Between 1987 and 1989, Shelby Automobiles offered a limited run of hopped-up Dodge Shadows called the Shelby CSX. This example, number 38 of 500 produced that year and described as a barn find by the seller, is available here on craigslist in Prineville, Oregon, for $6,500.
Although a Dodge Shadow may not be the first or 50th car that comes to mind when you think of ‘80’s performance cars, these cars sound like they might deserve more respect than history gives them. For the ’89 model year, Shelby used variable-vane turbos to help provide low-end torque, a technology that has only recently become more common in gas engines. When these cars were new, it was apparently common to replace the stock turbo with a traditional turbo, so that would be something to check out before finalizing a deal on this car.
Another technological advance showcased on these cars was the Fiberide wheels, which were made of a composite material to keep weight down. Fortunately, this example includes it’s original four wheels, as I suspect these would be hard to come by today if you need replacements.
With over 140,000 miles on the odometer, it’s quite possible this car has seen its share of hard use, but it would still be an interesting and rare piece of automotive history to drive daily or to preserve. With 175 horsepower, 205 ft-lbs of torque and a top speed in excess of 156mph as tested by Car and Driver, this car could sure surprise some modern-day muscle cars.
They were quick but junk cars. CV joints pop more than a bag of popcorn in the microwave.
I am sure that is true after a poor engine alignment or a botched collision repair. Otherwise it’s not a very common issue.
Indeed. They were as good as if not better than those on a Honda or Toyota of the same vintage… 100K or so. All the turbo’s were hardened with equal length shafts. Plus they had a 70K warranty, so they were engineered to outlast that. Most people who complain about the 80’s Chrysler Products were 3rd owners of 100K+ mile cars that were already beaten down. They owned them because both they and the cars were cheap…
My father in law had a green one. Blew threw 6 trannies in 10yrs, JUNK
10 years. 3 Transmissions (I assume that’s the type of tranny he blew). How many miles? Doubt it was a Shelby with a Getrag, as all CSX’s were either black (’87), white (’88) or red (’89).
@The Walrus, thanks for the laugh.
Some might scoff, but I’d have as much fun driving this as I would the zip-locked Grand National featured in the other post.
The Walrus…. Absolutely LOVED your reply!I kind of felt like making a comment like yours until I saw your well worded response. Well done sir!
It’s a collectible to somebody, but sometimes they only made (in this case 500) for a reason…
Or Variable Nozze Turbo’s (VNT) and Fiberrirde rims were basically low production, Carroll Shelby eXperimental (CSX) parts. The original plan was for 750, but wheel production difficulties limited it to 500 units.
Had one, friend had another, both terrible.
Poorly made, no quality.
Notice how many of these you see on the road today vs a Civic or Jeep.
Oh yeah, zero.
have a 1988 Dodge Shadow Shelby CSX T. Even with 30 less Horsepower, it is a hoot to drive. Green was not a Shelby color and going through 6 transmissions, I think abuse is evident and I have never had a CV joint ‘pop’.
I have an 87 csx and it’s the funnest car I ever had! I love these cars!
rare does not always mean
good
worth it
or
collectable,lol
Good that in this case it means all 3… this car, with it’s advanced Turbo, Fiberride Rims and Shelby provenance will one day be considered comparable to a Shelby Mustang. This is not the case with all Shelby Dodge’s, but the ’89 CSX is the most revolutionary (from a technological perspective) production car that Shelby made with either Ford or Chrysler base units. It’s not a Series one or Cobra, but it is and will be collectible.
That’s funny because the 89 CSX only came in red with a Tubo II motor. Previous years were white and black.
The 89 CSX-VNT was a “Turbo IV” engine, not a TII. The 87’s were TII while the 88s were T1 non-intercooled due to being rental cars.
These cars are very collectible in the Turbo Mopar and Shelby Dodge community. There are far less than the original 498 released to the public that are still alive today, 29 years later. Many people will be upset that they didn’t take advantage of being able to get one of this for this listed price in the future. The other only-500 produced model Shelby had a hand in was the 86 GLHS Omni and one just sold for $34k at Mecum. Let that sink in.
Exactamundo… I found and purchased CSX #435 a couple years ago. It is one of 2 wide tire non-Recaro cars… the rarest of the rare for either Shelby or Mopar. I paid a bit more than the ask here, but the car has less than 9K original miles and is pristine. I bought it as a 10 year prospect, and things are starting to move in the right direction….
