Looking to buy a 85 Dodge Omni

Discuss... what should I be looking for?

something else?

Unless it has a GLH badge on it follow the above advice.

Or if it's absurdly nice and priced with a three (or two) digit number.

GRM actually did a feature on these cars a few years ago. If you like crawling around junkyards and such these cars should be pretty easy to build up or maintain.

That said, I'd much rather have a mk1 or mk2 Golf if that sort of car is your thing.

All I want is a reliable daily driver. I don't mind slinging mud around in a junkyard to keep it running.

They were hard to find with stick shifts years ago.

Why would you want an '85? I think they went to EFI in 90 or 91 making for much easier turboing.

My 87 is still sitting at my brother's place, one of these days we'll have to pull it out of the weeds.

I had an 85 shelby charger, fun, yes when it was running, reliable daily driver, no way. A TBI omni wouldnt be too bad, but dont expect a turbo one to stay running when you need it to get to work. lol The problem i found is with trying to keep it original, alot of the parts are NS1 from mopar, and the remanucactured parts store stuff is terrible (like starter solenoids).

FInd the cleanest one you can. If you're set on an '85, you will want a GLH or GLH Turbo. The GLH had a 110hp carbed 2.2, and is not embarassingly slow. The GLH had a 146 (I think) hp turbo 2.2, and is a lot of fun. Unfortunately, they have mostly returned to the earth, as they were not all that common when new and most have been beaten to death.

If you can find a clean turbo mopar, you will have a lot of fun. They are crude, poorly engineered, and rust prone (especially the L-bodies). They are also ridiculously easy to hop up.

www.thedodgegarage.com www.turbododge.com

Good sites to start with. Out of curiousity, why are you set on an '85 Omni?

My heart isn't set on an 85', its just what I have happened to find for sale. Looks clean in the pictures.

If you want a turbo dodge you are going to leave stock, get an 89+ daytona or lebaron. The turbo l-bodys have alot of special parts which arent easy to find anymore, and are really not very reliable. Since i live in california, the carbed ones are pretty much gone ( I have only seen a couple still running). The only L-body i cann see making sense as a daily driver in the stock configuration is a TBI omni, a turbo one could be fun, but it would require some major upgrades (basicly replace the engine, tranny, and underhood and dash wiring and computer with 89 parts) if you wanted it to be a reliable car. I tried for over 2 years and spent almost $4k on mine, but I ended up having to sell it cause i couldnt get it running right. The car i bought to replace it was an 87 milano, and it has been way more reliable than the charger was.

I kinda want one of the early Omni's with the VW engine, just to run in a mini demo. The VW engines run much better and last longer when hot than the chrysler counterpart, and they're carbureted, so you don't have to worry about a CIS vacuum leak taking you out, and it's an Omni, so I won't feel bad about destroying it. I think it's the perfect mini-demo car.

I just found it in the paper, I don't care if it goes fast, I want a daily beater, I'm going to test drive it tonight, and I am just asking what to look for when I go.

I have a 83 1/2 Shelby Charger and a 86 GLH. First off does it have a carb or fuel injection??

Both of mine are carb and are good for daily driver.

Okay, cutting through all of the BS here.

http://www.allpar.com/omni/omni.html

http://www.dempseybowling.com/sheldodg/sheldod2.htm

http://www.surpluselectron.com/aaron/mods.htm

An 85 omni is carbureted, an 85 GLH will still be carb'd (110hp HO) and an 85 GLH-Turbo should be multipoint EFI w/turbo (150hp). The turbo was an option on the 85 GLH.

The carbs on the carb'd cars suck. They were poorly made and if the throttle shaft hasn't eaten through the pot metal casting, the pot metal carb top has warped and leaks. If you find a real Weber DFEV you'll enjoy the reliability, but the cost is similar to an EFI conversion. If you're willing to add megasquirt with a TBI or MPFI intake, then everything else is relatively easy to fix/upgrade.

Hell, a DCOE intake with a set of JenVey DCOE throttle bodies would make a kill intake solution that can be simply ordered from Piercemanifolds.com, combine with diyautotune.com for efi and you'll be in great shape.

Original 5-speeds don't last long, shift linkage fails, original suspension parts are getting hard to find, alternators suck, head gaskets fail, etc. Typical FWD issues for their time period, 1st gen VW guys know these problems all too well and will feel sympathy.

However, 5-speeds can be upgraded, shift linkage can be repaired cheaply.

http://pnw-sdac.org/tech.html

Some of the front suspension/brake parts can be swapped over to Neon or K-car units with work and corresponding axles/transaxle changes. Cylinder head can be changed to a Neon/Stratus DOHC (if you're adventurous). Polyurethane suspension bushings, motor mounts and other parts are available from places like Polybushings.com, FWDPerformance.com, Turbosunleashed.com, forwardmotioninc.com, jgstools.com (turbo manifold parts)

Personally a newer Shadow/Sundance would be a better solution for a DD, especially since they were built as the replacement for the Omni. They are heavier cars, but the upgrades are easier, they are more comfortable to drive/live with. The larger engine bays allow easier repairs and less heat-related failures, etc. For an autocrosser, a properly prepped Omni is a great solution for someone wanting some fun.

http://louisville.craigslist.org/cto/1099556557.html

this one? looks ok to me

Clean low mile Shelby Charger in Michigan

http://www.xceedspeed.com/forums/showthread.php?t=130104

Just something I saw and made the connection for you.

Horizon/Omnis have the best seats ever!!

If its the one in that add, for that cheap as long as it runs just check for rust (includiing the attachmennt poinnts for the fronnnt subframe) and if you like it buy it. lol

JoeColeman wrote: I just found it in the paper, I don't care if it goes fast, I want a daily beater, I'm going to test drive it tonight, and I am just asking what to look for when I go.

Look for rust, broken door handles and broken shifter linkages. Ask if they have a parts car. Door handles are hard to come by in decent shape. Aftermarket for them is dead. Shifter rods can be corrected as mentioned.

These are GREAT beaters for people who have spare cars or collect k-era Chrysler's.

In the NE, they have been drying up. I rarely see them in junkyards that have a high turn over. They were throw away cars and parts might start getting hard to come by.

In my opinion the one to get would be a 90 or so with fuel injection and the higher ratio gear box (lower final drive) to get the best gas mileage. Of course these things can be added to an 85 relatively easily.