Some "Theme Music" (1728 Kb) while you browse the site . . . Some mp3's and .mpg's might have to be saved to your hard disk before viewing. Right click, save as . . . you know the routine.
With our reasoning now established, we
test drove several '96 and '97's. The '97 models were still out of
our price range. We had searched every car dealership in Western
MA, and had not found a car to our liking. Fellow NESHOC club member,
Al Primm, gave me a list of a dozen or so SHO's for sale in the Boston
area. I called about a few of them, but nothing really sparked my
interest. That is, until I saw the listing for this 1996 SHO in Brockton,
MA. I called the dealership (Veracka Motors) and they gave me the
facts and figures. They also had a few other Generation II SHO's
on the lot, so I figured it would be
a worthwhile venture to make a trip out East. So, Michelle and I
hopped in the Super Coupe and drove out to Brockton on a Saturday morning. 
When
we got there, we looked the car over. She was in real good condition
and had every option but the moonroof. The salesman came up to us
and I asked him for the keys. I got in the driver's seat and started
her up. Michelle's jaw almost hit the ground, and I got this sinister
look in my eyes. I thought to myself, "Either there's a real bad
exhaust leak, or someone's been tinkering with the exhaust setup on this
car." I got out and looked under the rear bumper. The previous
owner (God bless him) had installed a set of "Bullet" brand aftermarket
mufflers. I later found out that the 3rd cat and in-line muffler
had been removed as well. The car sounded so good. I wish my
'94 could've sounded this way! The salesman put a plate on the back
and we took her for a ride. Absolutely amazing!!! Michelle
and I had smiles on our faces the whole day. Michelle and I talked
a bit about the '96. She said that she liked it, but wanted to make
sure that I would love this SHO as much as my last one. Two words:
"Ohhhhhh yeahhhhh!!" We went back to the dealership and negotiated
a great price. We knew the car had a book value of over $16,000;
but we got her for $14,600. So we dropped down a deposit to hold
her and came back a few days later to buy the car. That was the longest
wait of my life! Ask Michelle; I was litterally counting the hours
until we got her. And that's how this great car came to be in our
possession. Nice story, huh?
THE BLACK OUT EFFECT WAS CREATED WITH VHT'S "NITE SHADES LENS BLACKOUT" WHICH IS A SPRAY ON PRODUCT SIMILAR TO SPRAY PAINT!!!!!!! PLEASE DON'T EMAIL ME AND ASK "GEE, HOW DID YOU BLACK OUT YOUR TAIL LIGHTS?????" Buy this product from Summit Racing for about $7.00. (Part number at Summit Racing is VHT-SP999.)
Check out V8SHO.com;
the internet's best source for information on the 1996 to 1999 Ford Taurus
SHO.
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Torque: 230@4800 |
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Coefficient of Drag: 0.30 |
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Stroke: 3.13 |
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1/4 mile ET: 15.595 |
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(If you're lucky) |
Curb weight: 3442 (I wish) |
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Steering diameter: 42.4 |
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Length: 198.4" |
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Height: 55.8" |
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Steering: R & P |
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Tires: 225/55VR16, RSA's |
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In her "NASCAR" skin during the Summer of '01. She's since been restored to her normal ebony self. If you're going to add some racing decals, why not go all out?! |
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The day we brought her home, there was a notice from the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles, stating that my vanity plates were in. What luck!! NESHOC stands for the NorthEast SHO Club, of which, I was recently elected President. Being involved in a SHO club is a blast . . . being a member of it's board is alot of work, but well worth the time and effort. NESHOC is a very active enthusiast club with several hundred members. If you live in New England, the information alone is worth the membership fee. |
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My first decorative application, was drawing out the 3rd Generation SHO logo to make a window decal. I drew it out on large graph paper and taped it to a sheet of silver vinyl. The letters were then cut out by hand and made into decals which I applied to the front window. An act of vandalism recently befell my beloved car when I noticed that someone had ripped off part of the "O" so I removed the rest of the windshield letters. Soon to be replaced by another set! |
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I did the same thing recently to the front door panels. I liked the look of the "SHO" logo inlays on my '94, that I decided to make my own for the doors on the '96. All cut by hand, by the way. These will be replaced shortly with the SHO letters found below the left rear tail light. These have recently been replaced with sets of the SHO trunk emblems and the Police Interceptor badges. |
THE BLACK OUT EFFECT WAS CREATED WITH VHT'S "NITE SHADES LENS BLACKOUT" WHICH IS A SPRAY ON PRODUCT SIMILAR TO SPRAY PAINT!!!!!!! PLEASE DON'T EMAIL ME AND ASK "GEE, HOW DID YOU BLACK OUT YOUR TAIL LIGHTS?????" Buy this product from Summit Racing for about $7.00. (Part number at Summit Racing is VHT-SP999.) This was used on the rear tail lights, the front and rear side marker lights, and the front directional lights. Multiple, light coats of this product are necessary to achieve the desired effect. The side marker lights were removed for the application and ther remaining lights were taped off and the product was applied to the lights while they were on the car. GTS Headlight covers, also from Summit Racing, mask up the car's eyeballs.
