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The Only Shelby Lancer On StanceWorks.

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  • The Only Shelby Lancer On StanceWorks.

    I'm pretty confident with that statement, mostly because I'm likely the only one crazy/stupid enough to waste my time on a K-based car.

    That being said, here's my Shelby. It's number 707 of 800, and even being one of the later numbers it was one of the first built. Its' a light-gray Recaro cloth interior/5-speed car - Only 395 Lancers were so equipped, with 400 being dark gray leather Recaro/auto-trans cars. The remaining 5 were press cars that were leather/5-speed cars. To the best of my knowledge there were no cloth/auto cars built. All Lancers from Shelby were Graphic Red, although Chrysler offered the Dodge Lancer Shelby in Frost White during 1989 as the only other option. Lancers are the last car I believe to be built in the Whittier, California plant before Carroll moved his operation to Las Vegas.

    This is also one of the 60 or so Lancers that Thrifty Rent-A-Car purchased in an agreement with Shelby and Chrysler back in the '80s, and was delivered June 6th 1987 to Thrifty Rent-A-Car in Hollywood, California. It was stolen from the Thrifty lot in 1990 and had the stereo and number plaque stolen [these are one of the first American cars to feature a factory-installed CD player, a Pioneer DEX-77 with 10 speakers, a 12-channel equalizer and separate amplifiers for each channel]. It was then sold to someone in Arizona with about 30k on the clock, then in 1991 the old guy I bought it from picked it up with 48k on it. He drove it off-and-on as the family road-trip car until September 2007 when his son drove it to work and popped the head gasket. Then it sat in the back of the garage until July '11 when I bought it. Mileage at that time was 88,034mi.

    Also of interest to note - Since the original signed number plaque was stolen, the previous owner contacted Shelby directly in 1991 and ordered a replacement plaque ... as far as I have found in addition to what others in the Turbo Mopar and Shelby scenes have been able to find, Number 707 is the last replacement plaque to be made, and was shipped on October 16, 1991. Enclosed with the plaque was a final invoice, the Shelby Supplemental Service Manual, and a note from Jan, Carroll's secretary, on company letterhead, to the previous owner. Everything is still in original packaging, and my anal ass will probably leave it there, haha.

    This car still has the signed Shelby steering wheel built by Personal, and currently has a Chrysler-Infinity premium audio tape deck with auxiliary input to replace the original Pioneer unit. Only the original Pioneer door and rear deck speakers remain, the dash tweeters are missing for some reason. The wheels are 15x6.5" +35 Shelby One-Piece cast mesh, in 5x100 PCD. A set of these in worse condition, without the center caps [I have all 4 btw] or tires sold for over $1200 a few months ago on eBay. These came with an intercooled turbo 2.2 Chrysler Common-Block counter-flow SOHC inline-four, making 175hp @ 12psi, and features a Shelby-only "scramble boost" function that allows boost to spike to 15psi for up to 15 seconds - conveniently enough, the same amount of time it took these cars to run the 1/4 mile at sea level.











    Between one of my commutes between Salt Lake City, Utah and Albuquerque, New Mexico, a motor mount broke causing the engine to rotate forward and destroy the passenger-side axle. Said broken mount also punched the oil pan and unseated the cork [wtf Chrysler] gasket. I limped it back to Albuquerque, where a dying oil pump and leaking pan were the original engines' demise. Thankfully the original liquid-cooled Garrett T3 was salvageable, sadly nothing else is [including the head I put almost $1k into 3,000 miles prior].

    This poor bastard has been sitting behind my boss' motorcycle shop which I'm currently staying at since the middle of November. Since my daily-driver Chrysler Conquest is giving me fits and is soon requiring service, I've decided to start tinkering with the Shelby to get it ready for ultra-low DD status.
    - Bagged '98 Chevy S10 - Stock '88 Volvo 240DL - Broken '87 Mitsubishi Starion ESi-R - Also Broken '87 Shelby Lancer #707/800 -

  • #2
    Phase One: "How Low Will It Go?"

    This is on the factory untrimmed bumpstops, with no springs up front. Still has the original Monroe Formula GP struts up front. Rear is stock.







    This was done as a preliminary step to see what I needed to change initially to start going low. The verdict thus far: I need shorter Neon/SRT4 struts up front, if not SRT4 coilovers. I'm going to snag a Neon strut next time I'm at the junkyard and start mocking things up. Ideally I'd like to go with a Koni offering for the SRT4, but I'll go with adjustable Tokicos or Bilstiens if they're competitive in price.
    - Bagged '98 Chevy S10 - Stock '88 Volvo 240DL - Broken '87 Mitsubishi Starion ESi-R - Also Broken '87 Shelby Lancer #707/800 -

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    • #3
      Very interesting project, can't wait to see where this goes.
      The hillbilly equivalent of a nasa substation worker.
      Originally posted by Dubway5887
      I felt bad for that dude. Of all places for a sink to be at a car show... Maybe sink holes like car shows like tornado's like trailer parks?

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      • #4
        You're unique.

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        • #5
          This could be a very cool and unique build, if you do it right.

          Lets see it.

          -Aron
          "Living life a quarter turn at a time"


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          • #6
            pretty amped to see where this will go

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            • #7
              I'm in love and I don't know why.
              Volvo Build Thread
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              Tumblrrrr

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              • #8
                This should haz 4G63 heart transplan no ?

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                • #9
                  Thanks for the kind words fellas. I honestly was worried how it would be received by the S/W community. The wheel fitment and choices are a bit limited, but having 5x100 may be a blessing in disguise, as there are a lot of European mesh options I may be able to get my hands on. Just got to keep a few clams in the bank to get some proper rolling stock.

