Yay or Nay: Ford Contour SVT

"Jonee" (Jonee) 05/04/2015 at 15:40 • Filed to: Ford Contour SVT

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My neighbor has one of these he’s trying to get rid of for practically nothing and I drove it and holy cow was it fun for a beaten piece of shit. It ain’t no supercar, the gearbox has throws as long as a semi, and every piece of it seems like it cost 5¢, but it’s well balanced and goes a heck of lot faster than an oddly sized sedan should. It’s like a boring man’s Mustang. Why was I so entertained by this piece of crap? Who has experience with one?

For Sweden > Jonee 05/04/2015 at 15:42

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Yay or ban

Cherry_man1 > Jonee 05/04/2015 at 15:43

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They were quirky little buggers. How much is practically nothing?

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > Jonee 05/04/2015 at 15:45

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They’re cool little cars. If you can get one at a steal, you may as well get it.

Jonee > Cherry_man1 05/04/2015 at 15:47

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$1250. It has a lot of miles, but he’s actually done a ton of work to it. New tranny, clutch, engine rebuilt among other stuff.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > Jonee 05/04/2015 at 15:47

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Do it.

Cherry_man1 > Jonee 05/04/2015 at 15:49

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Might be worth it then.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > Jonee 05/04/2015 at 15:50

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The primary engineering input came from Porsche , who were developing a similar V6 before selling the engineering to Ford, and Cosworth , who helped with cylinder head manufacturing.

I mean, what else needs to be said?

Jonee > Cherry_man1 05/04/2015 at 15:51

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I feel like I’d get that much entertainment value out if it. It really was a hoot for what it was.

BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind > Jonee 05/04/2015 at 15:51

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Yay if you like cheap, go-fast sedans. Nay if you care about surviving any type of collision.

Jonee > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie 05/04/2015 at 15:51

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Huh. Seriously. The cheapest Porsche you can buy is a Ford.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > Jonee 05/04/2015 at 15:52

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The engine, anyway. It also got a bit more Cosworth reworking for the SVT version.

505Turbeaux > Jonee 05/04/2015 at 15:55

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I always liked them. Decent chassis, fucked up build quality and some semblance of speed to be found. Gimme dat mondeo

Svend > Jonee 05/04/2015 at 15:55

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Hmm, go for it.

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > Jonee 05/04/2015 at 15:56

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meh

thereisnospork > Jonee 05/04/2015 at 15:59

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My first car was non-SVT with the v6 and CD4E slushbox. It was a fun, reasonably well handling saloon. When the secondaries kick in the engine really comes to life and sounds surprisingly good for a v6. Overall I’d probably be fine picking up another as a beater. There are, or at least were, reasonably cheap turbo kits available too if you want to go nuts with it.

I would check what the status of the alternator is though - they are a royal PITA to swap out. Also if the SVT-specific body panels (skirts, bumpers) are in good shape its probably worth the asking price in parts/scrap. IIRC body panels are not easy to come by, though I haven’t checked in years.

Jonee > 505Turbeaux 05/04/2015 at 16:04

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Clarkson seems to have liked the Mondeo version. I want something amusing to drive for the summer as I restore the Le Car. It might be this or a similarly priced 505 I showed you a couple months back. The guy with the Peugeot is a real weirdo, though, but I guess that’s to be expected with someone selling a French car. And, I hate not having 3 pedals.

Nerd-Vol > Jonee 05/04/2015 at 16:04

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I saw this one self immolate this past fall.

thebigbossyboss > BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind 05/04/2015 at 16:06

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Have you seen the cars Jonee regularly drives? “collison survival” isn’t exactly a strong point of the Subaru 360 lol.

CKeffer > Jonee 05/04/2015 at 16:06

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Sounds like a good price for a fun beater to me!

Ilike_cougars > Jonee 05/04/2015 at 16:06

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I had a V6 Cougar which were kinda similar underneath, Good cars but you need to look after them, Alternators prone to failing, because someone decided to put it near the driver side wheel well, and is a b!##$% to replace.. another problem I had with mine was the ignition coil decided to go kaput, on a 300 mile drive, but was able to drive it with 3 cylinders and limp it back home. And these have a really weird wheel lug pattern, not exactly easy getting aftermarket wheels..

JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t > Jonee 05/04/2015 at 16:06

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Little known fact: the time of it’s release the SVT Contour was faster through all handling-based tests and had better stopping performance than the SVT Cobra. The Cobra still beat it in 0-60, but not by as much as they would have liked. I test drove a new one when they first came out and it was indeed a revelation for a Ford product (at the time). That lusty exhaust yowl is not bad either. I hear they can be kinda delicate and expensive to repair, but that’s a “beat it ‘till it breaks and then toss it” price.

thebigbossyboss > Jonee 05/04/2015 at 16:06

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“man it was fun”...being “sold for next to nothing”...sounds like you answered your own question.

Jonee > thereisnospork 05/04/2015 at 16:07

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Interesting, thanks. I remember driving a Mystique with the V6 and being surprised by that car, too. It’s missing one of the jack point skirt pieces like in that photo, but he’s got a replacement, just the wrong color. I’ll ask about the alternator. I would imagine it’s been replaced by this point.

