Two weeks later, I blew it and had to swap the stock 2.5L back in. In November 2012, I swapped the motor over. That is the SVT that I currently still own. I bought it as a good body for the 3L and built trans that was in my current, rusty SVT on October 23rd, 2012. ![]() That car lasted me about a year, due to rust.Ī friend had a black 2000 SVT come through his dealership as a trade in. ![]() I sent the trans out for a rebuild and to upgrade the differential to a Torsen. Within the first six months, I blew the clutch, pulled the trans, and found damage to the differential. It was a little rough around the edges, but, man, that first test drive got me hooked. I drove a few and wasn’t super impressed.Ī guy on the Contour forum reached out to me, knowing what I had gone through, and offered up his 2000, black, 3-liter-swapped, SVT Contour to me. At that time, I had set out to buy my affordable dream car, a first or second gen Taurus SHO. I wasn’t able to get out of my house to move it until it was too late. I drove that car until 2011, when I lost it in a flood. That’s what got me into the Contour community. I came across a 1995 Mercury Mystique (Mercury version of the Contour) for $2,000. My prized 1989 Ford Tempo GLS had just blown its second engine in two months and I was forced to get a new car. I got my first CDW27 platform car in 2007, right out of high school. img: How did you end up in this camp? Why have you stuck around as long as you have? Just mention the SVT Contour alternator to anyone and watch their reaction. Once you get to know your way around these cars though, they really aren’t all that bad to work on. They get a bad wrap for being a pain to fix as well, since there isn’t much room around the engine to work. They have other issues, too, that are pretty common, like sunroof gears stripping out, syncros tend to go, shifter cable bushings disintegrate, 2.5s spin rod bearings like they’re going out of style, etc. 98.5-2000 were “blessed” with a glass differential. In factory form, they were pretty quick, and handled amazing! They were, however, plagued with some issues.ĩ8 model years had issues with the wiring harness crumbling apart and causing electrical issues. These cars were a real gem in their day. As an SVT Contour owner, could you share a little unvarnished truth with the rest of us? What do you love about them? What do you not love about them? ![]() The most important automotive opinions are those of real, actual owners. It started off as a fun daily driver with some go fast mods and suspension mods, but after attending my first autocross event, I got hooked. Hi, my name is Mark, and yes, that is correct. Is that correct? Anything else you’d like to mention? It’s an amazing machine! img: Introductions: My understanding is you’ve got the venerable Ford SVT Contour (and track it somewhat regularly). When I came across a guy with the handle forgottensvt, I knew I had to reach out. In any case, a few weeks back, I found myself in a drive thru behind a Mercury Mystique, remembered the Contour SVT, and jotted down a note to self-find a Contour SVT owner to interview. We remember reading about them in the buff books the surprisingly competent Euro model meant to replace the Taurus or something. Road & Track called it “ one of the best sports sedans you forgot about.” Ain’t that the truth?Īny gearhead with a license back in the late 90s remembers the Contour SVT-but likely only when we come upon one in the wild these days. Motor Trend said it “ feels every bit as special as Ford would have you believe”, wrapping their March 1997 review with the statement, “All told, the Contour SVT is an attractively priced sport sedan for those whose cravings say ‘Mustang’ but whose realities dictate four doors-at an as-tested sticker several thousand less than a Taurus SHO.”
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