Automotive

1986 Dodge Daytona Turbo Z C/S

This was my last Turbo Dodge daily driver: a 1986 Dodge Daytona Turbo Z C/S, aka "Frankentona".  The "C/S" stands for "Carroll Shelby", which is basically a performance handling package on top of the "Turbo Z" Daytona package.  The C/S package includes a 32mm solid front sway bar and a 28mm solid rear sway bar.  It also includes a set of 15x6.5 inch "crab" rims (in gold for black C/S's), but I got this one with the standard 15x6 inch "pizza" rims.  See Dempsey Bowling's pages for more information on Daytona C/S packages.

See more pictures from the gallery...

The goal for this car was to make it a reasonably comfortable daily driver.  I'd built-up the toughest drivetrain I could, replacing and upgrading parts whenever possible.  It had a freshly rebuilt motor and trans, new axles, and all new suspension components.  I also tried to modernize it somewhat on the inside by installing a full 1990 interior and fitting it with every luxury option I could get my hands on.  All the different parts from different years of different cars is how it got its name.  Except for the chassis, there wasn't a whole lot of 1986 left in it.  The story of how I acquired it is documented here

Final Vehicle Synopsis

• 1986 Dodge Daytona Turbo Z C/S
• 114,000 miles
• M&M Racing 1989 2.2L Turbo II "Common" block with JE forged pistons, bored 0.030" over
• 1988 782 "Swirl" head, FM 1mm oversized undercut stainless steel valves, ported by Steve Menegon
• Forward Motion ported 2-piece intake with 52mm throttle body
• Forward Motion ported stock exhaust manifold
• Turbos Unleashed "Super 70" turbocharger
• Relentless Racing "Triple-Core" intercooler (3 stock cores in parallel)
• First-gen DSM BOV
• FWD Performance 3" stainless steel exhaust with Walker Ultraflo muffler
• A568/523 "hybrid" 3.50:1 transaxle with Quaife torque-biasing differential
• Turbos Unleashed "Ultimate" Kevlar Street N' Strip clutch
• The Drive Shaft Shop Chrome Moly axles
• 1989 Daytona Shelby Z 11" brake setup and rear axle
• 1992 Shadow K-frame
• 1990 Daytona interior

So long, old friend...

Posted on May 01, 2016.

Today I let go of everything G-body.  Frankentona was sold to a friend of a club member, along with my stash of spare 2nd and 3rd gen Daytona parts.  It needed to go to someone with the enthusiasm and the time to put into it, instead of it rotting in the driveway.  I think it's in good hands.

A Familiar Shadow

Posted on August 10, 2014.

After almost 8 years of daily driving service, the Daytona was taken off the street for some badly needed attention.  The motor had been having oil system problems for a while: low pressure and was losing oil into the coolant and other places rather rapidly.  The body is also showing its age.

I've since swapped the motor for the original 2.2L Turbo I motor from my old 1988 Shadow.  It still runs as smooth as I remember.  I'm not sure how the Mitsu will behave with that giant, triple-core intercooler.  I had some interesting issues with boost oscillation in the Shadow when I was using a Conquest intercooler.  I am confident that a grainger can be used with a mixed pressure signal from the manifold (which causes oscillation) and turbo outlet (which causes creep) to keep the boost steady.  The cal is a stock 1987 CSX cal right now and the trans is a stock 1990 A523 with the OEM Turbo II clutch that held well in the Shadow.

SDAC 21

Posted on June 30, 2011.

The national convention was back in Chicago again this year.  The car show was at the same venue in Fox Lake along with the Chicagoland Mopar Connection's "Mopars at the Park" show.  It was neat seeing such nice FWD Mopars next to the classic iron again.  The weather was perfect.

The drags were at Da Grove again as well.  I was able to make a few passes.  These new tires aren't as sticky as the old Kumhos were.  That along with this hair-trigger ceramic clutch had something to do with my launch problems, I think.  The cal has been tuned better since the last time, so my MPH was in the 100s even on the worst pass.  But I wasn't able to beat my previous E/T.  Best was 14.343sec @ 102.90mph.  Best MPH was 103.66.

Coolant started getting pushed into the overflow at this point, so I called it quits.

Here is a video of one of the runs taken by Ron M from the SDAC-Chicago club.

Kevlar is Not Bullet Proof

Posted on December 13, 2010.

The TU Kevlar clutch that I installed back in ’06 failed.  It had been slipping for a few weeks, but it was holding as long as I didn’t go over 5psi of boost or so.  Eventually any boost would make it slip, so I broke down and replaced it with this one from SPEC.  It is their “Stage 3+” which has a full-faced ceramic-type disc with a supposedly-modified pressure plate.  The pedal feel is just like stock, so I am skeptical about that last part.  It holds well, but the real test won’t be until the summer tires are back on.

The Kevlar clutch was very chattery, especially while backing up.  If I tried backing up a hill, the motor would practically try to fly out of the engine bay.  I also experienced a bizarre problem on two occasions where I could not release it.  This was in heavy stop-and-go traffic.  I suspect the disc warped because it started working again once it cooled-down.  I expected better longevity from the Kevlar lining.  It should have lasted much longer than the 35k I got out of the ceramic puck clutch in the CSX, but it failed right around the same time.  It did have a stock-like feel in terms of engagement.  As long as the RPMs were high to avoid the chattering, the engagement was smooth and easy to manage.

The SPEC clutch is “grabby”, just like you would expect from a ceramic type, but not “chattery”.  In other words, the pedal has a very narrow band in which you can slip it especially at low RPMs.  When you do slip it however, it does not chatter or at least not very much.  Backing up is not a problem, other than avoiding a stall.  The Kevlar disc had a lot of run out form the sloppy spline and that may have contributed to the problem.  The SPEC disc was tighter, but still had some run out.

While the clutch was out, I replaced the 3-4 shift form pads again.  I also replaced the fork.  I noticed the new pads on the 1-2 fork were also starting to crack, right over the groove carved into the fork while the pads were blown 2 years ago.  So I replaced that fork as well with another good set of pads.  I also swapped 3rd gear and its syncro with another used one that looked better.  It’s nice to have 3rd gear again.

No more MacGyver chair

Posted on October 09, 2009.

Re-rewelded the driver's seat frame.  It was broken into three pieces and was being held in place by an empty cat litter container.  I added some steel to it, so I don't expect it to break again, at least on in that spot.  The bottom cushion has a weird feel to it now, probably because it is being properly supported for the first time in years.

The UltraFlo muffler rusted-off.  That thing only lasted 3 years...not impressive.  Put the Super Turbo back on there...it's no quieter than the UltraFlo (at least on the inside), but maybe it's quieter for the neighbors.

The water pump housing has been leaking for years, but now coolant is dropping at an alarming rate.  Not sure if it was the leak or something else, but the housing is now resealed.  The car suddenly started using more oil than before as well, so something is clearly amiss.  Last time I had the turbo intake off, I saw oil in there.  There is still a very small amount of oil in the coolant.  Now sure if it's just leftover film or if there is a leak or crack somewhere.  I'm guessing that I will find out sooner or later what the issue is/are.