Even though the roster of turbocharged Mopar products from the late 1980s is well known, it’s always a treat when one pops up for sale given how infrequently they appear. This is a clean 1985 Omni GLH five-door, which is seemingly even harder to find than the three-door. The seller’s car is in excellent condition, with some tasteful, period-correct upgrades but by and large in unmodified condition with what looks like original paint. Even more impressive is the mileage claim of it having just over 32,000 original miles, and even with some cosmetic flaws, the Omni does look clean enough for those miles to be authentic. Find it here on craigslist in New Smyrna Beach, Florida for $7,500.
The Omni GLH was a serious kick in the pants of the hot hatch establishment. The Volkswagen GTI and Honda CRX had practically been handed the keys to the segment before the Omni showed up, along with a legion of turbocharged Dodge products that had been breathed on by none other than Carroll Shelby. The Omni was also easily tuned for more power, should you want to channel even more thrust through its modest front contact patch. The seller has addressed this last area of concern with a set of very period-correct Enkei wheels, and likely added some more aggressive rubber in the process. I also dig the rear fog lamp on the driver’s side, but note the faded trim on both front and rear bumpers.
The Omni GLH interior featured nicely bolstered bucket seats, but I always wish Mopar went a bit more aggressive inside, as a set of period-correct Recaros would look fantastic here. Actually, the Shelby Lancer did get Recaros, and they would look perfect in this Omni. Regardless, the interior of this car remains in fine shape and certainly provides more credibility to the seller’s low mileage claims as it does remain nicely preserved inside. While it’s far from the most sporting cockpit – in this arena, the MK2 GTI and Toyota Celica both handily outshine the Omni – it’s livable, but beater-quality examples quickly remind you of the GLH’s economy car roots.
The turbocharged 2.2L four-cylinder remains in stock condition, with no evidence or disclosure about blow-off valves, increased boost, or bigger intercoolers, some of the typical enhancements you see with turbocharged hobby cars. The GLH-S is the truly hot ticket in turbo Dodge ownership, but as noted above, finding one in anything approaching preserved condition is a find worth holding onto. This Omni GLH is a survivor in every sense of the word, and even if you don’t care for the wheels, this is a car worth buying and preserving for the long term. Have any of you ever owned one of the turbo Dodges from the 80s?
While I have stated before that I prefer a mark 1 or 2 GTI over these cars I think the price is right and some time spent on the details will improve its looks. I think these are just starting to be discovered and might be a good time to purchase before they are out of reach. One thing for sure there are fewer survivors than GTI’s out there.
“JUST BEING DISCOVERED”? Maybe for you. You must be a youngster
What I meant by being discovered is by the collector market the same way the GTI was a cheap classic until a few years ago. When people see a comparable car and discover it’s more money than they want to spend they look for alternatives. I think a nice low mileage GLH will increase in value. And to answer your question I’m no youngster.
I always loved those cars .I wanted the one that was light blue with the stripes. Unfortunately I was young & the GLH had Turbo so it was considered a sports car for a young guy . Insurance was way to high . They are cool cars perfect for car cruisinnnnnn .
GLH = Goes Like Hell
(I hope my use of the word Hell does not violate the “no profanity rule).
I think I would have been much happier with this car instead of the 85 Dodge Lancer 5-spd with the naturally aspirated 2.2 I did buy in September 1985. Who knows it even MIGHT have been more reliable.
My father bought a new Lancer ES Turbo in 1985. The longest it ever went between head-gaskets was seventeen thousand miles, and the car was scrapped before it reached the end of its “5/50” warranty. Warranties don’t mean much when they don’t include loaners and have an $800 deductible for major failures that occur constantly. The digital dash went black shortly after the second head gasket replacement at 24,000 miles, and so I can only estimate that the car made it past 27,000 miles before being parked with another blown head-gasket and then getting scrapped. My father had long since had to buy another car for the purpose of actually getting where he was going. And that’s how you end a family loyalty to Chrysler products that went back to 1931 on my mother’s side and shortly after WWII on my father’s side.
My friend’s parents bought a Lebaron GTS at the same time with a naturally aspirated four cylinder engine. A New York taxi operator couldn’t have abused the car more, and it drove like a true bucket of bolts. I remember hours lost on a road trip at a Midas shop in Vienna, Virginia while their crew tried to figure out how to restore the car’s ability to stop. That being said, it was still on the road when it had 120,000 miles, which would have required the constant ministrations of the McLaren F1 team to achieve with our Lancer ES Turbo.
“If You Can Find a Better Car, Buy It!”
“Which is seemingly harder to find than the 3 door.”
Is that because they never made a 3-door Omni?? 🤔
The Omni 024 was the three-door. It was later renamed the Charger.
What does the author mean by “harder to find than the 3 door version”?
Looks and sounds like a fun car.
Came home off a WORLD CRUISE ( NAVY) Sept. 83 And with a bunch of money in my pocket went looking for my first NEW car.83 Mercury Capri RS 85 5.0, Mustang GT.5.0, Ended up at the Dodge Dealer, Drove two of these and a 84 Shelby Charger. Brought the Charger and drove it right to the garage and had the Direct Connection SUPER CHARGER installed…. 2 Speedometers, 5 Head Gaskets, and the TRANSMISSION Falling Out TWICE. It was the BIGGEST POS Ever Made. 2 Years later I couldn’t even trade it on a NEW Dodge Pick Up. The Dealer Didn’t even want it back. Will NEVER BUY ANOTHER MOPAR AGAIN
Transmission fell OUT??? WOW TWICE??
I’m surprised Chrysler honored the warranty after you boosted output by 50-75%. How did you reduce the compression ratio? Did you upgrade the clutch or transmission internals for the added stress?
The turbos were junk. A 2.5 with a 16v head at around 150HP would have been the way to go. Shelby himself often said a Lancer with a 5sp and that engine would have been the “perfect car”.
Bought one new in 1985 after returning state side from Japan. It was a crazy fun pocket rocket. Cruising town one night and embarrassed a 77 trans am and 85 irocZ in the 1/8 mile. Eventually traded it in on a new Dodge shadow turbo. Wish I would have kept it.
I had an 86 GLHS which was over a second quicker to 60 than the GLH. I also had an 85 Charger 2.2 turbo which had nicer style than the GLHS, but was definitely poker. My Charger got t boned in an intersection and I stuck the drive train in an 81 2 door Dodge Aries which weighed 500lbs less than the Charger. It ran 14.4 in the qtr mi and surprised quite a few Z28’s, Mustang GT’s, etc. Good times during a dark decade for performance
Love the turbo cars of this era but I hate those wheels on this car. Stick to the OEM wheels.
Too far away or I’d be sorely tempted. The issue with the bumpers is that they were painted aluminum caps over steel beams. An easy performance improvement is to swap out the throttle body. If memory serves correctly, the unit from a V6 bolts on. Potential problem is the fuel pump which was high pressure (50psi?) and not readily available. As for the interior, these were built to be sold cheap and putting a dedicated interior in was out of the question.
I bought a new 84 Shelby Charger (not turbo) which was significantly cheaper, almost as fast and more comfortable than a Mustang GT. Only problem I had with it was the original carb would starve under hard acceleration. Dealer fixed it up quick. After 4 years of autocrossing, Solo 1 (time trials) and a bunch of track days, I traded it in on a Shadow Turbo (kept it 15 years). Eventually bought a used GLH Turbo (100,000 miles) as a dedicated autocrosser. A new set of R compounds and struts made for a potent little warrior. Always felt sorry for Mustang GT owners trying to keep up with me on corners. Most ran out of talent.