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Mail From: (email redacted) (Mike Lukacs 21723)

Barry Freese <(email redacted)>writes:
|->Subject: SHO vs. Turbo/Super Coupe vs. ?
|->
|->I've got the itch to replace my daily vehicle, an '86 Cutlass Cierra.
|->81,xxx miles. I'm considering a T-bird or a Taurus, but I'm open to
|->something else to wrap around a 6'4" frame that hasn't seen an eighth of
|->a ton in some time.
|->
|->We're dealing with an 18.x mile one-way commute, most of which is interstate.
|->Ideally I'd like to get more go for my dough. (My '68 GT Mustang is
|->having an impact on my right foot.) I still want to keep some semblance of
|->the 23-25 MPG I get in the Olds with its 2.8L 2-bbl V6. Money is an issue; I
|->think I'd be able to add $3,000-$4,000, maybe $5k, to the deal.
|->
|->'Saw an '87 Turbo Coupe, but the lot has a bad rep. (And the salesman
|->Question 1: Opinions are welcome on used Turbo/Super Coupes, circa 87-89:
|-> Known maintenance issues, performance, mileage, & MPG info.,
|-> cost, 5-spd vs. Auto, ...
|->
|->Question 2: Opinions are also welcome on used SHOs. I'd probably be in

I Rise about 6' and Weigh ~270;
I have been driving an `89 SuperCoupe since I bought it new, about 85,000 miles.

SHO & Mustang VS. Super/Turbo Coupe:
SIZE;
The Cougar / Tbirds from `89 on have MUCH more Headroom and Hip room than
the taurus or Mustang.
You would have no trouble at all fitting comfortably into my Cougar XR7.

Gas Milage;
The SuperCoupes are much heavier cars than the Mustang, Taurus, Turbocoupes
and thus have worse gas milage. Mine gets ~20 MPG.

Performance:
The SuperCoupes are approximately equal in performance to 5.0L Mustangs.
The SHO and TurboCoupes, while quite peppy, do not compare.
(Stock `89 SuperCoupe has 210 HP, 315 Ft-Lbs.Torque at 2400RPM. 0-60 ~ 6 sec.)

Maintenance:
Don't let anybody kid you. When driven hard, these are All fairly high
maintenance cars. Were it not for the extended warrantee, I would have spent
approximately $2000. in repairs over my 85,000 miles.
Even discounting the durability of the Turbo itself, the Tbird/Cougar
TurboCoupe Wrings a hell of a lot of horsepower out of a relatively small
4 cylinder engine. It does this by high revs, ergo relatively short lifetime.
The Supercharged 3.8L six is much better, it does not rev high on the avg.
and is very strongly built, but high internal pressures do tend to blow head
gaskets, and it runs a bit hot when pushed. The 5.0L versions of Tbird/XR7
are a bit more reliable, but not as high performance.
/\_/\ /\_/\ Three Black Cats Racing
(^ ^) {@ @} "Black cats CONSTANTLY *****************
==~== ==o== cross my path." * Mike ::: : *
\@/ \^/ * Lukacs ::: : *________
|=| ###_ _-----------=%.............;`....'@..........\
( / \ / \ @ _____ XR7 : _____ *
\ / | | \ **../ ___ \Supercharged.......:......../ ___ \..**
)/ |||| ||||( \ \ "___/ / \ \__________________________/ / \ \__"
(( /|||| |||| \ ) ) \___!( @ )!__________________________!( @ )!_/
m !m!m m!m! m-~(__/ \___/ \___/