metaruss

Long time, no update.  Now that I am living in an apartment, little has changed with this car.  Stills runs pretty good, but the trip back from SDAC with those bad tires ruined what was left of the original struts.  To become safe for the roads, the cars needs struts/shocks (probably Konis), lower ball joints, tires, and bushings (polyurethane).  In its current condition, the car becomes rather unstable above 50mph, but I still take it on the 5 minute drive to work to keep it alive.  The motor is still the same, piston slap and all.  Still makes good power, though.  The car also got flooded when our parking lot flooded twice last year.  I was able to dry it out, but now I find that it leaks water in the rain.  Grrr….

Not much has changed with this car, since I have no where to work on it now.  We hope to buy a house this year, so all of that will eventually change.  Other than the continuing paint-peel saga, this car has been running well.  The only real problem I had was when the center contact distributor cap burned off.  The engine was running a little rough, which turned out to be because the spark was arching 1/4 inch from the primary to the rotor.  How’s that for a strong ignition system!  Next will be the transmission (the bearings are starting to howl), but I still have the spare A520 from the CSX.  This car also got flooded twice last year, but I was able to dry it out and it seems to have survived OK.

I swore I’d never make a web page about my cars, but many have been perplexed
about my choices in automotive purchasing.  This page is for you, for other
people that are into cars, and also for people who are extremely bored and have
nothing better to do but read about other people’s lives and interests. 
Feel free to comment about it, but please only send funny flames.

This page is dedicated to my bizarre obsession with Chrysler’s P-body cars. 
These cars include the Dodge Shadow, the Plymouth Sundance, and the Shelby CSX. 
I have owned or currently own each of these at some point.  I don’t like
what Chrysler did to the P-bodies in 1989 when they changed the front grill
and headlight arrangement and the rear trim and taillights.  So, I stuck
with the ’87s and ’88s.  I got into this type of car because my parents
own two Chrysler turbo cars:  my mother has a 1986 Chrysler LeBaron GTS
Turbo and my father owns a 1987 Dodge Daytona Turbo.  I liked driving both
of them and even the LeBaron could hold it’s own in a few minor racing incidents. 
I learned a lot about the engines because of a semi-frequent head gasket problem
with the LeBaron.  We eventually figured that one out (see my
page on it).  Other than that, these engines seem to run forever. 
The LeBaron has over 230,000 miles on it (as of 07/08/98) and the Daytona has
over 186,000 miles on it.  Both still have the original turbos.  They
both got a little rod knock at 180,000 and the LeBaron was rebuilt around that
time (but it still ran fine and didn’t burn any oil).

Though I was driving (legally) as early as 1991, it wasn’t until two years
later that I seriously needed to get car since I would be commuting to college
the following fall.  I wasn’t on the Internet back then (nor was anyone
else, really), so I didn’t have the resources we all have now.  I was checking
the Chicago Tribune and Auto Trader every week.  I liked our ’86 LeBaron
GTS, so I was interested in one of those, but the few leads I found were either
not in my price range or in pretty bad shape.  Then I saw an ad for a car
that I had read about while researching the various late-80s cars out there. 
I had never seen one up close, but I wanted to buy it as soon as I saw and drove
it.

So, the first car I ever owned I bought in May of
1993.  It was a 1987 Plymouth Sundance Turbo 5 speed coupe, black with
the burgundy interior, sunroof, and power everything.  I had a blast driving
it around and I got plenty of speeding tickets doing so.  I was pretty
hard on the car when I owned it and starting January 1, 1994, it started taking
it’s toll.  That morning while driving home late, the car went into a spin
when I tried to avoid a car that was in my lane as I went around a curve of
a back road.  I was tired, but completely sober; but this guy, I don’t
know.  The ground was covered with rock-salt from a recent snowfall. 
I couldn’t recover the car and I hit some small trees while going backwards
on the opposite side.  He never stopped.  Anyway, the car had extensive
rear end damage, but somehow I got it out of the ditch and drove it home: 
rear-end smashed, bumper hanging.  Somehow, my father was able to straighten
out the panels (quite a feat) and I installed new taillights and fixed-up the
bumper.  I intended to bondo the panels the next summer and bring it up
to snuff.  Unfortunately, that May my stupidity killed the car for good
when I slipped in gravel and slid into a ditch while taking a turn a bit too
fast (read: way too fast).  As the car flew into the ditch, it hit the
top edge of a concrete retainer wall that was sticking out of the ground by about
12 inches.  The forward frame was completely twisted up and the transmission
had a hole in it.  I reported the accident to the insurance company (since
I had full coverage), and they totaled it (and promptly dropped me). 
Here are the only pictures I have of it, after the final accident:

