Around this time of year, conversations rarely fail to include a mournful comment about how quickly the summer is flying by, but there’s still a solid two or three months of convertible season left in the northern tier of the United States, so maybe it’s time to pull the nose up and buy a convertible. How about a K-Car? This 43,900-mile 1985 Chrysler LeBaron is up for auction on Hagerty Marketplace in Seneca Falls, New York (a beautiful little town, by the way), and there is no reserve, so it might go down as one of the deals of the summer.
In terms of convertibles, the LeBaron wasn’t a bad buy in 1986, its $11,889 base price being $2,429 more expensive than the LeBaron Two-Door. The optional 146-horsepower 2.2-liter engine, however, cost an extra $634, but it was certainly a good choice over the standard 99-horsepower 2.2 or the optional 101-horsepower Mitsubishi 2.6. (It also had a great-looking cam cover.) The three-speed “TorqueFlite” transmission was standard in the LeBaron with all engines, and it was the only available transaxle in 1985. No manuals for the posh Chrysler.
This LeBaron has only been owned by the seller for a year, but the car has had some recent maintenance, including removing the cylinder head to replace a head gasket. That sounds bad, but it apparently was only seeping on the outside with no evidence of being “blown,” and the cylinder head was checked for warpage and cleaned while it was off.
The interior looks original (where would you find reproduction parts for a K-Car anyway?), and it has quite a bevy of options, including power windows and a power driver seat. The white vinyl upholstery (standard on convertibles) complements the White Crystal Coat paint, but it wouldn’t be good for backyard mechanics such as myself who tend to track grease wherever they go.
I’ve never owned a 1980s Chrysler, but I feel a vague nostalgia for the days when I annoyed salesmen at the Chrysler dealership when I look at the radio and the climate controls; they could only be from the 1980s. The buttons are clearly marked and easy to understand, but the air-conditioning system no longer works (an almost universal comment in the world of budget collector car shopping). Also, the “speakers crackle intermittently,” so it may be hard to enjoy your cassette copy of Cake’s “Short Skirt/Long Jacket.”
The only other major flaw the owner points out is the convertible top. It’s white, so the past forty years have stained it, and it also has a tear or two. The plus side? It has a glass rear window. Anyone notice the “Rusty Jones” sticker on the quarter window?
We can assume by Rusty’s presence that the car was undercoated when new, but the Hagerty ad says that the car had Rustoleum undercoating applied recently. This video seems to show no serious corrosion anywhere, so I’m not sure why someone would do that. Regardless, the front brakes and axles have apparently been replaced.
Something I just noticed for the first time: The crease at the beltline of the door simply ends at the quarter panel on these LeBaron Convertibles. Oh well, back in the mid-1980s, people were happy to have convertibles available at all, and if the selling price of this one ends up within a few thousand of where it now sits ($2,300 as of Wednesday, July 22nd), it might be the bargain of the summer.
Related Reading
Dealerships With Dad: The 1985 Chrysler LeBaron GTS (by me)
Cohort Pic(k) Of The Day: 1986 Chrysler LeBaron Convertible – No Planes, No Trains, Just Automobile (by Rich Baron)
1982 Chrysler LeBaron Convertible – How The Convertible Came Back (And Why It Never Really Went Away) (by Aaron Severson)
Looks like a good pick for the price. From a quick search online replacement tops are not that expensive, and as a second/third/fourth car to use only when the weather is good, the lack of A/C is not a big issue.
I can see why the crease stops at the door: it would make for a very busy look with the silver trim and the top when folded. What I had never noticed is that the windows controls are in line, rather the coupled abreast. Not the most intuitive design
The Turbo 2.2s were nice engines…..lots of torque and they were dependable if taken care of.
These are actually nice little cars, reliable, low co$t to own and operate, the battery cable ends show some cheapo ill advised “maintenance” but overall depending on price tis may be the deal of the year .
Expect to need to throw another $2,000 at it at the very least, cheaping out on a rag top means $eriou$ repair$ ahead for someone , even if it’s a garage queen .
My ex psycho-B girlfriend bought one of these and ran it into the ground deliberately, it took a serious beating under her yet never burned oil or failed to start .
I’d replace the radiator and hoses right off the bat, do a serious flushing of the cooling system to as idle time (low mileage) is really hard on it .
The AC is likely an easy fix *if* you can find a competent and _honest_ HVAC Mechanic (I’m retired), usually a leak is easy to detect then you flush the entire system as the original oils don’t age well nor mix with the newer better oils, replace the receiver – dryer, add the correct amount of oil and then charge it *very* slowly until the dash vets reach 45 ~ 50 degrees and you’re all set .
It takes less R134a to do the same job as the original R12 , this is why so many think older AC systems don’t / can’t work well .
-Nate
Seneca Falls is indeed pretty, it’s allegedly the prototype town Bedford Falls for “It’s A Wonderful Life” as Capra had friends or family there. Every year they have a IAWL celebration and as of recently the only surviving cast member, Karloyn Grimeswho played the baby Zuzu Bailey, still attended every year.
As for the “LeBaron” (a pretender to the throne, I had a ’69 LeBaron Imperial), an excellent example but so many other converts hold far more appeal for me, a converted K car is hardly a paragon of the breed.
We just saw a similar car but with the wood paneling. Kind of like George Costanza’s car on Seinfeld (John Voigt’s car.) It was parked outside Erewhon on Beverly Drive in Beverly Hills. It was getting a lot of attention.
As a Ford and Fiat fan at the time I sort of despised these things, and all K car variants. But now – this is a really nice car. I would daily drive it happily.
Preemptive CC effect? Look at what I parked my Cougar next to at a car show last Saturday!
Oops pic must have been too big
I wanted to get the “Dodge, 400”. ((cousin, car)). They quit making them by the late “80’s”.
As the former owner of a 1982 Dodge 400 Konvertible, I would drive this blast from the past. Yes, there is some chassis flex to these cars, but that sort of gives is some character. They are enjoyable to cruise in and I think the 2.2L Turbo would be a much better choice than the 2.6L Mitsubishi engine I had in mine. If a 1984 – 86 Dodge 600ES Konvertible wandered my way, I would definitely give it a thought.
Two things that would be unheard of today:
1) Only cold air with recirculated air
2) No heat/defrost “mix” setting