This pretty 1984 Dodge Shelby Charger has just over 17,000 miles from new on the clock and presents as being in as-new condition. The early Shelby creations weren’t as powerful as the later cars, but still packed lots of performance-oriented goodies in an economy car wrapper. This example appears to have been spared from modifications and is listed here on eBay with bidding approaching $10K and the reserve unmet.
The Charger displays well, with attractive ruby paint and silver stripes showing no signs of clearcoat fade or other deterioration. The classic Shelby wheels still show plenty of luster, and all black trim appears to be free of sun damage. The Shelby graphics in the rear hatch window are similarly vibrant, and the seller contends the graphics are factory originals.
The bolstered bucket seats retain the classic “CS” logos in the headrests, and despite having nearly 20,000 miles on the clock, there’s no obvious indication of wear on the upholstery. Check out the armrest – no sign of greasy elbows here. These cars certainly maintained their econobox heritage, but the suspension upgrades made by Shelby’s group helped drivers forget the Charger’s rental car origins.
The engine bay remains spotless, with nicely preserved paint and what appears to be a chromed valve cover. The seller doesn’t mention any recent maintenance, but belts and hoses certainly appear fresh. While I would still say the smart money is on buying the later Shelby cars variants, putting away a survivor like this for a rainy day makes sense, especially since you can add a few miles every year without any guilt.
Hey only original once and good luck finding one in better condition that you won’t be afraid to drive a bit.
This is my fave color combo, followed by black them blue but all pretty well done really.
Rope steering, rope shifter linkage, rope halfshafts and super sketchy interiors.
Still about as much fun as anything else from the day.
well, I thought the steering was pretty good in my old ‘83.5 SC,
it cornered like glue – as long as road is smooth !
and the 107 Hp never strained any halfshafts ;)
this combo (albeit w/ turbo) went on to win SCCA 1985 Showroom Stock B .. so it can’t be *too* bad ;)
The winning Shelby was non-turbo. Turbos ran “A.” I ran that car in SCCA for a number of years. Just recently found it. Now whether it gets restored is another question!
Man this car would be a fun blast from the past! If the 89 Shelby Shadow from a couple weeks ago fetched 13,200 I wonder what this will bring? The Shadow is a later Shelby car, but this one is a notch up in cool factor.
Another seldom seen gem, in beautiful condition…including the normally tattered clearcoat. These and the Daytonas were high on my list back in the day, but sadly my cashflow wasn’t user friendly.
The fact that the man himself kept a 4dr GLHS for “kick-ass fun” is all the justification I need to love his Chrysler products!
chrome valve cover is correct for the car
I owned one back in 85 and it didn’t come with chrome Valve cover. Loved the car, but had to sell it when I was shipped to Korea in 90.
83 Shelby charger had chrome valve cover.
Neat find. If this was a 1985-87 Turbo I’d be seriously considering it.
Run away
I have a set of the factory rear window louvers for it….
Early Shelby? The 1960’s Shelby Mustangs never existed? Lol.
Anyhoooo, cool little car. Lots of eye pop. Factory hair dryer (turbo, to those going “huh”?). And still decent gas mileage. What’s to not like?
Early 80’s Shelby as opposed to later 80’s with the turbo ll
I had the 83 Shelby. No turbo no FI. total junk. Carb would heat sink and not restart for at least a half hr. Dodge fix was to install a cooling fan. Ran for 10 minutes. Did not matter if car was driven 20 feet or 20 miles. Result was dead battery. Head gasket blew. Upper strut bearing plate needed replaced every yr. Trans needed new synchronizers Just popped out of gear when u left off the gas. JUNK. RUN AWAY