The Dodge Charger has undergone some major changes in its history, to say the least. I loved the fastback version in ’66 and ’67 and the hot collector series now would be the second-gen cars. I wonder if Dodge will ever offer a two-door Charger again? Until then, there’s this 1986 Dodge Shelby Charger posted here on craigslist in the North Highlands area just northeast of Sacramento, California. The seller is asking $3,000 and they “just want it gone”.
It’s unfortunate that this photo showing the left front fender is the only dark area in the photos because this is the area that the seller mentions having peeling bodywork. You can tell that this car needs to be restored and even small cars can be big projects if they need a full restoration. Another visit from Cap’n Obvious.
The L-body Charger was made for the 1982 to 1987 model years and my wife’s sister’s first car was a black Charger of this era, but not a Shelby version. She had no clue how to drive a car with a manual transmission so their dad had to drive it home for her and then teach her (the sister-in-law) how to shift. That has absolutely no meaning for this particular car but whenever I see a black L-body Dodge Charger I think about that story. (crickets)
The Dodge Shelby Charger came out in 1983 and they had a modified suspension, tighter shifter ratios, tighter steering, an upgrade in brakes, and a slight upgrade in power, and of course, decals and graphics in classic 1980s style. In 1985, a turbo engine was added. I don’t know if this car will ever get nut-and-bolt restored but parts of it look pretty good for the most part, like the seats. You can see that it’s had a hard life with broken speaker grilles, missing door pulls, missing pedal pads, a crack in the dash, etc.
You can see what appears to be some bodywork around the headlight housings, or maybe that’s really thick wax… or who knows what. The engine is Chrysler’s 2.2L inline-four turbo with 146 horsepower. The seller says that it starts, runs, drives, and “will drive to wherever it needs to go.” Do you have what it takes to restore this one or would you just get it into reliable operating condition and drive it?
Nice one Scotty! And the award for “World’s Ugliest Steering Wheel” goes to… As I recall these got 16″ wheels at a time when that was a big deal. This one’s definitely a bit well toasted for the collector, but having the word “Shelby” involved never hurts. Of course the sky’s the limit building these turbo motors. Here’s one running just about 10 flat at 143 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wambNdfnu5M That will get the attention of today’s assortment of 4000 lb muscle cars.
Funny thing, ALL of the Omnirizon family used that exact same steering wheel throughout their run, only variation I’ve seen is some had exposed metal spokes with a smaller horn pad in the middle, but otherwise the same shape.
Makes me wonder if they had something really peculiar to their wheel attachment that made it not worthwhile to invest in other variations that could not be shared with their other platforms? It’s a very deep-dish design, might have something to do with it.
Nope, just parts bin availability. I had (and still have) an aftermarket wheel and adapter for Omnis. Cost under $100 as I recall.
My parents has the plymouth version of the the 1983 Turismo 2.2 It was a sporty car. They liked it so much that my father got the 1984 Dodge Rampage, which was the pick up version a year later. . The head gaskets were prone to tailing about every 40,000 -50,000 miles. That was the only thing bad about these cars as I remember.
They would have to pay me to take it. I owned an 83. JUNK.
I owned several of these , less turbo, replaced timing belts on a couple but no other major troubles . Alternators but that was all. Sorry you had so much trouble. Have a PT convertible w/ high output turbo. 130,000 miles
I brought a 1984 in Sept 83. It was my Welcome Home, Happy Birthday and Divorce Present to myself, 6 Months later I’ld been better with the EX Wife and BACK ON THE AIRCRAFT CARRIER. Talk about a Piece Of S—T. Hell I tried to trade it on a 85 Dodge Pick Up ( WITH A HEMI IN IT ) and the dealer didn’t even want it back.
Take the engine out and put it in something else, anything else. Design wise, something tragic happened. This one doesn’t even whisper “Charger”.
Yeah…i’d want it gone too…
It was 1989 and I made the mistake of getting out of the Navy and returning to Pittsburgh when everyone else was leaving in a mass exodus to find work. The only thing I could find was a sales trainee position at McCrackin Ford in the North Hills. They would hire about 30 people to find one or two sales people who were good at it. Needless to say I wasn’t there for very long.
It was the end of a long fruitless day when a couple of kids came in and asked to test drive the black Shelby Charger on the used car lot. “My mom said she’ll buy it for me if I like it”, said the high-school age kid.
Sure kid, I thought. Joyriders. But I was bored and frustrated because I couldn’t sell a hamburger to a starving man, so I said, “Alright, let me grab the keys”.
I waited for a break in traffic then pulled out onto McKnight Road and floored it. Not much happened at first, and I thought, “This car is a do-” then the turbo kicked in and shoved me back in my seat, and soon I was grabbing gears and slaloming through the evening commuter traffic at high speed.
Turning right onto Evergreen Road, a narrow winding two-lane which was our test drive loop, I continued to take out my frustrations on the little car. Banging gears, running it up to redline, throwing it into the curves, squealing the tires; and then I heard a voice say, “uh dude, could you, like, slow down a little?” Oh. I had completely forgotten about the kids. “Don’t worry, I have a competition license”, I lied.
I pulled over and let the kid drive back to the dealer which he did very slowly, then I gave him my card before he left.
Next morning a woman asked for me by name and told me that she wanted to look at the car her son drove last night. “Well I’ll be damned”, thought I, as I escorted her out onto the lot. I had trouble finding the car until I finally discovered it in the back, with a big F150 print on the side, left by the lot monkey after closing time.
No sale.
Was that Phil McCrackin’s place?
These were fun cars, and undeserving of all the hate. If I was closer, I’d be looking at this one.
So would I. It needs a bit of work, but if the seller “wants it gone”, he would probably take an offer.
I could relive the year of fun I had owning an ’86 GLH-T.
Is the car still available if so call Brad 16053212585 thanks.