another thread in here got me thinking about the dodge omni.  is it true that GLH stands for  'goes like hell'  ?  A drunken coke up'ed postal worker (nothing against postal workers) told me this and I didn't really beleive him.  Are they forgotten sleepers or what?  anybody know about them?

Yup, Goes Like Hell on Cheese if you had the funky wheels on it.
The Dodge answer to killing VW Rabbit GTIs, ahh the 80's

Yes it does stand for goes like hell. Carrol Shelby suggested the name when they came to him, and he never thought they would stick with it, but it did stick. They were origionally going to call the car the cyote as they eat rabbits.

check out my web site www.omniglht.com if you want to see what I am doing to mine.

They are definatly forgotten sleepers, as the looks I get when people catch up to me at the next light are about priceless.

can't say I've ever seem one, or payed much attention if I did.  looks like a fun cheap beater/work car.  wonder if I could find one up here for $1000 or less.

Quoted: If I remember right they even had a GLHS(helby) version that had some graphics or different bodywork, I don't remember if it was much different under the hood or in the exhaust though.

The GLHS had an intercooler and a few other improvements. FWIW, a bone stock `86 GLHS will usually beat an `86 Vette in a drag race.  I recently sold my old and dead `86 Shelby Charger, but it was a fast little commuter bomb before I killed it.

FWIW, a bone stock `86 GLHS will usually beat an `86 Vette in a drag race.  Unless I am wrong, '86 vettes were dogs by vette standards.  how about an '86 grand nat vs. a '86 GLHS

Quoted: FWIW, a bone stock `86 GLHS will usually beat an `86 Vette in a drag race.  Unless I am wrong, '86 vettes were dogs by vette standards.  how about an '86 grand nat vs. a '86 GLHS

Whatever. My point was that a $8000 Mopar would chew up a $30000 GM Vette.  You talking bone stock Grand Nat?  It would be close, which still speaks highly of the Shelby (even though it's just a POS Omni).  They typically ran high 13's, but like the GN they responded greatly to a few easy mods.

BTW, in `78, Dodge had another Vette beater, and it was a pickup truck....

Just a little bench racing smack talk.  Not trying to rag on the GM guys too much these days. No telling how much longer they'll even be around.

are these rare cars or what? only a few turbos omnis made I am guessing.  hardly anyone seems to ever speek of them.  you must be a mopar guy, and youre talking about the lil' red express.

They made thousands and thousands of them.  Here's the only pic I have of mine online. This was after I killed it. Also, by "killed" I mean it had a ton of miles on it and one day the brake pedal went to the floor so I parked it and started driving the replacement car. For me, it was strictly a commuter car (I prefer very large V8's).  I sold it last fall, dead, for $1000.

Quoted: If I remember right they even had a GLHS(helby) version that had some graphics or different bodywork, I don't remember if it was much different under the hood or in the exhaust though.

An alternate explanation for GLHS was Goes Like Hell Some(more)

Ok, a little miss information, and qestions flying about, so I will try to clear that up.

The Dodge Omni GLH could be had in a carbed or turbo form in 85' and 86'. THe 84' GLH was just carbed and did not have the ground effects which the later models had. They were a dealer option that became the production pieces the following year.

The Turbo GLHs, which most now refer to as GLHTs were a draw through non-ICed setup. They had 146HP. The 86' GLHS which was based off of the omni was a blow through design that was ICed. They made 500 86' GLHS cars, which are not to be confused with the 87' GLHS chargers of which 1000 were made. The GLHS had 174HP, which was conservative for the motor due to the fact that Shelby limited the boost, as the A525 trans in the car is rather fragile.

I show the 86' GLHS as running between 14.8 and 15.3. I would immagine that the GLHT would run a mid 15 in the quarter. No where near the perfomance of the GN, but bang for the buck is unmatched.

For those looking for one cheap, you had better get on it. Good condition omnis are getting hard to find and the price is really going up on them. A charger would be easier to find, since they made them until 87'. in 86' They only made about 1800 GLHTs.

Quoted: Ok, a little miss information, and qestions flying about, so I will try to clear that up. I show the 86' GLHS as running between 14.8 and 15.3. I would immagine that the GLHT would run a mid 15 in the quarter. No where near the perfomance of the GN, but bang for the buck is unmatched.

You're probably right. My ET numbers were based on watching them run at the drags, meaning those cars were probably already (slightly) modded to be able to run 13's. A good friend of mine made quite a business for himself hopping up FWD Mopars, and eventually producing and selling parts for them. His cars routinely ran in the 11's, in street trim. In fact most times he drove the cars to Cecil County, raced them all night clocking 11 second times, and then drove them home. He did some mods on my Shelby (computer, bigger injectors, etc) when I first got it.  That car could literally burn rubber in second gear from a roll (no revving the engine and dumping the clutch either). The torque steer was almost dangerous. The only problem was it broke parts if you drove it too hard (transmissions, engine mounts, axles, you name it, I broke it). It was great fun as a commuter though, and even got decent fuel economy.

Still, there's no getting around the fact that in the end it's still just a POS Omni.


ETA: killingmachine123 - you might even know my friend - his business was called Forward Motion (now sold to another operator).

Quoted: ETA: killingmachine123 - you might even know my friend - his business was called Forward Motion (now sold to another operator).

One of the key reasons I picked up my omni was that it did have many FM parts on it. I don't know who orrigionally owned the company or when the change took place. Do you know Gary Donovan? I believe he used to run relentless at cecil.

Originally Posted By : Lightning_P38 You guys have me thinking..... There is a guy in one of my classes who has been trying to sell me an 84 charger, I also have acces to not one but three complete 2.2L motors brand new still in thier crates the way they came from the factory (they still have the shipping plugs in the turbos). GLHT cone? I can get the motor or motors for free, and the car in excellent condition for $300. Is there a decent four speed that will bolt up to these things? The car I can get is an auto and that would spoil all the fun. I don't remeber the Shelby Omnis all that well, but I do remember the turbo and Shelby shadows well.

If you have an omni, and a motor, the hardest part would be the wiring. The L-bodys have a 50 pin connector at the fire wall which is different than the other body styles, and yours would be carbed to begin with so that would be no help to you. However if you were to do some scrounging to get a turbo l-body wiring harness, or a harness from another turbo dodge, and modify it to work with the l-body bulk head connector it can be made to work and many have done it.

The other issue would be the suspension and wheels. You would need to get hubs off of a GLH or you could get them off of about any 5 lug chryco fwd car from the erra, but using the latter you would need to run a different strut.

The guys over at www.boostedmopar.com have many different ways of modding the l-body suspensionso checking out that site would be your best bet.

Here are some quick resources for you

www.thedodgegarage.com
www.boostedmopar.com
www.turbo-mopar.com
www.minimopar.net
www.moparchem.com

That should be more than enough reading.

Quoted: Quoted: ETA: killingmachine123 - you might even know my friend - his business was called Forward Motion (now sold to another operator). One of the key reasons I picked up my omni was that it did have many FM parts on it. I don't know who orrigionally owned the company or when the change took place. Do you know Gary Donovan? I believe he used to run relentless at cecil.

The guy I know is Cliff Sebring. He founded FM back in the early `90's and also operated an all Mopar salvage yard. I know him from years of buying muscle car parts out of his yard before the supply dried up and he switched to FWD cars. I believe he's retired now and maybe writing for a few Mopar rags.


ETA: Here's the first thing Google showed on Cliff....

Ok, Clif is most definatly referenced regularly on the turbo dodge boards. I did not realize that he was the founder of FM. Good to know. Like I said, it is a small world.