Enjoyed seeing this Shelby CSX on Barn Finds, because I owned CSX #454 for three years or so and can provide some good info about my experience. I was generally a Ford guy, although I had varied car interests. My first car I actually paid for was a ’67 Austin Mini 850! I was 17 and living in my hometown of Pittsburgh. It was $450, and I believe it had 34 HP! School buses would impatiently be on my ass going uphill, but nobody would be on my ass going downhill! I learned a large wooden handled was a good multi-purpose tool for the fuel system. Often the float on the single SU would stick, so I would have to give the floatbowl a rap with the screwdriver to get it unstuck. And about as often, when I wanted to drive it, It wouldn’t start, or would start and did, so I would have to go to the other end of the car and give the SU fuel pump a whack so it would do it’s clack-clack-clack—clack——-clack———clunk——–
clunk………..clunk thing and send the fuel to its SU brother on the other end. I was pretty mechanically minded and took both of them apart a number of times, only to have everything seem OK and working as intended. The fuel pump was basically a solenoid attached to a diaphragm with a fuel chamber on one side and a spring on the other. The chamber had an in check valve leading to the gas tank and an out check valve leading to, you guessed it, the carburetor. Or, the carburetter, by Jove! The solinoid was powered through a set of points attached to the diaphragm such that after the diaphragm moved it’s full travel the points opened and the spring pushed it back home, where the points closed again, etc, etc. Now, when the fuel pressure built up to the full one or two PSI the SU carb liked, it pushed against the spring enough so it didn’t go home enough to allow the points to close. So the front Mr. SU could quench it’s thirst for fuel and the brass float pushed on its little valve when he was full. And the back Mr. SU could take a break. When the mighty 850cc mill took enough fuel, the float would drop, the diaphragm would get a push from the spring and so the points would close and the solenoid would push the diaphragm back and rear Mr. Su could take a break again..so the fuel pump was also the pressure regulator. And both ends of the fuel system had about the same number of parts and thanks to some clever bloke long ago performed a necessary function which was easily understood by even a less clever bloke. However, the two brothers S.U., were not the steady, reliable and hardworking sort, for they had formed a union, in fact, Union was their last name, which insisted either brother could take a break when it felt the need and have a cup of tea, and the cheeky blokes would only return to work when rapped upon the head with a wooden handled screwdriver! Stay tuned….CSX story coming…
I see $3900.00, did I miss something?
156 mph for less than $4000.00, not bad!
Looks a bit like a Subaru. Missing the rear quarterlight (too small to be a window) glass? Maybe it winds down, though. D.
A Subaru circa 2009. Heck I’ll even give you Gen 1 WrX circa 1999. This is 10 years older than even that. This isn’t a car that’s easy to look back on and see how pioneering it was… it was copied for 20 years. It doesn’t look like a Subaru… the Subaru looks like it!
Oh… the quarter window is not there. It pushes out on a hinge, doesn’t roll down.
I used to have one of those. Some punk ass kids in the neighborhood had hondas and nissans that they thought were fast. Used to smoke them all day long. Drove that car for almost 200k miles. None of the imports lasted even 1/4 of that.
.. Guys at bar talking cars, one says ” I gotta shelby”. Others go Ohhh!
Almost break there necks getting to the parking lot, then say. Oh…
I’ve always been fascinated by these 1980s Shelby Mopars, since they were new. One of these days I’m going to pull the trigger and get one.
Certainly a cheap way into the hobby. You probably could certainly a cheap way into the hobby. You probably couldn’t even get a set of restored Fuchs Porsche 911 rims for this money.
Speaking of that it’s cool this one still has a lot of its original equipment. A lot of those Shelby specific one year only parts must be very hard to find now.
Never ceases to amaze me, some have good luck with a particular vehicle, and others poor luck. I can only assume it’s how the owner(s) treated it. My daughters 1st car was a Shadow like this, not a Shelby, but it was a good car. Good mileage, a sunroof that actually did NOT leak, never had a trans or driveline problem. She drove it gingerly, and I maintained it, and she drove it all over creation. Got to remember, these aren’t Mack trucks.
I had the LeBaron GTC turbo II 5spd topped Speedo out 125 in 3rd never topped it out in 5th cause there was no place to do it in the area I lived at the time also no governor in the car had v rated tires 149 plus never had an axle problem
I have several 80’s turbo dodge cars, good cars. Most important keep oil clean and full. A few years ago I talked with a guy that owened a dodge dealer thru the 80’s, he said people would bring them in with engine and turbo problems it was almost always oil related. Thick black oil or no oil, none could provide proof they had the oil changed and it sure had not been done at the dealer. Of course the car was a POS to that customer. Iv personally saw incorrect repairs and maintance and over revving especially on high mile engines cause issues. Over all good cars, easy to work on cheap parts.
One of fastest sardine cans I ever drove. When it was not going fast it was like being afraid to push its limits in fear of breaking it.
you must have good nerves to drive 156 mph with a car like this, i am not just guessing until today the most frightening car i drove was a 1250 hp Hennessey TT Viper ;-)
you must have good nerves to drive 156 mph with a car like this, i am not just guessing until today the most frightening car i drove was a 1250 hp Hennessey TT Viper ;-)
by the way, i enjoy daily to see what wonderful cars you have over the pond, here in Germany you see only dead restored vehicles, but what i like most are the histories behind
See my previous comment about my CSX magically making the road get narrower as the car went faster. 156 MPH? I doubt that. Look at the aerodynamics. If so, not for long. Would take a death wish.
Huh? Your earlier post is about an Austin 850 with only a passing reference to CSX 454? The 156 is a certified speed by Car and Driver. The car has plenty of power to sustain that speed at 5000 RPM…
See my previous comment about my CSX magically making the road get narrower as the car went faster. 156 MPH? I doubt that. Look at the aerodynamics. If so, not for long. Would take a death wish.
Carroll Shelby and Lee Iacocca were old buddies from the Ford days. When Lee moved to Chrysler, he called Shelby to see what he could do to get Chrysler back on the performance track.
Interior a 9 out of 10? Really? Sorry not by my standard. Did give it a 6 and I’m being generous. Definitely not even close to a 30k car.
Fyi I have gotten ahold of this vehicle and it is awesome missing back quarter glass but have replacement and non factory intercooler and piping but does use original air box. I believe the hood is also not original to the vehicle but trying to track back down. Car is running it’s got the factory 195/60r15 rims even though they sport a slightly larger rubber at this time. And recaro seats are in perfect condition interior is amazing have to honestly sit in it and see it for yourself.