The fast and the furious on a budget

[lawrence stone]

There is 1980’s something Dodge Omni 5 door for sale at the local garage for $125.

The mechanic says it needs a head gasket. It is an auto with a/c and the body is good and the interior excellent (86k on the clock).

So if I decide to buy it I was going to have to take the head off anyway so I will have it milled .030. Premium fuel is a must. Then add a k&n air filter, hot coil, fuel pump, match port the head to the intake manifold, over gap plugs to .040, and add a NOS kit round out the rest of the engine mods.

I figure w/o NOS it will have about 120 hp (96 hp is stock) and with NOS it should be about 170 in a car that weights 2150 lbs. The most common axle ratio is 2.76 which will not produce great quarter mile times but is a good ratio for running 75 mph on the super slab.

I am going to take a look at it again on Friday and just might buy it on speculation for a spring project.

[thelawnguy]

These are fun cars, and cheap to hop up (2.2L). Go to your local dealer parts dept and pick up a hot (MP) lean burn computer for peanuts, thats all you will need to start out with.

[John DiMartino]

Laryry,you need to drop in a 87-89 Shelby intercooler turbo 2 engine,I had one in a daytona,which is 300 +lbs heavier than the omni,it ran in the 14's bone stock,with a clunky shifting 5 speed.The bottom end on those motors is much stronger than the run of mill 2.2.Fuel cutout is at 6400 RPM.They can easily and reliably put out 250+HP,then add NOS for even more fun.There was a rolled daytona shelby Z,in perfect running condition on the road for 350 asking price,as of last week.

[lawrence stone]

I really can't do another set of wheels for I would have to sell my beloved slant six Lebaron. I took the car on a 400-mile road trip today and that Omni would have rode like a bull on these bumpy interstates.

Plus I think I just might lose my driver license with an intercooler
Omni. The Omni is a full 600 lbs lighter vs. Shelby.

Tell the guy with the Shelby that there is a good body with ac and an auto trans down my way to make a killer car that was never actually manufactured.

It’s quite the novel idea to build a micro box for $1k that is quicker and faster than a new Corvette.