TIGMOTORSPORTS wrote: I wouldn't look at a cheap turbo Dodge to drive everyday - or get me to work. It would be one of those cars you take out and beat the crap out of one day a week, and not feel bad about it afterwards.
My highly modded 198? GLH (2004 challenge car) wasn't my DD, but I put about 8K miles a year or better, that's only 8 months out of the year.
You people are making me want to keep it....
Turbo Dodges are awesome cars. They're pretty easy to work on and they're easy to get lots of power out of. I had a 2.2-swapped turbo Plymouth Sundance Duster for years. I just sold it because I never got to drive it much, but I absolutely loved that car.
Saving turboswede's post as my GLH buyer's guide...
Fast trash. Bought one new in 86, turned into a head gasket blowing, rattletrap by 60K miles. Fun to do burn outs and handbrake turns though.
Yeah, its saying you don't know what you are talking about.
Yeah, seriously.
You can buy pretty much anything you need to keep the car running from any of the parts stores on any day, and its ALL cheap. You dont like how autozone stuff worked out for you? Big surprise, neither does anyone else! That doesn't reflect on the car. Try another parts chain instead of blaming the car next time. 
and way more factory Milano parts are still available than l-body parts,
Are you talking trim parts or what? Who would ever want to spend their money trying to fix trim on an omni?
I wouldn't look at a cheap turbo Dodge to drive everyday - or get me to work. It would be one of those cars you take out and beat the crap out of one day a week, and not feel bad about it afterwards.
Ive done it off and on for years. The only thing that's consistently kept me from daily driving my old fwd dodges is the 50mpg appeal of my Insight. Right now the battery pack is out for inspection/balancing, and im driving a fwd dodge to work. 
Turbo Dodges are awesome cars. They're pretty easy to work on and they're easy to get lots of power out of. I had a 2.2-swapped turbo Plymouth Sundance Duster for years. I just sold it because I never got to drive it much, but I absolutely loved that car.
Now i know who you are on turbo-mopar. lol.
Fast trash. Bought one new in 86, turned into a head gasket blowing, rattletrap by 60K miles. Fun to do burn outs and handbrake turns though.
The worst part of that statement is where you bought one new. They have all the same traits now but cost 7% as much, which is what they are worth. I feel bad for people who bought them new.. but for a few hundred bucks (you can get into almost any of the non-shelby turbo cars for a few hundred if you try hard enough) they are smoking deals. 
While I love the GLH for its utility and how practically ideal it is for AutoX, I've always loved the Shelby Charger:
http://kpr.craigslist.org/cto/2621366716.html
$600 and a quick fix for the likely distributor pickup issue and you've got a nice looking Shelby Charger.
All auto parts chain stuff is terrible. I agree, the quality of it doesn't reflect on the car, because its not anything to do with the company, but what does is the fact that all of that stuff is discontinued from the dealer. IMO, when factory quality mechanical parts arent available anymore than car is done as a daily driver.
Pretty much all of the milano trim parts are gone too, I meant mechanical and electrical stuff that the car needs to work, like a brake light switch, shifter linkage parts, cv joints, etc.
The whole reason turbo dodges were successful when they were new is that they could fit bigger tires and had a bit more hp than the competition, and IMO they are mainly popular now for being cheap and because anything with boost can be made fast. I still think the build quality is terrible (they really didnt figure it out until 89 or so), and they have discontinued so many parts for the older ones they are too hard to keep running in stock form.
Vigo wrote:Turbo Dodges are awesome cars. They're pretty easy to work on and they're easy to get lots of power out of. I had a 2.2-swapped turbo Plymouth Sundance Duster for years. I just sold it because I never got to drive it much, but I absolutely loved that car.Now i know who you are on turbo-mopar. lol.
Couldn't keep the same screen name since I'm now Turbo-Mopar-less.
If you're talking motor mounts or bushings, the aftermarket has more than stepped into the fray.
Also CV joints and axles are also available from reputable vendors as they are essentially the same as Neon and Stratus pieces. Poor rebuilds are available all over the place and I've found that I can rebuild them myself fairly easily and better than the aftermarket.
Gaskets are fine. Fel-pro makes good gaskets and the MLS gasket from the aftermarket is a requirement on a motor like this, just like the Neon and other similar motors use.
Sensors are fine (except distributor pickups for some reason) again similar to the ones used on GM and other cars of the period. Distributor pickups don't like running without the heatshield/rain guard in place. Nor do the connectors like to be left hanging in the air. Use the guard and support the wiring and the life is extended quite a bit. You know like the factory did on the later models.
Basically, you didn't do your research, got burned badly and are still harboring a grudge. I'm not saying you don't have valid points, but I've not had issues with the parts I bought from reputable parts stores (Napa, Shucks, Baxter's Auto Parts, Rock Auto) and have only bought fluids from AutoZone.
I'm still DD'ing a Shelby Dodge (87 CSX) and if I'd stop driving them so damned hard, they wouldn't break so often. Also I'm a tinkerer so stock isn't good enough, so upgrades take it offline from time to time. Otherwise mine have been absolute troopers provided I stay on top of the routine maintenance.
