Mike,
The F5 coupe is next for me too...five or so years (Don't tell my wife) Another reason the Contour is going stay

Have you been in one, not a car just to jump into and go to the market with. Yeah, the doors open, but it really dosen't help very much

I'm a Ford man, so I love the early Shelby cars. Have you seen this kit? LS40
http://www.lonestarclassics.com/ It's Focus based but I have seen something about fitting a Contour Duratec in it. I'm going to spend some time looking into it. See what you think.
Pat