                  Also, before anyone asks, no it is not staying solely on bumpstops up front, haha. That's a little too ghetto even for myself. New updates will happen shortly!

                  -edit- Haha, a 4G63 would be pretty ridiculous in this car to be honest. Though it is interesting to note, that aside from one bolt hole not lining up, any of Chrysler's DOHC 2.4s (including the SRT4 block) bolt up to the existing transmission. I can even use an SRT4 clutch package with the 2.2. Yay for USDM Legos!
                  Last edited by Daviticus; 04-28-2012, 01:00 PM.
                  - Bagged '98 Chevy S10 - Stock '88 Volvo 240DL - Broken '87 Mitsubishi Starion ESi-R - Also Broken '87 Shelby Lancer #707/800 -

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by Daviticus View Post
                    Yay for USDM Legos!
                    I saw that and thought of my old dsm, lol. If you have the same motor mount design as a 420a neon you could bolt in an EVO 8/9 4g63 and use a fwd 3g eclipse trans.
                    The hillbilly equivalent of a nasa substation worker.
                    Originally posted by Dubway5887
                    I felt bad for that dude. Of all places for a sink to be at a car show... Maybe sink holes like car shows like tornado's like trailer parks?

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Where do you get your parts from? I have a 87 GLHS
                      This is STANCEWORKS!

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                      • #12
                        I like this alot.
                        1981 300TD 4 speed
                        2000 BMW M5

                        Mike Finnelly
                        , on Flickr
                        IG @michaelfinnelly

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                        • #13
                          What the hell is this thing?!?!

                          Get some wide wheels, should set it off.
                          -Instagram@jdjurhuus
                          Stretchsaurus and Pokemon.

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                          • #14
                            Originally posted by Daviticus View Post
                            -edit- Haha, a 4G63 would be pretty ridiculous in this car to be honest. Though it is interesting to note, that aside from one bolt hole not lining up, any of Chrysler's DOHC 2.4s (including the SRT4 block) bolt up to the existing transmission. I can even use an SRT4 clutch package with the 2.2. Yay for USDM Legos!
                            Yes! That's what I was hoping to hear.

                            I remember there was a guy back home that had one just sitting in a barn he never drove. It's great to see one of them returned to their former glory.

                            Subbed to see where this goes.
                            I Have No Idea What I'm Doing

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Originally posted by projecthoarder View Post
                              I saw that and thought of my old dsm, lol. If you have the same motor mount design as a 420a neon you could bolt in an EVO 8/9 4g63 and use a fwd 3g eclipse trans.
                              I'm about 99% sure the mounts are different. This really is just a glorified Chrysler K-car, although the 420A [both the 2.0 and the 2.4] bolts to the trans. A couple people have done it in Daytonas and whatnot, but the mount situation was a bit haggard at best. I had also considered sourcing a factory 16v turbo Lotus head off the T-III VNT Shelby cars and building a 2.5 bottom-end, but for nostalgia-sake I think I'm leaving the 2.2 SOHC in it. Though the option is definitely there to go SRT4 power should I choose to do so.

                              Originally posted by Da_Ollies View Post
                              Where do you get your parts from? I have a 87 GLHS
                              Luckily for me so far, nothing Shelby-specific has needed replacement, and everything else is basic Chrysler K-car stuff. Apparently the axles are identical side-to-side, and are $39 each at Autozone, haha. The then-new Shelby rear disc setup is actually used by Chrysler starting in '89 on the LeBaron GTCs. The larger sway bars are also found on the GTC. As far as the front brakes go, they are standard Lancer/Laser/LeBaron/Sundance/Acclaim bits. I may make the move to larger Caravan front rotors and toss on some Wilwood Superlight 4-pot calipers in the near future, mostly because I don't like Chrysler's bulky caliper mount design. Then again, only having to spend $56 for two rotors, a set of pads, and a caliper rebuild kit at CarQuest is pretty enticing to keep the stock stuff, haha.

                              Originally posted by Zic View Post
                              What the hell is this thing?!?!

                              Get some wide wheels, should set it off.
                              I got that every time I drove the car. Usually when I tell people its' a Shelby, they assume its' a 4-door, 4-eyed Fox body Mustang. Even better is when they see the giant LANCER decal on the side and wonder why Mitsubishi didn't build it. [For the record, Dodge had the Lancer moniker in the '60s, a few years before Mitsu]

                              Wide wheels are in the works - I think for initial fitment I'll go cheap and get some XXR 521s in 16x8" +20 flavor, with 205/40HR16 Dunlops or something. I do intend to canyon-carve and track this car occasionally, so I'd like to stick with a moderate stretch like a 205 will give me on an 8". Eventually the budget will come for rebarrelled BBS, or some Rotiforms, though I am considering a re-drilled BMW Style-5 setup and pulled fenders.

                              Originally posted by wickedsnake00 View Post
                              Yes! That's what I was hoping to hear.

                              I remember there was a guy back home that had one just sitting in a barn he never drove. It's great to see one of them returned to their former glory.

                              Subbed to see where this goes.
                              Thanks man. The more I dig into the history of the Shelby-Chrysler pairing back in the day, the more I'm inclined to keep this car true to its' roots of going after the Euro cars [Shelby's initial target with the Lancer was the 5-series and the Benz 190E, oddly enough]. Sadly most of the Shelby Dodges were treated as throw-away cars [including the Shelby Dakotas!], and are ridiculously difficult to find in any worthwhile shape. I was extremely lucky to have found a SoCal/Utah garage-kept car, even if it started life as a rental.
                              Last edited by Daviticus; 04-29-2012, 07:10 PM.
                              - Bagged '98 Chevy S10 - Stock '88 Volvo 240DL - Broken '87 Mitsubishi Starion ESi-R - Also Broken '87 Shelby Lancer #707/800 -

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