505Turbeaux > Jonee 05/04/2015 at 16:10

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oh yeah that peugeot has been for sale for ever and a day. I would actually pick this over that

Jonee > 505Turbeaux 05/04/2015 at 16:15

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This would certainly win in a race. The 505 is much better looking, obviously.

MultiplaOrgasms > Jonee 05/04/2015 at 16:15

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Ahem

Frank Grimes > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie 05/04/2015 at 16:16

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what the what.

Frank Grimes > 505Turbeaux 05/04/2015 at 16:17

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is it just me or does one being a modeo vs a contour make it way more cool? I would do a mondeo conversion

505Turbeaux > Frank Grimes 05/04/2015 at 16:17

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I dont think there is much different between the 2 besides federal crap

Jonee > MultiplaOrgasms 05/04/2015 at 16:18

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Very true. The cheapest and slowest Porsche you can buy is a Lada. Unless you’re in America. I don’t think I could import one cheaper than the Contour, but it would be hilarious to do it anyway.

Street Surgeon > Jonee 05/04/2015 at 16:20

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The car is pretty cool but they have glass-jaw transmissions :(

MultiplaOrgasms > Jonee 05/04/2015 at 16:24

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The cheapest maybe, but not the slowest.

Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig > Jonee 05/04/2015 at 16:26

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I want to like it, but it represents the absolute nadir of automobile aesthetic design. Those Contours are hideous. I don’t know if I could do it.

Kanaric > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie 05/04/2015 at 16:44

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does it have manual?

jkm7680 > Jonee 05/04/2015 at 16:47

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Nay, it’s still a Contour.

Whatever, just cal it a Mondeo.

Jonee > thebigbossyboss 05/04/2015 at 16:48

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Collisions can be survivable? I thought that's how we weeded out the bad drivers.

TheHondaBro > For Sweden 05/04/2015 at 16:49

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Nay.

For Sweden > TheHondaBro 05/04/2015 at 16:51

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Frank Grimes > 505Turbeaux 05/04/2015 at 16:51

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well yeah its probably just trim and badges but still cooler for some reason.

TheHondaBro > For Sweden 05/04/2015 at 16:53

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Wurrwulf > Jonee 05/04/2015 at 20:38

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Factory water pumps had plastic internals that failed regularly. Change that. The bushings that connect the shift linkage to the transmission are garbage. Swap them out with metal-sleeved bushings (literally less than a dollar from a hardware store). I had a ‘99.5 for a short period of time because I was too immature to have such a car given to my dumbass.

The backseats are useless for actually carrying people, but I’ll be damned if that car wasn’t a ton of fun to drive. V8 fuel economy with 4 cylinder performance. It was everything you didn’t want in a family sedan, and that’s what made it great.

Also: dat intake noise.

pip bip - choose Corrour > Jonee 05/05/2015 at 04:50

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YAY!

Jobjoris > Jonee 05/06/2015 at 05:18

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Awesome rides. When it comes to DD it probably suits you better than that 505. For the long run though... GET THAT 505!

Why don’t you just get both?

Jonee > Jobjoris 05/06/2015 at 14:33

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It’s funny that this car was also sold as a Jaguar. It gets terrible gas mileage and every piece of the interior is falling apart, but it’s hilarious to drive. So, yeah, perfect daily driver for me. Getting both is a terrible idea so I wouldn’t put it past me, but I do need to concentrate on the Le Car. I just texted the 505 guy again. We’ll see. Did you talk to the Renault guy about my shock?

Jobjoris > Jonee 05/06/2015 at 17:47

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I haven’t heard of Dennis (my Renault-contact) yet but the last couple of days were festivities over here as it’s been 70 years since the Netherlands were liberated from Nazism. So I can imagine his team was incomplete. I’ll try again tomorrow.

My brother did own a euro Mondeo 2.5 V6. Very short. Not cheap when it comes to maintenance. Not sure if it’s the same engine but he actually got rid of it because of that.

Jonee > Jobjoris 05/07/2015 at 01:19

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Happy Death to Nazis Day. I’m all for celebrating that. I think I have a line on a pair of rear shocks here in the States. The Renault Owners Forum finally came through for me.

I think this is the same engine as the Mondeo. This car was known as the Mondeo ST200 in England and I think Cosworth worked on it. I’m sure it is fragile. This car has had a lot of work done to it, so maybe it’s good for a few hundred miles before breaking again.

Jobjoris > Jonee 05/07/2015 at 02:24

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Well, just wait and see who’s first on this one!

Ah, the ST200. My brother didn’t have that one, that was the ‘normal’ 2.5 V6. And as all was beige at that time (4-cylinders) it was pretty weird and actually quite a drive. But again: not cheap to daily and I can imagine the ST200 being even worse.

Jonee > Jobjoris 05/07/2015 at 18:47

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Amazingly, this car has gone 170,000 miles, so there are ways to keep them going. I think that V6 was fairly reliable, it was everything else that fell apart, I guess. And, yeah, even without all the ST stuff, it was an entertaining car to drive. Cheap and stupid, but entertaining.