The Ford M3? '99 Ford Contour SVT - One Take
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- Опубликовано: 13 ноя 2018
- The Ford Contour was Ford's attempt at creating a budget-minded sedan to compete in the realm of the BMW M3. Ford loved its Contour and was sure it would own the compact car market. While the SVT did have excellent driving dynamics for its time, it was a sales flop. BUT, today we're going to find out why this car got so much praise. It has a 2.5L V6 making 195HP/165tq, clever suspension, and weighs around 3,000lbs.
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Larger brakes off of the Focus SVT
Re-valved struts
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This is exactly what I expect a contour svt owner to be. Congrats!
NoClassic I’m not sure If that is a compliment or a diss .
Exactly!!! I thougt i was the only who expected the owner to be exactly like this guy...
it is
He looks like the cool, laid-back high school teacher.
He didn’t buy the car, it was so issued to him.
Didn’t expect to see a bloody Mondeo on TST
TheHK2127 you are so clever, you know the British name for this car.
@@therealboofighter well I'm guessing he is European so your sarcasm is just unnecessary
boofighter I’m from Scotland so I only know it as a mondeo and This generation of mondeo were everywhere on the roads when I was a kid. Now a very rare sight because there either not roadworthy or crashed. I did see the euro equivalent of the SVT this year. The euro car has different tail lights.
JustThat Lad sarcasm is always necessary.
And to put a point on it, you still haven’t seen a mondeo on TST.
I love when the owner is well spoken and knows what he/she is talking about.
J Ramsay Well spoken, yes, but he had one fundamental fact wrong; the Contour failed as a replacement for the Tempo, not the Taurus. It failed on two counts - rear seat room and price. SVT - very rare. Great drivers car in the day.
Not knowing much about the ford line up of the 90s I would not have known that, it was an interesting time in cars for sure. Thanks for the info!
there do happen to be one takes with female owners. I was making a general statement
@@johnramsayskier lol there was like one female on here which was a model haha
@@drunkpolack7612 fair enough 🤣🤣
It's like watching low -energy robots talk to each other, but it's still good.
This is one of the stranger, but kinder, comments I've ever gotten. ZK
@@TheSmokingTire Zack, you don't sound like a low energy robot. The owner on the other hand, well..... He seems nice.
I didn't even see one Jeb Bush on this video, let alone plural... what are you talking about?
@@TheSmokingTire Fuck the haters Zack you're doing a great job with the one takes
There is a bit of tism in both guys, but it's nice. I like it.
Thanks for taking the time to meet up with me and take the Contour out for a spin. I hope to bring it back to you some time next year with a slew of additional modifications.
You guys gotta meet Zack if you have the chance, great guy.
ZZLordred How does this car compare to your St? I own a st just curious
@@sales8026 The ST is just a better package overall. The ST has much better road communication through the steering, a considerably wider power-band, better seats, and terrific brakes. Stock to Stock, the ST is a better car all the way. Even with the larger SVT Focus brakes on the Contour, the ST still has considerably better brakes. That said, the Contour is still a bunch of fun, although taste for sound is subjective, I find the Contour has much more pleasing engine to listen to. My goal is to get the Contour to a state where it can rival the ST on the track. I'm no professional race driver, but I get to have fun. On Streets of Willow Springs, my PB for the ST is 1;33 all stock on the Eagle F1 tires, and the SVT is currently at 1;38.
If you are interested, I have two videos on willow springs with the car. ruclips.net/video/YoOOjGJXVFk/видео.html and ruclips.net/video/fzqQIS9g98U/видео.html
I’m finally rebuilding mine after it sitting in my garage for 5 years. It’s really good to see people still driving and tracking these cars.
It’s sad that most of the enthusiast groups have kinda died down, it almost brings a tear to my eye.
Anyways, keep it up. Id love to see some videos of your car and the modifications you’ve made!
Regardless of what cars you have on this show. I think it's awesome you guys feature them anyways. Cause at the end of the day who should care what car is better then this car or that car. It's all about what the owner of that perticular likes. Thanks for the rare odd ball cars. Keeping em comming.
It is about the owner having fun!
Damn
I owned a 1991 Ford Taurus SHO back in 2003, at that time everyone referred to the Contour SVT as the "Baby SHO". I've always really liked the look of this car and had almost completely forgot about them until now. You literally NEVER see these on the road anymore. Nice video!
