Even though I was born in the early-1960s, the 1980s seem to be my decade for vehicles. I love all cars from any era like any real car guy or gal should, but for some reason, the 1980s stand out for me. This is somewhat of a halo car for that era, a 1985 Shelby Charger. This one is on Craigslist in the Nampa, Idaho area for $1,500 of best offer. Thanks to Rocco B. for this submission!
You can see the peeling clear coat here, and a few other glitches in the paint, but overall this is a solid-looking car. There was no Dodge badge on these cars, they were Shelby Chargers, even though they were basically trim and suspension tweaks on the regular Omni-based Dodge Charger.
Ok, maybe parts of it aren’t as solid as other parts are but where else can you get a “Shelby” for $1,500? Shelby changed the struts and shocks to adjustable units by Koni and along with a few other changes it became a stand alone car for Shelby, although they were sold at Dodge dealers. There were 7,709 Shelby Chargers sold in 1985.
The Getrag 5-speed was an upgrade from the A525 model. Believe it or not, an automatic transmission was available in these cars. The seller says that the “bearing for the clutch needs changed but still drivable.” This interior looks quite good other than a seam-split on the center arm rest, and needing a deep cleaning throughout. The seats were comfortable even for tall folks. This was a car that I really wanted in the mid-80s when I was driving my LeBaron convertible.
There it is in all its glory, Chrysler’s 2.2L T1, or Turbo 1, inline-four turbo with 146 hp. This was Chrysler’s first turbo, or first modern turbo (whenever a statement involving the word “first” is used, someone usually finds another instance of a “first”). This engine was rebuilt five years ago and the seller says that it “does great in the snow and for the summer heat has A.C. and works well.” The owner is moving to Spokane, Washington and doesn’t need two cars so they’re a very motivated seller. Believe it or not, someday this will be a collector car. Yes, a 1980s rebadged Dodge Omni-Charger. It’s true, take my word for it. Where were you in 1985? Were these cars ever on your radar?
Drove one once, lil booger ran great…..for a 4 banger…. :-)
“There was no Dodge badge on these cars” — except for that one clearly visible on the left side of the hatch!
Always liked the styling. But since my college roommate had a base Omni that I got to experience more than a few times … no thanks. Worst car ever. I can’t imagine how even Carroll Shelby could make anything based on that worth wanting.
Drive an ’86 or ’87 GLHS and you’ll see why…
Lucky for us Carroll Shelby had a more vivid imagination than you.
D’oh! I can’t see the forest for the trees.. criminy. Good catch, Josh!
I never drove a omni so i cant relate but in a small tight hilly town with a lot of corners my charger had more pickup than the towns police cruisers and turned and handled better the girls loved it .the back seat folded down and with a matress made a great bed .it was decent about not getting stuck .and comfortable as hell while detting great gas milage for the mid 80s it was a good car .dont knock them till you try them then you wont .it would be a great home for a 340 4sp .
he sold out for the $$$$
these are turds
Relative to cars of the era, Mustangs were
pretty turdy in their own right…
when was the last time you drove a mavric, or a chevett , or the other crap that was called cars! this was and is a great car for what it is a entry level car . upgraded good on gas and you want a real heap drive a hyundai pony !
That is funny, you call a Maverick a crap car and you call this a great car. That is some funny stuff right there. How many Maverick door handles have come off in your hands? Now how many door handles have come off in your hands from one of these cars?
That’s the thing a lot of people don’t get. They’re comparing these cars with higher buck cars all the time when they should be comparing it with the class they were in. Chryslers 2.2 was a stout engine. So much so, that they basically put different valves in it and turbo charged it. No other beefing up with the first round of engines. Shelby changed the intake/turbo and added an intercooler and with a stage II ‘puter, you have more than DOUBLED the HP. And they lasted! 30 mpg and a car that WILL do over 130 mph. And take it. Port the head, Bigger exhaust/’cooler and a few more mods, you have something that will do 12’s in the quarter and dependably get 34mpg. (Per friends GLH Omni) These cars are the reason My ’68 AMX sat in the garage for over 23 years. I was having too much fun!
