[Shotimes] Looking at the possibility of a SHO Wagon

[shojun@mtrs.org]

Note: scroll close to the bottom of the email to get to the real point
of the message...


Well, this past summer I decided that the time had come for me to get a
newer car to replace my aging '89 SHO.  My tired old SHO has far, far
too many problems to be worth fixing-- the previous owner neglected it
pretty badly and all she's been an exceptionally expensive car for me to
maintain, and I don't see her getting any cheaper anytime soon.

I looked around, and eventually bought a '95 Chrysler Sebring through
the local auto auction.  A nice car, for certain, and I'm sure it'll
prove to have a low cost of maintenance, but just not
interesting/exciting enough to really be a suitable replacement for a
SHO.

Put my SHO up in the local classifieds around here for what I've
generally seen SHOs advertised for.  I did the same with my Sebring.
Got virtually no calls on either car.  I've slowly dropped the price on
my SHO, and now I'm getting the occasional call about it--
unfortunately, my asking price for it in the classifieds is down to less
than what the car's worth if I part it out.  argh!  I haven't had much
luck with the Sebring either (a few calls), but my price on the Sebring
is high-- given what I paid for the car (including repairs I've made) I
can get rid of the car for pretty close to wholesale value-- I can drop
my price a lot more before I lose money.

Lesson learned: a lot more used cars seem to suddenly appear on the
market in the fall, and I guess the first-time car buyers have less free
cash as their jobs end and they go back to scool-- sell your cars in the
spring or early summer!

Another lesson learned: buy your cars in the fall!

Oh well...

Getting to the point of this email, I've been looking at my options,
from pricey Gen 3 SHOs overpriced at used car dealers to almost-new
Buick Regals (same engine as the Pontiac GTP), to a Gen 2 SHO.  I almost
made an offer on a Regal GS that I test-drove recently-- it must've been
one of those rare GM cars with an interior that hadn't self-destructed
after a few years of ownership!  ...But then I realized that I wouldn't
enjoy a car that doesn't need as much constant attention as my SHO did--
really, I need a project, a special car.  Something unique. (not to
mention that depreciation will drive me nuts on a newer car-- I'm cheap
that way-- I don't like the value of my things dropping madly!).

A Gen 2 SHO would fill my unique-car need, and would allow me to part out
my Gen 1 and still be able to re-use a number of the parts that I put in
it, but it'd drive me nuts having another car that doesn't have fold-down
rear seats.  A few nights ago, it hit me-- a SHO Wagon!  I already know of
Thumper the SHOWagon (http://www.klimesgroup.com/SHOwagon/), but I'd like
to get a 5-speed wagon, which would probably require a little more effort
than doing an auto-to-auto conversion like Thumper.

I'm also looking to keep costs low-- if I'm in the Gen 2 years, it'll cost
me about two-thirds the value of a Gen 2 SHO to get a wagon in decent
shape (don't see many good-body-bad-engine Taurii advertised for
dirt-cheap around here all that often).  Not to mention the fact that I
don't realistically have the space/time to be able to do this properly (my
mechanic would be willing to do a swap of most of the front-end stuff, but
doesn't particularly want to get involved in putting clutch pedals where
there wasn't any, or manual shifters where there wasn't any...)

So anyway, I'm looking at the comparative costs of taking two good cars
and swapping the driving and engine management equipment versus the cost
of taking one good SHO and doing a cut-n-clip to attach a wagon rear end. 
I've heard of bodyshops cutting cars up right behind the B-pillar welding
on a clipped section from another car, and I'm wondering what sorts of
costs this would typically incur, and whether or not it's possible to do
this with a Taurus Sedan front end and Wagon rear end.  Do any of you know
if this is possible, or whether it has been done?  For those who've had
involvement in cut-n-clips before, any idea roughly how many hours of
labour it typically takes, or the cost of such procedures? (not including
paintwork).

All I can say is this: it'd be damn cool to be the only person in the
city/province/country to be driving a SHO Wagon.

Later all,
    -Arjun
    89 SHO
    95 Sebring
    Gen 2 SHOWagon to come, perhaps?