You barley see the 4 bangers let alone the SVT models
@@hackdeez1075 probably because they didnt sell duh. all facelifted 98-00 contours sold combined was less than the preface lift '96. And the 4 bangers were reliable unlike the v6, ik cause i have owned both, the inline 4 had 297000 miles when i sold it, now my current contour with the v6 has 163000 miles and has more probs than i can name
I have a 93 sho fully loaded! Bout to get a svt soon!
Awesome knowledgeable guy. He reminds me of a high school teacher that is also a football coach
I think it's a nice looking car imo
I love that it's a total sleeper... The looks don't turn me on, but the blurred scenery sure does!
@@WBush-uc9pe And the sound of the exhaust isn't bad either!
Slow as hell though.
Sentree so you’re not sure if that’s your opinion ?
@@bbc454nos in my opinion I think it's a nice looking car.
5:26 "not like a gerbil that found someone's espresso" Bwahahahahaha!
I'm stealing that line every chance I get!
I always wondered what PC Principal drove.
Yo lmao
The way he says MondeeeOOO.. lol
hahahahahaah Mooondeo
poor guys doesnt even know how to say the name of his car properly 🤣
YES! An SVT Contour was my first car when I graduated high school. It was $1200 and needed some work, but I loved that thing more than any other car.
I always thought the Contour SVT had really nice, understated body additions on it, especially for the time
I LOVE these. My second car was a CSVT, and it was the car that I learned how to drive a manual gearbox. Was painted in a BMW blue, had 18" aftermarket wheels, and a Borla catback exhaust. I loved that car. Excited to see this posted.
This cat is a total car nerd. Love it.
Thanks for the trip down Memory Ln! One of the guys in my group of close friends had a black SVT Contour. We used to rip around in the car all the time. I think its one of the best sounding V6's around. We even convinced a guy that SVT mean Super Variable Terrain and with the push of a button the car would lift up for off roading.
Another funny memory was a friend was driving the car for the first time learning to drive manual. Our favorite thing to do in Maine was yell at people out the window. As we are yelling at a group of guys getting them pissed off my buddy is trying to take off but keeps stalling. The owner just yells REV IT UP AND DUMP IT MAX! Right as the angry mob gets within 5 feet of the car he drops the clutch and the car SCREEEEEEEMS! Tire smoke fills the air and he launches that thing like a pro driver.
I miss SVT
BASITH PH yeah . Cars like the SVT cobra 🐍 R
Yeah. Ford performance umbrella sucks. Should of left SVT alone.
for some reason im more excited about this video than the last 100
Yea i agree. I just posted saying how cool it is they feature odd or rare or mayby not so sporty cars. Who cares if some of the cars they feature are not super cars. It's more interesting to me to see cars like this.
Had a couple of friends do the 3.0 conversion n quafe diff in highschool things would sound like a uncorked mustang lol
im on the same page with you on that. love these weird and cheap old school fords.
Yup. I like the weird, rare, or unpopular vehicles. Fun to see
@@alexkoutdoor can get round 265 hp out them turns into a naturally asperated stage 2 srt4 kinda
I had a '98 Contour SVT. Awesome car!
Oh man, the SVT Contour. I had a one of these back in the day and absolutely loved it... until it slung a rod due to poor oil return channels in the heads (or those shitty bearings). Still wish I had it. Cool video.
I love seeing reviews about lesser known cars. It's refreshing.
Always wondered about these svt's also. Thanks for doing a one take on this.you guys are great. Keep up amazing work
Oh wow, this one brings back memories! Wanted a SVT so bad back in the day but had to settle for a 6M SE model. I thrashed that poor car for 220k miles, that duratec v6 was quite solid. Also, the owner is awesome... haha. He clearly knows the car as it has become a labor of love/hate.
Always the most enjoyable when the owner is super knowledgeable about the car.
I agree but his stiff matter of factness comes across as arrogance.
I remember obsessing over the contour SVT that I found on Craigslist while I was in high school just because I liked the cobra so much and I thought it would be cool to have something made by SVT for $2,500
I had a 99 Mistake (Mystique) LS V6 auto and it was pretty fun. Always had a soft spot for the SVT Contour. Thanks for bringing it owner. It is a huge pain to work on though, big engine in a small area and everything is on the firewall side.
