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Early Gen 3 Sho For Sale

5056 Views 18 Replies 8 Participants Last post by  sixfofalcon
As I was out for a morning drive on US HWY 17 to go run a few errands I noticed a Black Taurus sitting in Reliable Motors Inc. lot. It was too late for me to turn to i pulled a quick U-Turn and turned back across traffic to take a look. Nice guy there, handed me the keys and asked me to start the motor. Started on the dime, but the engine wasnt purring like other cars. I asked if the cams were welded, and he gave me some answer which had nothing related. Anyways, After looking over the car, its VERY clean. Hardly a dig or a scratch. Glossy black exterior, cream leather interior. Its loaded with everything except a Telephone. Sunroof works, everything is stock. Chromey (if thats a word) wheels, but they are alloy(not sure how to describe) OEM. I dont remember what the year was but I drew some conclusions...
--It had the Ford PATS key, and PATS came out in 97, so it is at least a 97.
--Yellow turn signals, so its maybe a 96/97.
--Has the late gen 3 front end, ford emblem in the grille
My guess is its a 97.
102K miles. Very nice car...but the asking price was 6995. I am 100% sure I cannot afford it, but I am still going to go over later during next week and take it for a test drive which he almost insisted on me doing today. Just thought I'd let ya'll know. Plus, if the cams arent welded, you can take the 400 mile drive to Atlanta and get them welded at FPS in Roswell.
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It's probably a 98/99, because I dont think the g3 came with the ford emblem in the grille until 98/99... I know my 97 has the emblem on the nose.

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It's a '97 SHO. '96/'97 SHOs had '98/'99 SLO front clips and amber rear turn signals. '98/99 SHOs had red turn signals int he back.
G
Where is the car located? :)
Oh shoulda mentioned that. Car is located at Reliable Motors Inc. in Pawleys Island SC, right off the main road (US 17). I thought since its sitting there that I'd let the fellow TCCA members here about it. Matter of fact, Im going back later this week to take pics and do a test drive.
Its a 1997. ALL SHO's from 1996-1999 had the emblem in the grill...They have a completely different front end from all other Taurii in that generation. The lower air dam resembles the one from the gen 4. It has horizontal bars with like 3 verticle ones holding it together. It's also made up of TWO pieces. Not one. The lower half is a completely seperate peice, where as on gen 3 non-sho's, it's one piece.


Attached is a pic of a 97 SHO.

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Yup...im 100% sure its 97. For those that care...I'll write up a review about it. Heck it'll be the first Taurus ive ever driven. Ill also check out the beater 91 Taurus L/GL that has body molding falling off.
Originally posted by Nick986@May 15 2004, 11:06 AM
It had the Ford PATS key, and PATS came out in 97, so it is at least a 97.
I have a 96 LX and I have a PATS key... huh? :ph34r:

Adam
Oh i thought PATS came in 97....well i guess its a 96 or 97 then..
Originally posted by kjw86ca@May 15 2004, 11:25 PM
Its a 1997. ALL SHO's from 1996-1999 had the emblem in the grill...They have a completely different front end from all other Taurii in that generation. The lower air dam resembles the one from the gen 4. It has horizontal bars with like 3 verticle ones holding it together. It's also made up of TWO pieces. Not one. The lower half is a completely seperate peice, where as on gen 3 non-sho's, it's one piece.


Attached is a pic of a 97 SHO.
Thank you Kyle. I was going to say it... "there's nothing like a SHO!" :evil:

The 1996 SHO had the MOST options of any SHO... as in they had everything that a '97+ SHO had, and more. Some of the '96-only features were instrument cluster with PRN(D)21 indicator and Low Washer Fluid light, 4-way adjustable headrests, marker lights on inside of front doors (replaced w/ reflectors), JBL sound system (replaced with MACH, which has no subwoofer in rear package tray), and passenger-side power lumbar support. '99 had the least "extras" of the Gen 3 SHOs. As a result, some SHO enthusiasts will pay just as much for a '96 as for a '99 with comparable wear & mileage, even though the '96 is almost 4 years older and books for much less.
OK you helped me out there. I know there was Mach on the doors and there was no shift indicator on the dashboard. OK...sumerize..1997 Ford Taurus SHO, black. All options minus cell phone. Just thought TCCA might like to know bout this gem. ill test drive later this week and write a review up. Thanks for your help everyone ;)
PATS???
passive anti-theft system
P A T S
Originally posted by Nick986@May 16 2004, 09:24 PM
OK you helped me out there.  I know there was Mach on the doors and there was no shift indicator on the dashboard.  OK...sumerize..1997 Ford Taurus SHO, black.  All options minus cell phone.  Just thought TCCA might like to know bout this gem.  ill test drive later this week and write a review up.  Thanks for your help everyone ;)
You should be able to negotiate that price down quite a bit. I got my 97 SHO, all options except cell phone, with 54K and a 3month/3Kmile warranty for $6500. I wanted to jump on the first one I saw, but that fell through. Within a week and a half, I had looked at about a dozen other V8 SHOs. The prices went from $11K for a 97 with 40K on it, down to $5K for a 98 with 100K on it. There are more of them around than you might think.
Well I did a much closer inspection of the car today...i took a pic of it, and should have it uploaded tomorrow. The cars engine really isnt running right. Interior is very worn down, and part of dash is falling apart. Headlights are all fogged, yellowed and its 102K. I also looked a a 1990 Ford Taurus GL (Made 1/91 if thats possible). It was vulcan, and it needed work. Also they just got a 93 Taurus LX, but they need the key. Ill get the pics back tomorrow. Thanks for your help on the SHO though. Ill keep them in mind.
I found my SHO first through AutoTrader.com. I usually skip over all the "premium" ads at the beginning, since they are mostly slick dealerships that pull the ole "bait and switch" on you. I also regularly checked up on Philly.com's Tri-classifieds. Your city/region may have a similar site. It's basically the area's top 3 newspapers' classified sections combined into one web database. It's very convenient--you can filter by mileage, location, price, etc.
$1K for that '90?? Wtf are they smoking! I can get a '90 GL here for a couple hundred bucks.

The SHO doesn't look too bad though

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Originally posted by Firespirit@May 20 2004, 04:01 PM
$1K for that '90?? Wtf are they smoking! I can get a '90 GL here for a couple hundred bucks.
For real... I don't even think you could GIVE that thing away!
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