Marcus86GLHS’s 1986 Shelby GLHS

May 24, 2008: Cruise-In at the Burker King on the Berlin Turpike, Berlin, CT.Five GLH Turbo/GLH-S cars met up, that's a first ever for any cruise-in on "The Pike".-Dave D. and his silver 1985 GLH Turbo -Jonny B. and his blue 1985 GLH Turbo -Kelly G. in 1986 GLHS #210 -Dave L. in 1986 GLHS #127 -Me in 1986 GLHS #126

This pix shows the reproduced paint dabs that were originally applied at the factory to indicate the corresponding colored vacuum elbow that was to be connected at each solenoid. This was done to assist the assembly line worker; remember that all the 1986 Shelby GLHS cars began as regular 1986 Dodge GLH Turbos.

With an MSRP of $11,620 the '86 GLHS is the most expensive Omni ever offered. Only a limited number of carefully selected Dodge dealerships were allowed to receive these cars. The cars didn't sit long on dealer lots in the summer of 1986 (which was when they began to roll off the Shelby assembly line), most accounts show all 500 units sold within weeks of arriving at the dealers, many of the cars were pre-sold to waiting customers.

In January of 2007 I began a total restoration of the car's engine bay, including the replacement and/or restoration of every component under the hood down to the smallest wire, nut, and bolt. Here you see the sheet metal after abrasive blasting to remove all the old grungy rust-proofing goop and old paint. Another view of the sheet metal being prepared for new paint. There's no rust on this car. Individual components received fresh plating, paint, or replacement with NOS factory correct parts. Many items received powder coating to duplicate the correct factory appearance. The original radiator was re-cored to correct factory specs, and an NOS Super 60 Intercooler was bolted on, this intercooler was an upgrade offered through Shelby's catalog or through Mopar Performance (it's no longer available). A fan shroud assembly was restored to correct appearance and added to the radiator/intercooler. The Koni front struts and rear shocks were shipped to Koni Repair Services where each received a total re-build and re-finish to correct 1986 standards. My friend Rick who owns a local paint shop took over once I had the engine bay all stripped. He first applied a coat of sealer/primer, now it's ready for paint. Rick then laid down two coats of acrylic enamel in the correct black paint code for the 1986 Omni GLH, followed by three coats of clear. Dodge never applied clear coat to the engine bay areas of any of their cars in this era, however I decided the car would just look a lot better with a high-gloss finish under the hood. Here is the engine bay after the process was complete.......the car was then delivered back to me for the real fun: Re-assembly! SEE PAGE 15 FOR THE FINISHED ENGINE BAY.

In spring of 2003 my friend Cliff, shown here, completely re-built the A-525 5-speed trany to race-ready specification including stronger/better clutch, pressure plate, moly end plate, A-555 gears, and a Phantom Grip limited slip differential. Cliff is a genius at building fast turbo Dodges. In front of Cliff's garage after new trany installed. Thanks Cliff!

In July of 2005, a custom 3-bar calibration (logic module) from Turbos Unleashed was installed giving car improved management of fuel, spark, and boost, now set to 18 psi. Car dynoed 232 hp, 302 ft-lbs torque to the tires (that's a 15% gain for just one $180 part!). Pictured are my friends James, Jonny and Dave who all helped out. Here I am racing at New England Dragway, Epping, NH, in August of 2005. I beat the Neon SRT4 in the other lane. This ET was topped about 6 weeks later at Lebanon Valley Dragway. On Oct. 1, 2005 when I drove the car to a NEW BEST ET OF 12.923 seconds at 104 MPH.

The interiors on all 1986 GLHS cars were delivered identical in the silver/grey combination seen here. Power steering, power brakes, and air conditioning were installed on all 1986 GLHS cars. All GLHS cars recieved a special steering wheel and a leather-covered Momo shifter knob as part of the package. The floor mats seen here are aftermarket items as the GLHS was delivered without any floor mats.

Every GLHS was modified/race preped by Carroll Shelby's people at his Whittier, CA facility. Each car was given a special number (the Shelby number) identified on a dash plaque. This is #126, of the 500 1986 GLHS cars Shelby made. This car is not "just-some-stickers" car! It's a true American-made tuner car. I like to call the '86 GLHS the "Father of All Tuner Cars". The interior is unrestored, except for the headliner.