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Thread: 1992 Spirit ES turbo 5 speed

  1. #1
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    1992 Spirit ES turbo 5 speed

    I started my TD sickness back in 09 when I tracked down a Radiant Silver Shelby Daytona. The car was just a roller to start and I have taken the last four years building it up to something that is worthy for the road. It has been driving well for a while now but something has always bothered me... the body. Time has taken it's toll, causing the paint to delaminate and the rockers to rust out at those four wonderful corners. I love the car but I do not have the time or motivation to be tearing the car down for the proper panel replacement and paintjob that it deserves.





    So, I decided that I would start to hunt for another turbo dodge that didn't need quite so much attention so that I could get the Daytona to a new loving home. Kijiji was checked weekly in hopes that I would find a nice clean car with decent paint. Last friday I found it.





    The ad was for an 1992 Dodge Spirit ES Turbo. The parts that grabbed my attention were the clean body and 5-speed transmission. The part that got my wifes permission was that it had working A/C ( I pulled the A/C out of my daytona in favor of future intercooler piping). I called the seller to ask more about it and he said that if I came to look at the car he guaranteed that I would buy it. I made the journey to Calgary on Saturday to check it out. It was a one-owner car, purchased by the seller and his wife in the spring of '92. He said that they had haggled the dealership pretty hard, getting them down from $22,000 to $16,000 and using his wife's lack of manual driving skills as their bargaining chip. The deal was struck and SHE drove it off the lot.





    This was his fourth and last turbo dodge. He had also owned A shelby charger, a GLH omni, and a turbo lebaron. He was quite happy to see that another enthusiast had taken interest in the car. After crawling all under and through it I took it for a drive and we struck our deal. He was right, I wasn't going home without this car.





    Pretty much everything on the car seems to be original, with the exception of the steering wheel and valve cover. The leather wheel wore through years ago and he was only able to find a rubber one as a replacement. The original valve cover was broken after an overheating episode and the mechanic who fixed it put on a stamped steel replacement instead of the proper turbo cover. It's high on my to-do list.





    After spending so much time hunting for parts to frankenstein my Daytona together it is great to have a car that is so complete! It came with all four original keys (2 valet), a full size matching spare, and an uncrumpled owners manual. And even at 223,000 kms it is the best driving turbo dodge that I have sat in to date.





    That being said, it is a 20 year old car and it still needs some work. The rocker is rusted through behind the drivers front tire so it will need to be replaced. The rear bumper has been backed into and it spidered the paint. And there are plenty of rock chips. But it has aged well and I think it will polish up very nicely.





    A nice and clean interior with no saggy headliner or water in sight was nice to see.

















    My plans so far are to:


    Clean up surface rust and rock chips and power polish the paint
    Transfer my stereo and go-fast bits from the Daytona
    Put the proper valve cover on and clean up the engine bay
    Follow the orginal owners instructions by driving it like I stole it!


    Thanks for looking!
    Last edited by rampant150; 06-09-2017 at 08:08 PM.

  2. #2
    Mitsu booster
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    Re: 1992 Spirit ES turbo 5 speed

    Looks great!

  3. #3
    turbo addict Turbo Mopar Contributor
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    Re: 1992 Spirit ES turbo 5 speed

    Looks fantastic. Also like the radiant silver 89 Daytona Shelby, I've had two of those over the years, both 5spd leather t-top cars which is what yours appears to be.
    [B]Scott[/B] 86 GLHS #408 88 Shadow ES 92 Spirit R/T 04 SRT-4

  4. #4
    Supporting Member II Turbo Mopar Contributor Shadow's Avatar
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    Re: 1992 Spirit ES turbo 5 speed

    Wow, that is my Wife's Spirit to a T, right down to those pin stripes! (thought a paint shop had put them on, but maybe factory?) Does it have overhead console? (hers does)

    Great little grocery getter and very stealthy when an unsuspecting Honda with exhaust mods thinks he's gonna show you something lol The 5-spd really makes the car!

