1996 Dodge Omni GLH....S?

[twinch]

So to put it mildly, I REALLY WANT a Dodge OMNI GLH or GLH-S!

My situation is, My wife and I have a very strict budget and I am starting to consider selling my beloved Sentra. The thing is, I really, really want a Dodge Omni GLH or GLHS and would purchase it with some of the money that I would get for the Sentra.

I just wanted to start my search by asking people's opinion on the car especially anyone who has one or has previously had one.

I would not want to spend more than $5000 on the purchase and restore job either and I'm not sure if that would even be feasible. If not, then I'll keep my Sentra.

Thanks for the input everyone

[Pete@Marcor]

I owned a non-Turbo GLH that I used in Solo 2 competition mainly, and some lapping. I had glanced at some enthusiast sites recently as I had a similar idea. They are available in the US for $3-5K for some pretty nice ones.

Probably the most stiffly spring stock car I have ever owned, with the fastest steering of any car I have driven. My car was way down on power, but the turbo car should be able to take care of that, as they had good power stock, with lots of power possible from the aftermarket. I am not sure if I like a turbo car in autocrossing, as I like throttle response, and even OE turbo cars have some level of lag.

Crappy seats, UGLY steering wheel that had a huge dish and was plastic. Brakes were somewhat small (10" or so), so if you are going to do some serious track stuff, that might be something to upgrade, especially with power upgrades. Not the most intelligent engine oiling system, and make SURE you don't let the engine oil level run low.

Other than that, if you can deal with a Domestic car designed in the '70s (or actually copied from a VW Rabbit), then you should be good to go.

[racerguy19]

I had an '86 GLH Turbo back in '90 - '91, it was very quick and surprised a lot of people with v8's when you were watching them disappear in your rear view mirror. If memory serves.....I think they had about 150hp, and the car was light which helped it's take-offs.

I enjoyed the car a lot, the only down fall I found was the front C/V joints and wheel bearings, they worn out fast because of the power going to them.

I sold it because I got a company car at the time.

Hope this helps!

Steve
racerguy19

ps. Pete, you are right about the crappy steering wheel!!

[SmokeScreen]

Dodge Omni, wow that takes me back! I used to work on those and K cars all the time but I have not seen many on the road in recent years. The GLH was made from 84 to 86 with a GLHS for 86 & 87. The regular Omni/Horizon made from 78 to 90 with the first few years using using a VW engine bumped up to 1.7. These VW engines use a Chrysler made intake and exhaust manifolds, carbs, brackets ect.
Head gaskets were very common problem on both the NA and turbo 2.2. as well as main and rod bearing problems. The later 2.5 engines which were not used in the Omni but came in a turbo version as well were more reliable and had a but more power and would drop in place of a 2.2. The Dodge Daytona used the 2.5 turbo as an option.
Here is a link that has some good info http://www.allpar.com/omni/omni.html

[glh]

WOW take me back I have GLHS #315 sitting in my garage
about 5 or 6 years ago I was the guy running around with the blue GLH I had a blast with that car
to make a long storie short I rolled in at mosport rear brake failure
would i sell my GLHS yes only because i send way too much money on my SRT4
the modern GLH

in 1986 Shelby took 500 and converted them to glhs spec there were the 4 dor model
and in 1987 he did 1000 based on the 2 door model

[glh]

what a fun car to drive

[elementZ]

see if you can fund a rust-free example from the states.

[twinch]

Thanks for the input everyone. I'm still debating this because I really love my Sentra and the only reason to get rid of her is because of the cost savings, which I am still not sure is worth it. How I wish I was my age now in 1986, I would have bought one of these as soon as they came out.

[Pete@Marcor]

Thanks for the input everyone. I'm still debating this because I really love my Sentra and the only reason to get rid of her is because of the cost savings, which I am still not sure is worth it. How I wish I was my age now in 1986, I would have bought one of these as soon as they came out.

Interested in a Charger Turbo? I have toyed with the idea, too:

Charger in Alberta (http://www.autotrader.ca/result/detailinfo.aspx?ID=3105368)

[twinch]

That could be fun.