I think this is the car Shelby enthusiasts would love to forget. A mere shred of what Shelby stood for in the past. I had a Plymouth minivan with a turbo (2.5?) and the turbo added 50 hp. It had a lot of steam for a 4 cylinder, but loved oil. They were ok cars, not the best, and I don’t know what kind of following these have. It was still an Omni. If this is a GLHS, it has the 175 hp engine.
Oops, ran out of time, the GLHS was a 1986. It was the GLHS that had no Dodge markings, the GLH, shown here, does have Dodge on the back lift. And the bearing in the clutch( throwout or pilot) needs “TO BE” changed, Scotty’s pet peeve,,,:)
This is a Charger, not a GLH. Those were omnis. ’86 GLHS is Omni, ’87 GLHS is Charger.
I’m positive that Shelby enthusiasts would much prefer the ’85 Charger to the ’89 Shelby Dodge B250 Safari Conversion van.
Hi Erich, GAK! That tears it!!! Never heard of it.
http://images.blog.autoshopper.com/thumbs/4209_ShelbyRamVan.jpg
“There was no Dodge badge on these cars”
But . . . isn’t that a Dodge badge on the back of this car? And a Dodge/Chrysler “Pentastar”on the hood?
Do these cars have a Shelby VIN?
I do remember these from the 1980s, and and always liked them. They were quick little cars for the time, at least for the first few hundred feet off the line.
The rather sparse Wikipedia entry on these suggests that these were sold as “Dodge Shelby Chargers” until Dodge discontinued the Charger, at which time Shelby bought the last 1,000 cars and completed them. I think these became the Shelby Charger GLHS and they were the ones without any Dodge badging. Perhaps I am mistaken.
This is correct. Only Shelby vehicles didn’t say Dodge. They did display Pentastars. The list with no overt Dodge/Chrysler nomenclature is: ’87 GLHS, CSX, Lancer; ’88 CSX-T and ’89 CSX-VNT. The 1986 GLHS (Omni) sported the standard ‘Turbo I’ ‘Chrysler Turbo’ Valve cover and 1989 Shelby Dakota had DODGE embossed on the tailgate. All other Dodge Daytona Shelbys, Dodge Shelby Chargers and ’88-’89 Dodge Shelby Lancers were Dodges with Shelby licensed naming.
My 88 CSX-T has a Shadow badge on the dash and I don’t think any Shadow badges on the outside. A great handling car but half of the handling was in the tires. I noticed the difference when I had to replace them and chose a fiscally responsible non-Goodyear Gatorback tire.
This one is misrepresented. Shelby helped with the design, but it was not a stand alone Shelby. Those cars had a much lower production run. I shopped for them back in the 80’s, and bought a 1987 CSX.
I’m a big fan of Carroll but let’s face it, he prostituted his name quite a bit. These are not Shelby’s and I can’t see them ever becoming a true collector car.
Average to good GLH-Turbo’s and good-very good ’86 GLHS’s have been trending up significantly the last 3 years. The collective value of all true Shelby Dodge based cars has grown about 25% since 2012. The other Dodge licensed Shelbys should ride the coat tails. The ’83 1/2 Dodge Shelby Chargers and ’85/’86 Dodge GLH-Turbos will be a special cases and likely follow the Shelby branded cars very closely.
They aren’t which is why the seller is asking only $1500.00 for this car.
I’m just wondering how much research you put into this.
My how many forget. Chrysler was nearly done. Iaccoca did save the company. It was his association with Shelby from the days at Ford. There were no more muscle cars rolling out of Chrysler. A Dodge Aspen or Marada with a choked V8 is all you got.
At the time that is not what the market wanted. Thanks to GM and the Citation . The country wanted fuel economy and reliability. Everything Chrysler wasn’t at the time.
