Saw a real beater in traffic the other day.....

[ls1mike]

Originally Posted By: Volvohead
The GLH and GLH-S were very quick little buggers in their day.

Chrysler did a lot of good things with turbos during that era. I had many friends who owned turbo Mopars from that time. Brings back some memories.

I had an order in on a 1990 LeBaron GTC Turbo IV (VNT) with the New Venture 5-speed, but Chrysler discontinued that engine on the LeBaron before the order could go through. I think only 250 of those were ever made.

We reluctantly re-ordered it with the V-6 and 5-speed, which was a surprisingly very nice package. But not the rush the Turbo IV would have been.

I don't ever recall seeing another V-6/5-speed LeBaron in the 10 years we owned ours. I later learned this was a rare LeBaron combination.

Bright white on medium grey, with all the trimmings Lee could muster. Generally a reliable car and VERY drivable. It sold to the first buyer who saw it.

I liked that car and should have kept it longer.

Ah yes the VNT and you are right something like 250 saw the light of day. There were also some Daytonas that had it as well.
I drove a 3.0 V6 5 speed Shadow a few times. Was pretty fun to drive.

 

[Rick in PA]

I always thought it would have been cool to drop a GLH motor in a Rampage or Scamp.

Not mine, but it looks a lot like the one I owned.

They were the pickup truck variant of the Omni and Horizon. They were the lightest of the family and they handled well. I had a Scamp for about 18 years and at one time had two of them (almost 0.1% of the production of them!).

 

[IndyIan]

Originally Posted By: Rick in PA
I always thought it would have been cool to drop a GLH motor in a Rampage or Scamp.

Not mine, but it looks a lot like the one I owned.

They were the pickup truck variant of the Omni and Horizon. They were the lightest of the family and they handled well. I had a Scamp for about 18 years and at one time had two of them (almost 0.1% of the production of them!).

One of the guys in the motorsports club built one for the GRM $2000 challenge a while ago. He's a turbo mopar guy and that's the one he drives the most. His is all black and looks pretty neat for what it is. I think its a high 13's car but seems to be quite reliable. Another guy in the club seems to constantly rebuilding his turbo Omni but he's trying for much more hp.

 

[Hokiefyd]

Originally Posted By: ls1mike
I drove a 3.0 V6 5 speed Shadow a few times. Was pretty fun to drive.


Those Shadows/Acclaims with the small V-6 are excellent little machines. Little pocket rockets for their day. Even respectable in this modern era in terms of vehicle performance and economy.

 

[kkreit01]

Since we've merged into 3.0s as well, I'll add these into the mix. The Duster was 3.0 auto. The IROC was a 5-spd. Both were fun back in the day. The Duster was my first "brand" new car.

From these, I graduated to DSM turbos ('95 & '97 Talons).

 

[ls1mike]

There were actually two IROC Daytonas. One was the V6, the other was the DOHC 2.2, It used a lotus head and moved out pretty good.
The one picture has Shelby Z rims. The IROC rims are much nicer!

I always loved my Daytonas, I had a Shelby Z and two Pacificas.

 

[Jarlaxle]

Originally Posted By: Rick in PA
I always thought it would have been cool to drop a GLH motor in a Rampage or Scamp.

Not mine, but it looks a lot like the one I owned.

They were the pickup truck variant of the Omni and Horizon. They were the lightest of the family and they handled well. I had a Scamp for about 18 years and at one time had two of them (almost 0.1% of the production of them!).


A magazine (I think Mopar Action") featured one...a 1984 "Direct Connection" Rampage (had the Shelby front clip, wheels, tires, and dash) with an intercooled T-II swap.

 

[cbear]

I don't see the Chrysler TC mentioned. I had many 2.2s, sadly they were all NA.

 

[CharBaby]

http://images.thetruthaboutcars.com/2012...r-Brochures.jpg

I had this same car in the link above^^^ the two tone paint version in the 2nd picture.

I owned it for 17 years till it finally/literly fell apart with just shy of 200K miles. It always started and ran OK but, I replaced sooooo many items on/in the car at least twice!

Parts were easy and cheap to get and often were lifetime replacement such as:

Brakes Parts
Exhaust Parts
Smog Pumps
Alternators
Starters
etc.

I love & hated this car! It was a riot to drive but, a problem to maintain...always working on it! Though it was a very easy car to work on and as stated, parts were always available and cheap. But, I always had to do some repair on her over the years.

 

[Volvohead]

Speaking of base 2.2s, my one mechanic buddy, a former Chrysler tech, STILL drives one of these almost daily as his beater:

He beats the tar out of it, but keeps it "maintained". For an OC, he pours whatever "free" oil is around at the time, usually a witch's brew of leftovers from other fills. His only kindness is that it is never fed used oil.

His only luxury for it was a new $70 headliner about 10 years ago. Paint "updates" come from a can of Rustoleum. He patched a small hole in the floor a few years back. It rides on boneyard tires.

I've been in it. It's a shabby time warp back to the early 80s, piston slap and all. The ancient 3-speed auto still shifts fine and it is roadworthy at highway speeds. I have no idea about the mileage, except that it has turned over, at least once.

His view is, if the engine ever dies, he will go find another K powertrain for $50 at the boneyard and toss it in.

I've told him he has no worry of anyone ever stealing it.

Say what you want about the old Ks, but this one defies all logic. It just won't die!

 

[CharBaby]

Finding a good K Car that hasn't fallen apart from rust is the largest task!

My Turismo started rusting quickly here in W. NY State. Though I drove it for 17 years, the car was literly pulled apart when being pulled up onto a "FLAT BED" tow truck.

I needed to have some new brake lines installed and I couldn't drive it to the garage for the repair. So, I called in a tow truck. It was probably a blessing because this could have happened while driving.

 

[dohnuts]

Years ago I saw an Omni (I was told it was a heavily modded GLHS, but a sedan?) at an SCCA event I attended. The Omni, with a driver and passengers (for weight distribution, I'm told) really did Go Like [censored] around the track. It wasn't just the car, the driver was pretty good as well.