You may notice that the left-front wheel (wearing the spare tire since the
original was completely bent up) seems to be further back than it should be. 
The entire left part of the K-frame and control arm was bent back about 6 inches. 
You can see why it was totaled, but I got $2200 for it, even with the unrepaired,
rear-end damage.

The rest of the summer of 1994 I spent looking for another
car to replace the Sundance.  I had $2200 of insurance money, but I was
running out of time.  I would have loved to find a Shelby CSX (I had read
about them), but I couldn’t find one anywhere.  The next best thing would
have been a ’87 or ’88 Shadow ES, but I couldn’t find any of those either. 
Towards the end of the summer I was getting desperate (the fall semester was
going to start), so I settled for a 1987 Dodge Shadow Turbo I had found. 
It was a red, two door with a light grey interior an automatic transmission. 
It didn’t have power windows, but it had “power everything else” and a sunroof,
which I like.  The auto trans made the car quite sluggish most of the time,
which was disappointing.  It was pretty good off the line, but after about
40 mph, it was pretty slow going.  But, it ran good and it got me where
I needed to go.

The following summer (1995), my sister was in the market for a car.  She
wanted something reliable with an automatic.  Since we’ve had so much experience
with these engines, she agreed that a Chrysler would be a good thing to get. 
I took the opportunity to look for a car again and she agreed to buy mine, if
I found one.

I eventually found a car and sold the Shadow to her.  She got in an minor
fender bender with it and so it ended up with a Sundance hood.  The car
also acquired some strange problems over time, including a blockage in the oil
line to the head because of a disintegrated oil filter (never buy Fram), some
electrical problems because of some corrosion under the dash from a leaky windshield,
and a perpetually blown fusible link, which has been solved.

Eventually (winter 2001), the engine got a terminal case of rod knock. 
The car always had a persistent pinging problem that we never resolved. 
The problem was tough to find because it would come and go.  This probably
contributed to the rod bearing failure.  Interestingly, she sold the car
for $200 to a guy at work. The car had at least that much money in tires on
it. Unfortunately, I never got a picture of it.  She now drives my father’s 1987 Dodge Daytona (2.2 Turbo I, manual trans, over 220,000 miles!).

Anyway, later during the summer of 1995, I found the
car.  It wasn’t the Shelby CSX I always wanted, but it was the next best
thing.  Through the Chicago Tribune Online, I found a 1988 Dodge Shadow
ES Turbo 5 speed coupe that a woman was selling in downtown Chicago.  The
information about this car has grown such that to read about it, you need to
have a look at my 1988 Dodge Shadow ES page.

I like my Shadow a lot, but I never satisfied that desire for a Shelby CSX. 
After being a member of the Shelby-Dodge Mailing List (SDML) for a couple of
years, I decided that it was the route to go if I ever wanted to get that CSX. 
Well, on June 24, 1998, after some negotiating and waiting, I committed to buy
the 1987 Shelby CSX #694 from a fellow SDMLer near San Fransisco.  I had
to have the car shipped to me in Illinois (quite an expensive venture), but
it was worth it.  To hear that story, visit my 1987
Shelby CSX page.

SDAC-10 = the best time I have ever had with cars in my entire life.  I finally got to put faces to some of the names that I have known for years now.  The Chicagoland folks were probably the rowdiest bunch there.

