Trade 92 lx 5.0 for a 91 SHO

Ok, I ask for an unbiased opinion here, this being the mustang newsgroup.

Me: 1992 LX 5.0, no options, former California patrol car

111,000 miles. Exterior has hood and front fascia damage. hood needs replaced along with all weatherstripping. driver side door has problems. needs paint job. interior in poor shape, except for dashboard which is great. carpets/seats and door side panels are in poor condition

The engine however is in great condition, the car has almost never been dogged and is always fed high octane gas. Along with regular oil changes, etc.. Tranny is fine. Clutch is the mid-grade version of the Centerforce.. (very strong)

Him:

1991 Taurus SHO, great condition inside and out. 115,000 miles. Engine seems to run great. Owner told me engine has been recently "rebuilt". I understand these engines can have problems with certain censors which are hard to replace. Not sure if they have been replaced yet.

Is this is a fair trade, straight up, car for car? I'm interested in having a more comfortable ride and this drives nice, is very roomy, and has lots of options. Not to mention its pretty darn fast (of course not as fast as the stang).

Reply to
chron78
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The engine is as good as the person who rebuilt it.

I wouldn't exchange known for unknown.

Reply to
Brent P

Who dont you ask, here:

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If you're in NJ..(Comcast sure isnt specific as to DNS locations) there's probably a SHO club near you. Get in touch.

Reply to
Backyard Mechanic

I feel I'm more in the Mustang "brotherhood" right now. Thought maybe someone here would know both cars and could give an opinion from experience.

I'll check out shoforum.com. Thanks

Reply to
chron78

My two cents worth in a three dollar package.

Personally, I wouldn't do it. With the Taurus you not only have to worry about the sensors but their trannys are notorious for failure and that one has reached about the right mileage. I had a Taurus as a commuter, got it cheap, ran it for a few months, tranny died, I threw it away because the transmission replacement would have been twice the value of the car itself.

On the OTHER hand, if you invest a little here and a little there in your Mustang, you will have a damn nice car that will hold some value. I wish I could get my hands on a Mustang like the one you have at a good price (by that I mean really cheap) I would make it a project car. I've wanted one since I can remember.

BUT if you are completely fed up with the Stang, and think the other guy will love it enough to restore it back to it's former beauty then go for it, the Taurus is a nice comfortable little car and is pretty easy on the gas. Just remember to hold back enough money for that tranny. Have a mechanic look at it and a transmission shop look at it before you swap.

KJKate

2O|||||||O5 Liber-teeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
Reply to
KJ.Kate

Different tranny kate. Should be the AX4N, not AX4S which is the one that had the problems.

I was lucky enough to get a 95 Taurus GL with a 3.0 and the AX4N (actually labeled 'SHO') transmission... and have had very few problems at 190,000 miles

Reply to
Backyard Mechanic

I wouldn't, as Kate said, you'll be needing a tranny and if the engine has been rebuilt chances are the guy beat the crap out of it, so how long does that tranny have left.... Also, if he just rebuilt it, why is he willing to part with it? Sounds like a nice ride, why not keep it unless he is tired of it and wants a stang. You'd be far better taking the money for the tranny replacment and putting into what you've got, the parts you listed are readily available. I'll bet thats what this guys plan is. Your 5.0 is much more durable than the SHO motor and he's likely tired of mechanical failures. And personally, I'd LOVE to have a LX cop car over a SHO anyday.

Reply to
John

The '91 SHO has a 5 speed manual transaxle, and shares nothing mechanically in common with the standard Taurus...

Reply to
351CJ

Having owned 3 SHO's I can tell you that as great as they were (and they were GREAT), they are NOT worth owning, simply because of the rarity and expense of SHO specific parts, especially engine parts (call around and try to get a complete engine rebuild kit for an SHO 3.0 liter, through normal channels, you will start to see what I am talking about). They were HOT SHIT when they first hit the market in the late 80's, (the look on the 5.0 guys face when you flat walk away from him is priceless) nothing (no other 4 door sedan) on the planet could touch them for anywhere near the price (Low $20,000's). Today an SHO isn't worth owning, period.

Good Luck with your choice.

Reply to
351CJ

Which is another good reason to rely on the SHO groups info rather than here.

Though there's some idiots on there, too... such as the ongoing thread about using dielectric or heat sink grease on the DIS, and the nature of dielectric grease... culminating in the Master Idiot saying never to use dielectric on frame grounding connections.

Besides which, I was apparently all wrong on availability of AX4N in 91

But here's the point.. the SHO is a WHOLE DIFFERNT {sic} car. Maybe the guy with the SHO wants a whole diferent project and doesnt get his cookies driving a FWD, no matter why.... like, say, why this is the Mustang group and not the Miata or Probe group.

Reply to
Backyard Mechanic

Thanks for the replies. The SHO owner is an 18 year old (who knows mechanics decently well) who just wants a fast car, I'm assuming to race his friends. My LX is mostly stock but it runs high 13's, low

14s, much faster than the SHO.

Once the Mustang is in this kids hands its just a matter of time before he's in a wreck with it (immature and very eager to street race). I have a conscience, and don't want him to get hurt, but in reality its not my problem. If the trade is worth it, I'll do it. But after hearing of the expense of keeping SHOs operational, I'll probably pass.

The budget is tight, and if anything goes wrong with the stang, I have the knowledge to fix it myself.. Having done head gaskets, cams, in-tank fuel pumps, etc, I'm not worried about mechanical failures with the stang.

Backyard Mechanic wrote:

Reply to
chron78

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