Lee sold the country on the K car. It was a success. Once Chrysler started making money what do you do next? Know who your friends are. It was a genius move. Get Shelby involved and get back on the performance radar.
The Chargers will never be worth that of a Cobra. They were never intended to. Comparing the two is just stupid. My thoughts are that Shelby once involved with anything could make it run. As evidence from these little cars. He clearly saw the potential.
Not anytime prior would you have seen a production front wheel drive turbo that would smoke the front tires like an Oldsmobile Toronado. I’ll never forget my first ride in a GLHS. I still think about it. These are an interesting footnote in automotive history.
Well said. Worth noting too is Lido Iacoccas hatred of Henry Ford 2. Lee wanted to humiliate Henry and did a pretty good job of it by making the minivan ford would not let happen, and paying the govt loans back very early.
Interesting how a vandetta motivited Iacocca to beat Henry Ford, and in some ways he did. Iacocca is still alive now, but old.
I knew you’d be the voice of reason here. Time seems to erase a lot, so it’s good to remind people of that. I saw an interview several years back with Mr. Iaccoca with Charlie Rose. It’s a bit long, but this guy should have been president of the US. He even admits, with the sacrifices he would impose to save the country, ( and if you think the country is ok now, listen to the news) he’d probably get killed for being too radical. It’s a great interview. His book, “Where have all the leaders gone?” I believe, is still a best seller. He’s probably shaking his head at what’s become of the old car hobby, as well.
I love my GLHS.
I love mine too! I’m so Impressed with these cars, All I’ve purchased since 1988 is about 22+ FWD Mopars between ’85 and ’94……Nothing else! My neighbors don’t get it. But I get thumbs up and compliments all the time, every day, driving my turbo Mopars.
There is so much misinformation be propagated on this car. First this car is clearly not mis-represented at all. It is a Shelby Charger that was built in 1985. All the Shelby Chargers, including the 87 GLHS Chargers had the pentastar on the hood as well as on the back hatch. And they are a total PITA to remove for repainting. I have owned several of each and this is the case. The 86 GLHS did not have any pentastars on it, but this is not a 86 Shelby GLHS Omni. $1500 for a good running and clean 1985 Shelby TI Charger is an fantastic deal and if I had the $$ and the time I would snatch it up for that price, give it a quick rub-n-buff and a repaint and offer it up at twice that price. There are no underside pics, but if it is a rust fee w/o any rot through, its a great deal on a mostly original survivor with the later 85 (not 84 unique) electronics. It would also make a great and easy upgrade candidate for an TI to TII conversion and be an all out street machine, especially if it was combined with an A520 or A555 tranny upgrade. It’s got the Shelby 5 lug hubs, the engine looks complete and unmolested, the original paint with traditional clear coat peeling, its original and in good running condition.
Wet Sand, repaint clear coat, wet sand, then buff. I redid a back cherry Acclaim this way with rattle can clear from the hardware store.
’86 GLHS’s absolutely had a pentastar on the grille. This is a pic of a Shelby dealer poster for the 86 GLHS, and you can see it prominently. I’d take a pic of my unrestored GLHS, but it’s still in storage.
I have had 1 1985 GLH Turbo, 3 1986 GLHSs, 2 1987 Shelby Lancers, and 4 1989 Shelby CSXs. No cars I’ve owned gave me so much fun for the money. The wildest of them all was the 85 GLH Turbo. Modifications were more than extensive. Additional injectors, big intercooler, crazy turbo, 2.5+l engine, opened up head, upgraded brakes, Koni struts, roll cage. 8″ wide wheels, and, when drag racing, the rear suspension was tied down, and very HD roll bars. It would turn consistent 12.6 to 12.75’s.
After I had sold it to a friend, he sold it to a man in the DC area. My friend delivered it about 1:00 AM. The new owner was warned that this was not the time to run around a gated neighborhood with a car with an open exhaust. Off he went. My friend could hear the Omni doing its thing. So could everyone else. The cops came flying into the neighborhood. With plenty of witnesses, the new owner was charged with, among other things, careless and reckless driving. My friend heard him say, from the back of the patrol car, “Officer, you are the one who is going to have to report I did all this in a Dodge Omni.”
