Toma's 1986 GLH Turbo Omni, and other Turbo Dodge "Junk"

I have wanted one of these cars since I was 18 years old. I'll tell you the "story"... I was cruising down Macleod Trail in Calgary in my brand new 1988 5.0 LX Mustang, when what do you think pulls up beside me? Yep, a GLH-T. I laughed at the guy, but we had a little "go" just for laughs. Guess what? That Omni was on my fender almost the whole way! Very cool!

Last year, the opportunity came up to buy a "basket" case. Someone had done a full T2 swap into the car, but had various issues and problems, and gave up. The car was sold to another guy, who did not have the time or patience to sort through the electrical problems the car had. Then I got it, and had it running within a week.

It has a T2 motor and intercooler from a Daytona, with the 555 standard transmission. In stock form with just 3" exhaust and a conical filter, it kicked out 165 wheel hp at 11 psi. With a zener diode, 16 psi boost, and a custom calibrated module that I did myself, she pounded out 216 whp!

On the street or the track, the car is a riot. It weighs roughly 2330 pounds, and with me driving, it is closer to 2600. At the track here in Calgary, it easily beats stock Mustangs, Camaro's, WS6's, and I even beat a '03 Viper. The Viper was more due to a nervous newbie driver, but it was still fun (see thevideos section for the video). The GLH runs 13.8's and 13.9's on street tires, at about 103.5 mph.

It did not take long to blow the stock head gasket, so while the head was off, I had Rick port it a little, and it did not pick up ANY peak power, lost a little peak torque, but it did flatten the power band. Instead of peaking at 4800 rpm as stock, and then falling off, it peaks at 4800, but the power stays up and flat right to 5800 rpm.

Here is the dyno graphs I can show you. FORGET the power numbers. Owning your own dyno makes you careless with your own dyno sheets ;~). These shots are here for shape only. Just look at the shape. See how on the one on the left peaks at 4800 rpm and falls off hard? Well after the head work, it still peaks there, but stays within 10 hp of the peak right to 5800 rpm. Sorry about the graphs.... I will be more careful from now on ;)
Over the winter, I am planning a 2.5 motor, more head work, Ford Thunderbird injectors, and a T3 turbo from the Tbird as well. It is a little bigger, and is a cheap way to pick up some power. I will also have 2 Ford probe intercoolers welded together to take the place of the factory Dodge one..... I'll post pics later....

I think the 2000 Neon rims were actually made for the Omni. I LOVE them. Got them at a wrecking yard, and just love the look. They are 15x6, and weigh 16 pounds each compared to the factory pizza's that were 20.5 pounds each. Not a huge weight savings, but every little bit helps, and they look awesome.

Now, don't everybody go and do this.... it was my idea ;~)
Also, we just picked up a '89 Turbo Caravan! I love this thing. It is ultra clean in and out, needs a head gasket, but I can't wait to intercool it, ad boost, and a good exhaust system. Hoping for mid to high 15's.... just enough to surprise some Mustang owners ;~)

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