In the world of Carroll Shelby-ized Mopars, the late 80s were quite interesting with the range of vehicles Mr. Shelby breathed on across the company’s lineup. Perhaps one of the more undervalued cars at the moment is the highly modified Dodge Shadow, otherwise known as the Shelby CSX. The car seen here is the later production example which came with a more powerful engine and upgraded A555 Getrag transmission. The seller is asking all the money for this car listed here on Facebook Marketplace at $20,000, but with under 40,000 original miles, it is perhaps worth the price of admission? Thanks to Barn Finds reader Christian C. for the find.
The CSX is rarely seen today, as it wasn’t exactly a big seller and it certainly wasn’t put away as a mothballed collectible like so many other limited edition vehicles from the 1980s. This one is certainly an outlier, which may explain why the seller is compelled to price it as aggressively as he has. Interestingly, the seller is a tiny used car dealer from my hometown of Poughkeepsie, New York, and I can remember when this corner used car lot only had beaters. Looking at their online inventory, it seems like they now get the occasional “interesting” car, which this CSX certainly fits the mold of being.
The CSXs were attractive packages, with upgrades everywhere you looked. The bodykit on the outside included lower aprons on the rear bumper, side skirts, and a front air dam. The suspension was of course firmed up and lowered, and the interior received updates in the form of Recaro seats with Shelby-specific upholstery, and door panels emblazoned with the Shelby name as well. There was a Shelby-specific steering wheel, which resembled an aftermarket Momo unit with the CS logo on the horn button. Heck, the CS logo was even on the floormats! While this was still essentially a cheap car underneath, Shelby’s team did an awful lot to make it feel special.
The Turbo I block was used as the basis for the Shelby transformation, and then significantly enhanced with the Turbo II intake, intercooler, turbocharger, throttle body, and more, but 1989 models like these had an extra trick up its sleeve: the Variable Nozzle Turbo, which dramatically reduced lag and increased torque. Only 500 of the 1989 cars were made, making this example quite rare by itself, but even more so when factoring in the condition on display here. The suspension was fully sorted as well, with front and rear sway bars, upgraded shocks, and four wheel discs. This price may shock some of you, but if you want the best, you have to pay. Would you?
Nice car but 20 large? Get out of town lol
Also those gold rims are hideous!
Its still an ecnobox underneith after all.
The seller is relying on the Shelby association, that only works if it’s also attached to a Mustang or the letters AC and has an aluminum body. Certain FWD Honda or Toyota’s will likely bring that in the near future, but not this car, certainly not now.
Steve R
“certain toyota and honda’s would be beat on and rotted out so bad at that age. This CSX is worth every penny
1999-2000 EM1 Honda Civic SI’s are certainly in the 20K range now. Type R Integra’s are in the 30K range. Mitsubishi Evo’s are still $25/$30’s and more. A80 Toyota Supra = Gold.
Throw away the Shelby name and this is still an amazing misunderstood performance car. Too few made to have an impact. The value isn’t quite there yet but in time low mileage clean examples should rise. Nice car.
Honda Civics are still wildly in demand nothing has changed. Those rusted and beat examples are being rescued and saved every day. Go to a U part it and see what is stripped to a shell. Many Japanese companies have legacy programs and are re releasing service parts for their vintage cars. Mazda,Nissan and Toyota as well as Honda.
Those gold rims are one of the special treats of the ’89-only CSX-VNT spec — they’re composite “Fiberrides”, each about 2 lbs. lighter than a comparable alloy and tested to meet a longevity threshold 4x higher than the industry-standard for alloys, though they are more susceptible to impact damage and nicks/scratches in the finish.
I remember these from when they were new… my ex & I ended up buying an early 89 Sundance RS Turbo 5 speed that was this same color combo (minus the ground effects & hideous wheels). What a GREAT car to rip around town in!! In it’s time with us, it would go back & forth between the two of us until we divorced & she kept it. Ours was “considered” a Turbo 1 car… but – it was a 2.5 (not a 2.2) & I was told it also had the Turbo 2 intake but with the standard (not variable) turbo.