My Gold ’85 GLH-T is the only car I wish I never sold. Irreplaceable.
I had a black ’86 GLH-T and it’s the only car I wish I didn’t wreck.
There were a couple of guys in the DC area that ran the Shelby Turbo’s. Curtis in NE DC had a fleet of stock and modified Dodge Shelby Turbo’s and a Talon. The other guy in nearby MD had what I called an Omni that I had to “spot” several tenths every weekend at Capital Raceway with my 74 Monte Carlo. He ran consistent 14.20’s and I, 14.00’s. All I’ll say was he was good!
Yes, this is a Dodge. It’s a Dodge Charger Shelby. It’s a Dodge like a Dodge Daytona Shelby and Dodge Lancer Shelby. All dodges. But a “Shelby” addition. The Real “Shelby’s” were the ’86 Shelby GLHS, ’87 Shelby GLHS Charger, ’87 Shelby Lancer, ’87 Shelby CSX, Shelby ’88 CSX-T, ’89 Shelby CSX VNT and the ’89 Shelby Dakota. These were “Real” Shelby’s. In some states, they were sold with a “Shelby” title. They were started at Dodge and finished at Shelby’s facilities. They were limited production cars and numbered. I have an ’87 Dodge Charger Shelby, like above and 2, ’87 Shelby GLHS’s. Night and Day difference.
I would have to agree, this is a clear example of Shelby’s “vivid imagination” or more appropriately, hopeful desperation to revive a performance era at that time. Just a few years later a true Dodge performance car would be born that really had Shelby’s influence and not just his name with a stripe on the sides. Sadly, he rarely receives credit for it. Name that car.
Viper……But the real Shelby’s, meaning the numbered cars, had a lot more than stripes and his name. (Unlike the pictured Dodge above) They actually were sent to California and finished in Shelby’s factory. They have performance upgrades that the Dodge’s had later on. They could spank most stock cars of that era and still get 30 MPG all day long.
They may not have been the muscle cars that I grew up with, (Challengers and Barracudas) but for what was around in the 80’s, they did well. My ’87 GLHS Shelby was faster than my 440 Challenger, but a lot more dependable. Yes, I’d rather have my Challengers back!
I’d love to say “I bought a Shelby for $1,500” –
or,maybe not.
Hi angliagt, sadly, there was a time when that was true.
I actually did buy one of my ’87 Shelby GLHS Chargers for $1500. I knew the guy that sold it to me. I watched an ebay auction about 5 months earlier, when he bought it for somewhere around $900. This was 10+ years ago. When he sold it to me, it had 50,8XX miles on it. It ran fantastic. It came to Minnesota from South Dakota with a “Shelby” title. But because MN. doesn’t recognize “Shelby” as a manufacturer, they issued the other guy a “Dodge” title.
I sold my single owner 1987 CSX last year for $1200. It had a blown head gasket, an A555 that wouldn’t go into 5th. Other than that, pretty good shape, all Shelby unique parts intact. Due to limited production, timing can be challenging to match up seller and buyer, but deals are out there.
I was lucky to be a 20 yr old apprentice in 1985 at a Dodge dealership, got to drive those cars brand new, they were great cars for the 80s and still rather drive them then today’s import junk. They were easy to work on and not so complex. Had an 89 Shelby Dakota and 88 Lebaron GTC TURBO, these also sounded great with the factory turbo exhaust system, they never sounded like rice rockets and go like stink and still got 30+mpg
I never drove a omni so i cant relate but in a small tight hilly town with a lot of corners my charger had more pickup than the towns police cruisers and turned and handled better the girls loved it .the back seat folded down and with a matress made a great bed .it was decent about not getting stuck .and comfortable as hell while detting great gas milage for the mid 80s it was a good car .dont knock them till you try them then you wont .it would be a great home for a 340 4sp .
