hi all!
just made a purchase of a 91 dodge shadow, convertible, automatic tranny.
it has the 2.5 L4 TBI SOHC 8V engine.

where can i find parts for this car?

what potential does this car have for speed/handling?

what should checks should I do after I just purchased the car to make sure it is ready to run. the car starts and drives great.

i got it for 300 bucks! score!

 

Great buy, only things i can really suggest is possibly oil change, flush fluids and change plugs/wires/cap/rotor, and of course check the air filter. as far as parts go...you cant really get much for a shadow unless you either have someone custom make it or make it youself (body parts that is). Other than body what type of parts exactly are you lookin for?

 

I was thinking more in terms of performance parts for the engine, such as cold air intake, headers, camshaft, flywheel, that sort of thing

 

There are parts out there, but not many for the non-turbo engines. The best performance mod you can make would be to drop a turbo engine into it, especially the 2.2L Turbo II.

 

hmm ok so dropping a turbo engine in would be great. however I have never done that before and neither have any of my friends, so it might be dificult.

is there a bolt on turbo for the 2.5?

also what about the possibility of installing nitrous in this car?

ive heard the cylinder heads have a tendency to crack between the gaskets, any details on this? what can i do to prevent it?

also any links to performance parts dealers for the shadow would be appreciated.

 

To tell you the truth there arent any "performance" parts for the shadow aside from the 2.2 or 2.5 turbo. I havent found any aftermarket headers for a 2.5 unless its the 2.5 Turbo. Nor have I found any Cold air intakes, only thing you can do is re-route the house that comes off the intake so that it gets better (forced) air. As for a "Bolt on" turbo...If Im not mistaken you would need the wiring harness and computer from a turbo car (dont quote me on this) also the fuel managment is a bit different. As for nitrous I truthfully wouldnt know I do belive that Ive seen one or two sites that had shadow's with nitrous (altho I belive they were turbo's too). As 71roadrunner said the best bet is to find a good turbo motor (Ive read that the 2.2 is better than the 2.5). You would have to also get the main wiring harness and computer from the turbo car you got the motor out of. As for the head cracking, Im not sure how to prevent that, Im still learning alot about my shadow while workin on it . Also I have read advancing the timing to I think it was 14 degrees (stock should be 12 degrees) gives it a little more power and fuel econemy.

 

heres one i found

http://www.andysautosport.com/models...&id=Do87Shadow

 

Yup I have stumbled accross that site a few times they dont have a whole lot performance wise, have more visual parts. If you happen to find any sites with aftermarket headers or anything of the intake/exaust sort please let me know .

 

I have never heard of the non-turbo 2.2L or 2.5L engines having issues with their heads cracking. I have not seen any turbo kits for the normally aspirated engines either, the only ones I've seen for the normally aspirated engines are for the 2.0L in the Neons. Adding nitrous to it is simple and the most cost effective way to add horsepower, it also takes very little time to install. If you go this route, I highly recommend that you keep it within the 50-75 horsepower shot range and no more or you will be picking up engine parts from the ground.

Here are a few places with performance parts for your Shadow:
http://www.forwardmotioninc.com
http://www.howellautomotive.com
http://www.fwdperformance.com
http://www.relentlessracing.com

 

in 91, they still had turbo Shadows. Take the engine harness from a 91, get a turbo engine ($400 tops) put it in with a turbo trans ($$ depends) and you'll fly more stock than you ever could with a modded n/a engine.