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This is a sweet-running, built-up turbo Mopar now headed for its new home in the American Southeast. 1992 Dodge Spirit ES, originally equipped with 3.0 V6. Bought in North Carolina with 58k original miles, drove it across to California and put it into drydock and built up with mechanical specs of a Mexican Chrysler Spirit R/T Federal Police car. The conversion work was done by skilled, experienced, knowledgeable Chrysler-trained technicians, with careful attention to detail—correct factory wiring configuration, correct turbo heat shields added, etc—so that future service work can easily be done according to factory procedures without needing to know a bunch of special nonstandard knowledge. I drove the car from Sacramento to Seattle and it put a smile on my face the whole way, especially through the twisties on Highways 101 and 199! Runs strong and sweet, drives (steers, stops, etc.) better than new. The car is in Seattle, has a clear title in my name, and is ready and reliable for the buyer to hop in, drive any distance, and register anywhere in the US. It is also fully compliant with all applicable Canadian safety standards for easy import and registration in any province.

Engine:
2.5 Turbo II intercooled, built by Hemi Andersen with top-grade, name-brand components and the correct 2.5T2 pieces and parts—intake manifold with air charge temp sensor, correct intercooler, matching Mexican 2.5 Turbo II SBEC, new correct Valeo all-metal HD 2-row radiator, etc. New (not rebuilt!) TE04H turbocharger is utterly silent. High-flow TC-Maserati airbox with big blowoff valve. All new vacuum harness made with silicone hoses and new vacuum ejectors and orifices. New, Mexican Chrysler Phantom R/T dual-pipe muffler (with real dual pipes, not the fake US "looks like two pipes but one of them is a dummy" item) sounds serious but not obnoxious. HD alternator and starter custom built to spec by Wes Grueninger at AutoLab. Flex-fuel (big and corrosionproof) injectors, pressure regulator, and fuel rail (stainless rail & regulator, braided stainless flex hoses, nickelplate high-flow injectors). The car has the correct USA 1992 2.5 Turbo underhood emission decal, and it blew super-clean numbers when I put it through a California emission test. Evans waterless coolant (this stuff is amazing not only as engine coolant but as knock/ping suppressant. Try to make this engine ping, it just flat won't).

Transmission:
Torqueflite 31TH with all the updates and beef-ups and a nice shift kit, with lockup torque converter (works). Also built by Hemi Andersen. Crisp, quick shifts. Correct Mexican Federal Police BIG transmission fluid cooler.

Undercar:
Spirit R/T rear axle assembly with fully-welded solid sway bar. Eibach progressive springs. Koni adjustable shocks and struts. Big 4-wheel disc brakes. '93 IROC R/T "Ninja" 16" directional wheels in perfect condition with BFGoodrich Traction T/A P205/55HR16 tires. Quick ratio/firm-feel power steering rack and pinion assembly.

Rest of car:
Power locks, windows and mirrors, cold R134a air conditioning (all work), R/T trunklid spoiler, factory European export (Chrysler Saratoga) exterior lighting system, fat headlamp wires and relays, side repeaters, quad wide-angle/long-distance brake lights, twin red rear fog lamps, wide-angle turn signals. Integral daytime running lights. Factory European export seat belts (height-adjustable in front). Mexican instrument cluster (dash wiring also installed for optional digital dash cluster).

Stereo
Clarion NZ501 stereo/DVD/MP3/Satellite stereo head unit with dynamic satellite navigation system (no subscription required), BlueTooth, motorized flip-up touch screen, and line-in port (iPhone etc.), Clarion SRQ1331R 3-way speakers all around, Clarion THD400 HD Radio tuner sounds terrific.

While the car has approximately 62,000 original miles, everything—engine, transmission,alternator, starter, cooling system, brakes, etc—is either brand new or brand newly rebuilt, all with 1350 miles' usage, except the P/S pump and A/C compressor were re-used without rebuild. P/S pump is a little noisy at idle when cold but works fine. The stereo/navigation setup is brand new, too, as is the windshield.

Grey (oops, "Light Quartz" says Chrysler) interior is good except dashboard top has cracks. New headliner, no sag or droop. The car has never been smoked in.

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Negatives:

  • Original white paint's peeling. But there's no rust and the primer underneath is in terrific, sturdy, intact shape. The full correct set of Mexican body decals ("Chrysler" "Spirit R/T" "Intercooled Turbo", etc.) can be bought as new reproduction items. Or leave it as is and make it even more of a sleeper; as Neal Gladstone sang, "the cops don't bug me 'cause they think I'm old…" (then I suddenly disappear...)

  • Some loose connections at the instrument cluster: oil pressure gauge always reads low (actual pressure measured with calibrated mechanical gauge shows very healthy oil pressure, see proof in movie below). Fuel gauge flickers in response to car movement (easy fix: swap anti-slosh circuit board on back of instrument cluster). Speedometer reads 16% fast (wants 21-tooth speedo pinion, has 18-tooth).

  • Cruise control doesn't work (it's either the switch or a wire connection upstream of the SBEC—all the components test good).

  • Left and right front power window motors don't work. I removed the interior door trim panels (they're in the trunk) to diagnose why the windows weren't working, found the motors faulty, and with my work schedule I have not gotten around to picking up replacement motors.

  • Windshield wiper motor works fine on all speeds (intermittent mode works, too) but it is noisy.

  • Front sway bar bushings make slight noise when very cold


Spare parts:
  • Digital instrument cluster assembly (all gauges work, but only speedo lights up brightly—circuit board needs repair)

  • Custom-built equal-length halfshaft setup for RH side with hefty machined-aluminum bracket and BIG bearing

  • US 1992 2.5 Turbo/automatic SBEC (ECM)—needs repair

  • Another flex-fuel stainless fuel rail and pressure regulator

  • Mexican 1993 Spirit R/T chrome grille, new in box (aftermarket repair part), never used on USA cars

  • Spirit R/T deadpedal

  • Other stuff I don't remember at the moment

    Front






    Rear





    Paint





    Interior











    A/C blows ~43°F at engine idle on a hot day:

    Engine







    Labels & Placards





    Movies!

    Mechanical and equipment tour of the car followed by drive-around:



    Direct-reading gauge shows a nice, healthy, well-regulated 60 pounds of oil pressure:


    Cold start (before muffler installed; hence boomy exhaust note):


    Scan tool hooked up: all engine operating parameters are normal (before muffler installed):



    Sold!


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