The original Ford Taurus SHO (Super High Output) was a performance sedan produced between 1989 and 1999. It used a special V6 engine developed by Yamaha, paired with a 5-speed manual transmission supplied by Mazda. The seller has a 1990 edition that runs but has issues with the transmission. It appears to be a well-used automobile and can be found in Kamiah, Idaho, and is available here on craigslist for the cheap wheels price of $1,100. Once again, Rocco B. delivers an interesting tip from yesteryear.
After an 11-year run, the SHO disappeared for some time. It returned in 2010, again on the Taurus, where it continued until that car was finally retired in 2019. The Yamaha-based DOHC V6 displaced 3.0 liters, was transversely mounted, and had an output of 220 hp. For the engine to fit in the Taurus, a hood from the comparable Mercury Sable was used. And different bumpers, side panels, and fog lamps made the SHO identifiable from a regular Taurus. The interior was changed and had a sporty nature to it.
These early SHOs were fast cars. They could do 0 to 60 mph in 6 to 7 seconds and turn a quarter-mile run at around 15 seconds. Top speed was reported to exceed 140 mph, so take that, 1960 muscle cars! The seller’s second-year SHO has 88,000 miles on the odometer, and he suspects it’s on its second time around. It runs and drives if you can get the shifter to cooperate. A bad throw-out bearing could be the culprit.
The seller found this Ford is a junkyard, so it only has a “conditional” title for now. After replacing the fuel pump, it ran again. The body and paint may be okay for a driver, and the seller can deliver it to you for a fee, as he has a truck and trailer. These SHOs have a cult following, and super nice examples will fetch several times the asking price for this project.
Hmmm. I did not know that Yamaha made engines for Ford, and I didn’t know that made by Yamaha, nor did I know that Mazda made Transmissions for Ford. I did drive a Mercury Topaz, many years ago now. Terrible car.
I ordered a new Topaz the first year they were made. An LS in French Vanilla. Not the fastest car I owned but the quality for what I paid was excellent. Not one repair the entire time. Great stereo
I bought my 1985 Mercury Topaz, used, but it was a lemon, from the get-go.
I wish Yamaha had made the cylinder head for a 91 Escort I owned instead of Mazda, as I recall. The Escort 1.9 was infamous for dropping valve seats,like mine did, around 75,000 mi., for no apparent reason. The exhaust seats were a ‘composite’ and break apart, destroying the engine.
No, the 1.9 was a Ford Europe designed SOHC CVH (Compound Valve Hemispherical) design whereas the Mazda was a 1.8 liter DOHC four which shared nothing with the Ford engine. Having been with Ford Service for most of my 42 year career, I cannot remember a single instance of valve seats separating from the cylinder head. Now on the earlier 1.6 version of that engine, timing belt failure causing massive valve damage was rampant.
Being a Ford service manager from that era. I don’t remember issues with the 1.9. (SCCA used that engine and gearbox in the second generation Spec Racer. It was bullet proof.
The transmission on this Taurus is the same transmission used in the Escort of the same vintage and is also bullet proof. HOWEVER, there were issues with the clutch release bearing setup. Just like the early 5.0 Mustangs with the T5. The release bearing hangs up on the front input bearing retainer, which is also the shaft for the release bearing to slide on. So the seller’s diagnosis is probably correct. I have never seen one of these engines wear out. And I had several customers claim 140 mph+ driving out in the desert. Don’t roll down the drivers window at that speed as it will blow out the back window. (Seen that more than once. But for the life of me I can’t see the need to do that.) Several customers that used their SHOs for business. Racked up a lot of miles in a hurry. (That happens out here in the desert.) And have seen a few over 300,000 miles with no issues. I truly love these cars.
The dohc 3 liter Mits non turbo v6 back then in the 3000gt made 222 hp.
I would take the Yamaha over the Mit. 3000 GT’s clumsy engine myself. Not to mention the lemon car it came in.
My friend is still drivin his ’91 3000gt with over, 150k miles, tho his is automatic & all he’s replaced (himself) was a couple of power window regulators(stupid cheap plastic guide wheel for the cable broke) & engine & trans computers(leaky capacitors). No tows. True the Getrag manual trans is not that great. His car does NOT have things that can later be trouble – antilock brakes, adjustable suspension, electronic climate control.
Gosh, Joe.
If it has 188k on odo, the engine must be exhausted along with that tattered interior. Either make this an Ecoboost project out of blind love or call Cars 4 Kids.
Ecoboost! Please! I would take this engine over an eco boost any day. You are right about the interior though.
For those on the east coast, it’s Kars (🎶K-A-R-S 4 Kids🎶) with a “K”.
Don’t K ill the messenger.
No The Yamahe SHO engine was incredibly durable and one of the few engines of that era capable of high RPM, Production engines were restricted to 7000 RPM to protect the belt driven engine accessories. The manual transmission was durable with the exception of the integral FWD differential. It was forged aluminum to reduce rotational inertia and gear clash, but would suffer from high RPM, drop the clutch starts. If this car has issues with the first gear only, it probably just needs adjustment in the cable shift linkage.
If I bought this car, I’d treat it to a new timing belt, water pump and crank seal, which is SOP and DIY for these cars, No rush, the 10-1 compression engine is also non-interference.
I had a 91 all white ( no black trim) new. Then had a 93 new. These were great sleepers in their day. I needed the four door at the time.
Once my wife and I took another couple out for an event. Some highway driving was involved. As we were leaving the event, the other man mentioned he hadn’t noticed the car was a manual shift as it was so smooth. He asked about the car as I was getting back on the highway so I put the hammer down which impressed everyone.
The Yamaha engine was really smooth and it really pulled/came alive in the upper rpm range.
That they used the Sable hood to accommodate the different engine is an interesting factoid!
