Shelby Charger featured in Shelby Times #4 found in weeds

[Rick]

Today I closed the deal on a 1984 Shelby Charger that had been mentioned in Shelby Times #4 in 1986. On page 35 there was an article and two photos of the car once owned by Bill McPeak of Central Florida.

I had discovered the car 6 years ago at a buy here-cry here lot in Apopka but at the time the car had a price tag of $6k. With 2 car payments already under my belt I didn't have the available funds to pull off buying the car.

Back then I had made contact with Dave at Positive Impressions who quickly narrowed down the previous owner of the car based on the unique license plate attached to the front which read Shelby Dodge Club, Jacksonville.

Dave pointed me towards Mr McPeak who had confirmed it was indeed his old car which he purchased new for his wife back in 84 and also made mention that the car now had a 2.5 and a 1800 stall converter for a little extra kick.

When I looked at the car 6 years ago it was looking at a time capusle. At the time it had just over 40k garage kept miles and it sported a Direct Connection valve cover, louvers and a odd accessory Mopar radio. The grey interior was spotless and the paint was near showroom perfect.

Well a few years went by and in my travels around Orlando I stumbled on the car once again.....at another buy here-cry here lot. This time the car was looking a little sad, the paint was failing and from the road the body had a couple noticable dings. I called the lot the following Monday morning and was told the car had a sticker of $2500 cash. A couple days went by and a 16v car came up for sale and I directed my interests towards it.

While surfing the net for another VW project I decided to do a quick search of Shelby Dodges just to see what came up......there it was, Mr McPeaks car, now looking like total ass with weeds growing around it and a smoked automatic.

I quiclky called on the ad and spoke with the seller. Not 100% sure that it was Bills old car I asked a coule key questions about the car. When I asked about the front license plate the guy on the other end said yup its still on it. COOL!

I just went today and looked at the car in person. Although the paint is weathered the interior is still an easy 9 out of 10 and the oddball radio and Direct Connection valve cover are still present...the louvers were ditched sometime back :( the odometer now reads just over 55k.

So, long story short.....the car is finally back in the hands of a FWD Mopar guy!

[ShelbyMopar89]

Nice, I love stories with happy endings!

[1991SpiritES]

OMG i can't believe that was Bill McPeak's car!!! I'm sure glad you got a hold of it to save it. I wonder if Bill McPeak is still around.

[Rick]

I'm suprised the tag is still on the front of the car after all those years and obvioulsy a few owners. I always wanted to go snag it of fthe car when it was in Apopka.....now I have it as well as the car its attached to.

Maybe we can get them reproduced?????? I'll have more pics tomorrow after I get the car home.

[itsbudda]

I am happy to hear that the car isn't too bad. Any pics of the interior and engine bay?

[Rick]

The pics I have are from the ad. I'll have more up tomorrow when it gets home.

[Clayton-MFS]

I want to see this plate lol

[Turbo-Baron]

Very cool buy!

[Reaper1]

I actually HAVE a Shelby Dodge Automobile Club Jacksonville, Fl plate in my posession!! It resides in my living room above the door that goes to the bedroom hallway. It is very good condition. I got it off Dave YEARS ago!

[Rick]

pics taken today. See accessory Mopar radio, GLHS Speedo Overlay, Direct Connection valve cover, full size spare tire and exhaust header!!! You know this car was once owned by a serious Shelby Dodge Fan!!!

Just above the "Dodge" nameplate you can still read where the Gainesville Dodge decal was once applied.

[1983Rampage]

Have those seats been used? those are gorgeous and kinda interesting at how the AC compressor is mounted. Nice find though. What is the plan for it?

[Rick]

I just noticed it has a MP Performance computer in it, P4349299

[Rick]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1983Rampage Have those seats been used? those are gorgeous and kinda interesting at how the AC compressor is mounted. Nice find though. What is the plan for it?

They have been sat in. ;) Thankfully the last couple owners never trashed the inside of the car. :) It is without a doubt the nicest SC interior I have ever seen.

The guy I bought it from told me he had several callers all offering less than half his asking price w/o ever looking at the car. He told me he was just about ready to scrap it as he needed the $$ and his dad wanted his storage yard cleaned up.

I contacted the original owner this past week and told him I found the car and I was going to buy it. He emailed me back saying he thinks he has a complete stripe kit for the car......I'll be calling him this week!!!

What are my plans? Well, with 8 cars and 3 of them being 16v R/T's I have no idea. I had no plans on ever buying another L body but this car is special. First order of business is a transmission then a tune up. The car moves under its own power but the combo of the stall converter and the slip-o-matic it has a struggle moving. Tires will also be replaced as well as whatever is causing the brake pedal to go to the floor....

[turbokid]

Can you say CLEAN!!!
That interior is purely amazing!
And the outside really doesn't look half bad.
Were there automatics in the shelby chargers???

[Rick]

From www.DempseyBowling.com :

For '84, there were a few notable changes. For starters, a new exterior color scheme was added to the lineup: Garnet red with silver stripe/trim. When Garnet was chosen as the exterior color, the interior was now grey (see below); blue and silver cars still featured a blue interior. All 1984 Chargers (and Turismos, etc) received restyled taillamps. Another change was a slight increase in horsepower to 110. I have found some suggestion that this was due to a revised camshaft. The third and most significant change was the availability of an automatic transmission; this was the only year it was offered. When the automatic was chosen then the high-output engine was not available; the standard 94 hp 2.2 was substituted for these cars. Production total was 7,552: 1,254 Garnet cars, 2,776 blue cars, and 3,522 silver cars. 1,955 of the above total production featured the automatic transmission; I do not have information on breakdown by color, however.