Hot Rod magazine had a cover story in 1986 about about a GLHS beating an early Shelby Mustang at Willow Springs, CA.
A Shelby Dodge could be registered as a Shelby. A Shelby Mustang was registered as a Ford.
Shelby Dodges were not allowed on the track with the Fords at Shelby Ford events. They would most often beat the early Mustangs in track events.
This thread has made me think my Shelby’s. I stupidly do not have any of them now.
Shelby Mustangs were not registered as Ford’s unless the DMV/Owner made a mistake. They only had a Shelby VIN and are registered as Shelby’s. I own several.
Beating a Shelby Mustang at willow is no testament. First, there’s the driver factor, then you have the omni that weighs almost 1000lbs less along with a host of other issues. Even the big track is really made for smaller/lighter cars, it’s relatively small. My neighbor who used to teach at willow would routinely smoke his students, some of whom were fairly experienced, on the big track with his Dodge Dually truck V10. Get them both at Laguna Seca and the
Mustang would be lapping the omni.
Here you go.
http://www.carmemories.com/cgi-bin/viewexperience.cgi?experience_id=113
The early Shelby Mustangs that were completed in California were sold with a Shelby MSO. When the Shelby manufacturing function was moved back to Detroit due to quality and delivery delay issues in the late 60’s, the ‘Shelbys’ then became ‘Fords.’ That was told to me by multiple Shelby owners at the national convention.
I have only driven Willow Springs in a rental car. I have never driven Laguna Seca in anything, but have ridden it in a Ferrari Lusso with a vintage driver. I think the Mustang may be more competitive. Though I do not have the issue of Hot Rod in front of me, but I think the same driver drove both cars. I have talked to drivers who years ago were not allowed to participate in track functions at the national Shelby conventions because the competitiveness of the two makes did not make for safe events. I think that keeping the Shelby Dodges out was a very good idea.
Bob Bondurant used to drive new students around what was then Sears Point in a 12-15 passenger van to start the class. I do not know that I could turn that lap speed in any passenger car. I did see a prepared 64-65 Falcon beat everything in a vintage race at Willow Springs, including a couple of 289 Cobras.
The ’68 Shelbys along with the ’69/’70 (1970 Shelbys were left over re-VIN’d ’69’s) were built in Detroit but still carried a specific VIN, exclusive to a Shelby riveted on to the front apron. Many Shelby enthusiast consider these cars to be outside the influence of Shelby as his last cars built at the LAX plant were the ’67’s. If anyone titled a ’65 thru ’70 Shelby as a Ford Mustang, it was a mistake.
Mixing lightweight 4 cyl cars with vintage V8 cars is a recipe for disaster, especially when you add the quotient of novice drivers looking to re-live the glory days.
Bob Bondurant was/is a pro driver and a gentleman to boot. I couldn’t catch him in that van either. The 64/65 Falcon is basically a Mustang with a little better weight distribution ratio. I’d run a Falcon before a Mustang all day long.
Did someone say Pinto?
As for where I was in 85 – they promised they burned my juvie records.
I can’t stop laughing at this comment, so appropriate.
Knew a guy who bought one new, broke down 1 block away from the dealer! I had a glh-s it was a far far far cry from my 67 shelby gt-350.
I’d like to pull the engine and install it into a rear wheel drive Simca 1000 I own.
I’d love to see the reaction from a Shelby Club car show as an omni pulled in asking to be judged. Although most these guys are very welcoming and love all cars, you’d find few, if any, that would want to be parked next to one with their GT350/500 or who would refer to it as an authentic Shelby.
Hell, they’re cheap enough, I may buy one just to find out, lol.
