When I first shot this 1978 Cordoba in 2010, it was in excellent condition. It had been the then-owner’s mother’s car, an anniversary present from her husband. The daughter kept it garaged, but drove it daily to her job, which is where I found it parked. I went inside to ask permission as it was on private property, and she told me its touching story.
I ran into it again the other day in a parking lot, and was dismayed to see how it had aged. It is now her son’s car, and obviously not garaged anymore. The body is still fairly solid, but the vinyl roof has taken a real beating, including its underlayment and even the steel. It still gets driven regularly.
Kids these days…except he’s probably at least 50. Oh well, nothing lasts forever. And I doubt he has kids. This family heirloom is likely going down with its owner.
I was quite thrilled when I found this Cordoba parked next to an industrial building. I went into the office and found the owner, a woman likely close to retirement. She told me that car’s touching story: it was given to her mother by her dad as a 10th anniversary gift. And on their 25th anniversary, her dad offered to buy her any car of her choice. She turned him down to keep the beloved Cordoba. And the daughter continued to use it as a daily driver, but obviously it was well cared for, even if it did sit outside while she was at work.
I found it here in a store parking lot next to a park with a disc golf course. The current owner, the son, was just getting out of it so I was able to ask him about it. He’d taken possession of it not long after I shot it in 2010, and he still drives it whenever his Audi is out of commission, which was currently the case. And I got the impression this was not a rare occurrence.
I should have asked him to pose with the Cordoba. Let’s just say he rather looked a bit like it, having aged more rapidly beyond his likely years and missing quite a few teeth. Very unlike his buttoned up mother. So it goes with families.
In 2010 I was rather surprised to see how solid the vinyl roof was given that it spent some eight hours a day outside. For what it’s worth, some deterioration is noticeable, with the vinyl having lost its color and luster on top, thanks to the sun’s brutal rays.
Now the vinyl is almost all gone. And the damage has gone down two more layers below it.
There’s some kind of underlayer between the vinyl and the steel; I’m not sure what it’s made of. Vinyl roofs are most definitely outside of my experience and knowledge base.
Here’s a closer look. The underlayment is cracking and breaking apart, exposing the steel roof. I thought that might be a seam in the steel, but it’s clearly too jagged for that. Hmm…
Here’s the other blister further back near the rear window. And that seam again. I’m not an automotive oncologist so Stage IV vinyloma is not my expertise. Is there a qualified doctor in the house? But it does not look good.
The vinyl on the C pillar gets less sun, so some of it is still hanging on, barely.
And the other side of the roof isn’t doing much better. A cancerous lesion has formed, and it’s likely to spread soon. At least the opera lamps have been spared.
A few other body parts are missing, but none vital.
The sealed beam headlights have been replaced with these LED light boxes. Calling Doctor Stern!
Actually, only three have been replaced. Gives it that appropriate piratical look.
The rich Corinthian Leather® is looking a bit poorer too. Speaking of, don’t miss Jason Shafer’s superbly researched article on the origins of Corinthian Leather. There was a comment left at CC a little while back (in response to another comment) stating out very sincerely “That leather really did come from the town of Corinth, Italy”. Oh my…I guess classic history and geography are not taught much anymore. If he’d read Jason’s article he’d have known that Corinth is in Mississippi!
Here’s how it looked when his mom was still driving it. Ricardo Montalban would have been happy.
But hey, it still runs! And apparently quite reliably. Good to have a Cordoba in reserve whenever that pesky Audi craps out.
But let’s end this on a high note, with a couple of shots of this fine little Chrysler in its prime. I’m assuming you all know the Cordoba’s story and place in automotive history, if not head down to one of the links below. The very abbreviated story is that in 1975 Chrysler finally got the message that the 1969 Grand Prix and 1970 Monte Carlo sent loud and clear over the bow of the Big Three. And the belated response was not bad, although of course highly derivative. It rather saved the Chrysler brand’s bacon given that its big cars—the only kind they made then—were in the dumpster thanks to the energy crisis and fuselage fatigue.
