the top cover off too (i dont have my cover on so i cant remember). make sure the oil pressure light isnt on at idle or bottom end ticking. means rod bearings (0h NoOOOOooozzZZzss!!!!) oh and watch out for the ever dreaded crank canserz1!! its been spreading lately

 

[FOMOCOTOSHO]

I have a 3.2L engine out of a '95 ATX I'm getting rid of if you want. Runs great & is relatively untouched. Just needs some maintenace & tune up stuff. Problem is I'm in Fargo, ND. If interested PM me

 

[jayro]

I would say check to see if the oil light flickers at idle. THis would mean the rod bearing are worn....they can be replaced fairly easily. If you like working on the car, most of what has been listed to look for above can be fixed for about $800 in parts and some elbow grease. Once a full 60K is done I would look at the trans (especially if you plan to race at all). At a minimum I would weld the diff to keep the pins from coming out. Since you have to dissasemble the trans to get to it, I would say replace it with an upgraded performance unit from SHOnutperformance. From there I would go to the breaks ('96 upgrade is cheap and helps dramatically) and do sespension work. This will greatly increase the fun to drive factor. You could then upgrade the fuel pump and spray it with a 75 dry shot.

That would probably get you to about your 6k to invest. The thing to remember about the SHO is that it is not a great drag car. IT is FWD and as you increase the power you will get more and more traction issues off the line. It is also a small displacment engine that doesn't have alot of low end torque. I would say the engine is much more of a road race engine than a drag strip engine. Up top is where it shines....it's great fun running 3rd gear from 60mph to 100mph. Enjoy

Jeremy

 

[sperold]

If you love the look of the SHO's and want the daily driver part of the ownership to be the big part, then go ahead.
If you are mainly interested in a kick-ass drag car that is going to knock your socks off, then think again. When all the kids went the tuner import route, a lot of Mustangs got left behind. Snoop around for any year Mustang with a high ratio locker rear end and a strong, tricked out 351 or whatever. Most of these cars already have the suspension set up and they are ready to go. During acceleration, you will never have one front wheel off the ground with a front wheel drive car.

 

[pjtoledo]

repeat as necessary: this ain't no Lightning,,this ain't no Lightning,,,


If you realize a 4dr sedan won't exactly do what a truck that had heavy duty everything in the chassis did, then the SHO is a blast to own. As a dedicated drag racer it can also be a blast to drive, quite literally. As previously stated, the 5 sp tranny does have limits. Speaking of limits, since you will no doubt be testing the upper limits, a stock 92 has only 10" front rotors. An upgrade to 11.6" is easily done with later year factory parts. That mod is highly recommended by almost everybody.


welcome abord!



Perry

 

[oldyak]

you want to restore a car but it must have a fast 1/8t mile time?
I`m confused...do you want to restore a SHO or just have a drag racer?
If its the latter sell it immediately to whomever will give it a good home.
SHO`s werent about dragstrips..they were about balance.
Fast is relative to the total feel of the automobile.

 

[frosho]

He hasn't said anywhere that he wants to build an all out drag car. He wants a nice SHO with some balls. I don't get all the confusion...