Another one of these darned threads: MX6-GT vs Contour SVT

ScreaminE wrote:

Swank Force One wrote: If you want the uglier and heavier version: http://smd.craigslist.org/cto/4414470510.html

Heck no.

Good man.

You passed the test.

don't ride the white probe

This was my contour SVT that I bought new. The oil pan design is crappy, even if its full of oil you can blow the engine in a high speed corner, which is what I did. I bought it because the reviews in all the magazines were good back then and I did enjoy driving it. After I blew the engine I let it sit around for awhile before letting one of the turner dudes on a Contour SVT website work his magic. He went back with a 3.0 liter Taurus engine... I think he reused the 2.5 heads instead of going with the 3.0 liter heads, but its been so long I just can't recall. It had every conceivable mod done to it, headers, chip, lowered suspension, blah, blah, blah. Spent a fortune on the thing. Still, the overall quality of the car was a joke and I could never get rid of an off idle stumble under acceleration. The dashboard actually started curling up after awhile, just weird. You can see it starting in one of the photos below. It was fun to drive for awhile though. I took it to the autocross and (I know, I've told this story before) and kept mum about the extra displacement. I recall getting better times than some other cars that should have beat me. Good fun...

ScreaminE wrote: I told Seth I'd look at this car for him, but I may end up scooping it up for myself. (Sorry Seth) http://charlotte.craigslist.org/cto/4348559169.html I just can't see paying much more than $2200 or $2300 max. Thoughts?

I need an MX-6!!

In reply to plance1:

The Contour/taurus in those years had the same dash problem. Fixed by a couple dabs of the adhesive of your choice and a clamp.

Also, csvt heads/cams should give 10-15hp to a 3L....yay compression bump.

I owned a '00 SVT Contour. I bought it used in 2004 with 30K miles. I knew about the oiling issues so I only open tracked it a couple of times. I did see some of them used on track quite a bit back then: I was a member of SVTOA and never saw one blow up. As a daily driver I have no problem with one. There are some problems with it such as weak wheel bearings but their easy to change. The only major problem I had was the exhaust manifold/pre-cat flange cracked. The flange that the exhaust pipes bolted to just crack off on one side and was partly cracked on the other. I had to remove the firewall side exhaust manifold so that I could TIG weld it back together. That was an bitch 12 hour job. The front side was easy and as I could welded that while on the car.

If I wanted to turn one into a performance sedan I would make sure I had something else to drive and not depend on it as an everyday car.

ScreaminE wrote: http://charlotte.craigslist.org/cto/4348559169.html

Swank/James. The seller is holding firm at $2500. I'm holding firm at $2200. Please advise.

Ford actually put out a TSB kit for the warping dash issue. I got one of the last ones after I bought mine in 2006.

I loved that thing. Wonderful seats, quick and fun, pretty good mileage, and it was dirt cheap used. It was a great DD, I put 40k miles on it in 2 years and sold it for $800 less than I paid for it.

ScreaminE wrote:

ScreaminE wrote: http://charlotte.craigslist.org/cto/4348559169.html

Swank/James. The seller is holding firm at $2500. I'm holding firm at $2200. Please advise.

A year from now are you gonna remember that you paid a few hundred dollars more than you wanted to? Is it about the "car" or the "deal"?

If it's rust free, looks nice, and drives nice, bite.

Sell off some of the extra stuff to recoup.

Inspect wiring before purchase to make sure it isn't butchered for the install of those extra things.

It has in dash retard control, buy it!

Bought this today. Great car overall. Tons of expensive HKS and Greddy parts from the 90s. Sort of upset that the car bucks under boost when cold. It warms up with no issues. Of course test drive didn't show this problem. Shifter is sloppy sloppy and the clutch pedal feel is a bit odd. Still it has been very very well cared for and looks great. An awesome buy overall. Clean as a whistle rust free car.

Welll done! Also...

ONE OF US. ONE OF US.

Those are great cars, good job.

In reply to ScreaminE:

Nice! I'm a little jealous. Was the other white one for $1500 still around? I might be going to look at something a little more mundane on Wednesday...maybe I should stick it out for an MX-6. Man, decisions, decisions...

I didn't ask about the other car. I just liked this one better.