We have all had the dream. We discover a 427 Cobra sitting in a decrepit barn somewhere in our travels. After shelling out $1,000 for it and taking it home, all it needs is a car wash and a set of tires. Funny how that never happens anymore. Nowadays, if you want a Shelby anything, you have to sell your house and your soul to make the dream come true. Except for Shelby Dodges. While prices are on the upswing, there are still bargains to be had. Take a look at this 1987 Shelby CSX for sale on craigslist near Bristol, Virginia. To say that it needs some work is an understatement, but where else are you going to find a Shelby product for $850?
As most car enthusiasts know, Carrol Shelby paired up with his pal Lee Iacocca at Chrysler to put his name on the Charger Coupe. This relationship blossomed, and Shelby ended up offering his own versions of the Charger, Omni, Lancer, Shadow, and even the Dakota pickup. These versions usually consisted of the addition of an intercooler for the turbocharged four-cylinder engine, some suspension upgrades, new wheels, a distinctive paint job, and some badging. While not rocket ships by today’s standards, they were pretty fast for the day. The old recipe of lightweight and additional horsepower always works.
When Shelby made it to the Dodge Shadow, at least he had a more modern platform to work with than the Omni and Charger. An evolution of Chrysler’s K-Car chassis, the Shadow was treated to thicker front and rear sway bars, performance shocks and struts, Shelby wheels with low profile tires, and had an intercooler added to its turbocharged engine. In all, 750 were built.
This car is the 553rd car off the line, as evidenced by the badge on the dash. The package, according to a very well written article on the allpar website, also added a leather-wrapped steering wheel and a cassette player. The picture above tells us that the wheel and plaque are still present, but the cassette player likely left the building about the same time James Brown did. Considering the condition of the exterior, especially the bondo sculpted driver’s side quarter panel, the interior doesn’t look too bad. A deep cleaning and delousing would probably bring things up to the point the car would be serviceable. Can you get Febreze in fogger form?
The good news is that a Shadow parts car comes with the Shelby, and it still has a lot of good parts on it. The seller’s intention was to use the parts car to fix the Shelby up. The CSX will need extensive brake work, an engine fan, tires, and a left side signal bulb. Add to that the required body work and paint job, and you are still coming out cheap. The biggest problem would be finding a correct set of wheels for the car. I am pretty sure that the monstrosities we see in the second picture never came from Shelby’s catalog.
The other good news is that the engine is in running condition. While the seller tells us that the car will “easily spin wheels in third gear,” he doesn’t tell us anything about the air conditioning. The lack of an a/c belt is not a good sign. The presence of a fresh oil filter is, however, a great sign.
While the car is certainly a hot mess as it sits, the price is a bargain. Shelby Dodges prices are headed higher every day. While finding one in better condition would be preferable, its not like these cars are falling off trees like crabapples. If you do your own work, this car could be a great investment.
I had a Plymouth sundance years ago it was a good little car. 2.2 non turbo it was no race car by any means but it was reliable and cheap to run. My wife and I drove it for 5-6 years and it never gave us a lick of trouble. In its day you can see how the K car platform saved Chrysler they were a big success. If you like these cars and are a skilled DYI guy then this looks like a bargain. Parts for these have always been cheap and plentiful it would be a great entry level car to get into the hobby.
I bought #40 of these cars 2 years ago bought it as a backup car I thought hey who has a Shelby as a backup car! I drove it home and fell in love with it! It is now a weekend cruiser. If you have never drove one of these they a a hoot! If you can fix this car up I recommend buying it they are fun little cars
That’s $849 too much…
Pretty much being given away already. On ebay, the Shelby valve covers go for about $200, the Shelby steering wheel with horn and adapter are usually $250-ish and dash plaques consistently sell for $75-$100. The spoilers have some value. If the correct Shelby Centurion wheels are kicking around, they’re $100 a piece. So it’s got $500+ in parts that are seen, and probably more…
Strip what usable parts are there and bury the rest.
The side shot with the filler left me speechless. $500 parts car is all I see here.
That Bondo job looks like something I did at age 14. No, my work was better.
Looks like the bondo ran when parked!
850 for this and a parts car and some folks rip it as overpriced? After what Walrus said about parts costs alone I would say pick it up. Best case you can build a runner on the cheap. Sorts
Worst case, between the parts and scrap value you are probably still ahead.
i would buy it if i hadn’t just got another old ford.. it is nothing like a 428 cobra.. but hey its still a shelby and collectible.. a bargain in my opinion
Looks like they been runnin moonshine in thet thar car! Ruff really ruff!
The combination of the wheel chock and guard dog make this ultra desirable.
It’s fun little car and rare. Not as rare as white 1988 csx-t. Good luck find thrifty csx out if soite 1,001 were made but lots didn’t durived during rental cycles and as shelby registry today 199 of them registered and about 70 were reported destroyed which about 130 left today.