hey, Scotty what is your opinion on a 1999 ford Taurus SHO as a project car? I found one for $1,200 with 121,975 miles on it, do you think it is a good deal?
From what I've heard about them those Yamaha engines are high-maintenance, finicky machines. I think Scotty has even talked about them. You can also count on transmission and electrical problems especially if it's been driven hard. However this example has lasted 27 years so it can't be all bad. If it's running OK and the price is right it could make a fun weekend toy but I would not want to rely on it for daily transportation. Just don't get mad at your aunt if it winds up imploding on you.
I'm pretty sure that car has a Yamaha designed engine. Those SHOs are good looking cars, even today, but I do believe the parts are pretty rare, and nobody knows how to work on them. I've never seen an SHO in that era in person, or on the road. I saw them for sale 10+ years ago on craigslist and such, but never driving.
I'd avoid it unless you want an interesting toy to impress people with on occasion. You didn't say which transmission it has, but 175k miles on an automatic with a powerful engine could be someone else's problem hoping to make it yours, instead.
I would avoid the later V8 SHOs as well. They had problems with their camshafts. A popular mod is to weld them, but they're still Yamaha designed V8s and parts are uncommon. That was the only car Ford offered that engine in, and they didn't build a whole lot of them.
Do you know the history of that marriage between Ford and Yamaha?
It was a long marriage, but Ford has also been collaborating with other designers.
For example, on their DURATEC V6 engines, "The primary engineering input came from Porsche (...) and Cosworth, who helped with cylinder head manufacturing", Personally I think it's a great engine, one of the best ones out there.
Also, the Ford Sigma was developed in collaboration with Yamaha,
while the Duratec HE was developed by Mazda, the DuraToruq developed with PSA,
with the 5 cylinder DuraToruq variants being developed by Volvo, the Ford Duratec SE was also developed by Volvo.
An interesting fact being that during the time Volvo was owned by Ford, Yamaha developed and built the 311 horsepower Volvo B8444S 4.4L V8 and it was un-killable - it was able to easily last over 300k miles - interestingly this engine is still in production as a marine engine as the "Yamaha XTO offshore"
Additionally Yamaha has developed the engine for the Lexus V10 and Toyota AE86 and Toyota MR2 engine,
But they also developed the relatively unsuccessful Toyota ZZ engine and the UR engine that had some manufacturing defects causing a recall, and they seem to be the supplier of Honda's questionable CVT transmissions, (some are doing great, some are failing prematurely or having shift issues before even 60k miles)
Recently Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Subaru, Toyota, Mazda, and Yamaha have announced they have joined forces on engine development - So I guess we might see even more Yamaha designs in the future.
Ford developed their EcoBoost engine with FEV inc. , from what I saw they just turbocharged their Duratec designs - and it didn't go to well from what I've been seeing. Nowadays their Smaller EcoBoosts are developed by Ford's UK devision, with the rest also probably being also designed and developed by themselves.
Great information. Thank you, Dan. I appreciate that!
Pass. They are a pain to repair and parts are pricey.
No. The Yamaha engines were junk.
Also never do business with family or friends, especially if it's a vehicle that old.
If he wants it as an occasional toy and the price is right, there's nothing wrong with buying from friends or family. Spending every cent you have on it as a DD and the age causing costly breakdowns is what you want to avoid, especially with friends and family. I paid $750 for my '79 Catalina from my girlfriend's parents, knowing in advance what it was going to need, and it's been a great classic.
You're comparing apples to food processors on that....a old RWD boat with a low tech dependable V8, repairs are nothing on a Catalina, there's also many other cars parts can be harvested from.
Even as a toy with the Yamaha engine & all the things that will go wrong with that alone alone (good luck finding parts) it'll be a lawn ornament in no time. It's not a collector's car either so there's no aftermarket.
It's like how Scotty found out with that 60s Honda project....couldn't find anything parts wise, the engine being the hardest. Learn from the mistakes of others.
Personally I would never pay $5500 for an almost 30 year old car with 175k miles; it's just too much in my opinion.
looks to be in excellent condition
I wouldn't go based off of it looks in excellent condition. First a mechanic needs to check it out. Also, with a car that old there is so much that can start going wrong and you end up having to pay for repairs.
Yeah they made good screaming engines but the problem was nobody here in the US knew how to fix them and parts cost a fortune for those engines. Yamah often does deals with people they make some of the Toyota engines even going back into the '60s when Toyota made that baby Corvette they sold only in Japan it had a Yamaha engine 2
Thank you, Scotty!
I remember those Yamaha V6 engines in the SHO. They had the 3.0L and later the 3.2L they put in the cars with automatic transmissions. If I remember correctly they were fairly reliable except for the EGR passage that would get clogged up with carbon and was somewhat of a pain to clean. Despite having dual length intake runners they didn't make a lot of torque in the low rpm range. However, power really came in after about 3000 RPM up to the 7000 RPM redline. In the next generation SHO they switched to a V8 with just the cylinder heads designed by Yamaha and with a block from Cosworth. I think that engine is another interesting story since it had some serious issues.
You're exactly right about it not making a lot of torque in the low RPM range but came alive around 3000 RPM. I knew Ford switched to a V8 later on, but had no idea the cylinder heads were designed by Yamaha with a Cosworth block. Very cool! Thanks for your input, OldManMechanic!
I feel like that 3.4L V8 in the 1996-99 Taurus SHOs were kind of the undoing of the Ford/Yamaha partnership for engines. Those engines had problems with cam failures if I remember right. I always liked that style of the Taurus when I was a kid. Most people hated it, I wanted an SHO one day. When I was car searching was when I learned of the problems those engine had, and that welding cams was a common mod to fix the cam issues.
If it is it Yamaha designed engine I would not do it because they're very expensive to repair and parts are very hard to get and basically the cars are worthless they're no collector's item or anything. So it depend on whether the engine and transmission worked okay if they didn't I wouldn't touch it
it is green and has sat for about a year or so the guy said but does not start, guy said it may need an alternator or battery. I just planned on getting it for zipping around on the weekends.
also thanks for the quick response!
Hi Scotty. I used to own a 1992 Ford Taurus SHO with a 5-speed manual transmission. It was a screamer! If I remember correctly, it was equipped with a 3.0 litre Yamaha V6. Do you know the history of that marriage between Ford and Yamaha? If so, I believe it would make for a very interesting video. Thanks!
Hi Scotty Kilmer my aunt has a 1995 Ford Taurus SHO I'm thinking of buying one. The motors were made by Yamaha on those cars so I think it will be a good car
what do you think
Mileage?
You didn’t state the mileage, but if you intend to drive it as a daily and rack up the miles, I would pass on it.
you can put a pig in a dress but its still a pig! 🤣
Scotty, what do you think about a 93 Taurus sho? it has 175000 miles looks to be in excellent condition. The asking price is 5500.00
Please try the search before posting. Thanks.