The Dodge Daytona built during the K-Car years is one of the hobby’s more misunderstood driver’s cars – and that includes by yours truly. On paper, it seems like the sort of vehicle we should all aspire to own at some point, especially for those of us stricken by a passion for hot hatches and sport compacts. The Daytona Shelby Z shown here on craigslist has all the right stuff to be the sort of car that’s as coveted as a clean VW GTI or a Honda CRX Si from the same era, but it never gets quite the same response. This one is a project, but it seems quite solid. The seller is asking $3,900.
Thanks to Barn Finds reader Barney for the tip. When Dodge introduced the next-generation Shelby, a lot was happening at both Chrysler headquarters and in the entry-level automobile market. For Chrysler, the K-Car was helping it stave off bankruptcy, and bring the company into a new era. And for vehicles that were formerly seen solely as ways to increase fuel economy, performance tuning and other technologies were giving them a second life not only as vehicles that could deliver 20 MPGs or better, but also backroads screamers and vehicles that could fly around a local autocross or road course.
Over at Dodge, Carroll Shelby was up to all sorts of zany activities with his panache for pushing the performance envelop resulting in a lineup of turbocharged vehicles that were so impressive, they earned monikers like GLH for Goes Like Hell. The Dodge Daytona shown here also offered extremely plush accommodations inside along with plenty of creature comforts like power windows and locks as well as T-tops, an 18-way adjustable driver’s seat, and more. Despite the typical failing Mopar paint on the outside, the cabin looks quite nice.
The 2.2-liter “Turbo II” intercooled inline-four engine, however, was the best feature of all. This small-but-mighty mill produced 174 horsepower and 200 lb-ft of torque and could reach 60 in under 8 seconds. It’s worth noting the seller has already replaced the cylinder head, timing belt,water pump, and fuel pump in this example. While not particularly impressive by today’s standards, the suspension was also fully tuned up by Chrysler engineers, and with a curb weight of under 3,000 lbs., the Daytona was easy to muscle around curves and cones. Still, it seems to be an artifact of the 80s at this point with a limited following, and that’s a shame. Do you think the Daytona deserves more love from today’s enthusiasts?
We enjoyed our ’86 with leather interior and 5 speed transmission. Did autocross a couple of times and gobbled up the Mustangs. Did learn that you have to wait to get into the turbo in turns or it pulled the front wheels back straight which is not what you intended to do. Did get it up past 140 on a deserted piece of interstate early one morning on a cross country run. Fun cars.