Category:Straman conversion

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My Story

I purchased my Straman conversion as a demo with 4K miles on it from Capistrano Dodge in August of 1993. It is actually a 1992 model: a Firestorm Red Stealth R/T TT. It had been sitting on their lot, clearly visible to anyone driving through SJC on I-405, for at least 6 months before I stopped to look at it, so they were ready to make a deal. Plus, I had a rookie salesman who really wanted the sale. Suffice it to say I did not pay $45K for it, which is what they were originally asking.

When I bought my Stealth there was a converted Pearl White Stealth R/T (non-turbo) automatic in their showroom. This may be the car referred to in the previous article.

I met Mr. Straman once at his shop in Costa Mesa about 10 years ago, before he retired. I had him replace the hydraulic pump that operates the top mechanism (located in the trunk next to the spare tire), which was leaking. He is an interesting guy. He told me that he had done about 75 of the Stealth/3K conversions. Of course, he is famous for his Ferrari and other conversions as well. According to Straman, all of his designs were done on paper, without the aid of a computer!

This car is a blast to drive and it still turns heads more than 10 years after the last Stealth came off the assembly line. I will not part with it until the last drop of gasoline has been extracted from the planet!

--StealthRagtop 11:40, 9 February 2007 (EST)

Here's the '91 Stealth R/T referred to above. We believe it is the same one, that was on the showroom floor. It belongs to Dorotea, sister of the notorious 93RTTurbo. As far as we have been able to research, it is the only Stealth conversion with an automatic transmission. A Stealth R/T is rare in an automatic; most are 5 speed manuals. But a Straman conversion with an automatic is almost certainly one of a kind. This car came from Los Angeles, California, and was shipped to Maryland in December, 2006.

Notice the unusual wheels. They appear to be Enkei Mesh wheels, and as another Straman has been seen in Boston, Massachusetts, a green one, with the same wheels, it has been suggested that the wheels were part of a dealer option package. Some were actually sold as "authorized" conversions through a handful of California dealers, and it is possible these wheels were sold on the car off the showroom floor as part of the conversion option.

--93RTTurbo 21:53, 16 May 2007 (MDT)

Dorotea's pristine '91 Straman Stealth R/T at ECG '07 (photo by 93RTTurbo)