Looks exactly like a European Ford Mondeo from the mid to late 90's, except with different tail lights and a bodykit.
It is
Nice video, love the Contour SVT, hats off to the owner, very knowledgeable about the car, amazing it held 39 laps at Willow Springs, love that he’s tracking it
Nice homework Zach! One of the most informative One Takes. Thanks Zach and Alex!
Wow. This brings back memories. I remember wanting this as my first car. It was between this and the Probe
This was my first new car back in 2000, long live the CEG (The Striped SVT)
Omfg it's Klasse Act! There's a name from the good old days on the forums lol
Hey heyyyy
@@colormesarge what was your screen name there?
@@Kremithefrog1 hey there Kremit🐸
I was on there in 2002. Ruotnoc. 99 SE Sport blue on blue. My first car.
Damn those tail lights really make the car. They look so much better than the ones of the european mondeo
I miss my 3L SVT Contour.
I remember when sport compact car tested this car against a base model Maxima. Standard maxima looked less sporty but was faster without being as high strung
Deric Cribbs maxima was the superior car. A contour svt? Really?
....mom had one in high school...used to bang it off the limiter every chance I got...loved the rev and gauge feel then...
My mom had one while I was in school too! I learned to drive stick on this car. The previous owner saw the car one day and told us the history. I think the guy worked for SVT and he gave us a poster of him tracking the car and a few parts that he machined at work. It was a fun car, but ultimately my parents sold it because of mechanical issues.
www.leisterimages.com/Family/Our-Cars/i-MSTwDPW/A
Zack your face during the intro was priceless.
This was my dream car in the early 2000s lol. Still wouldn't mind one today with a 3L swap
If you get one, do it! You wont be disappointed!
SVT heads and intake, 3l bottom end, and drop it in a new edge cougar...
Same
Surprising how this pops up after I found a contour svt on Craigslist for 800 dollars
It's not like Google watches what you do or anything..
@@selfproclaimednobody4614 it's not like the VIDEO WAS UPLOADED AS I WAS ON CRAIGSLIST, SO GOOGLE DOESN'T MATTER
@@Sube-Tube Bro, I was being sarcastic! It was a conspiracy theory joke.
Chris Gardner wow triggered 🙄
@@sales8026 And again, was being sarcastic. Not seeing seeing a "triggered" tone, anywhere....... True story.....
Good job
Always really liked the way these looked and sounded.
first time watching one of the canyon runs without Matt and I got to say I really like it a lot better this was an awesome one to watch and I can't wait to check out more thanks !!!
Can’t believe I made it to 7 minutes ! I did have a rental contour in high school. Back seat was excellent for my knees 👌👌
Bet that guy left with a smile.
NATSCHKE FAMILY ADVENTURES lol ! The guy would be me of course 🤣.
I miss my 98 CSVT. only had it one year but with 205k on the odo and a harness that was turning to dust with the rust in the rockers.. cant find parts.. it had to go :( still an amazing drive i'll never forget
This was the reason I had to let mine go too. Just couldn't find any parts. Ford wanted insane amounts for OEM parts that will just sit and gather dust until thrown away.
I had one for a few years. Still my favourite car.
And you do not need to pull the intake to do the starter and the alternator. Us3 wobble extensions for the starter, and go through the opposite wheel well with a lot of extensions (about 4 feet worth) for the alternator. If you can do the intake in 20 mins that is one thing, but if you don't have.
I would love to do up a 3.0 duratec SVT. Best intake noise....
I had a '99 Tropic Green SVTour, lived in northern Arizona for 6 years with it. This video is sure making miss the good old days.
Over here its called a mk1 mondeo st200. Really under rated car and looks really cool. Love the rear end of the US version. They were very popular over here
I had a 99 SVT Contour in 2001, it was a great car for me at the time and I hammered the crap out of that car daily! I frequently drove it from Sonoma County, CA where I live to Southern Cali, often taking HWY 1/101. I enjoyed the sleeper aspect to it, I pissed off many owners of cars in price ranges far above the SVT's. Great video brought back some super good memories.
Thanks for the great video!
