Neat Shelby model on E-Bay

An interesting prototype for the Dodge Shelby Charger model of the 1980's. Sounds like it's a one-off car and should have been destroyed.

https://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=6465&item=2460917929

But I wonder how true this story is? You always read these E-Bay stories and wonder sometimes.

Case in point, there is car circulating around Ontario, a 1967 Dodge Coronet R/T station wagon. It is very well built and great looking car. I've seen it run through a classic car auction where it was described as an un-documented R/T model, but probably (possibly?) an original factory build. Awhile later I saw a letter in a publication, from the guy who built the car... He said he had built it himself (with all the proper badges, everything else, etc...) as an R/T clone and something a little different. He went on to say that he never mis-represented it when he still owned it, but obviously some others have done that since.

Looks like any other Shelby Charger running around the neighborhood - right now there's one like it in my high school parking lot, down to the color & paint scheme....what makes it unusual?

My question exactly...

It may look like a normal Shelby Charger, but maybe it is an early prototype like the guy claims. I guess I've just heard a few too many stories claiming things like this.

Beng an amateur automotive historian, stories like this interest me and pique my interest. Anyone have any ideas about this car?

I talked to a guy big into K-cars (see Sherlock there car people lower on the ladder than you) and he said an 1982 shouldn't have 5 lug wheels.

Prototypes vary greatly depending on the stage of development. Mechanicals may or may not be significantly different. It depends on what they were up to at the time. If later cars came with 5 lug wheels it would make sense that a proto would. With protos every car is unique.

A car made before production tooling would likely look different here and there from the final production versions and may have pieces with strange fit and surface quality. Then again, depending on who crafted the proto it may have better fit and finish than the production version.

I suppose it could be real. He says he has the paperwork to back it up. A prospective buyer would be wise to look thorough it carefully.

Don't know what he means by the term "proper race motor ". If it were a production prototype you would expect it to have a street motor. The production units had turbocharged motors. He claims this one has a Magnuson supercharger. If a prototype vehicle had been an engine development "mule" it would have had a series of motor configurations. "Proper" would up to interpretation.

My (fuzzy) recollection is that Magnachargers of that era were cool little units, compact Rootes blowers with straight cut rotors. These days Magnuson handles Eaton blowers.


PC.

Whether that is real or not, I don't have a clue, but here's where I reveal a little too much about myself.

In high school, I drove an '81 Dodge Omni 024, the car upon which the Shelby Charger was based. The name wasn't changed to "Charger" until a year or two later.

Ever since then I have always wanted a nice Shelby Charger, Omni GLH or better yet, a GLH-S. I love those things!!!

I have even thought that an old Omni (better yet, Horizon) with the body kept stock, but GLH suspension fitted and the engine from a late Spirit R/T- 224hp stock, 300hp with some work would be great. If your forearms are strong enough to cope with the torque steer (my 84hp 024 had some), you'd have yourself a heck of a sleeper. But, like I said, now I have revealed the depth of my sickness.



But always remember, the Omni/Horizon was not a K car, though they shared the ubiquitous 2.2L. The Omni/Horizon came out in '78, the K car didn't hit until '81.

[ 02-19-2004: Message edited by: lawguy ]</p>

IMHO the coolest version of the Omni/Horizon never made it to the US.

In Britain the Omni was build and sold by Chrysler UK and called Sunbeam. Later, the division was sold to the French and they went by Talbot. Most were more or less like their American counterparts; nondescript econoboxes but there was a very special version.

While Chrysler US wanted a fun toy and went to Carroll Shelby, Chrysler UK wanted to go racing and went to Colin Chapman. The result was the Sunbeam Lotus (or Talbot Sunbeam Lotus). The Lotus designation is Lotus Type 81 Sunbeam Talbot.

Lotus shoveled in a version of their 2.2l DOHC 16V aluminum engine with dual twin-choke Dell'Orto carbs mated to a ZF 5sp gearbox and worked over the suspension. Torque steer? What Torque steer? They're rear wheel drive.

To meet World Rally homologation rules they had to build a bunch for the street and so they sold a consumer version. The rally cars were quite successful and won the World Rally Championship in 1981.




PC.

Yes I remember those little Lotus Sunbeams. They are still fairly sought after, although you do see them for sale from time to time. General Motors also had a small performance car, based on the Vauxhall Chevette.

The Chevette HS in England was a cool little car. It had an Elastoplast front bumper for aero effect like the droop snoot Firenza's, and used a 4 valve twin cam developed specifically for it by Vauxhall. Made something like 150 BHP I recall. I used to see a few of these for sale in every Thouroghbred and Classic mag, but not any more.

They certainly didn't make many of them, and they sure would surprise a lot of poeple over here if they saw one or tried to pass one..( that's a Chevette???!!! )