SHO Source ~ HISTORY

Once upon a time a we needed a family car.  The mother was tired of driving and parking a crew cab pickup, but recoiled greatly at the thought of hauling kids around in a minivan.  There was the lure of a Mustang or a Porsche.  Many heated discussions evolved trying to convince her that a SHO was a sporty performance car that would also hold kids, dog food and a Costco grocery run -- A SHO was not just a Taurus sedan.  All it took was a test drive, and the rest is history.

It all began with a white Gen 2 we named Stew, short for Stewart or Beef Stew, depending on how it was acting.  Since Taurus is the symbol for the Bull, the names tend toward livestock.

The beginning of the HPDE obsession was the rescue of a Bondurant instructor car.  "The Bondurant" was spruced up for an appearance at the San Francisco SHO Convention.  It even did laps at Thunderhill and Portland Int'l Raceway, but it was more of a conversation piece.

To keep "The Bondurant" company, we added a red, moderately-modified, Gen 2 MTX.  "Ivan the Terror-Bull" loves to play with fancy cars at the track.  During a school day at Seattle's Pacific Raceway, while still naturally-aspirated, Ivan hit 145 mph between turns 1 and 2 before an aggressive and prayerful application of brakes.  A short time later, Ivan received a super-charger kit, TwEECer, harnesses, and a 4-point roll cage, and now keeps up with the big dogs at the track. 

Then we got bored one winter and decided to give the LeMons Racing series a try.  We literally pulled a 1989 MTX out of the weeds and, with a lot of help from some friends, turned it into a racecar.  This MTX underwent a few different thematic roles, but eventually settled into character as the "GI SHO," complete with a camo paint job.  The GI SHO has been a serious trouper, running 25 endurance races with Lemons, ChumpCar, and most recently Lucky Dog.

This was our path to an obsession with SHOs, but, in the early years, we found it difficult to obtain parts and information for the car.  During the process of maintaining and upgrading our own cars, we tore them apart, researched information, collaborated with other SHO experts, built our own specialty tools, and evolved into one of the go-to knowledge bases for the SHO.

SHO Source was formed in 2008 because most of the other SHO specialty shops (with the exception of SHOnut Performance) were out of business, and we wanted to keep the cars alive.  We have a reciprocal relationship with SHOnut Performance to work together to provide parts rather than compete against each other.  Not only does SHO Source provide basic new maintenance parts, but we also source custom-built new parts and quality used parts.  SHO Source has undergone a few changes in structure since its inception, but it continues to be labor of love for this car.