This car got hit (usually low speed rear end) at least 4 times that I remember & was also clocked in the passenger rear 1/4 while parked in the driveway at my mothers house (it was fixed). Fast forward to after the divorce & she wasn’t mindful of “turbo” procedures & would always just shut it off… well with 1 payment left to go, she blew the motor. After finding out just how much it would be for the dealer to replace it – it was traded in for a 94 Shadow ES DOHC V6 5 speed. Almost as much fun as the Turbo was!!
I would love to have this CSX, but not for 20K. At 10K, I’d probably bite.
BTW, The Blue & Silver ones looked even better!!
I just read an article on this in the February 1988 issue
of Automobile magazine.The writer didn’t have too many nice
things to say about it.Poor quality,overly stiff (on the street) ride-
quality,twitchy steering,horrible seats.He also said that “the clutch-
and shifter are hopelessly imprecise,and the engine buzzes incessantly”.
$20,000? – only if it has one of those rare Shelby autographs.
The way Carroll Shelby spread his autograph around, it seems harder to find one that *isn’t* autographed.
For what it’s worth, it’s missing its front air dam. I am imagining it met with foul play at the hands of a parking lot block or steep driveway. And I am also imagining that would be pretty expensive if not impossible to replace.
Nice looking Shelby, but not $20,000.00 nice.
Located in Poughkeepsie, NY
As high as this price is right now, I wouldn’t bet against it, as all we have to do is look at what Pintos, Vegas and 70’s Mavericks are bringing for prices, and they are not of a limited production. While there were 500 made, how many are still in existence, and how many are in this condition? So while 20 grand seems really steep, it wasn’t all that long ago that we all thought that about the prices of muscle cars and other 60’s and 70’s cars. I remember seeing 67 Grand Prix convertibles ( only year they were made) for 3500-5K, then all of a sudden they were 10,000- 12,000. Thought that was outrageous at the time, but look at a really nice one now. Same with GTO, Firebird, Camaro and Mustangs.
I was looking at this car and tried to talk the salesman down a bit. He paid nearly 15k for this at an auction. I found another one of these for sale at 5 grand and bought it instead. 40000 miles on the body. ONLY thing wrong was the motor has been replaced (same shelby motor). All in all,, a great car and $5 grand was a more realistic price.
These 89 CSX vnt cars are rare and an important piece of Shelby history. Only 500 were made in 89 and were ahead of their time being the first to ever use the Variable Nozzle Turbo technology. Of the 500, many were scrapped, others were run to death, several were modded away from stock and some rusted away. How many are left in good shape? 100?
Shoot. Most people don’t even know this car exists.
For the time this car was incredible. You see mustangs and gt500 cars all over the place. I always see shelby mustangs on Barm Finds and you can buy them any day.. How many CSXs do you see? This is a fine piece and I’ll take it over a mustang any day. But 20k is pricey. No more than 12k.
As for the ugly gold wheels, they are incredibly lightweight and also very advanced for the time period.
Dealer has it listed as an 89 Dodge Shelby Charger and they just acquired it in February 2021 for $14,850. So on to the car itself. Those hideous wheels are called Fiberide wheels very lightweight and very hard to find if one breaks or cracks. The car is #281 of 500 and it was “signed” by Carroll Shelby on the dash plaque. This car with less than $500 in upgrades, injectors,adj fpr, and a little trickery with the MAP sensor and to the wastegate can easily make 14-16 psi of boost and take down cars with 3 times the displacent. Had an 88 Shadow CSX-T that would take down 5.0 Mustangs and Z28’s without breaking a sweat. Ran it’s best at 26 psi in 2002 it ran 12.1@126 mph and my insurance cost me $26 a month. Miss that car alot.
Actually rented one of these in Florida. Plenty of punch (for it’s time). Great seats but a sloppy gearbox.