The First Front Wheel Drive Silver Bullet (before the omni)
13.3 at 108 mph/street tires(DOT) 3100 lbs
306 hp at 6000 RPM.

           Where do I start? The Silver Bullet was purchased from Mike Johnson in the winter of 1992.  The price was right ($250) and quite frankly I didn't know what I was going to do with it but I have grown used to listening to that little voice inside my head that from time to time speaks up and says-get it!
 
    So now I was the owner of a battered 86 TurboZ; it had a water leak (it smelled real bad), the motor had a rod knock like the crack'o doom, and it needed fenders and a drivers door.
 
Little did I know what I was getting myself into.
 
 

    Well I dropped a used motor into it and sealed up the water leaks, the heater core was plugged and there were other problems that needed my attention but they could wait. The first week on the road the turbo died. sigh. Installed another turbo and away to the track we go!
 
    Guess  what?  It broke.  The night before the transmission output shaft bearing started growling, still it wasn't bad and made plans to go racing anyways (the little voice was shouting but I wasn't listening).  Two runs up at Epping Dragway in New Hampshire the motor started knocking!  sigh.  Limp home.


 
     At this point of the program a break was called for; the car was taken off the road, the motor was made all better, the transmission was replaced, as was the heater core and the battered fenders and door.  The interior was upgraded with Mark Cross leather seats and door panels from a 85 Laser XT and electric windows were also added. And for a little extra fun, the boost was turned up to 12 psi, the exhaust was made more "free flowing" and a 50hp nitrous kit was installed!
 

 
 
 
Looking much better now- check out that new door!
9/25/93
Well off to the race's we go; Cecil County Dragway for a Shelby Dodge meet with Cliff Sebring and the boys where the newly repaired and upgraded Daytona is now running 15.5's at 93 mph on 205/60R15's. Not bad- with a little juice action the heavyweight, traction limited G body rockets to a 14.14 at 103mph!
Hehehehe only one person at the track figured out the Z had juice. Man it was the funniest thing you ever saw, this big ol non-intercooled Daytona Turbo Z putting the hurtin' on all those intercooled cars.
 
 
 
Well it broke a piston from running boost past the 15psi mark. Plans where made and an intercooler/radiator was obtained, the car was rewired for GLHS electronics and other bits and pieces where collected to finish the package, including a 1mm oversize valve mopar performance cylinder head. As you can see in this photo the intercooler upper hose is visible as well as the airbox on the cowl, the wiring was done at this point and yes that's a 52mm caravan throttle body on the intake manifold.
 
 
 
Well back on the road again and off to the races!  With 2000 miles on the new motor the Daytona now runs 14.3 at 100mph! Not bad with no NOS. If I try running Nitrous at this point it just spins the tires well into 3rd gear and doesn't ET any better- mph does pick up though. At this point the NOS system is removed from the car till better traction can be obtained.
 
 
 Mopars at Englishtown 6/5/94
 That's my buddy Steve Adley in the right lane!
 
 
 
 
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