I always liked the look of that engine. it would look great mid-mounted in a kit car.
A ford tech I know did exactly that, built a Cobra replica and installed the 3.0 SHO engine as the powerplant…what an incredibly fun and balanced car.
It’d also look great under the hood of a Merkur XR4Ti.
I’ve read the easiest method for that swap would use the manual trans bellhousing from an Aerostar with the Vulcan V6 (same bolt pattern), but that combo was a pretty rare spec, so they’re hens’ teeth to find.
I do wonder if/why a Ranger bellhousing wouldn’t work, since those also offered the Vulcan V6 with a Mazda M5OD manual trans, same as the Ranger-based Aerostar.
That said, I’ve also read SHO Yamaha V6 spare parts are getting hard to find, so perhaps the time for that swap has sadly passed.
There’s also an Austin Healy 3000 out there with the SHO V6 and the Aerostar bellhousing.
Many parts and performance parts are still easy to get. The SHO registry has a magazine that I signed up for years ago.They have many parts new for engine, body, wheels and tires and so much more. The also have a convention every year with people who bring there cars with road coarse racing at tracks. Along with car shows with stock and high performance SHO’s for a couple of days. They reserve rooms at a hotel with every year in a different state.
I have to think that additive manufacturing will produce whatever is needed, soon enough. I learned about “Craftcloud” recently, from a Youtube video – get anything printed in almost any material. Pretty amazing tech, if you’ve got the coin to employ it.
gimmie the earlier euro beater ~the ltd LX~ (cop car on the fox platform, nice 105 inch WB).
Here’s 6’na 1/2 min “Motor Wk” TV review:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmNo554rtt8
I daily it’s waggy (had i4, i6, bent6 and bent8; 3 or 4 trannys too). Ie a real
’transition car’; N/A & 2 jet CFI or throttle body (the latter – cheb lingo).
I had a 1994 SHO second Gen. green with tan interior also had a 1999 SHO third Gen that had an 8 cylinder SHO engine with a auto only trans. Both were great car never a problem with either car.
how bout a cross platform w/Fiero?
no idea how to get it in tho…
The white wheels, spoiler, and police package grille don’t do this hooptie any favors.
The most incredible looking intake system ever put on a vehicle, just a few years after Ford moved away from carburetors. These would look good as man cave wall art today. Sad to see this 80s legend so tired. The vented grilles ended up in front end of the St. Ignace, MI cop cars in the mid 90s.
Noo thanks… Looks like the life’s been beat out of it. Take that ride out to the lake, it’d make a good fish habitat.
I can verify that they can go over 140 mph.
80s
80″s
These were quick cars back in the day and these years I thought looked a lot better than the post ’95 jellybean models. I think there was a good reason it was in a junk yard. Unless you’re a real diehard who is looking for a project, I’d just spend the extra cash and find a nice one. They’re not that impossible to find.
We bought a new black SHO in 1989, when they first came out. My wife had been driving a 5 speed 86 Cavalier Z24, but when our second child came along in 88 she needed a four door with more room inside (she always got the fun cars as I always had an employer supplied car).
The SHO was a thrill to drive and shocked more than a few 5.0 Mustangs, but the quality and reliability of it was the worse of any car we owned before or since. It didn’t help that the local Ford dealers stunk too. You name it, it failed on that car. It seemed that every time I got in it I’d find another screw on the floor from some mysterious hidden place. The clutch failed at 13000 miles, just out of warranty. The dealer claimed it was my wife’s fault and that she didn’t know how to drive a manual trans (it was the fifth manual trans car she’d had in 18 years and the only one that ever needed a clutch). I knew it wasn’t her doing because I knew two other SHO owners who had their clutches replaced in fewer miles, and under warranty. Not long after replacing the clutch we got a recall on it from Ford offering a new clutch, or reimbursement for the cost if it had already failed and been replaced.
It’s really a shame the car was such a piece of junk, because it was a lot of fun to drive. Between the lousy Ford dealers and it’s lousy build quality, it was the last and only Ford I’ve ever owned, or ever will.
My only question is why a Sable hood was needed. Without close scrutiny it looks like a normal Taurus hood to me. Hopefully someone sees this and points out the difference to me between a Taurus hood and a Sable hood.
The Taurus hood was more sloped or flat at the forward edge while the Sable’s hood was slightly taller with a more defined drop off at the front edge of the hood. The difference in the hoods was just enough to allow a little extra clearance for the taller intake system of the SHO’s twin cam engine. The difference isn’t much and not even real noticeable when a Taurus and Sable are side by side, but there is a slight difference.
Thank you for informing me. Now I know.
P.S. The price is a 900 obo when I just checked.
I always wanted one of these when they came out but it had to be a 5 speed stick. The first models were only 5 speeds because Ford did not have an automatic trans that could handle the Yamaha motor. Eventually they did and an automatic was introduced…. no interest there for me… you might as well get a regular Taurus if you went that route!!
I was a SHOmobile guy for over 20 years. New silver 89, green 92, Red 99 V8 auto.
89 ran like scaled cat. Used to wear out crankshaft keys after 90k miles. Green 92 was luxury car comparatively with JBL, sunroof and stock exhaust. 99 was a hoot with ATR muffs, sweet sound of 60 degree V8. Ate trannys every 30k miles.
Now a 06 CTS-V reminds me of 89 with every shift.
That 60-degree V8 has intrigued me since I learned about it. It sounds like it needs a couple of mods to fix the original engineering, but it seems like an ideal package to swap into an engine bay that originally housed an I4.
Or an I6
This was the first five valve engine in an American car. And Ford owns about 35% of Mazda. A shame it was junked over a fuel pump.Beefier wheels and tires would certainly help its look. But these cars were considered serious competition for BMWs and other European sedans.