My dad had this car for some time and I loved riding/driving in it. Learned how to drive a manual in it too.
Cool review! Love the Contour - good stuff!
Great to see a SVT Mondeo (Contour) being driven. These indeed were underrated in the day. I remember them doing well in touring car racing in BTCC etc. with a highly tuned V6 screaming away. Rad car. Don't knock a FWD V6 sedan when it is properly set up, they can be very fast. One day I will get TST to drive my Alfa Romeo 155 V6, which raced against the SVT Mondeo back in the day.
Also, this OCD but very knowledgeable owner is exactly who I expected to be a SVT Contour owner. Nice vid.
ChaosphereIX 155 v6 makes such a glorious noise
@@Prime.Era. Yes it does, that is why I bought it! I did one pull in 2nd, and basically threw my wallet at the sales guy who imported it.
I would very much like to see a 155 V6 One Take, also a 155 Q4 vid if anyone in North America has one (probably not).
@@Zero_Ninety There are a couple of Q4s in Canada that I know of, although I don't know them personally (one east coast one west coast). I am open to TST to drive my car anytime between May-October if they are ever in the northeast US or eastern Canada. If Matt/Zack go to Radwood Philly next year I will be there with the Alfa again.
The SVT had two intake manifolds -- one for each of the two intake valves per cylinder. Below 4000 RPM the engine only used one manifold for better velocity and mixing. Above 4000 RPM the secondary intake butterfly opened and caused the power kick you feel at that RPM. I had one of the first ones ever made; built in March 1997. Drove it like I stole it for 275,000 miles. Very reliable, fun, and comfortable.
Is the that SVT the same as UK's Mondeo ST?
Great driving roads over there! Looks great fun!
God I miss my Ebony '98 E0. Was build #393. Sounded so dam good. Had a custom engine harness, tzt to control arm, full rear poly bushings, solid link engine stabilizer, Ford racing plug wires, cai and relocated IMRC. One of the most fun cars I've ever driven.
I’m literally watching this right now because I miss mine so bad.
These cars were a lot of fun to drive. I also enjoyed beating a few with my modded SVT focus. The focus was definitely all around better performance but I always thought the contour looked the best and had the better interior. glad to see one get some recognition!!
i'm a little late and all but i'm looking at buying one. does anyone know if you can run 18in rims reliably?
Good video and a car I've always wanted to see more of
No joke in my college time I was driving one of those in burgundy and was super cool car very quick
T (toreador sp?) red
Will not forget this car. I had a Pontiac Grand Prix GTP on and lost to one on 316 going from Atlanta to Athens GA. It was close but he had me.
A friend of mine used to have 1999 Black SVT Contour and modified quite a bit. It is a bad ass car and originally was designed to be a I4 AWD Turbo but it would have threatened the then slow as balls SVT Mustang. Sadly it was stopped being made after 2000. It was a great car(yes and yes the fact your butterflies still work is nice but yeah it is a Demon to deal with it mechanically)and had some great power for the time. A lot of people would keep the head and put the 3.0 bottom end in it. My friend nick named his 1999 SVT Contour The Dark Demon and it was just bad ass. The car has a great top end and my highly modified 1995 GLX VR6 Jetta(everything N/A/ but upper displacement)and his SVT would have a great time racing. Lots of fun if you can keep the car up mechanically and it's extremely classy looking too.
Exactly!! I had one in college everyone thought it was lame.....man were they wrong!!! Awesome to see this!!
Had one, adored that car! Would buy one in a heartbeat now!
Respect for dedicating time on a forgotten car. Good to see something different.
Why do I want one, I remember when they came out. I was a Ford fan boy so I loved this car
Miss my buddies old 98. The hell rides we took that thing on were insane and it was so damn comfortable dipping corners around a buck in it.
Engine note reminds me of the old BTCC Mondeos.
I had one of these 😀. Love that car. Also had a 91' SHO.
mondayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyo say it with me
"Mahn-deeo"
facepalm
Thank you!! Completely triggering when he said it like mon-dee-oh... and i'm screaming "IT'S PRONOUNCED MON-DAY-OH!!"
mondy-oh!
M Napoletano no?
@@wolftmfg mondio!
