What got me hooked on fwd mopars!

[moparwags]

Let me set the scene. It's the summer of 1986, I'm 17 years old, hanging out in Mansfield, OH on Park Ave(the area cruise/drag scene). I'm sitting in the parking lot of the Kingsgate Mall watching the cars race from light to light. Sitting at the intersection, waiting for the light to turn green sits a '77 Pontiac Trans Am 6.6 liter. Alongside sits an '85 Omni GLH turbo. Hundreds of people are sitting there and saying yeah right, while laughing. Light turns green and the Omni sucked the headlights out of T/A. Everybody goes nuts! Classic! Been hooked ever since.

[turismolover22]

Oh yeah!

[jayspartanburg]

Nice...

[Keito]

Good ole Kingsgate.
Raced many a car down Park Ave
Back in my Mustang days...
I'd love to take the Holset Omni there now.

[glhs875]

1986 is when I got hooked as well!

[glhs0075]

Sometime around 1995 I needed a new daily driver. It had to be a Mopar, had to be good on gas, yet still be interesting. I found a 1987 Dodge Shelby Charger (non-AC car) at a local used car lot. Traded in my 1980 Ramcharger (360 4bbl 4x4). The little L body began to grow on me. It was fun to drive, peppy, and good on gas. I also liked the looks of it. The internet was in it's infancy, but I found the SDML and learned how to fix the issues my S/C developed (no garage seemed to have a clue how to work on it!). This is also where I learned about the existance of the Whittier cars (didn't have a clue, as they weren't sold in Canada) and have been hooked ever since. Although it did take until 2009 for everything to fall into place and allow me to get my GLHS. BTW I still had the S/C until recently. There were some times it was parked, sat out on an acreage in my ex-wife's custody for a while, but I did get it back... and recently passed it on to a fellow enthusiast.

[GLHS 160]

I was in the Air force in 86 and was headed down to the car dealership to buy me a "cool car"... I knew it was gonna be a 4 cylinder, as I wanted gas mileage too.. I picked out a new 86 Ford Escort GT.. I test drove it and thought this was nice.. It looked fast even though it was not.. Upon pulling back to the dealership parking lot to close the deal, I noticed a red car that also had side skirts and front air dam.. (necessary to be a cool car)... It was a four door though.. Kind of not my style in my mid 20s... But wait... It did say "turbo" on it... I asked to drive it, and the salesman brought out the keys.. We took off it was ok, but not real exciting.. Salesman had me drive down a side road with no houses and a couple a curves... He said try it out, you will be surprised.. I floored it and when the boost came on it was like a bottle rocket to me.. It went through the curves like it was on rails... Needless to say, we pulled back to the dealership and I drove home in my new GLH-T red on red.. About three months later the GLHS came out.. Of course my wife liked my red car and she needed a better car, so I gave it to her and flew to Baltimore to buy my first GLHS..#110...

[pauly_no_van]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sBvGR1pIoA

[Turbo Joe]

well after my 82 rampage got total'd out I ended up buying an 85 renault alliance for $88.00 and destroyed that car in a bad crash ( black ice) so i bought an 84 charger but when i went back 3 days later to pick up the spare keys I saw her!! It just came in and was in the wholesale section with a bad transmission... Not my car in the pics, just looks exactly like it is all... 85 chrysler laser XE......... TURBO !!!! red with red crush velvet interior digi dash/navi trip/ system monitor, power everything BUT it was a TURBO !! well never having a turbo car before and it looked so nightrider cool i gave back the charger i just bought and even swapped for the needed a trans car.. yea it was a 525... man i loved that car...I had alot of fun racing mustangs and getting great gas mileage.. but a drunk total'd it out while it was parked

[glhs0075]

Narrowed it down a little more today. I was flipping through an old Mopar book I have, and found some Shelby Dodge stuff that I found interesting and had printed off of the web. I have the Shelby Automobile Club Information Sheet from SDAC.org, Turbo Survival Guide from lucasviking.com (reprint from Mopar Muscle June/July 1995), Reprint of Motor Trend, Oct. 1984 Preview Test: 1985 Dodge Shelby Charger (again from lucasviking.com), and Dempsey's info page for Dodge Shelby Charger from xmission.com. All are dated February 13, 1998, so I guess that's when I became hooked on FWD Mopars!

It was kind of cool to find these old print-outs.

[2.216VTurbo]

I was in the Air force in 86 and was headed down to the car dealership to buy me a "cool car"... I knew it was gonna be a 4 cylinder, as I wanted gas mileage too.. I picked out a new 86 Ford Escort GT.. I test drove it and thought this was nice.. It looked fast even though it was not.. Upon pulling back to the dealership parking lot to close the deal, I noticed a red car that also had side skirts and front air dam.. (necessary to be a cool car)... It was a four door though.. Kind of not my style in my mid 20s... But wait... It did say "turbo" on it... I asked to drive it, and the salesman brought out the keys.. We took off it was ok, but not real exciting.. Salesman had me drive down a side road with no houses and a couple a curves... He said try it out, you will be surprised.. I floored it and when the boost came on it was like a bottle rocket to me.. It went through the curves like it was on rails... Needless to say, we pulled back to the dealership and I drove home in my new GLH-T red on red.. About three months later the GLHS came out.. Of course my wife liked my red car and she needed a better car, so I gave it to her and flew to Baltimore to buy my first GLHS..#110...

