Tauruses are one of ford's more popular cars, the SHO was a sporty taurus with a high output yamaha marine motor, bucket seats, center console, fancy rims, ground effects, and other features that distinguised them from a regular tauruses. The SHOs that vic owners are interested in are the GenII taurus SHOs which were made from 1992 to 1995. Most 92' gen II SHO's had an interior that was a carryover from the 91' model year. So you may wish to limit your search to 1993-1995 tauruses and sables. Cars are getting older now and often get declared a total loss by insurance companies over little fender benders since they aren't worth terribly much. Some regular ford tauruses and mercury sables were avaliable with bucket seats and center console that will work in the vic, but this was not a popular option and most you'll find have the standard split bench seating. Additionally, 1993 and 1994 Lincoln Continentals were avaliable with a center console nearly identical to the console used in 1993-1995 SHO's, but most of the 93' and 94' continentals that you'll find will have split bench seating not bucket.
Color choices for the SHO consoles appear to be black, grey, and beige. Finding a SHO console in good shape in the desired color can be a time consuming task, I called around a dozen different junkyards before settling on one. One I got was black in color, from a non-smokers car, and the car still had all its windows and doors so the console wasn't exposed to bad weather before I got it.
Removing the Console:
Console was easy enough to remove from the donor vehicle, and
suprisingly the brackets that retain the console to the floor were
bolted in and not spot welded. When you go to the wrecking yard to get
your console bring
along a socket set, torx drivers and a couple screw drivers. Make sure
to
acquire all the retaining brackets for the console from your donor car,
you'll need them to mount the console in your vic.
Mounting the Console:
Mounting the console in your vic requires a little patience and persistence. First remove the ashtray and associated mounting brackets from your vic. Then try sliding the sho console into place. You'll find the drivers side front corner needs a little grinding to slide under the dash. The back part of the console with the door also requires a little trimming of the plastic at the bottom where the console rests on the transmission tunnel, the contour of the taurus center exhaust tunnel is quite different than the contour of the crown vic transmission tunnel.
Getting the mounting brackets mounted to the car is another issue.
Some of the brackets will require bending and spacers in between the
floor and bracket. Once you figure out how to mount the brackets, its
time to use a power drill and drill some holes in the transmission
tunnel. Self tapping sheetmetal screws work well for retaining the
brackets. You'll need long screws for the front brackets because of the
extra height added by the
peice of plastic that distributes heat from the heater to the back
passengers. There were not any wires running on the topside of the
transmission tunnel in my 1998, but you may have some from aftermarket
police equipment that was mounted in
your car at one point in time. So look before you drill. Watch screw
length
when drilling into the floor to mount the console, i've heard from one
unfortunate individual who required driveshaft replacement after using
screws that were too long. Use too short of screws and the console
mounting
screws won't properly retain the console to the floor of the car.
Note: 2001 and later crown victorias have the restraints control
module for the airbag supplemental restraint system mounted on the top
of the transmission tunnel towards the firewall. Make sure that you do
not drill into the module or any of it's associated wiring. Also make
sure that this module is not subjected to any sharp impacts from items
moving around inside the car.
Pictures:
below are some pictures of taurus sho consoles installed in crown
victorias
RocketCouch's 1992 LX ([email protected])
Note: The front seats are not the factory ones, they are aftermarket
"Cobra Daytona Sport" seats reupholstered to match the red interior.
The console was dyed red and re-carpeted with red fabric to match the
rest of the
interior.
1995+ police interceptor interior with bucket seats and black rubber
floormat.
K9Vic's 1999 police cruiser with cd changer mounted in console.
GenII (1992-1995) Mercury Sable exterior
GenII (1992-1995) ford taurus exterior. Note: The above picture is of the base model, SHOs will have fancier rims, ground effects, fog lights, etc.
GenII (1992-1995) Mercury Sable interior with bucket seats and center console
GenII (1992-1995) taurus SHO interior
GenI (1989-1991) taurus SHO interior. Note the differences in the center console between the GenI tauruses and the GenII tauruses. If you're in a bind, the GenI console looks like it would probably work in the vic. Note the lack of enclosed storage space at the back of the console and the fact that the console does not touch the bottom of the dash. I've seen bucket seats and center consoles like the one pictured above in tauruses as early as the 1987 model year.
A taurus with the standard splitbench seating and no center console. Most of the Ford Tauruses and Mercury Sables you'll find will have this seating configuration.
Other Console Options:
All crown victorias with the sport appearance package came with
40/20/40 leather bucket seats and a center console as did all mercury
marauders. The sap center console, shifter and seats will bolt into any
recent crown vic but finding a wrecked lx sport or marauder in the
salvage yards is
very difficult.
Some 1998 and later lincoln continentals came with bucket seats, a
center console, and a console mounted shifter. And the center console
and shifter
assembly used in the 1998 and later continentals is nearly identical to
the one used in the lx sport and marauder models. You might be able to
make the continental seats fit in your vic if you're handy with a
welder,
but the width of the continental seats is smaller than crown vic seats.
All 1998 lincoln towncars came with 40/20/40 leather buckets and a
center console. The towncar console is considerably different in
appearance than the lx sport console and does not contain a shifter
assembly nor does
it extend fully to the dashboard area. An interesting combination would
be 1998+ towncar bucket seats with the continental console and shifter
assembly.
Would be very similar in appearance to the crown vic lx sport but with
lincoln insignias embroidered on the seat backs.
When shopping, you may also run into some older lincoln
continentals.
Some 95-97 continentals have a console that will fit in a bucket seat
equipped
crown vic, but it's got fake woodgrain and some other noticeable
differences
from the lx sport consoles. Additionally, some 93-94 lincoln
continentals
have a center console thats extremely similar to the taurus sho
console.
But the portion of the console to store cassette tapes under the
dashboard
is a little different on these vehicles.
There are also premade aftermarket truck and van consoles that will
fit
in between the front seats of a crown vic with police buckets. Walmart
sells the "clutter catcher" console for around $25. The walmart console
is inexpensive and easy to install but be warned some people have
expressed
concerns about it shattering if the lid is closed too fast during cold
weather. Steel Horse Automotive also makes consoles that will fit in a
vic with police buckets, their catalog is avaliable online at
www.steelhorseautomotive.com. Be warned, neither aftermarket console
mentioned provides much "lateral support".