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 1991
Dodge Stealth
On June 20, 2004 my dreams came true. Since my dad
first bought his 1991 Dodge Stealth, I was envious. It was the
car I wanted. Truth is, my senior year of college, I bought my
first new car. I settled for something economical... which
given my career choice of radio was probably smart at the time.
Still, at that time (1988), my car of choice (if you asked me) was a
Chrysler Conquest TSI. What cha gonna do. Then at
the end of 1990, the Stealth comes along. My dad and I are
talking about it and how cool it looks and I am pushing him to get
one. He does.
Fast forward to this year. Mom and Dad are in
the market to buy 2 new cars. My dad, after 13 years of taking
care of his "baby" - the stealth - is ready to part way and buy a
Mercedes Convertible and a Chrysler Pacifica.
Parts for the Stealth were becoming harder to
findand a number of items are in a state of disrepair. The
body kit that was installed on the car when it was new had been thru
hell. The front trim had been repaired many times, but the
last time was the final blow. The fiberglass was severed in
two and beyond repair. The folks my father used long ago gave
up trying to find replacement kits that looked like the original,
convinced they weren't out there. The rear fender of the body
kit had been removed years ago when a deer literally ran into the
rear of the car. The fog lights were damaged and had been
removed. Paint blemishes and body dings were prevalent, though
the original paint was still in very good shape, as was the body of
the car as a whole.
As soon as I got wind of my dads rumblings about
buying a new car, I asked, "so, what are you going to do with the
stealth. If you get rid of it, I'll be really mad". I
went on to tell him I would buy it off him. A while passed and
my dad finally called and asked if I was serious about wanting the
Stealth. I told him I indeed was and was prepared for the
bargaining to begin. Well, dear old dad, with a smile in his
voice said, "if you want it, it's yours".
So, my dad gifted the car to me. On top of
that, he put 4 new tires on it only months before, had work done on
the engine and had a number of small issues addressed. In
other words, despite it's problems, he wanted to make sure the car
was in driving shape for me.
What follows is a photo library of what's been done
since I got the the car. Pictures can be enlarged by clicking
on them. Items are not necessarily in order...
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First order of
business, was my search to find a replacement body kit
online. I was convinced that the folks my dad dealt
with just didn't want to bother trying to find something.
Well, I was right. There are probably 10-15 body kits
(or more) out there for the Stealth. To be honest
though, I only found one place on the internet that had the
kit to match the original. So I bought the
S-Stealth kit from Wicked Bodies for $600 plus shipping. |
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Next, it was a trip
to
Xtreme
Tinting in Hagerstown, Maryland. When I bought my
2002 Eclipse a few years ago used (less than 3000 miles on
it), the first owner had used them. I liked the job
they did, so I thought, why not go to the same place.
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So, did I mention
that I had the body kit put on, all the scratches and dings
fixed and the appropriate pieces repainted? I also
picked up some new fog lights. Still looking for a way
to recess them a little more (they stick out too much) but
still look sharp. I have only one picture of the car
before... should have took more. Will post that pic
here soon. |
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I found myself
searching the net for Stealth Parts and sites. I found
a ton of things out there and realized, there was quite a
love of Stealth's & 3000GT's. I wasn't alone in my
obsession. |
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Close up of the
Stealth logo. |
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The steering wheel in
the car was pretty well worn. So, I tried one of the
cheapo covers you find in auto parts stores. It
actually didn't look bad but, it didn't feel great and the
fit was lousy. Then a user on the
3si.org forums
suggested something called
WheelSkins.
This cover is actually stitched on with a huge needle.
It took an hour to put on but let me tell you, the results
were fantastic. |
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WheelSkins are a
perfect fit as they make a custom size for most any car.
They feel great and look like they could be original
equipment. Here you see the EuroTone 2 Color I went
with to compliment the color of the car. The picture
here is over exposed but you get the idea. |
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This photo shows 2
changes. First, the box below the radio was formerly a
stock cassette player that was disconnected years ago.
I ordered the storage shelf to sit in it's place. Just
recently, I bought a new
CDA-9820XM Alpine head unit off of EBay to replace an
old Kenwood. The cool thing here is that the radio has
XM Satellite Radio and
the tuner is built in to the radio. No external tuner
required anymore! |
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Got a set of JBL
GTO-220 midrange / tweeter combination's brand new from a
member of 3si and they now fill spots that previously had a
plug in them. The car had the stock radio in it which
included 4 speakers. The upgraded radio had 6.
THis was a stroke of good luck. These speakers were
discontinued and are near impossible to find, but are a
perfect fit for the Stealth's unique size mounting hole. |
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Another picture of
the GTO-220's. In this picture taken from the outside
of the car thru the front window, you can see a broken air
vent as well. I have found this is a common problem
where the plastic piece over years of sun exposure weakens
and snaps. Both vents on the driver and passenger side
are broken. I have new
brushed aluminum vents waiting to go in, but that
requires the dash be removed... |
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The original antenna
on the car was ugly as all get out. This one is better
and blends in with the car but I'm still not totally
satisfied. I'm going to keep looking... |
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Still on tap:
- Fix interior on drivers side window ledge. Small vinyl
cracks which need repairing.
- Custom Floor Mats with Stealth logo.
Accomplished.
- Install Aluminum replacement air vents on drivers and passenger
side.
- Hook up GTO-220 speakers.
- Clean or replace interior roof fabric.
- Add Manual Sunroof.
- Replace front door and rear speakers.
Stealth Lamp Replacement Guide
High & low beam headlamp
H4666
H4666ST Silverstar High Performance Lighting: The Whiter and
Brighter Halogen
H4666XV XtraVision Halogen Upgrade: 3x brighter; 2x the life
H4666CB Cool Blue Halogen Upgrade: White Hot; Super Cool; 100%
Street Legal
Parking light
2057
2057LL Long Life Upgrade: Up to twice the life of the standard lamp
Front turn signal
2057
2057LL Long Life Upgrade: Up to twice the life of the standard lamp
Rear turn signal
2057
2057LL Long Life Upgrade: Up to twice the life of the standard lamp
Tail light
2057
2057LL Long Life Upgrade: Up to twice the life of the standard lamp
Stop light
2057
2057LL Long Life Upgrade: Up to twice the life of the standard lamp
High mount stop light
922
License plate
168
Back up light
1156
1156LL Long Life Upgrade: Up to twice the life of the standard lamp
Front sidemarker
168
Ash tray
161
Glove box
1891
Map light
168
Dome light
211-2
Step/Courtesy light
74
Trunk/Cargo area
912
Under hood light
105
Instrument-general
158
161
194
194LL Long Life Upgrade: Up to twice the life of the standard lamp
Hi-beam indicator
194
194LL Long Life Upgrade: Up to twice the life of the standard lamp
Seat belt indicator
194
194LL Long Life Upgrade: Up to twice the life of the standard lamp
Brake warning
194
194LL Long Life Upgrade: Up to twice the life of the standard lamp
Automatic transmission indicator
161
Directional signal indicator
194
194LL Long Life Upgrade: Up to twice the life of the standard lamp
Radio dial
74
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