This is my 87 Shelby CSX, car number 161 of 750 produced, purchased by me in July of 2004.
While the car looks presentable in the photo above it is a restoration project. The car came from central Illinois but was sold in Shelby, Ohio originally. It is a solid car considering it's been in rust belt states all it's life, the only rust in on the passenger floorboard, and that is minimal. The body has it's share of scratches and dings with a large dent in the passenger front fender. The original paint is in good condition for a car of this age, there is clearcoat peel on the roof, rear spoiler and grill, but nowhere else. The car sat in a garage for a while and got some overspray on the finish so a few hours with a buffer will be needed to clean the paint up again. The windshield is cracked and will need replacement. The wheels have some clearcoat peel but no curb rash. The tires are mismatched and worn but hold air for now.
Mechanically the car is sound, the engine recently received a new cylinder head with backcut valves and a multi-angle valve job. A new turbocharger was installed with a super 60 compressor wheel driven by a clipped stock turbine through a lightened shaft. A 2.5" downpipe was installed to aid in the expelling of spent exhaust. The radiator has been re-cored with more fins per inch to improve it's cooling ability. After these repairs were made the previous owner, who had never driven the car prior, found that it had a knock around 2500 rpm. With a baby on the way his budget couldn't afford lower end work on the engine and the car was placed for sale. I drove 200 miles to look at the car and found it even better condition than it was described.
The interior is in good condition but suffers from issues common with many 87 CSX's. The fabric on both front seats is torn, the knobs have fallen off the window cranks, and the headliner has become discolored. There are a few cracks on some of the interior trim pieces, but the key parts are in good condition. The CSX features a unique Shelby Signature steering wheel with a CS logo horn button, both the wheel and the horn button are in good shape. The numbered plaque, sill plates, and the Shelby tag on the passenger side of the dash are all present and in good shape as well.
Overall I think this car is a great candidate for a restoration, the flaws that it has are all repairable within a moderate investment. Only 95k miles are on the odometer so much of the car is still original. With a few other projects ahead of this one I don't see the car being completed anytime soon, but as time passes I will gather the neccesary parts to complete it. Once I've got the correct parts and money together the car will be brought back to new again. In the mean time it will enjoy indoor storage alongside a few of it's colleagues, GLHS #107, and CSX-T# 529, all in the wings waiting for their chance to be driven again.
