Automotive

1988 Dodge Shadow ES

This 1988 Dodge Shadow ES was my daily driver from the summer of 1995 through November 2002.  Although it had a rough life in my hands, I have a lot of fond memories of it.  Time and many midwestern winters took its toll on the body and frame.  I could not justify the work needed to bring it back, so it was stripped of useful parts and sent to the scrapper.

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The Shadow: March 6, 2000

Posted on March 06, 2000.

I picked-up a used hood from MoparChad to replace the bent one.  I also got some power window and door lock motors off of the same car.  The parts car was pretty rough, otherwise.  The Shadow looks a lot better now, though the "new" hood needs quite a bit of work...at least it's straight.

The Shadow: November 1, 1999

Posted on November 01, 1999.

Well I took the old hood off, threw it in the grass, and started jumping on it to straighten it out.  After that and some work with pliers and wooden block, the hood was straight enough to close.  The Shadow is now back as my driver, though it looks pretty shabby from the front.

The Shadow: October 12, 1999

Posted on October 12, 1999.

This past weekend I straightened out the subchassis and fixed a few broken items.  These include the oil pressure light switch and the oil filter, which got whacked by the radiator fan motor and shroud when the subchassis got pushed back.  Our handy-dandy hydraulic kit saved the day again.  It's just a basic narrow cylinder with various extensions and ends so that you can stick it anywhere.  Works great for separating ball joints, too.  Anyway, I got the subchassis back where it should be and straightened out.  I also fixed the grille brackets, headlight bowl/bezel, and fender.  What is left of the grill is back in place and the headlights will be fixed as soon as I get some new alignment screws.  If I can't find a grille, I may just patch-up this one and use it.  It doesn't look great, but it will get me through the winter.  What I really need is a hood...I cannot save this one.

In light of the hood bulge rarity, I may just put the T1 radiator from the CSX back into the Shadow and either convert back to T1 or use the Conquest intercooler setup.  This would put the CSX back the way it was and allow me to use a flat hood on the Shadow.  I like the look of the bulge hood, but it isn't absolutely necessary.  I'm not sure that the Conquest intercooler is any better than the stock T2 unit.  It's longer than the T2, but doesn't have any fins in the tubes (they are just flattened round tubes).  Flow may be a bit better (maybe), but I think efficiency is questionable.  Also, the CSX doesn't have A/C, so air flow to the stock IC in the stock location should be better than it is on the Shadow.  I'm probably going to keep the BOV on the Shadow since it has the little Mitsu turbo.

The Shadow: October 4, 1999

Posted on October 04, 1999.

Well, it appears that my luck has run out with this car.  I was traveling about 35-40 mph (in a 50 mph zone) on a dark back road near my house when a deer jumped out of the tall corn field from the left right in front of me.  I slammed on the brakes and swerved to the left hoping to avoid it (it was already more than half-way across).  The result was the right corner of the hood and grill caught the deer in the rear in mid-air and flipped it into the right shoulder.  My hood, grille, and headlight took most of the hit, but not before it bent back the subchassis behind it.  The right fender was also bent outward, but easily recoverable.  The big problem is finding an '87 or '88 P-body hood with a turbo bulge.  I need the bulge to clear my upper intercooler hose and radiator fill cap (T2 unit).  I saw a 4-door version of my car (red and all) in a yard.  Unfortunately, the car and hood/grille is gone.  If you know where I can find one, please let me know.

The Shadow: September 27, 1999

Posted on September 27, 1999.

I finally solved the last of the annoying boost gremlins on this car! I had yanked the Bosch BOV setup on the upper intercooler hose and replaced it with a stock T2 ribbed upper hose.  I have bad boost stacking without the BOV (very bad for this little turbo), but no more boost drop-off or random boost amounts.  Even though I have already tried removing the BOV and plugging the hole with a piece of wood, I wanted to dump this setup anyway.  First of all, I don't like using that crazy setup with the two restrictors, check valve, and bleed to keep pressure on the BOV to keep it shut.  Second, I know that my IC has quite a pressure drop at high boost, so the BOV would probably be more effective on the lower IC hose.  Since I am not running more than 14psi (nor do I plan to), the stock BOV is perfect and it will also serve as protection because it will blow off the seat above 15psi in case something goes wrong with boost control.

So, I fabricated a new hose connection on the lower stock hose by cutting out a small section and putting a 1-1/2" copper drain pipe in its place (the stock lower IC hose is 1-1/2" ID).  I opted for copper because it was easy to solder on a 3/4" fitting to attach the BOV hose.  It's a 3/4" copper T-fitting that I sliced along the back and spread open to match the curve of the big pipe.  It took some bending, hammering, and patience, but it worked.  I then used a short piece of 3/4" copper pipe in the fitting to connect the hose to.  I connected the BOV to the copper pipe in the fitting with a short piece of 3/4" I.D. heater hose and then to the air box with another piece.  I already had a 3/4" copper pipe fitting on the airbox, so I just put a short piece of 3/4" copper pipe in it to serve as a reducer.  The Bosch BOV used 7/8" I.D. hose, so the 3/4" fittings (not 3/4" pipe) were the perfect O.D.  I squeezed the fittings so the pipe would fit tightly, sanded the surfaces, and then RTVed them in place.  I didn't want to solder so that I could switch back easily.  The setup works wonderfully and for the first time, my boost is predictable and solid! This car SCREAMS!!!