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David S. Wallens
David S. Wallens Editorial Director
9/2/17 7:57 p.m.
feature_image

Here’s something for all of of the Dodge Stratus fans out there: The Super Touring Dodge Stratus driven by Dominic Dobson during the 1996 and 1997 North American Touring Car Championship seasons. This is the series that totally defined the day’s sport compact scene. Big brakes, big wings, big everything. Some finishing needed, though, as noted in the ad.

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wvumtnbkr
wvumtnbkr GRM+ Memberand UltraDork
9/2/17 8:26 p.m.

Want!

Dusterbd13
Dusterbd13 UltimaDork
9/2/17 8:33 p.m.

My GOD. i need a napkin. Thaose are quite possibly the most favorite race cars of ever for me.

How much is a kidney worth? Or a lung?

Trackmouse
Trackmouse SuperDork
9/2/17 10:03 p.m.

Wait... how many dodge stratus fans can there be? (Ok, these two guys.) also, can't help but notice there isn't a third pedal... hope it's sequential.

Knurled
Knurled GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
9/2/17 10:44 p.m.

Yes, I do need that.

Driven5
Driven5 Dork
9/2/17 11:03 p.m.

I lusted over those (Super Touring version, not street) back when they were new...I have zero explanation as to why, but apparently I also still do now.

Ranger50
Ranger50 UltimaDork
9/3/17 12:03 a.m.

That is a do want, just not at almost 30k quid....

Needs moar turbo goodness tho...

dculberson
dculberson PowerDork
9/3/17 12:34 a.m.

I'm a regional manager! I drive a dodge stratus!

Brian
Brian MegaDork
9/3/17 6:59 a.m.

Yes please.

mazdeuce
mazdeuce MegaDork
9/3/17 7:25 a.m.

I love center lock weels. They make me weak in the knees someday I will make a bad decision because of them.

DeadSkunk
DeadSkunk UberDork
9/3/17 8:45 a.m.

In reply to Trackmouse:

The two visible pedals are the clutch and brake. There are master cylinders in front of each, down near the floor. I think the accelerator isn't visible. I'm pretty sure they were sequential boxes, so the clutch won't be used much.

Appleseed
Appleseed MegaDork
9/3/17 11:25 a.m.

So much want.

Knurled
Knurled GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
9/3/17 11:45 a.m.
Ranger50 wrote: That is a do want, just not at almost 30k quid.... Needs moar turbo goodness tho...

It's a 300hp 2-liter. Why turbo?

Assuming that there's even room for one... I'm not fully familiar with NATCC rules, but BTCC cars more or less put the engine as far down and back as possible as the primary consideration, then they figured out how to attach the suspension/route the exhaust after the fact.

dculberson
dculberson PowerDork
9/3/17 1:02 p.m.

Sorry, it's district manager:

Will Farrell's best

Schmidlap
Schmidlap HalfDork
9/3/17 1:12 p.m.

The ad says it has the original Xtrac six speed sequential transmission. It also says that the engine in the car is a dummy engine, so an SRT4 swap might be a cheap way to get this running.

Here's a copy of an old magazine article about the Stratus touring cars, hosted on vwvortex for some reason.

oldsaw
oldsaw UltimaDork
9/3/17 3:35 p.m.
Knurled wrote:
Ranger50 wrote: That is a do want, just not at almost 30k quid.... Needs moar turbo goodness tho...
It's a 300hp 2-liter. Why turbo? Assuming that there's even room for one... I'm not fully familiar with NATCC rules, but BTCC cars more or less put the engine as far down and back as possible as the primary consideration, then they figured out how to attach the suspension/route the exhaust after the fact.

The NATCC rules were the BTCC rules. When I went to the event at Savannah Harbor, the field included rhd Accords that were previously competing in the BTCC. The Stratus team cars were very fast but the euro-spec E36s and Hondas were right there with them.

I can't say I'm a street-Stratus fan; I always thought the cloud cars were attractive but burdened by being Chrysler products. The boy-racer/ricer in me still loves the NATCC Stratus.

Strike_Zero
Strike_Zero UltraDork
9/4/17 2:15 a.m.

Oh my yes!

I passed on the Stratus as my first car because the dealer only had autos. I still would like one to bomb around with.

WildScotsRacing
WildScotsRacing Dork
9/4/17 6:48 a.m.

Your challenge, should you choose to accept it, would be to somehow get this thing insured, tagged and smogged. (which would be in challenge indeed with no VIN). Then drive it to the next available Cars and Coffee.

DrBoost
DrBoost MegaDork
9/4/17 8:30 a.m.

I read an article about those when I was a tech at a Chryco dealer. They are pretty sweet. Random trivia: The wiper motor was relocated to the engine cross-member, lowest point possible. They fabbed a shaft to go from the motor to the wiper transmission. They relocated the motor lower to keep the CG low.

IN A STRATUS!!!!

Vigo
Vigo UltimaDork
9/4/17 7:24 p.m.
I can't say I'm a street-Stratus fan; I always thought the cloud cars were attractive but burdened by being Chrysler products.

Yeah, that sort of sums up most people's vague objections to Chrysler products.

I passed on the Stratus as my first car because the dealer only had autos. I still would like one to bomb around with.

I've had two 5spds and kinda regret getting rid of both of them.

Ranger50
Ranger50 UltimaDork
9/4/17 7:33 p.m.
WildScotsRacing wrote: Your challenge, should you choose to accept it, would be to somehow get this thing insured, tagged and smogged. (which would be in challenge indeed with no VIN). Then drive it to the next available Cars and Coffee.

Pffft. Dealer plates. Lol.

WildScotsRacing
WildScotsRacing Dork
9/5/17 5:47 a.m.

In reply to Vigo:

Iirc, they were actually decent cars as long as you avoided the 2.7 like the plague.

Robbie
Robbie GRM+ Memberand PowerDork
9/5/17 7:46 a.m.

so, were these things competitive? maybe even successful?

Stefan
Stefan GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
9/5/17 8:56 a.m.

In reply to Robbie :

Highly competitive against the Hondas and won a Championship before the series folded.

I saw them run at Portland.  In the rain.  It was impressive.  The drivers were on point in the wet and the cars were damned quick.

From what I understand, they used stock ignition components as the fancy aftermarket stuff didn't make any difference on the dyno.

pushrod36
pushrod36 Reader
9/5/17 10:00 a.m.
mazdeuce wrote: I love center lock weels. They make me weak in the knees someday I will make a bad decision because of them.

I thought the same thing until I experienced them.  

They are only good for expediting wheel changes, but only if you have the $3k gun, 300-400psi, and the supporting bits to handle it.  Anything else is worse than with a traditional wheel mounting confirguration.

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