[Shotimes] what about a 540?

[Ian Fisher]

I agree..looking back my ATX wasn't as troublesome as my MTX is. That
car was babied by its previous owners. My MTX wasn't treated as well..
After dumping lots of money into this car, its starting to come around
though..

Ian
93 mtx -gonna be a 5 speed soon enough
Quaife n' stuff (not installed)

-----Original Message-----
From: shotimes-admin@autox.team.net
[mailto:shotimes-admin@autox.team.net] On Behalf Of Mark Nunnally
Sent: Wednesday, December 04, 2002 6:29 PM
To: shotimes
Subject: Re: Re: [Shotimes] what about a 540?


> I'm not even sure what "typical" SHO maintenance costs are!!

    I agree w/ Ron that past maintenance has everything to do with
everything, especially on these cars!  Suzanne's 91 (that we bought not
running, put in a motor, etc) I've spent way more on parts on that car
than
my 92, just to try to get it up in top shape.   Years of neglect (not
abuse,
just neglect) tend to wear down other parts and components as well.
    My 92 was in pretty solid shape when I bought it at 62k.  It needed
a 60k (had new plugs) but the oil had been changed regularly, so at 100k
when I got around to it, the cams were still in great shape and in spec.
It's hard to put an exact $$ amount on a car that's a "hobby" and that
you upgrade, I tried to do upgrades as things wore out (suspension,
brakes, bushings, etc) but overall my 92 in 110k of miles w/ me behind
the wheel has been a very reliable car.  In 7 yrs and 100k, been through
1 rad, most of the coolant lines (lol, bum t-stat), fuel pump, an A/C
line and R12 charge ($450 or so total back in '97), 1 clutch replacement
(since I've owned), coupla motor mounts, a starter, and I've had to swap
in a few spare alts, and a few misc small things.  And of course the
normal things that any car gets, a battery, brake pads, tires, timing
belt, few 60k parts, etc.  I guess when you lump it all in a sentence it
looks like a lot, but over 110,000 miles that's really not much for a
car that got driven hard on the track.  And if you do the work yourself,
it's just the cost of parts, which for the SHO aren't that bad with some
of the good SHO vendors (SHO NUT, etc)
    Even though the 91 was clean, it's taken time and more $$ in parts
to get it up to par.  For a daily driver SHO I'd say find a SHO that's
clean AND well maintained and pay a little more, instead of trying to
play catch up.  In the long run you'll save time and $$.

mark
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