Welcome to My Automotive Home Page

This web site features my own cars and general tips for car care that I've gathered from research and from experience.  I am a master ASE certified auto technician and have over 20 years experience.  I developed this site for those who want to get to know me better and/or share my same interest. 

My Cars

Because cars in general are hobbies of mine, I constantly buy, fix, and sell, often using this site to advertise. I currently have more than 30 cars.

My Hobbies

Other Projects

My next big project to complete is what my wife refers to as her "Jack-Rabbit".  She loves the VW Cabriolets but also likes Jeep Wranglers.  I decided why not build her a combo of the two.  I was able to find a VW Cabriolet on Ebay in Arizona for .  Not bad considering it has a new top.  I happen to receive a Bronco II frame for free from a co-worker.  I placed the VW on the Bronco frame expecting to have to shorten the frame and I could not believe my eyes!  The VW has the same wheel base of a Bronco II (92 inches)!  Later we were able to find a 94 Ford Explorer V6 that had been rolled on Ebay for .  4X4 VW?  Yes it is possible.  I am to the point where I just need to modify the body and bolt it down.  The Explorer drivetrain has been installed.  This should be one of the only port fuel injected 4.0 L VW Rabbits in exsistence.  Based on some of the drivers that are out there on the roads today, I am going to install a 6 point roll cage in it to protect my wife because I know if it ever got rolled, the Volkswagon windshield brace and factory convertible roll bar would never support the weight of the 4X4 chassis.  Pictures will be uploaded soon. 

My upcoming project immediately following this one, is my "twin SHO".  I'm using a generation 2 Taurus body (93 to be exact) and then turning it into a twin engine, all wheel drive vehicle.  I am installing a second complete powertrain into about where the backseat is.  Stock, it will be pushing about 500 hp and with the engines being stock, it should be somewhat happy with street life.  Obviously I am not building this as a practical vehicle.  I just think it would be neat to be able to blow the doors off of a 2000 lb hopped up rice burner with a car weighing nearly 2 tons (and a car that is not classified as a fast vehicle). 

Birth of SHO-ble

I had this Mercury Sable for awhile when I let a friend of mine borrow the car for a road trip.  I always knew it was going to blow headgaskets sometime because 3.8's just do that.  He was just driving along (without paying any attention to the temp gauge) and proceeded to cook the engine.  If you want to know how good synthetic oil is, the engine got so hot it melted down the underside of the aluminum heads.  Even with these extreme temperatures, the engine never starved for lack of lubrication and the bottom end sustained no damage aside from the collapsed piston rings.  88 was the worst year and the first year to have a 3.8 L engine in a Taurus or Sable.  It was rather under powered for it's displacement and got rather poor gas mileage as well.  I proceeded to look for a newer 3.8 L mass air controlled engine to get around these issues.  In the midst of my travels, I happen to find a totaled out wrecked 93 ATX Ford Taurus SHO at a local junkyard.  I took the complete drivetrain, computer, wiring and nearly everything else under the hood and transplanted into the Sable.  The engine and trans were simply a bolt in (3.8's use the same engine cradle as the later SHO ATX.  The wiring was another story.  It was no easy task as I had to custom make my own wiring harness.  I also have custom exhaust.  I had to add a overdrive button to the dash for the electronically controlled trans.  I had to install and wire the independent electric cruise control actuator.  This particular cruise system used first in the 93 SHO ATX uses no vaccum and the car now holds speed better than ever before!  The SHO-ble still has the digital dash, which was never available in a SHO.  The car being a fully loaded model originally, still has all of the factory frills which all function properly including power seats, keyless entry, climate control as well as many other features.  The car drives as nice as it did before the modification (I wanted it to be right) but now has enough power to smoke the front tires at will.  Incidentely, the car runs now smoother, cleaner, and is much more efficient than the engine it replaced.  The only downside to the project at all was time and money.  I will be making more upgrades to this car as time goes by.  I have seen other SHO powered Sables, but never a Gen 1.   

My .02

I am not an overly biased individual when it comes to Ford, Chevy, Dodge, etc., my collection is mostly Fords and old Mopars.  A friend of mine has mostly the GM stuff.  GM did have some good ideas too.  I do recognize that, although it is not my specialty.

Technically V6 SHO's border on the japanese side themselves seeing as how the motor was manufatured by Yamaha for Ford Motor Co.