ok, a month ago the 95 4runner i was driving spun a rod bearing and i had to have something asap. for $400, i picked up a 93 taurus lx wagon in decent shape aesthetically but needed a bit of work and after a quick lookover and from what i was told, it needed a battery to drive home that day (jumped it off and drove it to the parts store 23 miles away without a battery lol). had a bad motor mount that is only noticeable in reverse so no big deal and it shifted a bit off at times, but not bad either.
then, after i paid for it, i realized that the sunroof had been mangled and had a hole where a handle bolt cover should be and of course it was about to rain, so i through an old decal over it and to this day, it's still leak-proof
but also, the front and back driver windows don't roll down, the blinkers didn't work, no radio, no a/c and one of the 4 headlight beams work (one high beam)
well, i've had about 2 hours to deal with it, so i literally had to yank the dash and rewire the car from the firewall back to fix the blinkers. someone had tapped into the ignition wires to wire up a radio and they burned up 5 wires that controlled most of the accessories. i got it all working and the a/c even worked great after a recharge, although the clutch went out on the compressor the other day when it was 92 degrees, but nice for a couple of weeks. the rest of the system is fine.
my blinkers work and when i fixed everything, the wiper relay somehow got shorted out and i haven't found time to get a used one (new ones don't exist through ford or other places and the part number checks out as a door chime) so it's permanently on and wired through a toggle switch just in case it rains (we're in the middle of a drought right now and it's not hot and dry yet).
no radio but i haven't hooked one up and don't really care. when you have to roll your windows down (the 2 that work) and haul ass everywhere, it's loud.
i still have a few little things to fix but it's actually doing fine and the 3.8 is strong. 140hp and around 215ft/lb torque so it will run better than the 4-runner easily and if you haul ass down the interstate doing 85-90mph, you get about 22-24mpg (only 15 around town thanks to the tranny). i was getting 12 with the 4 runner and it was SLOW. 240,000 miles and most of them abused, so ehh.
but the coolest fucking thing, i found that it has a picnic table and 3rd row seat in the "trunk" area as options. the little 2 person fold up seat has belts and stows away where the spare tire area is, just a bit more forward of it though and the back part of that area has a fold out picnic table about 2'x4' and is actually very fucking handy and perfect for practical use (tailgating or camping). my big-ass canoe fits nicely on top as well.
but for about $475 total, i've got a decent car and oddly enough, i'm getting that bug again. i haven't wanted to mess with cars for a long time but now, i'm probably gonna buy a 3.2 taurus SHO from a junkyard and swap that engine and tranny into the wagon (later) but just fix everything else in the process and then convert a few interior pieces into SHO standard shit. front buckets instead of the bench, gauge cluster, put the SHO console in it, etc.
it's a loaded version (literally has every option ford offered for the taurus) so it has 4-wheel disc, the cool ass rear facing seat (i always wanted one of the old station wagons like what chevy chase had in national lampoon's movies), and tons of space and with a modified yamaha 3.2 SHO engine (very tough engines), a 300hp/300tq wagon is very doable and i have TONS of old ford parts (a lot of svo/svt stuff from 'stangs, contours, cobras, and the SHO)
still looking to buy a home this summer and then i'll have a place to play with the car and my wife is getting a new car later this year so i'll have the civic hb to drive.
i know of only one other SHO-spec wagon and not sure if he has it anymore. definitely a project i can get excited about
then, after i paid for it, i realized that the sunroof had been mangled and had a hole where a handle bolt cover should be and of course it was about to rain, so i through an old decal over it and to this day, it's still leak-proof
but also, the front and back driver windows don't roll down, the blinkers didn't work, no radio, no a/c and one of the 4 headlight beams work (one high beam)
well, i've had about 2 hours to deal with it, so i literally had to yank the dash and rewire the car from the firewall back to fix the blinkers. someone had tapped into the ignition wires to wire up a radio and they burned up 5 wires that controlled most of the accessories. i got it all working and the a/c even worked great after a recharge, although the clutch went out on the compressor the other day when it was 92 degrees, but nice for a couple of weeks. the rest of the system is fine.
my blinkers work and when i fixed everything, the wiper relay somehow got shorted out and i haven't found time to get a used one (new ones don't exist through ford or other places and the part number checks out as a door chime) so it's permanently on and wired through a toggle switch just in case it rains (we're in the middle of a drought right now and it's not hot and dry yet).
no radio but i haven't hooked one up and don't really care. when you have to roll your windows down (the 2 that work) and haul ass everywhere, it's loud.
i still have a few little things to fix but it's actually doing fine and the 3.8 is strong. 140hp and around 215ft/lb torque so it will run better than the 4-runner easily and if you haul ass down the interstate doing 85-90mph, you get about 22-24mpg (only 15 around town thanks to the tranny). i was getting 12 with the 4 runner and it was SLOW. 240,000 miles and most of them abused, so ehh.
but the coolest fucking thing, i found that it has a picnic table and 3rd row seat in the "trunk" area as options. the little 2 person fold up seat has belts and stows away where the spare tire area is, just a bit more forward of it though and the back part of that area has a fold out picnic table about 2'x4' and is actually very fucking handy and perfect for practical use (tailgating or camping). my big-ass canoe fits nicely on top as well.
but for about $475 total, i've got a decent car and oddly enough, i'm getting that bug again. i haven't wanted to mess with cars for a long time but now, i'm probably gonna buy a 3.2 taurus SHO from a junkyard and swap that engine and tranny into the wagon (later) but just fix everything else in the process and then convert a few interior pieces into SHO standard shit. front buckets instead of the bench, gauge cluster, put the SHO console in it, etc.
it's a loaded version (literally has every option ford offered for the taurus) so it has 4-wheel disc, the cool ass rear facing seat (i always wanted one of the old station wagons like what chevy chase had in national lampoon's movies), and tons of space and with a modified yamaha 3.2 SHO engine (very tough engines), a 300hp/300tq wagon is very doable and i have TONS of old ford parts (a lot of svo/svt stuff from 'stangs, contours, cobras, and the SHO)
still looking to buy a home this summer and then i'll have a place to play with the car and my wife is getting a new car later this year so i'll have the civic hb to drive.
i know of only one other SHO-spec wagon and not sure if he has it anymore. definitely a project i can get excited about
sorry.
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