I always liked these. I remember when they were new they had one on it main showroom at Galpin Ford in 1999. I just sat In it amazed how much I liked this small fwd manual transmission sedan
Such an awesome car. Their so hard to find now. A buddy of mine had one, Loved it
I actually had a 1998 Counter SVT back 10 years ago. This strangely makes me miss it.
3:47 But that JDM front end Integra though!!!
Damn I haven't seen a Contour in years and I remember knowing my Grandma owning the SE model back in the day which was a good car
It would be so cool to sit down and drink a beer with Zack and Matt
5:05 What does the engine size have to do with peakiness? There's all sorts of peaky and non-p engines regardless of displacement.
i'm probably wrong, but is this filmed in the Ortega mountains?
Nice. I love these lesser known performance Fords
The Mondeo was Britain's most popular saloon car for 15 years
@@jonnyretro5873 but not the svt version
I wanted one of these back in the day. And now, secretly (or not so secretly I guess), I still do. I dig these models.
Shared a 97 Contour Sport with my bro back in the day. Had the 2.5 V6 making 170 HP, but with an auto. Great handling and with a throaty roar at high revs.
I test drove one of these at CarMax when they first opened up! First visit to CarMax. I should have bought it! Super fun to drive.
This makes me want to go start mine!!
What about the progressive Rear steer as like the M3 if I do recall correctly.. I've had 3 of them Mt Baldy , Glendora ridge rd the car out handles most
Mechanical rear steer**
I like how they do a show based on all cars from stock to modified
now this is a special car. i appreciate crazy orthodox builds like this one.
I wanted one of these in the early '00s
Ran into a turbo'd SVTC on the freeway once. Sounded awesome.
I have a 98.5 that hasn't run in 5 years sitting in my driveway. Its complete and the body/interior are in great condition other than sitting. I haven't had the heart to scrap it so if anyone is interested please reply. NJ/PA area.
Judd511 what was the reason for it sitting originally? I’ll be in the tri state in the a few weeks and wouldn’t mind grabbing it. Shoot me an email, Dean.holde90@gmail.com
if you were closer to MI I'd take it.
@@deanholder4509 the cel came on and it began misfiring pretty badly. It was a bad winter and I didn't have the time to work on it.
I'm interested. Could you shoot me an email? mnewminer@gmail.com
How much?
My sister has one of these. We nicknamed it ‘The Blue Bandit.’ It’s been running in the family since 2016. Unfortunately, by the time I start driving, in about 4-5 years, this car will be too old and will not be able to run anymore. My sister has to buy a new car soon, because the brakes broke, and were replaced, the whole entire radio has fallen out and apart a couple of times, and my dad said that he was gonna cube the car by the time I start driving. Good memories are attached to it. Fly high Blue Bandit
That is old-school. I had forgotten about the Contour SVT. The maintenance sounds like a nightmare and it really is surprising that Ford would have engineered such a difficult design. I hope that the owner has a great time with this project.
I had a 99 svt contour some years ago and i loved that car
Very informative!
I had one with a 3L duratec swap and it was a fun little car. Miss it sometimes but just need larger cars now. But its a really popular and easy swap for the right cars.
You can get the alternator out if you use 3ft of 3/8” extensions without dropping the exhaust. It will put the ratchet outside the wheel well. :)
This was the Mondeo ST200 in Europe/UK. Later the platform shared with the Mazda6 became the ST220 and I wish that had been sold here also. Such a fantastic car.
Nice video, but what's up with that charger in the background? 🤔
I've got a non-running Green 1999 CSVT that I'm working on currently. It came stock and if the engine block is okay I'll probably keep it that way but if it's not I'll probably throw a 3L in it. I've also got a 1997 Contour Sport that I use as my daily. It's not easy working on these cars but they are fun to drive.
Still have one and still have one video rapping a vR6 Jetta in drag race back un time lol.
I still love and one these cars, Man they still sound great. ( I almost bought one but didn't trust the car due to the milage and dealer)
They were a PITA to work on, I do remember that much lol
If only you guys would come up to the Michigan or Detroit area, i would love to have you drive my car!
I had the previous generation model and loved it. I even had the same paint job thst would go from coral blue to yellow, depending how the light hit it. Its 2.5 v6 was peppy. It did have a bad creaking problem in my car, which was a poor interior fit problem for the hard plastics. Would have kept it longer if it weren't stolen.