There are cars and trucks when you see them appear as barn finds or garage finds that make you think, “Well, if it’s cheap enough, I may be interested.” The turbocharged Dodge models of the 1980s fit in this bucket for me, where I find them appealing to some degree at a very modest price point. This 1988 Dodge Daytona Turbo Z listed here on craigslist is offered up as part of an estate sale and has an asking price of $2,995.
Right off the bat, that asking price puts it outside of the “cheap and cheerful” range that I like to play in for potentially risky project cars. While I personally feel that the 80s turbo Mopars are very underappreciated at the moment, they still haven’t risen to the point that enthusiasts are restoring them back to new condition, which is always my informal barometer for the direction a car is headed on the value scale. The Turbo Z is absolutely a worthwhile project car that has lots of performance potential, but almost $3,000 for a non-runner is a strong ask.
The Turbo Z is definitely near the top banana part of the range, as the nicely bolstered leather bucket seats go to show us. This was likely a pricey purchase back in the day, but it looks to have standard analog gauges, which was one of the more desirable upgrades – the digital cluster with a variety of voice commands to aid the driver experience. Still, it’s one less thing to repair, cool factor notwithstanding. The Daytona’s interior is in good shape overall, and certainly respectable for a car that’s been left sitting.
The description notes the turbocharged Daytona has been parked since 2006 and there’s just under 120,000 miles on the clock. The seller doesn’t provide us much else to go on, but the good news is the Dodge is located near Spokane, which should provide some confidence it’s not completely rotten underneath. The Daytona will need a decent amount of reconditioning to live once again, but parts are still by and large plentiful and I see a good number of Daytonas still languishing in salvage yards should you need to track down used spares. Would you pay nearly $3K for this forgotten turbo Dodge?
Not running, probably blew a head gasket and scored the pistons. That engine is going to need a full rebuild. A nice car but the stupidity of using almost cardboard gaskets on a turbo was arsine. Mopar later sold metal replacements, but by then, the reputation was already there.
The Plymouth Laser you drove had no relationship to this. That Laser was one of the Diamond Star vehicles (along with the Mitsubishi Eclipse and Eagle Talon). It used a turbo version of the Mitsubishi 2.0 liter 4G6, an engine that also powered the Lancer Evo and became a rally racing legend.
This, and the earlier Chrysler Laser, was a K-car variant that used the Chrysler 2.2 engine, designed as an economy engine for the K car and L platform Dodge Omni/Plymouth Horizon. Two entirely different beasts!
In any case, this one, as a 5-speed manual car, should have the Turbo II version of the 2.2. it made 175 hp, versus 146 hp for the Turbo I. It had forged crank, stronger rods, and an intercooler.
The 2.2 turbo was very different than the Mitsubishi 4G6 turbo 4 of similar size, but it was pretty formidable in the lightweight Dsytona and Omni/Chargers. And could be modded to be a terror.
This is a very interesting car. It would present a risk. But if it’s solid, it could be quite a fun project, and very quick.
Sorry I was replying to Stan below. I don’t know what’s wrong with my computer!
Yes thanks BB
Is this still for sale? I had this car as a kid and very interested in buying it 954-678-8733 call me if available thank you john d
Great Seats 💺 Great looking shifter.
Fun cars these fwd tyrbo numbers.
Drove a 190hp Plymouth Laser in the 90s they really moved out nice and lit the front tires for fantastic long, loud, smoky launches 🚬
1k tops if it isn’t rotted and justs needs a good cleaning with it not running I’d take the chance kinda like a lottery ticket with the engine and trans and turbo condition.. That’s what I’d pay for a clean non runner like this car which probably.is but you don’t know till you examine it.. imo.Probably needs brake lines and fuel lines and everything else.3k no way.
How did they get
120,000 miles? Those crummy turbos usually blew way b4 that.
gary most of those short mile blown up turbo cars were because the were mistreated. ie hard run with turbo spooled up then stop abruptly and shut it down without any cool down. i fixed a lot of these back in the day and the ones that weren’t driven this way lasted big miles. all it took was a couple of minutes of staying out of the turbo just before you got home.
…and engine oil is far superior than it was decades ago.I never replaced a turbo on one of these and worked on a lot of 2.2 turbo cars in the day,
These weren’t horrible cars when new, turbo lag was noticeable but once it kicked in the car took off
I had one of these, bought it used in 1990 and drove it until 1996. I didn’t abuse it too much, and kept it properly maintained. It got pretty decent fuel mileage if you kept your foot out of it, and had a decent sized fuel tank and a good range for road trips. Plus it was entirely comfortable and handled pretty well for what it was. I would definitely grab this, give it a deep clean, do 17 years worth of missed maintenance, and rebuild the ‘box and the engine-depending, of course, on a thorough in-person inspection. Plus, inspection would determine just how much I would be willing to offer. A lot of times cars that sit in the garage end up becoming a storage shelf for anything, and that plays havoc with the paint. And how much of the interior and electrics have been munched by mice?
i had a 2.5 litre turbo es.1989 it overheated and then re bult the engine,i drove it calmly.it had t-tops and on the drivers side floor rotted,interior was great plush seat but bad gas mileage,keep away from these cars
Buy it now, rebuild the engine while parts are plentiful then up grade it with a stage 3 turbo upgrade kit to bring them up to 300hp. Up grade the suspension with urethane bushings, and bigger sway bars. Enjoy it then wait for the prices to rise, and they will eventually.
Our ’86 Shelby Daytona Turbo Z 5 speed was a great car. Comment about the turbo needing cooling before shutting down after a fast run is all that’s needed to keep them healthy. Much better than our 2011 Mini Cooper S which is on it’s 4th turbo water pump that keeps failing. Just a grocery getter now. No fast runs with it, no out of town trips.
bobhess, The water pump on my 2009 Cooper S started leaking at just over 100K. I looked into what was needed to do the job and decided right then to trade it in.
Sorry to hear about your continuing bad luck with the car – super fun otherwise.
Thanks PRA4SNW. Car’s only got 60K so the pump thing is irritating at best. It’s got the Renault engine in it which I recommend avoiding at all costs. Hard to get parts and hard to get info on fixing it.
bobhess, I didn’t know that the Mini had engines sourced from Renault. I always thought they were BMW.