SAD SHO: 1992 Ford Taurus SHO (Parts Car?)
Okay, in an effort to be more like Claude Rains, I’ll have to be absolutely transparent about this one. When I read the ad, the main photo shown was of the SHO’s gray interior that looks well preserved for a 31-year-old car. The seller, Jim, goes on to say that it’s been sitting in a dry garage for 30 years, it’s a 5-speed with 94,745 original miles, it runs and drives, and the A/C works. Then the seller threw me a curveball by saying the car has no title and should be a parts car and that the price is $3,200 or best offer. I then looked at the other dozen photos and, yes, the Taurus has been ignored, has spent time outside in the harsh Pittsburgh winter weather and has some flat tires, so who’s to say if this SHO can be brought back to life or relegated to the “Parts Car” category. This sad-looking 1992 Ford Taurus SHO is located in the Steel City, Pittsburgh, PA, and is for sale here on craigslist for $3,200 or best offer. A special shout out goes to Mitchell G. for sharing this interesting tip with us.
1992 marked the first year of the restyled 2nd generation Taurus SHO (which stands for Super High Output). For those not familiar with the SHO story, Ford had the notion of dipping its toe into the “four-door sports car” arena that was popular in the late 80’s. Ford made a deal with Yamaha to develop an impressive version of the 3.0-liter Vulcan V6 engine that put out 220 horsepower and 200 lb-ft of torque through a Mazda-designed 5-speed manual transmission. Ford’s bread-and-butter mid-sized family car was now a 4-door performer, testing at going from zero-60 in 6.6 seconds with a top speed of 143 mph. But its $20,000 price tag and only being available with a 5-speed (an automatic would be added in ’93) hurt sales. Only 7,801 SHO’s rolled out of Ford’s Atlanta factory for the 1992 model year and only 882 left with this silver paint job. This SHO may have been in a garage for 30 years but it’s also been sitting outside in the elements and under some trees based on its dirty exterior and flat tires. But I’m not spotting any rust or damage and it might just need a good cleaning.
The SHO’s interior doesn’t scream sportiness even though it has bucket seats, a console with armrests, and a little storage area that appears to be holding two packs of Marlboro Gold smokes. It has power sterling, power brakes, power windows and a working A/C. The front bucket seats look comfortable and the rear bench seat may have some mildew issues, but overall, the interior looks to be in pretty decent shape.
Under the dirty hood, you’ll find the SHO’s 3.0-lier V6 with an iron block and aluminum heads, 24 valves, dual overhead cams, and an interesting looking intake manifold that has been compared to a bunch of snakes sitting on top of the engine. Indiana Jones probably would never open the hood on this car. It’s showing 94,745 on the clock and, again, the seller says the car runs well. (He also says it drives well, but with no battery and those flat tires, I’m not sure how long ago this SHO was on the turnpike.) 
Some think these limited-production SHO’s are “Sleepers” in the collectible world, while others couldn’t disagree more. What do you think? Should this Hi-Yo Silver SHO be made roadworthy again or sold as a parts car? Any readers ever owned an SHO?
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Comments
Come use common sense! It will sell faster if the seller took the time to wash that car!
I agree. And maybe put a little wind in those tires too while they’re at it. Im sure it did drive good….. Back in 1996…..
I remember back in the day these were very good performers. As per this one, battery rack rusted out and ain’t i seeing no plug wires i wonder why. Interior is nice though. I’d say parts car cause i’m weary of the underside.
I wonder why it doesn’t have a title? I would love to bring this back.
31 yr old car shouldn’t require a title
All motor vehicles that are legal to operate on the streets in PA will have a title. That is a PA requirement. I have a PA title for all my cars and they are all over 30 years old. If the seller is the legal owner of this vehicle and has lost the title a replacement can be obtained through PennDot.
New York requires titles for cars 1973 and newer. Colorado requires titles for all cars, even if it’s a million years old.
24 Hours of LeMons or something similar. Lack of title won’t matter and it is a really nice drive train.
Yamaha engine that was a screamer.My old boss had one with a aode and it boogied.Looks clean but for this car with no title and why are there no coil packs? Bet the belt skipped. scrap price imo.
I had one of the 7801 produced in 1992. When one turns up on Barn Finds, the responses are typically “mediocre car, but wow what an engine.” Yes this one is overall in sad shape, though the interior isn’t bad. It features the cloth upholstery which was pretty cool in that it included thin threads of the exterior colors available. Though I’m guessing it doesn’t smell too fresh inside. Maybe there is an SHO enthusiast who would want to take it on.
It’s not a parts car. It is a perfectly well kept great car. No title = I’m a lazy moron that can’t stand in line at the DMV and pay the money for the registration. Parts car = I’m a moron that can’t turn a wrench and gas cars are obsolete and I need that new Tesla right away.
Not in a lot of states. No title its a parts car around here. They closed the Vermont loophole
In my state its worthless without a title.
I’d say the engine is probably junk just by looking at the open plug holes. Speaking of junk, the house looks like junk, indicating the owner doesn’t take proper care of much of anything.
Runs well? No battery or front spark plugs or wires! No title! Good luck on that price. Pretty much worthless.
After seeing the garage door, I understand why the car has been sitting outside for so long.
Dealer temp tag that expired in 1998 makes me wonder if there’s a stolen vehicle report out on this I would say definitely run the vin through the DMV before purchasing
Better yet, just run.
Stolen? If anyone here has dmv access, just for fun they should run the vin or plate number and see what pops up.
I’m thinking it’s abandoned and not even the seller’s property to sell…
Ad says…. condition, “like new”. What could possibly go wrong?
Friend had one in the 90’s, always pronounced it as a “Show” instead of S-H-O like I thought it should be, like G-T-O
Bought a brand new 95 and drove it for 13 years. It was a sweet driver and would melt tires with ease. Problem was that at 115k the tune up was expensive,$6k est,related to special shims for valves. Loved that car!
I had a ‘92 SHO same color and everything. I’d love to have one these days but good ones are hard to find.
Everybody remembers these, but these had a V8 in 98.
Neighbors had a dark green one like this then a V8 one in white.
What a shame!
I had a new one when they first came out as my daily driver in 1988(?). Never had a problem with it. Then I raced one of the Ninja Turtle SHOs in IMSA in 1991, and the similar Canadian series in 1992. Those are still doing tack days out in Ohio, so I’d say they were pretty reliable if you maintained them.