Bull Geek's 1997 Taurus SHO V8

[Bull Geek]

It took plenty of time, but after many months of sitting under the carport overhang collecting grass, dust, dirt, pollen, a pint of bee poop, and a light dusting of masonry dust (I live next door to a small masonry company), the SHO is running And not smoking.

Originally, I reported based on prior owner's service records, that the car had a blown headgasket. I did not test anything on the car. I towed it home, it drove around in my backyard twice maybe from April til December.

(here's the car from when I bought it, seller photos):


Early December, plans worked out nicely. Mechanic friend diagnosed the car, said heck no, no blown head gasket. If anything, the valve/cam cover and spark plug gaskets need replacement. It smoked like a CHAMP from the oil running down the side of the block onto the exhaust manifold. I rented a tow dolly from UHaul, hitched it up to my friend's 1974 Pontiac Grand Safari. He towed it up the road to a precision welder. He used TIG welding, and welded my camshafts up as documented on V8SHO.com:



Then towed it back home, cleaned everything up best I could, wrapped the harness on the back of the motor in heat tape (good up to 1000F degrees):


Spark plug wells nearest the rad cradle were caked in oil, one was filled up with oil!

Back 4 were rusty.

2 new valve/cam cover gaskets were installed, and 8 new spark plug well gaskets. 8 new Motorcraft plugs. Coils were degreased/oiled, reinstalled. EGR port into Surge tank was deplugged.

Reassembled the engine with michakaveli's assistance for most of the week. then Friday night, light was at the end of the tunnel. Started working on it at 730PM. Mich had to get going around 10, but something got under my skin. I looked one moment it was 10...looked again, did not finish til 230AM. Following morning, at 10AM I started it. 30 sec of crummy running and a bit of a smoke show, then it died. Restarted and it ran perfect!

Here it is after startup, covered in dirt and grime, et all:

After I got it over to my friends house, we broke the lugnuts loose, which I think were torqued to 250 ft/lbs. Required a ratchet, a cheater pipe, and jumping on it. An air gun wouldn't even budge the lugs.

So after installing the new chrome wheels w/new tires, it was given a bath:


And that's really all there is to report for now. Car is legally titled, registered, and insured. At the moment, it needs 2 new ball joints, and 1 front/radiator side motor mount. 200 miles in and it has thrown the P0411 stupid smog code. Will continue to reset and ignore it.

Thanks for reading!

[JIMMER]

Nice work. Looking great.

[04 SEL]

Nice car inside and out! That skateboard should be an easy fix. Interior looks to be brand new! How's the tranny?

[radioflyer]

Nice, I was beginning to wonder when we were going to hear of this SHO again. Good work Nick. SHOs looking oh so fine.

[behlinla]

Great story Nick. Engine looks really good inside (I can't see any cam wear). Congratulations and above all else–enjoy!

P.S. Are those Cooper tires directional? I see what looks like an arrow in one of the pictures but it's pointing the wrong way?

[Bull Geek]

Enjoy? That won't be a problem

Thanks guys!

Umm...I will have to check and see if they are directional, I didn't think they were. I still need to clean off the junkyard "X" paint from the wheels.

[Blkfordtaurusman]

Lookin Good!

[Dave SES]

Great job! Thanks for the pic of welded cams.

[1991glforever]

Nice transformation. Looks nice! I bet its great to drive.

[QuinnSHO]

Fuzzy seats!!! I didn't notice that