Carroll Shelby's heart transplant in 1991 didn't faze him as he had been doing the same to cars for forty years. Today, Nice Price or Crack Pipe has a GLHS that, for $8,000, you could transplant to your driveway.
Yesterday, the SVO Mustang - looking like it should be brought to life by Tesla coils and then chased by a pitchfork-wielding mob - garnered a 60% nice price vote. Seeing as how popular that pony was, let's let it ride with another factory-blessed four cylinder turbo car from the eighties- one with an even longer acronym, and signed by the snake master himself.
Nineteen eighties Mopar performance doesn't all ride on the seven K-cars of the apocalypse, there were also the Japanese imports tearing up tires, as well as the subject of today's examination- the Dodge Charger-based Shelby GLHS. This 1987 example, in contrast to yesterday's madly-modded Mustang, comes as a time-capsule of pure come-back kid Chrysler kick ass. Lee Iacocca and Carroll Shelby have been long-time buds- the former being instrumental in brokering the deal between Ford and Shelby that resulted in the GT350, 500 et al. Hoping to capture some of that same lightning in a bottle after landing atop Chrysler's hierarchy in the ‘80s, Lido punched up ol' Shel' on the speed dial and asked him to have a go at what was in the Dodge garage at the time.
Shelby took full ownership of the GLHS' going so far as removing the Dodge badging and fitting a new cam cover emblazoned with his moniker in replacement of the Pentastar. Along with revised seats, Momo shift knob, commemorative dash plaque and identifying stickers, Shelby - in their Whittier, CA shop - also modded the engine and added Centurion wheels and Koni shocks to the car. The last change - as a finger in the face of the DOT - was the application of a sticker to the bottom of the speedo, elevating the maximum delineation from the government-mandated 85 to an easily achievable 125.
All that stuff is there on this car, including the konis, which by this time have usually worn out and been replaced by something cheaper on these things. The car is number 536 of 1000 built, and comes with the intercooled 175-bhp 2.2-litre grenade engine that's an amalgamation of Turbo I and Turbo II pieces, and is fitted with Shelby's own ECU program. Bolted to that is Chrysler's A525 rod-actuated five-speed transmission. The seller claims the linkage was rebuilt two years ago, and that the car drives like new.
Unfortunately, not everything is as new, and there are some age-related problems with the car, such as the out of order sign on the A/C, and a headliner that's missing opening night. With a little more than 45K on the clock, it's not unreasonable that such things should come to pass, nor that the paint and interior are starting to show their age, as well as some door dings to be dealt with.
But it's still a righteous and complete Shelby GLHS, with all the go-faster stuff that Shelby could scrounge and bolt onto the Dodge Charger front-driver. The $8,000 asking price is firm, and the placement of the ad in the TurboDodge forum indicates a seller more interested in finding the car a good home, than enacting a fast sale.
So, what do you think, would an $8,000 transplant from your bank account be the panacea for your GLHS fever? Or, does that price make this a GLHS that's DOA?
You decide!
TurboDodge.com Forums, or go here if the ad disappears.
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