Automotive

Up until around 2016 or so, I primarily drove these quirky "Turbo Mopars" employing Chrysler's 2.2L turbocharged powertrain.  My last daily driver of this type was a 1986 Dodge Daytona Turbo Z C/S.  The car was a bit of a basket case when I got it, but it was eventually sorted out: the frame was straightened, the floor pans replaced, and the powertrain and interior were upgraded.  It was a very fun and comfortable car to drive (for a Turbo-Mopar anyway).  Eventually I had to let it go, as it just wasn't practical to use a 30+ year-old car as a daily.

My previous daily driver from 1995 through 2002 was a 1988 Dodge Shadow ES.  It was laid to rest due to a fatal case paint peel and floorpan/frame rust.  It had been in a few collisions over its life and it just wasn't worth saving.  Prior to that, I drove a 1987 Dodge Shadow Turbo and a 1987 Plymouth Sundance Turbo.  I had a thing for these particular cars (the "P-body", in Turbo-Mopar parlance), especially the first generation (1987-1988).

Back when I first graduated from college, I strongly desired the ultimate first-generation P-body: the 1987 Shelby CSX.  After some searching and waiting for the right car in my price range, I found Shelby CSX #694 of 750.  It has mainly been a project car, though it has had to step in as a daily from time to time.  This is the last of these cars that I still own.

Chrysler had an interesting relationship with Carroll Shelby in the late 1980s.  While the resulting vehicles were never taken very seriously in muscle car circles, a great online community did form around them.  The discourse has moved from mailing lists to online Forums to (unfortunately) Facebook Groups, but the community itself still exists.  The Shelby-Dodge Auto Club still holds an annual convention to this day.

In the dark recesses of the Internet lies an ancient tome of knowledge that (according to the server logs) people still visit for some reason: Mini-Mopar Resources.

The Daytona: January 5, 2005

Posted on January 05, 2005.

Strange thing happened.  I tried to go to work one snowy morning, but I couldn't get the beast started.  It popped a few times, but then nothing.  It was snowing out, which made it a pain to diagnose, but I had fuel and spark.  Finally I checked the timing and found that the cam was fine but the ignition had jumped about 50 degrees.  I cranked the distributer around to get the rotor pointing at #1 again and it fired right up.  The timing belt was done anyway, so I went ahead and replaced it.  Also fixed a bunch of little vacuum leaks.  Runs better than ever.  Will have the Blizzaks shortly....

The Daytona: December 17, 2004

Posted on December 17, 2004.

The stupid radiator core support broke and the engine mount smashed the crap out of the radiator.  Whatever moron at whatever body shop fixed this thing did a really crappy job.  They replaced some of the metal, but didn't bother to actually weld any of it together.  Instead they put a couple of pop rivits in, used the wrong bolts on the ends, and let the rest of it float around (which is why the hood looks a little unsteady at speed).  The core support itself was not even straightened out.  Instead they welded some angle iron and a piece of a bed frame to it and hoped for the best.  The remaining sheet metal fatigued, cracked, and ripped apart.  I pushed everything back where it is supposed to be, more or less, and welded it together.  It should hold for a while.  Ideally I should cut that whole mess out and weld in a new one, but I can probably do some creative sheet metal bending and make it work too.

The Daytona: December 6, 2004

Posted on December 06, 2004.

My intent was to build-up this motor over the summer, but I simply didn't have time.  I also wanted to fix the fender and paint the hood, but again no time (house stuff).  I spent most of my free time trying to get the CSX ready for the convention.  So, the Daytona basically sat in the garage all summer while I drove the CSX.

Before putting the CSX away and getting the Daytona back on the road, I did manage to fix a few things.  I went to a local fabric store and purchased new headliner material and finally fixed that stupid thing.  While I had it out, I installed the '87 overhead console and associated wiring.  While doing that, I also prepared the wiring to accept the early 12-button navigator in the '91 slot.  This required splicing in about 12" of wire into the harness so it would reach.  Also fixed a few other electrical gremlins.  The compass in the overhead console has a problem retaining it's calibration and the thermometer was way out of whack.  I managed to calibrate the thermometer, but I was not able to get the little microcontroller in there to keep its memory.  I'm not sure what causes it to lose its brains, but it is fairly intermittent.  My primary motivation to install it was the compass (I don't have the best sense of direction), but it will have to wait.

The CSX: December 3, 2004

Posted on December 03, 2004.

Put the car to rest for the winter.  The inner tripod on the passenger side axle is pretty loose and the car needs tires, but other than that it ran good all summer/fall.  I do need to drop the oil pan and install the crank scraper, oil temp bung, and possibly some baffling.  The one thing that got me at the driving school at SDAC was oil supply problems.  By the end of the session the car was running pretty bad because of collapsed lifters.

The CSX: July 21, 2004

Posted on July 21, 2004.

On the road again.  New intermediate shaft, new seals.  Thanks to Dave for the crankshaft seal housing (had to strip the orange paint...sorry :).  I still have a rattle coming from the tranny in neutral.  I noticed that it doesn't rattle if I release the clutch slowly, so perhaps it has something to do with this 6-puck HD clutch disc.  Nice to have A/C again.