{"id":32340,"date":"2019-12-28T08:31:36","date_gmt":"2019-12-28T13:31:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dodgegarage.com\/news-api\/?p=32340"},"modified":"2024-03-25T11:23:50","modified_gmt":"2024-03-25T15:23:50","slug":"shelby-survivor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/showcase\/2019\/12\/shelby-survivor.html","title":{"rendered":"Shelby Survivor"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What makes up a high-performance car?\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This has been a common debate for\ndecades with many enthusiasts voicing different opinions. While the common\nthought among many gearheads in the U.S. is for any automobile to have this\nlabel, it needs to have a V8 and be on RWD platform. And while the acceptable\nrange for muscle cars seems to be from 1962 to 1971 for the Mopar faithful, we\nshould probably take a closer look and start to be more inclusive of other\nDodge nameplates that were not born with a 440 Six Pack or 426 HEMI V8 engine\nthat sent all its power downstream to a Dana 60 rear axle. Let\u2019s be real, the\nmuscle car hobby is getting old and everything has its place and needs our respect.\nI can still remember the cries of heresy from the Mopar camp when the four-door\nCharger was introduced in late 2005. Never mind it was RWD and available with a\nslew of HEMI engines that today produce over 700 horsepower and can cover the\nquarter-mile in the ten-seconds while stock. I had many arguments with car\nfriends over this (due to their pushback on the four-door layout) but held my\nground. The current LX\/LC\/LD platform is more than deserving of the Charger\nnameplate. These folks seem to forget the Charger badge was also stuck on a FWD\nfour-cylinder vehicle back in the era of stone-washed jeans, high-top tennis\nshoes, and hair bands. Ah the 1980s\u2026.they now say mullets are back in style for\nhigh-school kids these days. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Old<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It was during the 1980s that Dodge became the sole performance brand for Chrysler as Plymouth was getting ready to set sail on its final voyage into the sunset that would happen two decades later. The relationship with then Chrysler boss Lee Iacocca and Carroll Shelby was reignited and create a line of ultra-high performance vehicles based off the Charger, Daytona, Omni, Shadow, and even the Dakota. One nameplate that Shelby also applied his magic was the 1987 Lancer ES. While the other vehicles that received Shelby\u2019s mojo were more in-tune with on-track or street hijinks, the Shelby Lancer was born and aimed directly at the luxury performance market, specifically the BMW 535i. The Shelby recipe was the same, offer better performance at a much lower cost. The formula for the Shelby Lancer began with a 175 horsepower, intercooled Turbo II 2.2-liter four-cylinder engine mated to a A520 Five-Speed Manual Transmission (or optional three-speed automatic). Even as a FWD layout, the Shelby Lancer could handle with the best European sedans due in part to the standard 205\/60VR 15 Goodyear Gatorback tires, Monroe Formula GP struts, and massive sway bars. The Shelby Lancer also used four-wheel disc brakes which was a \u201cnew thing\u201d among domestic sedans in the 1980s.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Interior<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The 1987 Shelby Lancer also offered\nsome \u201cfirsts\u201d like a factory CD player on an American car. The interior was a\nblend of high end materials (for the time) and racing themed components like a Shelby\nbranded four-spoke leather wrapped steering wheel and numbered dash plaque. Despite\noffering great performance and features for the price, the 1987 Shelby Lancer\nwas not a sales hit like its smaller, more nimble cousins such as the Omni and\nCharger GLHS models. Around 800 Shelby Lancers were made for 1987 with 400\nfive-speed manual transmission and 400 three-speed automatics sold to dealers.\nMany of these were driven hard daily and eventually rusted out. Remember, these\nShelby Lancers are now over 30 years-old and were never considered a\ncollector\u2019s item. You rarely see them at cruise nights or car shows. You\u2019re\nmore likely to spot a 1970 426 HEMI Challenger R\/T, 1969 440 Six Pack Super\nBee, 1967 Plymouth 440 GTX , or other vintage muscle than a 1987 Shelby Lancer.\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Shelby<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

So, imagine my surprise when I was at the Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals (MCACN)<\/a> last month and found this survivor 1987 Shelby Lancer in pristine condition. It\u2019s never been restored or even modified and its original owners, Bill and Vicki Schimeneck from Allentown, Pennsylvania have taken great care of this fantastic example of Dodge\u2019s premier performance sedan from the 1980s. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Man<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI bought the car brand new from\nRothrock Dodge who was an authorized Shelby dealer in April of 1987. We brought\nit home and have since drove the Shelby Lancer very sparingly,\u201d said Bill. \u201cWe\ndo use the car for touring and attend events such as the Northeast HEMI Owners\nAssociation and Chryslers at Carlisle. It\u2019s a great road car and compliments\nthe other Mopars I own such as my 1989 Shelby Dakota, 2009 Challenger R\/T with\nthe Classic Package, and a 1970 Plymouth Road Runner.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Bill and Vicki ended up\npurchasing the Shelby Lancer is quite interesting. He was a young engineer in\nthe 1980s and wanted a fun and affordable new car that would be at home\nhandling the twisting Pennsylvanian back roads. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI needed to replace my 1965 four-door\nDodge Dart which was my daily driver in the 1980s. So I started looking around\nand went to the Dodge dealer. I looked at the Shelby Chargers but they were a\nlittle too bare bones for what I wanted. The salesman then said, \u2018What about a\nLancer?\u2019 So I test drove it and thought \u2018Yeah this works.\u2019 The Shelby Lancer\nhad been in the back of the dealership and wasn\u2019t even prepped yet when I drove\nit,\u201d reflected Bill. \u201cIt was a fun car to drive, sort of like a Go-Cart. The\ndealer had received a total of five Shelby Lancers but when we got there, he\nhad three left. The car I ended up getting was number 232, still a low production\nnumber but it was untouched and I had a chance to look it over closely before\nthe dealer prepped it. Now, my Shelby Lancer only has 68,000 miles and it\u2019s all\noriginal except for spark plugs, filters, and other maintenance items.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Man<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI liked it right away and I never\ntell him (Bill) not to buy a car because I\u2019m into the cars too,\u201d smiled Vicki.\n\u201cHe picked the best one off the lot, so he thought. There were a few Shelby\nLancers there and he (Bill) had to have one with a stick shift.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Man<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Dodge FWD performance cars from\nthe 1980s never got the respect from the Mopar community back then and even\ntoday to some degree. They\u2019re still shunned by gear heads who have a mentality\nthat you must have a big V8 to power the rear wheels for acceptance. It\u2019s a\nshame really, I owned a 1986 Shelby GLHS Omni back then and it would destroy\nmany unsuspecting IROC Camaros, 5.0L Fox-Bodied Mustangs, and even the\noccasional Buick Grand National. My GLHS did not survive too well but luckily,\nBill and Vicki Schimeneck have kept their Shelby Lancer in pristine condition.\nIt\u2019s a great example of the second time two industry titans came together and\ncreated a line of performance vehicles that a brand desperately needed for the\ntimes it was living in. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Engine<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s your thoughts on Dodge\u2019s\nShelby FWD performance cars of the 1980s and early 1990s? Do you consider them\nan important part of Dodge\u2019s performance heritage? While you ponder that,\nhere\u2019s more pics of Bill and Vicki Schimeneck\u2019s awesome Shelby Lancer survivor\nthrough the decades. <\/p>\n\n\n\n