A good friend of mine had about the nicest ’86 Shelby GLHS’s in existence. Not the most original, but he spent 3 years doing a ground up restoration on a car that was solid, ran great and had somewhere around 30,000 miles. Won awards for it all the time. He sat in the winners circle at a yearly Mopar show quite often because he took first place the previous year. One year in the winners circle, a guy with an AAR ‘Cuda whined about having to be parked next to an Omni. I guess he did it all weekend. My friend said, “You should have seen the look on his face when I won an outstanding award and he didn’t get anything” I’ve taken first in that same show before, but elected to leave that car at home the following year so I could bring something else and park with the rest of my class.
I owned an 83 1/2 in blue and silver. Not a high quality build but never had issues with it. 110 hp made the car quick for its day. The 195/50/15 wheels with stiff suspension and sway bars meant it handled really well. 2.5 turns lock to lock steering made it feel very responsive.
Later bought an 87 Turbo. The extra hp was nice but the car was softened, heavier and just never felt as nimble.
I wouldn’t mind driving one again.
I too had an 83 1/2. Silver/blue. I drove it like it was stolen. At the time, it surpassed any production car on the skid pad. Gs and more G’s. Tires stayed blue on the edges. 4 complete sets in 40k. The “bearing” in the ad is a lunched input shaft bearing on the tranny. Trust me. It would shake like a hound dog s**** peach seeds. Other than that it was bullet-proof. A turbo would’ve been great! At about 7400 the fuel bowl would run dry on the lil Holley 2 barrel (about 6800 w/o the return blocked!) I saw a one-off someone at Shelby or Chrysler made a 4wd version with a B&M blower on it. That would’ve been fun. Mine ran 123 in 4th. 5th wouldn’t pull to top rpm. Almost, but no cigar. My friend had a 930 turbo and I’d pass him ’round the outside. He’d get terribly frustrated. $8300 brand new/no air. At least the spare was like the others instead of a donut! Found that out after jumping a 4 foot ditch racing through a golf course at night in the fog. If you kept it on the mat, it’d bout pull itself around any corner. If you lifted, you were in trouble! NVRLIFT! (PS. that was before evasion was a felony -THANK GOD- and I had over 100 successful attempts/zero failures but pop sure got a lot of phonecalls! He’d say “they said they got your tag #” , I’d say where- in a school zone? They LIE! True story. I’d hate to be a kid today. They’ve gone and put cameras on all our favorite curvy roads. I’d hate to think I had to go to high school with a resource cop back then too, now that I think about it. )
We stage rallied the crap out of one of these. There were a LOT of parts available from the Mopar performance catalog for them, rally and track suspensions, reprogrammed computers, a whole slew of brake pads, etc. Once you put a cage in the car and seam welded the strut towers it could take just about anything.
Carroll made a statement about the GLHS 4 door cars years ago I remember, he said something like, ‘I like to take a little shitbox of a car and make it fast as hell”. Who remembers that quote? (I didn’t google, but you can)
Somewhere in his statements is GLH; Goes Like Hell.
A direct quote
I just finished watching “My Classic Car” Dennis Gage drove 2, 80’s cars, that a man owned. First he drove the really nice ’87 Saleen Mustang around a course. He was having a blast. Then he drove an ’86 Shelby GLHS (Omni) that was Shelby’s personal car at one time. He made it clear, he liked driving the Shelby better.
I remember the Shelby chargers from the 80s I thought they were sharp cars but I never knew these turbo 4 bangers were as fun as anything I ever drove until I bought a 87 Shelby csx shadow last summer absolutely love that car! #40
Someone needs to do some research!! The glhs cars ONLY had the adjustable struts. The GLHS also never came with a dodge emblem NOT the Shelby charger. This car NEVER had a getrag transmission or a automatic transmission option. Who ever wrote this was horribly mistaken with the 87 glhs 1983.5 Shelby charger had a high performance 2.2 non turbo 110hp it had a 108 degree centerline timing cam gear flat top pistons slightly milled head and a chrome valve cover. Originally only available in Santa Fe blue /bright radiant silver or vise versa. 1985 presented the first year of the turbo 1 175hp 5 speed then the 1988 glhs cars where all black with silver accents just 1000 2doors where produced all numbered