Comparing them to an Italian Luxury sports sedan/coupe is not a fair comparison, unless you're comparing a Lancer Shelby, Daytona Shelby or a Spririt R/T to the Milano, then I could see a fair comparison being made.
Two days before I graduated from HS I rolled my parents 83 SAAB 900s. When my Dad went looking for a replacement car we went and drove one of these:
I tried and tried to get my Dad to buy that car, it was sooooo cool but he didn't get it. Oh well.
Also, one of my friends Mom had a GLH. Her boyfriend had a V8 Grenada and I remember having a conversation with him along the lines of "My car would so beat that little car, it has a V8 and is an automatic" and I replied "you have no idea what you would be up against but if you can get me the keys I would gladly show you just how fast that car is". Unfortunately I never got to drive it but it was so cool.
Rusted_Busted_Spit wrote: **Two days before I graduated from HS I rolled my parents 83 SAAB 900s.** I tried and tried to get my Dad to buy that car, it was sooooo cool but he didn't get it. Oh well. Also, one of my friends Mom had a GLH. Unfortunately I never got to drive it but it was so cool.
Coincidence? I think not. 
spent all day zipping around town yesterday in my 1986 GLHS.. what is not to love?
In reply to Duke:
Funny about that. About a week after the accident a good friend of my fathers went on TDY and left me the keys to his original Super 7. He wa gone for a week and I lived in that car just about. That remains to this day , it was in 89, one of the best weeks of my life.
When he dropped the car off I asked if he was sure he wanted to leave me the car. He told me a story about him, a wet road and a Super Bee that didn't end well and said have fun.
This thread makes me remember that I have a 1987 Shelby CSX sitting in my garage awaiting some extensive rust repair.
That said, with whatever TD you buy, look out for rust. The tin worm LOVES these cars, and they leak water after time into the car. Look out for rusty floors and rockers. If the inner rockers are gone, forget it, because they are a very important structural part of the shell. They don't make replacement floors for these, but they do make a few other collision replacement parts. They are dirt cheap too.
If you are brave (or stupid, like me) you can snag one of these for real cheap and attempt to fix the rust. I paid $100 for my CSX with lots of spare parts, but it has Flintstones floors and no rocker panels. Under $500 is usually the territory of the rusty ones. You will need some creativity here. I have an old Subaru Impreza hood that is most likely going to end up as my floor.
Rust free cars go for $750-up from what I've seen, and ready-to-go cars are usually about $1k-up. Pristine examples go for $3k-up. Some cars are very rare too, like my CSX (they made only 750 in 1987, mine's #115
) so they may command a little more cash. They are pretty easy to work on, and they are very cool.
Did I mention everything is DIRT CHEAP for these?
SilverFleet wrote: This thread makes me remember that I have a 1987 Shelby CSX sitting in my garage awaiting some extensive rust repair.
Luckily, the floors and sills on your car are generic Shadow/Sundance pieces. Find a TD guy in a salt-free part of the world and have them cut those parts out for you. Probably cost you a few beers and shipping.
We may need to stop bragging on these - or we'll make the prices go up
I have an 84 former FSP autocross car that it currently inspected with less than 5000 miles on its rebuilt engine that I will sell for reasonable best offer. It has 15 inch Swiss Cheese wheels and Kumho Ecsta XS tires wityh 98% rubber. I will through in 14 inch Kumho V710 tires and a set of 14 inch Mopar wheels and a set of mounted snow tires as well. It has MP road race springs, 5220 carb, loud 2.5 inch exhaust. Heck, If I can get more than $1000, I will throw in the MP twin down draught manifold. It also has a Shelby steering rack. Give me $1500 and I will through inj a full roll cage. Not parting out.
I am in NE PA
Here's a Challenge friendly deal:
http://skagit.craigslist.org/cto/2662659467.html
Enjoy
That thing could run mid 11s with thorough tuning and a stronger clutch..
And slicks and a functional tranny, of course..
GRR makes me miss my beautiful shelby charger :) blue on silver... picked up some celica GTS wheels that would have looked so perfect on it... but lack of $$$ and an alternator bracket = I never got to drive it past the driveway :(
Man, I've always had a soft spot for that color scheme.
BTW, I had an alternator bracket for that, plus spare alternators as they are usually the first thing tossed in preparation for the better Nippondenso units ;)
ya that was a few years ago and I couldn't get one for the $$$ I had... but was a fun project getting everything rewired... and ultimately it went to john brown.
I had a dream the other night that I drove a blacked-out Omni GLHS like in the magazine, only it had some sort of cammed, very loud, very uncivilized V8 swapped into it, and RWD. Oh, and a super-touchy unsprung clutch. It was a good dream.
Yes, I'm serious. I even dream about weird cars.
In reply to donalson:
That body style - color scheme was the bomb - still looks cool today
Coincidence - I was at a local garage getting my car "smogged" (vehicle inspection) and happened to see this car:
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