    I removed the stripes which took away a bit of the "stealth" family car look, but I think it's def cleaner looking now. Also sporting pumpers which actually work well on the car. (we think, anyway)

    Was thinking about adding the R/T rear spoiler but haven't gotten around to it yet.

    Nice to see some of these cars going to good homes. (Keep the Spirit's Alive!)
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  5. #5
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    Re: 1992 Spirit ES turbo 5 speed

    Quote Originally Posted by Shadow View Post
    Wow, that is my Wife's Spirit to a T, right down to those pin stripes! (thought a paint shop had put them on, but maybe factory?) Does it have overhead console? (hers does)

    Great little grocery getter and very stealthy when an unsuspecting Honda with exhaust mods thinks he's gonna show you something lol The 5-spd really makes the car!

    I removed the stripes which took away a bit of the "stealth" family car look, but I think it's def cleaner looking now. Also sporting pumpers which actually work well on the car. (we think, anyway)

    Was thinking about adding the R/T rear spoiler but haven't gotten around to it yet.

    Nice to see some of these cars going to good homes. (Keep the Spirit's Alive!)
    I think the stripes are factory. My buddy has an 89 ES and it has the exact same stripes painted on. I don't have an overhead console on this one. Your car looks great with the pumpers.

  6. #6
    turbo addict
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    Re: 1992 Spirit ES turbo 5 speed

    I parted out a 89 V6 ES years ago and I am pretty sure that it had those same stripes.

  7. #7
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    Re: 1992 Spirit ES turbo 5 speed

    Ordered a billet triple gauge pod and a G-Valve from FWD last night. Now to swap over my stereo while I wait for those to come in.

  8. #8
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    Re: 1992 Spirit ES turbo 5 speed


  9. #9
    Rhymes with tortoise. Turbo Mopar Staff cordes's Avatar
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    Re: 1992 Spirit ES turbo 5 speed

    Awesome Daytona. Silver was by far the rarest color that year. IIRC there were less than 300 made in that color.

  10. #10
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    Re: 1992 Spirit ES turbo 5 speed

    Today was productive. Did an oil change, removed the crappy aftermarket alarm, Hooked up two out of three gauges, and modified the "front drive" label



  11. #11
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    Re: 1992 Spirit ES turbo 5 speed

    Intercooler time! I got a really nice cooler from a bud of mine that seems to fit perfect. I got it mounted up and now need to start the piping.


  12. #12
    turbo addict
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    Re: 1992 Spirit ES turbo 5 speed

    WOW! I honestly didn't know they offered a TI 5-speed A-body in '92. That's pretty darn cool! It should also have an A568 because that is a high-torque TI. Very nice find!

    Oh...and the export speedo goes to 140mph! The American ones only go to 125. LUCKY!!

  13. #13
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    Re: 1992 Spirit ES turbo 5 speed

    I have had it up to 110 mph so far but I am sure it will do the full 140mph. Gotta love that 5th gear.

  14. #14
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    Re: 1992 Spirit ES turbo 5 speed

    Ordered an intercooler piping kit from CXRacing. Great price and super fast shipping. I ordered it on tuesday and got it on Friday!



    - - - Updated - - -

    Changed the exhaust out for $10.79. My bud had his old spirit exhaust laying around so he gave it to me, and I had a Cherry Bomb muffler that my grandpa gave me last summer. $5 to expand a piece of pipe and $5.79 in clamps and it is good to go. Sounds good!




  15. #15
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    Re: 1992 Spirit ES turbo 5 speed

    Its been a while. Here are a few pics to bring this thread up to speed.





    Sent from my SM-G900W8 using Tapatalk

  16. #16
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    Re: 1992 Spirit ES turbo 5 speed

    Always cool to see Spirit pics. I like the pumper wheels, are they 15s or 16s?

  17. #17
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    Re: 1992 Spirit ES turbo 5 speed

    16 inchers

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