The highlight was definitely the performance driving school.  It was done at Michigan Speedway (NASCAR).  The road course included almost a full mile of track oval, allowing me to achieve speeds of over 120 MPH!  My 3rd session was in the pouring rain, which resulted in a spin-out on one lap and some hydroplaning through the cones on turn 1 on the lap after.  Not long after I flew through the cones, someone smashed their nice 1987 Shelby GLHS into the wall on turn 1 due to hydroplaning as well.  Big bummer.

My first trip to the drag strip went fairly well.  My time slips are below.  The only things I did to the car were empty the trunk and remove the muffler.  I drove very consistent low-15s most for the day.  The ND Computer was only giving me 13-14psi of boost (should be 16), so I borrowed a G-valve.  Unfortunately, the ball was not seating and I only got 3-4psi and ran high 16s.  I fixed the G-valve and set my boost to 18psi.  The engine would break-up real bad above 4700 RPM.  The 8th light on the A/F gauge was flashing at those speeds, so I raised the fuel pressure.  I also gapped the plug down a bit.  From then on, I couldn’t get traction (see my 60-foot times).  I finally got a run in the 14s with 20psi of boost: 14.918 sec @ 94.68 mph.  I KNOW the car can do deep 14s if I could just hook it up.  The treads on my tires were full of track rubber because I couldn’t find a clean spot.  All in all, I had a great time.

I certainly got a lot of runs, as the track was not busy at all.  I wish the track stayed open after the SDAC events for more runs.  Many of the other drag racers were having car troubles and everyone seemed to have trouble with traction.  Anyway, it was a blast.  I’ll definitely try to bring the car to more local events to work on my launch techniques.

After dealing with all kinds of problems with paint on that fender, I finally got the car ready.  The doors are back together and everything is installed.  One of the power door lock motors was frozen, so I will have to find another.  I even had time to paint the upper door trim and the mirrors to match the new lower trim pieces a bit better.  I also resealed the valve cover and got the A/C working (just this evening).  All I need to do is wash the car tomorrow and take off!

The car has been sitting for a very long time.  I started working on the rust on the left, front fender a few weeks ago.  The Shelby Dodge Automobile Convention 10 is coming up in July 8, so I am starting a campaign to get the car ready.  I need to get the power window and door lock motors installed, as well as the power mirrors (the doors are already taken apart).  I also need to replace the weather stripping along the bottom of the door windows.  Mechanically, the car is sound.  I would like to have air conditioning for the trip as well, so I will pull the A/C heater unit to flush the crud out of the evaporator coil (the compressor was rusting, internally).  I will replace the plugged heater core while it is out.

I’ve signed-up for all the events, which includes a performance driving school and drag racing.  I won’t bother with the car shows.  🙂  The car is going to take a beating, so hopefully it will be able to make the trip there and back.

I installed the Conquest intercooler into the Shadow with some clever plumbing to keep the BOV.  I upped to boost to 14psi and the car makes lots of power now.  Performance-wise, the car is right where I want it.

I also dumped the disintegrating 1988 shifter and replaced it with the ’87 unit from the CSX (which has an A568 now).  I also moved the pivot point up on the shifter arm for the cable.  This shortened the throw of the shifter considerably.  I made new end boots for the cables out of bicycle tire tubes and flushed the cables with 100% silicone lubricant.  I also tightened all the nuts on the shifter itself.  All of this has made the most solid shifter I have ever felt.  It actually feels like a rod shifter.  I adjusted the cables to bring the shifter planes as close to the driver as possible.  If this tranny didn’t shift like a truck tranny, the whole setup would be awesome.  Now the A568 feels more sloppy than the A520.  🙂

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.

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.

A few more weird things happened lately.  First the long, steel fuel line on the fuel rail cracked at one of the bends, causing the rail to depressurize when I accelerated.  Then I started getting very bad hesitation.  it got to the point where the engine would not even want to run under any load, then would suddenly be fine.  Turned out to be the ignition coil mounting bolt, which was stripped out.  Now all is good and the car is flying.

The next thing that needs attention is the tires.  There appears to be flat spots from a 4 wheel lockup (panic stop).  It has been doing this since I bought the car.  I’m not sure if the tires can be salvaged, but the vibration is very annoying at high speeds.