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: November 6, 2006

Posted on November 06, 2006.

Drove it around a bit over the weekend.  Took it to work today and romped on it a bit.  The Super 70 is a bit more laggy, but it's not anywhere near as bad as I thought it might be.  Also, the intake temps are just a few degrees above ambient...this intercooler is the bomb.  It's pretty peppy even when the turbo is lagging and man this sucker moves when the boost hits.  It will be interesting to see how it works once I start cranking it up.  Right now it's on the stock cal with the fuel pressure turned way down.  It won't go low enough in vacuum, so it makes it a little lean further up the scale since the autotrim gets a little out of whack.  It's like 10.5:1 at WOT, but if I leave part throttle it HAULS.

The Daytona: November 3, 2006

Posted on November 03, 2006.

Finished hooking up all the guages, mounting the guage pods, getting the exterior all lined up, and getting it on all fours.  Had to shorten the hood vent tray to clear the intake manifold.  Also did a little fixup on the fenders, since the 87 put the belt moulding above the belt line, while the 86 has it just below the line.  Did a little creative tie-wrapping to get the early throttle body cable to work on the blow-through throttle body.

The CSX: November 3, 2006

Posted on November 03, 2006.

Well, on the way home from work I noticed that I had no heat and the temp guage was acting weird.  I was like great, it's the frickin' head gasket that's making it smoke.  I started filling the radiator, which was pretty much empty, and heard a splashing noise.  I look under the car and coolant is dumping out from behind the block.  Dang core plug popped out again.  Man I hate that thing.  There is no room for the CSX in the garage, so I forged ahead with the Daytona.  The CSX needs the front struts swapped, the turbo swapped, the clutch swapped, the radiator core support welded, the K-frame checked for square, the ball joints re-replaced, and a full, 4-wheel alignment job.  Poor car needs a break.

The Daytona: October 29, 2006

Posted on October 29, 2006.

It's alive!!! Frankentona lives again! Got the motor all hooked up tonight, pressurized the fuel system, and checked for leaks.  Stared at it for a minute to make sure I didn't forget anything really important and cranked it over.  It fired right up on the first try.  I was a little surprised, given the major harness surgery it underwent in the engine bay.  It was smoking pretty good from all the oil and grease on the exhaust/turbo, but it didn't really show up in the picture.  Before test firing it but after putting oil in it, I primed the system with a drill on the intermediate shaft and made sure the turbo was getting oil.

All that's left is to put the fenders and nose back on, cut down the hood vent tray, and straighten up a few things in the interior.  The goal was to have it running by Halloween, but I may even have it on the road by then! Just in time too, as the CSX is starting to smoke a bit more....

The Daytona: October 27, 2006

Posted on October 27, 2006.

It's been a rough couple of weeks at work (70-80 hours), but I managed to get some garage time in.  The exhaust installation is complete.  It came out pretty good, but I had the usual surprises.  The FWD Performance kits really like the passenger side.  The exhaust on both the Daytona and CSX had about 1/2" too much length between the two 90 degree bends, which pushes the cat up against the heat shield from the back.  I had to remove that amount from both, but I had to cut that pipe anyway to swing the back half up a bit.  It's clamped for now, but I will weld it once I'm happy with how the exhaust has settled in its hangers.  Add to that the 3" down pipe, which doesn't have enough length before the last curve and the cat ends up rubbing the heat shield.  Some heat shield massaging was needed to clear it.  The missing down pipe heat shield required that I wrap the down pipe in header wrap and shield the shifter cables a bit.  The offset oval muffler simplified the cutting/fitting behind the muffler, since I could use the offset to drop the tail pipe.  That part worked out well.

I'm not really happy with the Walker stainless band clamps.  They are nicely made and have captive nuts (which will be interesting once they are nice and rusty), but they don't seal really well due to the way they pull up on the band where it is welded to itself.  The cheaper clamps that are on the CSX (Jegs/J.C. Whitney) seal better and I like how they "take-up" the band slack in the dished grooves.