Experiences buying used SHOs (was Re: [Shotimes] Plus from Hell Update)

[Carl Prochilo]

George,  The sense I get from this post is that had the battery cable not
failed, your experience with this car would have been quite different.  In
fact, it seems that the problems the car had were for the most part
self-inflicted wounds by the previous owner.  Not that any SHO is
trouble-free, but it does sound unfortunate you had to discover these the way
you did.

BTW,  I'll share a similar story, although not nearly as interesting as yours.
I bought a 95 MTX for my son here in Palm Beach County.  I wanted to find a
low miles car that was from down south to avoid any of the issues associated
with northern cars of this age.  After a few months of searching, I finally
found a very nice looking 95 with 66K miles on it.  I knew it had some
problems, which included things like the stereo not working, busted blend door
actuator, power antenna not working, and 17" aftermarket wheels being bent,
but I knew that those were minor issues I could deal with over time.  But the
basic car was otherwise sound.

I tackled the stereo first since this is of utmost importance to an 18 year
old.  After three quick sessions of not finding out the problem, I managed to
zero in on the amps not getting power.  The car came with a very very nice
aftermarket stereo, complete with 2 Rockford Fosgate amps and a high end
Pioneer head unit.  I found that 3 of the four power fuses had blown, two in
the trunk and one in the engine compartment.  Before replacing the fuses, I
needed to find out why they blew in the first place.  Looking at the battery,
I noticed something wasn't quite right.  First, the battery was sitting up too
high and second, the positive battery terminal shroud wasn't seated where it
was supposed to be.  The previous owner must have needed to replace the
battery, but in doing so, failed to remove the plastic tray used to carry the
battery.  That coupled with the incorrectly placed shroud must have caused the
battery to short to the hood which led to the fuses failing.  Amazingly enough
through this time, the car never had any issues with CEL or such.

In addition to the power feed problem, I also noticed that the fader in the
stereo wasn't working correctly either.  This was caused by improper wiring of
the stereo's pre-amp outputs to the amps. The power antenna repair was
straightforward and I decided to let the local dealer tackle the blend door
issue.

Except for the blend door actuator and the antenna, the issues turned out to
be self-inflicted wounds that were recoverable.

On the positive side, I learned after I purchased the car that it had a
SHOShop Y-pipe and exhaust, and 80mm MAF.

The car now is reliable for my son and he's used it to travel to Orlando and
Gainesville without incident.

Cheers,
Carl P.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "George Fourchy" <krazgeo@jps.net>
To: <shotimes@autox.team.net>
Sent: Friday, July 04, 2003 7:53 PM
Subject: [Shotimes] Plus from Hell Update


> For those that don't know, during the time I was in the hospital trying to
save my
> hand/finger (two years ago today), I made a bad deal to buy a Plus from a
guy (a
> current lister) in Florida.  I should have had someone look at it before
committing
> to it, but I didn't.  To make a (horribly) long story short, I paid a
premium price
> for that car, sight unseen, and paid almost three times that much more to
get it
> home, fixed, and barely acceptable for my cousin, for whom I got it, and who
still
> does not have it.  I was told that everything worked, so I made the
assumption that
> was true, and brought my wife and nephew with me (by air) to drive it home
across
> the country, doing some touring at the same time.  Don't anyone else do that
unless
> you know the seller personally, or are able to inspect the vehicle yourself
or have
> it inspected by a reliable person.
>
> It had to be towed halfway across the country, after we left it in Ok City,
and then
> sat in the back yard for another year, waiting for Zach Leahy to work his
magic on
> the engine.  I used it for my work commute a few days after that, while it
was cool.
>  I still got the intermittent CE light, and it would quit while the light
was on.  I
> was ready to blow it up.
>
> Then Nick Crimes noticed the bad positive battery terminal (and PCM
connector) last
> summer.  I worked on that (tightened the strap that holds the cable to
it...the
> bolts were finger tight), but didn't change it, and the CE light went away.
That
> would have prevented the towing trip behind the CVic, which has started the
CV's
> axle howling......Ford's 8.8 inch axle strikes again!!!!
>
> This fix served until it went to the a/c shop for a new heater
core/evaporator/R134
> conversion.  $2200...!  The a/c system was in a shambles.  Hey Rob.....you
need to
> find a new a/c guy....my guy, who walks on water (and has done so for 15
years),
> says there were no serviceable parts remaining in that a/c system, and that
the last
> time it was serviced, it was totally screwed over.  It was full of water,
along with
> Freon, and totally froze internally after about 20 minutes every time it got
turned
> on.  You (and I) got ripped off BIG TIME.
>
> After it was done, it sat for 3 months....the lights were inadvertently left
on, and
> the new battery went dead.  In jumping it, the positive connector to the
battery
> finally broke...both of them are the lever type that allow quick
release.....totally
> unnecessary here, a waste, and the likely cause of all the electrical
problems this
> car has had, and the reason for well over $2000 being spent on or for it
while
> getting it home.   I have taken pictures of these terminals, as well as
proper
> terminals, and these are on SHOTimes.com for reference and repair
instructional
> purposes.
>
> After being jumped, it ran fine, but the CE light came on again a couple of
times,
> and the engine quit whenever it was lit.  I got it where I wanted it to be,
and
> finally replaced those terminals.  It's fine now.  It cools and heats fine,
and
> cruises fine....there was a bad release switch on the brake pedal.  So
what's left
> is to fix the steering....it has a bad pinch connection at the firewall, and
still
> needs a speedo cable.  It's had 93044 miles for the last 6 years or so.
>
> I'm commuting in it now, just for a couple of days....it has good rear
struts (Toks
> and CCs), but the front bounces...they're original.  The rears are going to
be
> removed and brought to the convention for use there by another car that
needs them
> more.  I'll borrow some struts from PnP until I get back from Madison.  The
PfH will
> get Lowrider's struts when it comes home and gets its new set, which will be
swapped
> with the LuxoBarge when IT comes on line and Lowrider heads to the museum.
>
> After the speedo and steering are fixed, and some rust is stopped in the
trunk area,
> it should suffice for a while with my cousin.  She is, however, disenchanted
with
> it, sinctox. is rather noticeably down a level or two in reliability from
the
> Lowrider (to say nothing of being two years late in arriving).  So it may
become for
> sale down the road a bit, and it won't be allowed in this household.
>
> But it is running, and running well........finally.
>
> George
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