Looking for advice on a 1986 GLHS

[rglenm]

I'm looking at a 1986 Omni GLHS. I've always like them, but don't know that much about restoring them. It's been garaged and run only a couple of times in the last 15 years. Before that it was a daily driver. It has 115k on it and runs relatively smoothly, but I can't take it out to drive. Brakes were re-done about 5 years ago. Trans linkage probably needs fixed. Absolutely zero rust. Wheels also in great shape. Due to being in Florida its whole life, the fabric seats are pretty rough and the plastics are badly discolored, some knobs are missing, etc. Door latches don't work properly either. What I want to know how is tough is it to find parts for the GLHS and restore it? I'm guessing the interior may be tough. Also, are there any specific engine problems I should be aware of, especially in a car with this many miles. Am I looking at a rebuild soon? Finally, what is a car with this general description worth?

Any input would be appreciated.

Thanks

[cordes]

How is the paint? A rust free 86 S car is very desirable. Based off of what you said, I would think 5-6K without seeing pictures. If the paint is good I could see 8K if the interior is pretty clean.

As far as the availability of parts, it's not too bad. There are actually a few reproduction pieces available for the cars now, but not too much. You'll most likely have to refinish what you're working with. Fortunately a lot of the door rods etc. seem to still be out there if you even need them. Most of the time they just need to be adjusted.

Motor wise I would think that there is quite a bit of life left if it had been well maintained. What would worry me is the seals etc. after having sat for so long. I bought an 89 CSX recently which had not been out much since 2006. I'll need to do the rear main before spring as it's leaking quite a bit right now.

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ETA: Welcome to the site!

[rglenm]

How is the paint? A rust free 86 S car is very desirable. Based off of what you said, I would think 5-6K without seeing pictures. If the paint is good I could see 8K if the interior is pretty clean.

As far as the availability of parts, it's not too bad. There are actually a few reproduction pieces available for the cars now, but not too much. You'll most likely have to refinish what you're working with. Fortunately a lot of the door rods etc. seem to still be out there if you even need them. Most of the time they just need to be adjusted.

Motor wise I would think that there is quite a bit of life left if it had been well maintained. What would worry me is the seals etc. after having sat for so long. I bought an 89 CSX recently which had not been out much since 2006. I'll need to do the rear main before spring as it's leaking quite a bit right now.

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ETA: Welcome to the site!

Thanks!

It was repainted somewhere along the way. Looks good from 20 feet, but definitely needs it again. The interior looks like an Omni that's been driven for over 100k miles (meaning worn). Drivers seat has a few splits. The rest of the seats are OK, but have some spotting on them...probably from sitting for so long. Don't know if they'll come clean. Drivers side armrest and plastic door top are very stained with dirt (and sweat?). A/C does not work. On the plus side, oil has been regularly changed with Mobile1 since new. No apparent leaks (yet) on running. The owner's brother was the first owner and worked at a Shelby authorized Dodge dealer. He did some promotions with Shelby and was given a black (looks like on the Shelby Charger) valve cover. That's what is on the car now. Original is in the trunk. Also, he put a 7 quart oil pan on it, reportedly to make sure the engine was well lubed. All else appears original.

[168glhs1986]

Motors are bullit proof. Only isues are idiots trying to repair them. If they were dealer or professionally maintained like bmws they would last a million miles.

Post pics of car or price estimate.

I have owned many of nice sports car and the lowly omni puts the biggest smile on my face. Its the most fun hands down.

Have you driven one?

[rglenm]

Motors are bullit proof. Only isues are idiots trying to repair them. If they were dealer or professionally maintained like bmws they would last a million miles.

Post pics of car or price estimate.

I have owned many of nice sports car and the lowly omni puts the biggest smile on my face. Its the most fun hands down.

Have you driven one?

I drove one years ago. What a blast! I'll try and figure out how to attach photos to the post and update soon.

[going4speed]

Pics would be good. I am restoring glhs 313. Parts are not that hard to find if you are willing to wait and watch. Took me a few months to find a radiator. I also watch ebay and the for sale ads a ton. Rust free is very important. Rust seems to be 10 times worse than it looks from what you can see on the surface.

[jonnyb]

Welcome!

115K is not a big deal and I wouldn't worry about the motor needing a rebuild, as long as it was fairly well taken care of, and it sounds like it was. Besides, the drivetrain is the least of worries as on these cars because the same basic configuration was literally used in tens (if not hundreds) of thousands of various Chrysler vehicles throughout the years.

Some body parts can be hard to find, but again, hundreds of thousands of L bodies were made so even the more difficult parts (floor boards, rear valance, spare tire wells, etc.) can be found. It sounds like the one you're looking at is a florida car and you say no rust so really the only more difficult body items to find would be the grill and correct black headlight buckets. Repro (I believe) door handles can be found new on ebay and NOS OEM ones show up on sites like this one from time to time, but like Cordes said - they usually they just need a little adjustment.

In my experience, it's the interior that is most difficult/expensive part in restoring these cars. I've had the same interior place custom make seat covers and recover seats in several different vehicles, and they said the L body seats were the most complex design due to all of the lacing in the bolsters and the various materials that had to be used. The correct material is getting more difficult to find and more expensive as well. Also, the interior door trim used on the GLHS was only offered for a couple years and very few non GLH/GLHS models seemed to have gotten the silver/gray interior package. So finding good condition plastic (mainly, the 4 upper door trim/window scraper pieces and 2 rear c-pillar/hatch pieces) in gray that's not all flaked and dried up is pretty tough. As long as the parts aren't cracked and/or chalky they can be sprayed fairly easily, but unfortunately it seems like most of them don't stand up too well to heat and sun like you have in Florida.

Good luck!

Jon

[glhs571]

Make sure all shelby items are inact or at least come with the car, 115k is nothing. My csxt just passed 160k on the stock turbo, tranny, head, block etc...and it runs strong.

Like others have said mostly depends on how well it was maintained. Rod knock is the most likely major issue with the non common block motors, again only if it wasn't maintained properly.

I would say anything less than 2 or 3k in price would be a steal from the description you gave.

If you want to post pics use your cell phone or digital camera and join a website like photobucket.com that allows you to upload and creates an [img] link that you can copy and post here using the image attachment option.