Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Branches California seeing some new names...

1funsvt:

I think the guy you are talking about with the 450 horse SHO is Nick Crimes. Quite the ride -- wish I had a chance to see it in action. I'm not sure who the other one is -- the name doesn't ring a bell but that doesn't mean that much.

I did see a SHO up at Thunderhill the last time I was up but never did talk to the owners; I had three friends with me and we were swapping cars back and forth so I was kept pretty busy as-was.

My SHO is mostly stock. I have Konis on the front [only], poly bushings, a 26mm sway bar on the back with some homemade polyethelene bushings, two sets of cheap [OZ Cignus -- on fire sale for $59/ea, so I can't complain] 16x7.5" wheels, one with S-02s and one with RE730s, and some Porterfield R4 pads on the front [best $150 I've ever spent on that car]. I've got a SHO Shop cat system and a dynomax catback which has been customized somewhat over the years as the mufflers have rusted, cracked, etc [one straight-through Race Magnum on the left side, a 24" glasspack in place of the resonator, and the normal Dynomax on the right side, with the inlet pipe crimp busted, so it leaks].
Also have a homemade 4" ram-air, K&N filter, and 80mm MAF [which is still in the experimentation stage, as I can't seem to get a good working program for my LPM that I've had for 2 years].
I've been really happy with the performance of the car, and my experiences at Thunderhill have only reinforced that; I had my Contour up there the last time I went, and my friend and his wife brought their souped-up GTP [which will kill the SHO in a straight line]. Definitely a good time [and the SHO was definitely the favorite, both from the instructors and the three of us].

It's on its third engine [long story, but we'll say one was because I got it used and didn't check it closely enough -- the other one just got tired, I guess -- at 176k that might be excusable], second tranny, second steering rack, third set of Konis [yes, I drive it hard], and I don't know how many other things. The A/C is poor, the exhaust leaks, the driver-side door is bent a little, the engine burns about a quart every 500 miles, but the intake sound is intoxicating and the punch and the handling just finish up the package.

I would really like to dump some [more] money into it and put on real brakes [these are good with these pads -- no fade even at full bore through thunderhill, but the rotors have got to be getting really hot], 3.2L pistons, stage II cams, a Quaife, and some suspension tweaks. No blower -- don't want anything messing up that intake sound -- and all I'm looking for is ~290 HP and some weight reduction. And I could still have a pretty decent car as a daily driver [the Contour].

Probably a rather silly thing to do, as I could just take the engine and drop into the back of something else for the same amount of money, most likely. A Fiero with that engine would be pretty fun, but that's probably blasphemy ;-), and my SHO is still my first love [as my mom said -- if you love your wife as much as you love that car, she'll be the happiest woman on the planet.. but that's OT].

Anyhow, a little longer post than I intended...

Yep, it's Nick. I met him last time at Thunderhill. Talk about a sleeper. A 450HP Taurus? Sheez. I think that's like 50HP less than Winston Cup restrictor plate cars! The other guy is Bernard, a German guy in his 50's who lives in Santa Rosa or somewhere up there. Nick and Bernard get their work done at North Bay Motorsports (I think that's the name). Bernard has the usual SHO Shop intake and exhaust goodies, along with their hot cams. The car is an '89 (1st year) and is in showroom condition. Very neat car!!! He and I are very comparable around the track (when I'm in my track-prepared Mustang).

Thanks for the info about your car, it sounds really neat.

I have another friend on the SHOTimes mailing list - John Kling, he may go by "Static" or "SHOStatic" on the list - seen any posts of his? He is in Decatur, IL.

Jeff

[QUOTE]Originally posted by lcheney:
[B]1funsvt:

I think the guy you are talking about with the 450 horse SHO is Nick Crimes. [etc.]

Real name: John Anderson
Home: San Francisco, CA
Workplace: Securify.com, in Palo Alto
Car: 1997 LX-V6 w/a stick!

Hey fellow Contour addicts! Although I guess I am somewhat outside the ranks now since "'Toura" with, very little warning, "threw a rod" on 101 at rush hour. Ironically it happened directly at the exit for "South City Ford". "The bad news," the S/A said "is that a new engine will run you $6000 bucks"(!) He said without blinking that the good news was he could get a new engine in about a month. Neither he nor Ford, however, can tell me why a perfectly serviced engine should blow. W/83k miles, I was on the verge of trading but to have it go this way is sickening... The good thing is, perhaps, I'll now get that SVT I've always wanted (and, yes Guy Apple, my colleagues are all saying the same thing). I know of two in silver at Walnut Creek Ford. Has anyone seen any others about the Bay Area?

Cheers,
John

Anytime! I'd love to see some of the mods you've listed.





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95 Contour mtx V6
TH Fix/ Tru Rev Induction/ Leda Springs/ SHO shop front STB/ Dynomax Muffler/ Resonator removed/ Quaker State Synthetic Oil/ Removed Hood Liner/ Pioneer 8200 deck/ Debadgerized/ Knauberized/ Richmond shift knob/ KKM pedals/ Lighted Moon Roof switch/ Xenon "cool blue" headlights/ cargo net/ new cup holder/ GTO Headlight Covers/ Steel 14" wheels. I'm working on a replacement!/ Sumitomo HTR 100's/ 22mm Rear Sway Bar w/ Poly bushings & Battery Relo kit on order.

A little late but I'll chime in.....

Christopher
Age: 25
Occupation: Accountant for Big 5 Firm
Location: San Jose

"I'm no ordinary bean counter"

And yes the Bay Area is ridiculously overpriced, I moved here in Sept. from Oregon (GO DUCKS) and am shocked by the prices of real estate. IMO everthing else is cheaper or equally priced compared to Oregon. To compensate we in the San Jo office receive the highest pay in the nation.



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Christopher
99 T-Red SVT
Painted rear reflector
pre 98 sails
Front SVT Logo
rear mesh grill
San Jose, CA

up top for the new guys

Name: Bonnie
Home: Davis, CA (Born and raised in Berkeley, but in Davis for college)
Work: Don't have a *real* job yet, but hopefully, once I graduate, I'll find something (maybe back in the Bay Area)
Age: 23

So I'm not exactly a "new" member, I've been reading ceg.org since March last year. (In fact, it was this group that convinced me to buy a Contour--you guys rock! If it weren't for this group, I would probably be driving a Jetta with no power and a crappy interior. :)) I'm a very infrequent poster, but I love how nice everyone is to each other...I look forward to meeting some of you people at the meet!

I'm not really new but I'll sign on here since I missed it the first time.

Josh
San Jose
Age 25
Courier at Fedex

real name: Bill
from: San Leandro
work for: Apria Healthcare

NAME: Zach Bosch
HOME: El Dorado Hills, and Davis once in a while
Occupation: I Work at Folsom Lake Ford (we are the only Saleen dealer in Nor Cal I think, I love driving those things!) and a student at Sac State
Age: 21-BDAY in Aug.

See you guys for the first time at the next meet.