Thinking about a 1993 Taurus SHO

I spotted a nice looking 1993 Taurus SHO stick shift car for not much money. What should I be watching out for (rust?) and are there any parts issues that might keep the car off the road?

Thanks, Paul

The rod bearings are know failures. Lugging the engine is hard on the rod bearings. The oil pressure is like 12 psi at idle. As preventative maintenance pull the oil pan and look at the  Bearings. 

One wheel burnouts will blow the diff and ruin the transmission case. Clutches cost about $900 parts and labor. 

Cheap auto parts plug wires last a few months. Use Motorcraft or Magnacore wires they will last 80-100k. 

The valve covers can leak oil into the plug wells. Crank position sensor goes bad after 80k or if the WP leaks on it. Timing belt is good for 100k not an interference motor. 

Look for a shiny polished spot on the left front top of the intake means a broken front motor  Mount. 

Most parts are available for it but not from Ford  transmission parts are not available and if someone has some they either won’t sell them or charge stupid money for them. Hard to find one in the junkyards now. Engines are still found.

I endurance race an 89, so I’ve broken just about everything on it. 

Good to know. Thanks.

Look for rocker panel and floorboard rust. Our Lemons SHO didn't have either when we built it. Literally a Flinstone car.

The sunroof drain tubes break and leak water onto the floor. The plastic rocker panel covers hide the rust well.

Sergio, how did the car hold up overall to racing? Any major flaws or issues?

Thanks, Paul

In reply to Donebrokeit :

The transmission is the weak link. Treat it like it’s made of glass and it will hold up. 3rd gear gets used the most. 60 to 95 mph. Eventually it can break a tooth. The diff problem is fixed with a Quaif. I use Redline D4 in the transmission. The engine can take 7k rpm all day long. With good rod bearings and race oil, I use Millers oil 5w-40. Good struts are hard to find other than Konis. Tokicos are firmer but NLA. For brakes I use 94-95 spindles and calipers up front  with 96 Sho brackets and rotors, 11.6”. Pads are Raybestos ST-43 front and Porterfield R4 rear. Car stops way better than stock and the front pads last 40 hours of racing. It needs a big power steering cooler and the rack lasts forever. The car has enough power and mods for it practically don’t exist. We get 2 to 2.5 hours of racing on a tank(stock 18.4gal) We won 2 LeMons races back in 2010. Lately we have finished three times 3rd in class in WRL against E30’s. But to do that everything has to go just right. Pit stops, good driving without penalties car can’t have a hiccup.