::WINNER:: June Car of the Month :: JohnnyTurbo!

**sixsixfour** · 06-12-2012, 09:40 AM

Congratulations to JohnnyTurbo & his
1992 DODGE STEALTH RT
JohnnyTurbo's Garage Link

I have long been an admirer of the 3000GT's and thought that they were one of the coolest looking cars that ran the streets in our area and really wasn't that aware of the Stealth sibling all that much. While I was at the Cleveland Autorama back around 2004, I ran across a few Stealths entered in the car show and was really impressed with the styling and the mods that were done to the cars. This renewed my interest in the 3S platform, but not enough to buy one, the timing wasn't right. Fast forward to November 2007, timing and Karma was right.

While at the Daytona Turkey Run back in Nov. '07, my wife spots a Stealth R/T for sale on a trailer, but I keep on walking because it's an automatic. After getting no responce to a few comments that I made, I realized that my wife was 100 yards away, back looking at the Stealth. Soooo, I walk back to her and she informs me that she is really interested in the car. After a day and a half of haggling with the owner, the car was ours and we headed off to the gulf coast to a relative's house before our trek back to Ohio.

We bought the Stealth with the intention that it would be my wife's summer cruise mobile and do duty in autocrossing since she can't drive my manual trans. I took it for a shakedown autocross and although it needed a set of performance tires, the auto trans in low gear makes for an easy autocross vehicle for her to learn in. I have since taken the car to several autocross events with my VR4 tires on it and what a difference tires make in the handling. (VR4 tires are BFG KDW 265.35.18)

We have received quite a few comments on the Stealth, especially it's clean condition for a 1992 vehicle. With the exception of the one bad spot in the driver's bolster, the interior is really clean and unabused and along with the clean southern body, we decided to keep the car as a survivor and not mod it in any way that will take away from its OEM factory condition. I went through the interior with carpet shampoo and leather cleaner and removed the build up of grime that made everything dull looking. A little bit of detailing spray and the interior looks factory fresh. The only bad element are the dash vents and they are scheduled to be replaced.

It is rare to see these cars that haven't had some of the OEM stuff ripped out and replaced and although it doesn't have a bling factor, fancy paint, high HP engine, it does have an appeal in the fact that it is a rust free, unmodded 100% original 20 year old Stealth R/T. I've only had it out a dozen times in the 4 1/2 years that we've owned because it will not pass emissions. It draws attention when I do take it out, especially from the MOPAR fans. The fact it's a N/A Stealth R/T doesn't take anything away from it to the average person who inquires to what "kind of car is it?" Everyone is amazed as to how clean and rust free the Stealth is (a big deal in a rust belt state like Ohio)and recently drew the attention of 4 used car salesmen when I took my daughter to the Chevy dealer to sign papers on her Cobalt. None of them could remember when the last time was that they saw such a clean Stealth in that condition. No doubt it would kick the '07 Mustang out of the showroom if they had it for sale ;>)