Anybody into these? I had one for a few years back in the day. Its another one of those cars I should have kept and is back on my short list.
How has the long term prognosis been over the years with these? I heard turbocharger seals have been a problem? Any other considerations if buying one?.
Currently have two in the fleet-one a very nice, near stock example and the other a highly modded racer. They are great fun-still quick around a track and cheap to run. Turbo seals are a non issue and plenty of parts still available to do what you want with the Shelby boxes. Advice? Simple-buy the best example you can. No rust, Shelby bits intact and solid interior. Drivetrains are easy.
If you are intending on keeping it stock, the rubber bits in the shifter linkage, inner cv joints, and any kind of performance struts are NLA (among many other things). I don't think they are daily drivable stock (my dad bought one new and even that wasn't any too great), but with the right modifications (later engine/transmission, custom struts, etc) you could make one a decent car.
Coil overs are available, Konis can be rebuilt. I've DD my S car every now and again with no issues. 30mpg, AC, good handling and still faster than all the current hot hatches(like the MazdaSpeed3) that eveyone gets all worked up about.
The main problems when they were new were the power module and the 1986 cylinder head. Both failed multiple times on the one my dad had. But, i agree, they arent bad. The only thing I dont know is what you do about inner cv joints? I just was getting used ones from omnis in pick and pull when i needed them for my shelby charger, and the wiring harness started falling apart before i ran into any other problems like that. lol
Shift linkage can be fixed with metal rod ends (Heim or Rose Joints) I wrote an article on how to do it on our club website: http://www.pnw-sdac.org
Might want to look at upgrading the transaxle to a stronger 555 with a limited slip, then reprogram the computer to remove the boost limit in lower revs (that was how they get the 525 to survive the warranty period)
Polyurethane motor mounts stops the movement that causes missed shifts and reduces the damage to the inner CV joints and the frame rails from the motor flopping around. A local club member makes them: http://www.polybushings.com and they have polyurethane suspension bushings and Johnny is a GLH-S owner and a great guy to talk to about Shelby-Dodges.
Wiring and connectors are similar to other Chrysler FWD cars throughout the 90's, so it isn't hard to find replacements.
Underhood heat just kills the wiring and the radiators tend to plug up and kill the motors. The radiator is a custom core and is not available except by special order by a radiator shop.
An oil cooler is a sound investment (one that Chrysler stopped Shelby from adding to the cars as they found Mobil 1 synthetic was enough to solve the problem for the warranty period)
They are like the pitbulls of FWD Econoboxes. They will piss you off, disobey your orders and get you into trouble, but if someone tried to take it away from you, you'd kill them.
I've had a GLHS for years and still love it.
Like forza said, they're still great fun.
Travis_K wrote: The main problems when they were new were the power module and the 1986 cylinder head. Both failed multiple times on the one my dad had. But, i agree, they arent bad. The only thing I dont know is what you do about inner cv joints? I just was getting used ones from omnis in pick and pull when i needed them for my shelby charger, and the wiring harness started falling apart before i ran into any other problems like that. lol
CV joints can be rebuilt, still plenty of module options,cylinder heads also available and cheap-although I've never had one fail.
turboswede wrote: Shift linkage can be fixed with metal rod ends (Heim or Rose Joints) I wrote an article on how to do it on our club website: http://www.pnw-sdac.org Might want to look at upgrading the transaxle to a stronger 555 with a limited slip, then reprogram the computer to remove the boost limit in lower revs (that was how they get the 525 to survive the warranty period) Polyurethane motor mounts stops the movement that causes missed shifts and reduces the damage to the inner CV joints and the frame rails from the motor flopping around. A local club member makes them: http://www.polybushings.com and they have polyurethane suspension bushings and Johnny is a GLH-S owner and a great guy to talk to about Shelby-Dodges. Wiring and connectors are similar to other Chrysler FWD cars throughout the 90's, so it isn't hard to find replacements. Underhood heat just kills the wiring and the radiators tend to plug up and kill the motors. The radiator is a custom core and is not available except by special order by a radiator shop. An oil cooler is a sound investment (one that Chrysler stopped Shelby from adding to the cars as they found Mobil 1 synthetic was enough to solve the problem for the warranty period) They are like the pitbulls of FWD Econoboxes. They will piss you off, disobey your orders and get you into trouble, but if someone tried to take it away from you, you'd kill them.
sound advice, I'd also ad that turbosunleashed offers a bolt in aluminum radiator that is fantastic.
Pat wrote: I've had a GLHS for years and still love it. Like forza said, they're still great fun.
You have some great TDs-that's for sure!