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My latest endeavor was to create a lowered front valance on the car. A one inch plastic lip extends below the front fascia on the stock car. I removed this piece and adhered a 5" strip of aluminum flashing to the lip. The piece was then fiberglassed, bondo'd, sanded and painted. This leaves the car with about 4" of ground clearance so road hazards and the like are now more prevalent in my mind. The valance is removed in the winter because road sand will chip it, and I don't wish to use it as a snow plow. I'm thinking of adding ducts or openings for driving lights in the future. More pictures of the valance can be found on the SHO Valance Page. |
Dynojet
Performance Graphs.(Non-nitrous)
The links in (
) are .mpg files. If they do not load by clikcing on the link,
then right click on the link, and choose "Save as" or "Save link as" and
view the file from your hard drive.
| R/T: | .514 |
| 60': | 2.160 |
| 1/4 ET: | 14.395 |
| Trap Speed: | 96.87 |
| Race Weight: | 3750 lbs. |
| Wheel HP: | 253 |
| Flywheel HP: | 329 |
| K&N 0940 CONE FILTER | Check out the installation page for the procedure. This allows the car to breathe more freely and adds a distinct engine note when the secondary intake runners open up. The cone will flow more air than the motor will ever use, so don't be duped into buying a larger cone filter under the pretense that it will be better for your car. |
| S.A.R.C. SWITCH | Check out the installation page for the procedure. This is a simple way to give your '96 - '98 SHO a race car suspension. Who needs aftermarket springs and struts when you can simply install a switch! I just saved you $800. Mid to late production '99 SHO's did not come with the Semi-Active Ride Control. Sorry guys. |
| BULLET PERFORMANCE MUFFLERS | Bullet PerformanceMufflers sound great and definitely free up the exhaust system. Many modded Gen III's are running around with these now. (Hear my car 341 Kb) The car is cold when this was shot, so the mufflers sound a little raspy when the rev limiter kicks in. It's much smoother once they heat up. |
| BY-PASSED 3RD CAT | This procedure simply removes the huge 3rd catalytic converter from the equation and is available as a bolt-on item from the SHO Shop. I did not perform this modification; I bought the car this way. |
| EXHAUST DUMP | NOTE: RACE ONLY!!! Originally, this was a cable controlled flapper valve from JC Whitney, but it was way too loud, even when the flap was closed. Now All I do is disconnect the repair tube I have installed when I want the free flowing exhaust. Midway down the exhaust tract, in the center of the car, I lopped out a 10" section of exhaust pipe. A cheap "tail pipe repair kit" made of flexible metal hose is slid into place under normal driving conditions. The open exhaust is great for the nitrous but will seriously decrease backpressure on a normally aspirated SHO, hence a loss of low end torque will result. The sound of the open exhaust on these cars is UNREAL!!!! (Interior343 Kb | Exterior 1339 Kb) NOTE: This is not what the Bullet Mufflers sound like!!! |
| A-PILLAR MOUNTED GUAGES | The car didn't come with Oil Pressure or Voltmeter gagues, so I added Autometer Sport Comp series guages on a converted A-pillar guage pod for a late model mustang. If I get the time, I'll add a page about them . . . but no promises. I will add pictures though. |
| ZEX 75 HP NITROUS SYSTEM w/ 100HP jetting | Knocked off 1.2 seconds and added 8 mph to my 1/4 mile times with the simple installation of a Zex Nitrous kit. $500 through Summit Racing or $600 through Zex and is truely a plug 'n' play power adder. Zex is a division of Competition Cams. Going to the 100 HP level next. I'll do a separate page about the installation at a later time. |
| QUEST ALLOY PEDALS | Hey, they look good and your feet won't slip! They look like Momo's. |
| BRAKES AND ROTORS | Bendix rotors up front, Raybestos PG Plus in the rear. Raybestos PG Plus pads on all corners. |
| WHEELS/TIRES |
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And, the new wheels and tires: Sport Edtition Fox 2's - 18x7.5's with 235/40ZR18 Dunlop SP Sport W10's
My
1994 Ford Taurus SHO Site: This
is a "tribute" to my previous SHO that fell victim to an accident in March
of 1999. Included in this page are some pictures of the wreckage
from the accident as well as some from her proudest moments. There
is a list of the modifications I made to her, as well as some procedures
that I came up with. Due to lack of my interest, this page will not
be modified to include any further information.
The
Links Page: Here,
you can find links to SHO related sites; clubs, vendors, and some personal
sites. NEW!!! The website of the
infamous has returned and is bigger, badder,
and better than ever!!!
Tons
of other SHO sites listed in the SHOring!
Check them out below:
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