And #110 is still impressing people to this day

http://www.turbo-mopar.com/forums/sh...t=history+made

[looneytuner]

I started whining in '86 every time I saw a GTS while my wife was with me. Finally in the fall of 87 I whined while passing a dealer and she said let's go in. We got a demo with 12,000 miles for 12,000. Still have it.
It was smacked in the rear by a woman pulling out of a parking lot. The adjuster wasn't happy when I faxed him a list of new part in it including a shop rebuilt engine. Her insurance had to pay 3,500 to get it straight for the minor damage instead of a check for 500. Still have it plus another 87 GTS, Shelby Lancer, Shelby Daytona, and 2 TCs. I have bought and stripped 2 or 3 others for spares,.

[unluckyty]

Good ole Kingsgate.
Raced many a car down Park Ave
Back in my Mustang days...
I'd love to take the Holset Omni there now.

The miracle mile is nothing like it used to be, hasn't been for a very very long time.

greg

[rosie]

Getting into these cars is another story, but as far as getting hooked?Found sdml and met a guy who taught me how to work on cars. I was already mechanically inclined but a head gasket was as far as I would go. He learned me how to T2 my first TD and when it was all done, I wasn't impressed. Did some searching for a week and it turned out the injectors we thought were T2 were actually T1. Test drive after putting the correct injectors in blew my mind. Did my $550 car just do that!?!?Been hooked ever since!

[GLHS 160]

And #110 is still impressing people to this day

http://www.turbo-mopar.com/forums/sh...t=history+made

And I am very happy that GLHS 110 is still busting egos !!! It s good to see that 27 years later the same car I bought new is still getting respect from the V8 crowd.. Good job Alan !!!
PS.... When its time for the car to go, call me and I will bring it back to Florida...
Allen

[turismolover22]

My dad bought an 85 turismo ho 2.2. I recall it being a metallic blue, but he said it was grey, with light grey/silver lower trim. Had it until i was 6-7 (1997) then it sat for a few years, then sadly got crushed. Had a sunroof and rear louvers, with the garnet red interior.About 4 years ago, got a spark to find one after seeing my buddy flip camaro after camaro. Found a pair for sale in WA, for 400 bucks. One was a base, one was a HO like dad had. Never had a means to get both, and was told it got sold to a kid who promplty wrapped it around a tree.Then went to get an 87 glhs local to me. Needed a door and a pillar work. Met turbomini along the way and fell in love with his 86 z he had held onto for years. Bought that, sold it (regrettably) and then finally got this 86 c/s ive been dilligently restoring for the past 4months nearly.

[glhs875]

well after my 82 rampage got total'd out I ended up buying an 85 renault alliance for $88.00 and destroyed that car in a bad crash ( black ice) so i bought an 84 charger but when i went back 3 days later to pick up the spare keys I saw her!! It just came in and was in the wholesale section with a bad transmission... Not my car in the pics, just looks exactly like it is all... 85 chrysler laser XE......... TURBO !!!! red with red crush velvet interior digi dash/navi trip/ system monitor, power everything BUT it was a TURBO !! well never having a turbo car before and it looked so nightrider cool i gave back the charger i just bought and even swapped for the needed a trans car.. yea it was a 525... man i loved that car...I had alot of fun racing mustangs and getting great gas mileage.. but a drunk total'd it out while it was parked

Daytonas are what got me hooked!! I loved the interior. When you sat in the drivers seat everything seamed to wrap around you and you became part of the car!!! Awesome sensation!!!

[banger68]

Sometime around 89 and I needed something better on gas then the 360 in my 81 Cordoba. Found a 84 TurboZ in a lot down the street. Remember thinking how modern it looked, especially the black leather interior. Thought it would be at least peppy with the turbo and 5 spd. Boy was I surprised when it spun all the way through 1st and into 2nd! Had it for several years but Canadian winters did the job on the floor. Had many Daytonas since.

[22shelby]

1997 my uncle was working for a Chrysler dealer... he had a tech there who had a blue 1990 Daytona Shelby VNT, apparently he was the original owner and racked up 187,000 miles on the car... on a whim my uncle bought it... the car was absolutly MINT... no rust, even from being from Chicago and primarily a daily driver... well when i found out my uncle bought it as he was playing it up telling me all about it, he took me for a ride!!! oh man and what a ride it was... i remember backing out of his driveway and he reved it up and proceeded to mosquito fog the block in first AND second gear... from that moment i had the eveil grin on my face!! once we cam back from the romp i went and looked at the burn out marks and noticed them to be nice and dark!! except the little 12" section wher the first to second gear hit...lol

fast forward to 2000 he decided after blowing up the orginal turbo that he was going to BEAST this thing... but was a bit unresearched on his build... full balanced motor, super 60 cam shaft, MP 1 mm head a front mount IC and a full flow exhaust... with a brand spanking new tiny VNT... well after he couldnt figure out why it was over boosting like crazy he decided to sell it for 1800 bucks... i jumped on it!!! told him i will learn everything there is to know about these cars!!



here is a link to the heart wrenching story of what had happened to the blue car...
http://www.turbo-mopar.com/forums/sh...day&highlight=

[DevoBuzz]

It was around 1984 and I was working at my first job (K-Mart). I knew soon I would be able to afford a car once I got out of college and found a job. I remember reading PHR where they had the SC/Mustang/Camaro shootout. I was really into Camaros at the time but after I read that article and saw how the SC could keep up with the other 2 cars (execept for acceleration) I fell in love with the car. It was DIFFERENT. Then they came out with the turbo model! It was my dream car.

Got a job in 1986 and was ready to buy a car in 1987. Went to the dealership to put money down on a black/silver SC and they said they were no longer available. URGH! They stopped production and all they had were red/silver cars left on the lot. They also had the GLHS Charger but I loved the silver stripe! Wound up buying a 1985 black/silver SC for $6600 with 18K on the clock. Still have the car to this day with 46K on it.