lear4406

Actually there is a 440 Dodge Stealth that was for sale a few years back. They had a video of the car at a dragstrip and it did one heck of a burnout. I thought about buying it, but decided against it. Too many car projects as it is. See ya'll, Randy.

1 Bad Mirada

that car is called the VR440..i took some pictures of it at the mopar nationals this year...its a pretty sweet car.

Mopar_Nut

I love the Dodge Stealth. I had a 91 R/T, non-turbo and an auto. It wasn't very fast, but would whoop on a V6 Camaro or Mustang. And would hang with the auto V8 mustangs. I really enjoyed the car, but it did have its share of problems:

Had to get a bent control arm replaced: $600
Had to get new HP tires for it: $600
Motherboard computer fried: $1200
New transmission: $3200

I always took it to A MITSUBISHI dealership, as I thought maybe they "knew" the car better than the folks at the Dodge dealer

When I traded it for my Ram, all brake rotors were under spec, and the front brakes would wear dramatically uneven on one side, axle was popping due to a torn CV boot, engine was using and burning oil, even when using 20W-50 (Stealth, 3K gt owners- read your owner's manual, the manufacturer recommends 20W-50!) and it was well overdue for the timimg belt to be replaced.

Now these problems, for the most part could have been fixed, but I was tired of dumping money into the car. I had this car when I was in college, so money was tight.

I love these cars, but they are expensive to own and maintain. And I'm guessing the guy who has 240000 miles on his will have something to say, so I will say just wait, nothing lasts forever. I would like to hear the repair history on that car. Did you buy it new? If not, then I can assure you it is not the original trans in that car. There is no way that those Getrag trannies could get 240000 miles on it and never have to be rebuilt or replaced. Scratch that, just replaced, because the manufacturer of those Getrags never put out any replacement parts for their transmissions, so they always had to be replaced with a new one. There was a lawsuit against that company that made those transmissions. I learned that when I was a member of 3si.org years ago.

kelly

That sucks about the Stealth replacement part prices! Lame!
Talking about 440 powered cars, when I was looking for a 440 engine on Ebay for the my Coronet, there was a 2000 or so mundane looking Town and Country minivan. Looked completely stock, except for the rear wheel driven 440/727. The coolest picture was of it lighting up the rear tires...It was so freakin' cool! I wish I saved the pics of that thing, it was awesome!

1 Bad Mirada

go figure..i have pictures of it.



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lear4406

O.K. heres the skinny on my 240000 mile Dodge Stealth. The engine was rebuilt at 132000 miles by the original owner. I replaced the engine with a J-spec motor at 235000 miles because of a bad wrist pin. The transmission was the original and it pushed the bearing into the case at 238000 miles. And was replaced by a used trans from E-bay for $400. I also put a 6 puch speck 3 clutch with a fidanza fly wheel. I have never had an electrical problem with this car. It has the original computer in it. I have replaced the wheels and tires with Cobra R replica 18 x9s. I did all the wrench work myself so I did'nt have to pay for the labor. The car is extremly reliable and is a daily driver. My sons car with 230000 miles has only had the Trans replaced along with the clutch. Samething broke on his as mine. The trans seem to break through the casing at about 220000 to 230000 miles. The heads were rebuilt and a new timing belt installed. It still has the same short block that came with it new. I feel these cars are really great cars but routine maintenance is a must. I run this car hard sometimes but mostly it is driven at speed limits. This car is my daily driver and I put over 200 miles a week on her. But I can only attest to what I have expirenced. I'm sure others have had some that were not as good. But if I get the same reliability from the 2008 Challenger as I have from this car I will be happy. Ya'll have a nice day and take it easy. Randy.

Mopar_Nut

Randy- Thats pretty impressive mileage for the tranny. Maybe (probably) the manuals last longer than the autos? Either way, the transmissions in those cars is definitely their achilles heel. I too am a big believer in maintenance. Give me any piece of crap and I can make it run forever. I heard once that 90% of vehicles on the road do not get the proper maintenance. I have had no probs with my Ram cause I am very good at keeping it maintained (I work in a shop). I failed to mention that my Stealth was a salvage vehicle and that could very well be why it was such a money pit. Supposedly, it was stolen in 1991, stripped, and then rebuilt over 3 years by a mechanic (some panels had red paint under the blue paint) and then sold to the guy I bought it from. I bought it with just over 24,000 miles (but who knows if it was the original engine or even if the odometer was correct) and got rid of it when it was in the mid 90,000 range.

I would definitey get another one, preferably a low mileage TT that has been sitting in some rich guy's garage for the past decade and a half! But now that this new Challenger is coming out............................[sm=yeahsmile.gif]

lear4406

Yeah I hear you. I can't wait until I can go down to the dealer and just look at the new Challengers. I can't remember when the last time I went to the dealer to see their new lineup. I think it was 1986 when the Conquest Widebody hit the show room floor. My son did take me to look at 350Zs. But he decided on a Dodge Charger Daytona R/T, gomango. I ride in this car and I really like the performance and sound of the hemi V-8. These Challengers are going to ROCK. Well I hope you have a nice day and take care, Randy.

RLSH700

That looks cool with a 440 engine. lear4406, am I understanding you correctly or are you saying the engine has been rebuilt twice first time because it needed it, the second time to modify it? Is that with a TT or NA?

lear4406

The original engine was built one time at 132000 miles. I then drove it until a wrist pin went bad at 230000 miles. They rebuilt the engine and used the same rods and pistons the first time. This engine now sits on an engine stand waiting to be gone through. I put a J-spec motor from Japan into the Stealth. It was out of a Galant. The engine is NA. But my son does own a 92 R/T TT. It has 89000 miles on it. This car runs real well with the mods I have done to it. The fastest I have ever been in my Stealth is 145 MPH. It runs real strong for 3.0 NA twin cam. I've turned high 14s in 1/4 mile. The car looks almost new a testament to the fine paint jobs that were put on these awsome automobiles. But the paint on my 70 GTX has held up well too, Plymouth really put good quality into that car. But it is due for a complete restoration. Right now I have been putting my money on the 71 Challenger. I want to be driving it on the streets by spring. If you have to drive alot you should really enjoy the trip, so I have always drove cars that I can have fun in. I hope you guys enjoy your rides also, because life is just too short to not let each moment go by without living it to the fullest. Even if your just going to the store. I have a lot of cool conversations with people just driving from point A to point B. You guys have a nice evening and take life easy. Randy.