I think my dads GLHS went though 3 or 4 power modules and 2 cylinder heads (and one transmission) in 175k miles. I agree turbo dodges are fun though. The best way to make them more pleasant is to swap all the mechanical parts to the newest stuff you can, they went from barely acceptable in the first couple years to pretty good by the last 3 years, and everything pretty much interchanges in the right combinations.
Cool car deserves a pic in the thread:
(Hotlinked from Cardomain so this might belong to someone here.)
..and so easy to make pretty damned fast.
My dad had one when I was a kid and I loved it. I have always wanted to get one and build up as a good street/autox rig. I actually still have the original Shelby book on building these things up and several of the later updated versions.
My Shelby wasn't a GLHS, just a basic '84 Shelby Charger. Lots of fun. I miss it.
on my bucket list!
Most of the things anyone likes about a GLHS are also present on a lot of bigger k-car based shelbys, so unless you're determined to have the hatch body style or that particular car, i'd consider broadening your shopping list.
Except that L-bodies are so damned light that you don't need as much power to make them fly. The only thing close in weight would be an early K-car (although they are easier to work on due to the larger engine bay and more common underpinnings and the sedan body is stiffer)
Travis_K wrote: I think my dads GLHS went though 3 or 4 power modules and 2 cylinder heads (and one transmission) in 175k miles. I agree turbo dodges are fun though. The best way to make them more pleasant is to swap all the mechanical parts to the newest stuff you can, they went from barely acceptable in the first couple years to pretty good by the last 3 years, and everything pretty much interchanges in the right combinations.
I've only ever had one problem with a Power Module on my T-D's. That resulted in an over-charging issue. Replacing the PM and alternator fixed it. A couple that were thought to be PM issues were merely a wiring issue (there are a couple of ground wires hidden behind the PM that can cause strange issues if they act up)
Luckily, Power Modules are the same from 85-87 for the turbo cars.
Never had a serious cylinder head issue either, other than dropped valve guides, which were fixed with new guides with cir-clips on them. Many will crack between the valve seats, but as long as the crack isn't leaking, they are fine. They crack due to the different metals used expanding at different rates (which is also why the headgaskets blow, they are slowly chewed up from the movement of the head and block)
The real issue is that the GLH-T and GLH-S (plus Shelby Charger and Charger GLH-S) suffered from massive underhood heat issues. Find ways to resolve this and you'll have a much happier car.
The stock transaxles are junk and should be pulled and set aside for restoration later. Build a 520/555 hybrid transaxle to maintain the same gearing and you'll be able to put a lot more power through them reliably.
A question I always had was: is it cheaper to buy a nice, clean Shelby, or use the LEGO method and build one (better?) out of parts? I don't care as much for the fact "Its a Shelby, dude" aspect.
Waaay better to build one. When the power modules would fail on my dads car it would fail to start after being driven and parked, and it would show a fault code something like "no driver interface with fuel injection" or similar.
Travis_K wrote: Waaay better to build one. When the power modules would fail on my dads car it would fail to start after being driven and parked, and it would show a fault code something like "no driver interface with fuel injection" or similar.
I think your Dad had a car built after happy hour. All these years, I have never had a power module fail or had to replace a head.
Now, if you're talking about freshening the head up after 150k miles of abuse with little maintenance, then yes, but I've never had an 8v head give me any trouble at all.
Twice the head cracked bad enough in one cylinder to loose compression. It also went though numerous alternators, but my Shelby charger didn't. I'd still like to own a glhs someday, just not a stock one. With a few modifications (a555, 89 wiring/computer/2.5 long block, heim joint shifter linkage) it would be a good car I think.
Except that L-bodies are so damned light that you don't need as much power to make them fly. The only thing close in weight would be an early K-car (although they are easier to work on due to the larger engine bay and more common underpinnings and the sedan body is stiffer)
If by k-car you mean aries and reliant than it's not just early, its all of them. My 89 aries is somewhere in the 2400s lbs. I dont really think making power is much of an issue if you dont shoot higher than somewhere in the 13s. Any k-car derived body can do that with mostly stock parts. Even a turbo minivan with a 3spd auto and stock tiny t304h turbo can hit a 13.9. Not that its been done all that often.
And YES, WAY easier to work on, way easier to build/fix out of a junkyard, way easier to get good trim for, and body is stiffer = less likely to die in collision. Not that the L's are hard to work on.
Twice the head cracked bad enough in one cylinder to loose compression
And was the underlying issue ever fixed, or did you chock it up to the head casting being under some mystery stress that was not at all related to improper combustion-related effects?
I guess it's possible. In my experience it's so rare to have real head issues from the 8v head that i keep piling up good ones until i have to start recycling them because i cant find enough people who need one to give them away for free and noone will pay for one because noone needs one because they never break.
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