The proud Cordoba emblem is still on the front of the hood, so let’s not count it out totally yet.
Related CC reading:
Curbside Classic: 1978 Chrysler Cordoba – The Fine Little Chrysler by PN
Automotive History: The Origins of Corinthian Leather by J.Shafer
CC Update: 1977 Chrysler Cordoba – Still Attracting Attention by Eric703 (an update of the Cordoba below that’s been much better cared for)
CC Capsule: 1977 Chrysler Cordoba Sin Cuero Corintio by R. Kim
Curbside Classic: 1978 Chrysler Cordoba – Not a Keeper by GarryM
CC Capsule: 1976 Chrysler Cordoba – The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of by G. Solis
Curbside Classic: 1976 Chrysler Cordoba – Fine Corinthian … by T. Klockau
This had been a terrific looking Cordoba. That said, the last fifteen years has taken its toll upon many of us.
My wife has told me a story about a trip she made as a child with her grandmother and her grandmother’s husband. It was in a white Cordoba of this vintage (I’ve seen the pictures and it was sharp). Somehow they got lost, stopped at a police station for directions, and a helpful cop had them follow him to wherever it was they needed to go. Mrs. Jason said it was quite the trip as it was raining heavily, the cop loved the gas pedal, and the trip involved driving through a grassy median.
Appropriately for their Corinthian leather equipped Cordoba, this all happened in Mississippi.
I should scan pictures of that Cordoba and her grandmother’s other cars. All were white, with the best looking being her ’59 or ’60 Impala.
It never ceases to amaze me how parking in a garage can benefit a car over time. I think that generally this is due to more than the simple act of enclosure; since we’ve all seen pictures of completely destroyed cars that have resided for years, unattended, in parking garages, warehouses, etc. No, garaging I think typically comes with the benefit of having an owner who cares enough (or is in a position to care enough) about the vehicle to take care of it. Keeping a garage space (in a garage that is not otherwise full of non-car) is part of the equation for attentive ownership. This often also comes with habits such as periodic washing, some level of maintenance, keeping the interior free of garbage and other discarded items, etc. It’s a whole package of behaviors, of which keeping the car indoors or covered somehow during bad weather and times when it’s not in use is part.
Those “headlights”…Remind me again, there’s no annual state inspection in Oregon, right?
I agree. It’s a whole set of behaviors that affect a vehicle’s condition, and not just one singular item. Pride of ownership encompasses a lot – whether it’s with one’s home, vehicle, etc.
I sort of understand when a once prized vehicle becomes a daily drover due to one’s finances and things like this happen, but the owner also has an Audi? I get that things may carry baggage with them with regard to their prior owners, but this seems inexcusable. If I had inherited a ’77 Volaré coupe from the most toxic of parents, I wouldn’t have treated it like he treated this Cordoba.
Sad to see it like this .
-Nate
And this is why not to have a vinyl / padded top ! especially if you have no garage & or your car spends to much time all day out in the sun ! Now that rust will let water in the trunk & take out the quarters & trunk floor ! it would be nice to strip the top off fix rust & paint it if the trunk has not suffered yet ? this would keep it going till something major happens Its a shame todays kids are just not car people ! what a shame
I had to stop looking at the pictures. I’ve often worried about the fate of my cars after selling. On two occasions, I reluctantly watched my treasured LAND YACHTS being towed away (sold only in an effort to save them). I find heirlooms are no longer given the R E S P E C T we feel they deserve. I have numerous family heirlooms from four generations with NO interest from younger family members or even a Historical Museum.. YEAH! I’m a Sentimental guy, STILL Rolling down the hill waiting for 🤔? Best Best to all my fellow Barn Finders.👋 And remember, you often don’t realize what you’ve got ùntil it’s gone.
On the other hand, 15 years is a pretty good run, and longer than most of these cars lasted from new.
My VW spends winters indoors and summers in the driveway. I’m still doing sping maintenance on our family’s seven daily drivers, then hopefully have some time for VW