there is a 1988 dodge daytona shelby z for sale in my area. has any one ever owned one of these cars? Are they good drivers? there was no one home,and I haven't called them yet,but the sign on the car says the motor is new and the turbo is also. Do they live up to their performance claims? Tossing around the idea of buying it,driving it and possibly giving to my son for his 1st car in a few years,but not going to if it isn't that good of a car. thanks for any info!!

 

Those cars would fly and they handled very well too. Friend of mine had one that I got to drive several times and it was a really good driver. Biggest issue he had was the usual front drive stuff with CV joints / boots, etc. IIRC. They were good cars though and in my opinion, they definitely lived up to the hype.

 

I drove my Dad's from Ohio to North Carolina back in '91 or so. I took the scenic route, so I had it for about 4 days. Complaints I had were-

1. gas pedal was sprung very stiff, and the pedal itself was small. I felt like I was pushing on a thumb tack with my foot after the 2nd day.

2. Not much headroom for me, but I'm 6'5". Don't know why my dad bought it, since he's 6'4".

Otherwise, it was a fun fun car. Not brutally fast, but plenty zippy compared with other sports cars of that era. My dad seemed to beat the front spoiler up on parking curbs, but I had no problem with that. However, it was only a few years old back then. Don't know how it would be to be driving a 20 year old Daytona, eh?

 

I didn't have the Shelby but I had the Daytona with turbo. The Daytonas are solid cars that hug the road. And they fly. I loved mine.

 

What, 179 horse, breathtaking after the dog days of the late '70s/early '80s, but frankly I'd rather have a similar year LX Mustang. Those hairdryer motors can be problematic....

I drove one back then, nice push when the turbo caught up with your right foot.

 

I liked the little meter in the dash that indicated that the turbo was kicking in. I never had any engine problems. It was a fun car.

 

Like blowing head gaskets though. Other wise, they have a lot of aftermarket support lately. Lots of little mods that can increase reliabilty by leaps and bounds. They still can't hold a candle next to the Beretta GTZ though. I had one of those, and man it WAS fast.......130 in 4th, still had 5th to go, and able to take shifting at 7000 rpm (200 shy of the red line). Smokin fast cars.

 

I have wanted to buy one but no $$ and not much luck finding one in my neck of the woods. The cars are just like any others Chrysler built in the 80's a modified K-car chassis. here is a good site for Mopar info:
www.allpar.com