The crappy years? There were some cool Mopar cars from 1975-1991 (pre-viper), so list 'em!

[Northcoast300h]

Yeah, those Cordoba's were everywhere. Luxury with a low price. Too bad GM. Ford and Mopar bought cheap japanese steel in the late 70's thru the 1980's. Most rotted.

 

[Northcoast300h]

Anyone notice the original "crossover" vehicles are all gone. 2 door cars that were a mix of family car, muscle car and luxury car (and tricked everyone believing you were still single)

Today, its all 4 doors or specialized muscle cars today. (Sorry but whenever I see a new Dodge charger or high horsepower SUV, I think "family car" and nothing else.

 

[DeltaV]

Somebody said Dodge Charger?

 

[Northcoast300h]

1991 Chrysler 300M - Do they still crush prototypes?

 

[SwissABC]

I don't know why the 1978 Magnum GT didn't become a collectors item (last B body). Only year for 400 cubic inch. Only 190hp but 305 torque. Looks like a really fun car. Anyone remember Car Crafts Magnum published in 1979?

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Hello from Switzerland, I have a 72 Monaco, also B-Bodies with 383 and 440, but love and just restored last 1.75years this 78 Magnum XE with T-Top and all Options, only 318 what is absolut ok. This Magnums are really special and I think they will be collector cars in future.
I have also this Car Crafts Magazine.

 

[Northcoast300h]

SwissABC - Give it back to the USA. You swiss guys already have the best mountains in the world, you're going to take the best cars too? Hee, Hee!

 

[Northcoast300h]

1974-1979 Dodge M880 thru M893. These were US Army hand me downs to the National Guard thru the mid 1990's. The Guard was phasing them out and replacing them with hand me down Chevy Blazers when I served. I remember although old and beat up, they would start pretty much everytime and not as bumpy as the Chevys. Only problem was they didn't like the crappy military gas, so we would fill up at normal gas stations sometimes.

 

[Gelgoog13]

My 82 Imp. Had her 25 yrs. She's waiting in line for her hemi swap

My brother's 79 Roadrunner, just about to make her autocross debut.

 

[My65cuda]

You might laugh, but we use these for runners all the time. The plymouth champ is the latest addition with its dual stick shifter. I have 5k into both cars.

 

[Jakter]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I had two K-car wagons that were fantastic cars.
Ran across them within weeks of each other for so cheap and in incredible shape there was no way I could pass them up.

Kept them for a few months then decided having 8 old cars plated, insured and ready to drive at anytime was getting to be a bit much so I sold the two K-car wagons as they were the newest both year and acquired.

Tough choice as they were great running and driving cars.

 

[Rustyrodknocker]

The Laser was the Chrysler version of the Daytona and was upscale as to be expected.
Of course when I look at the plastic inside this car I cant imagine what the down market interior was like.

The guy I purchased it from told me about kits that were sold to allow you to turn the 2.2 North and South with a transmission and go rear wheel drive. Apparently for a specific race series.

I would like to see one.

As a kid I wrongly associated these cars including Omni with FWD imports and really hated them. I did not know until last year that the 2.2 was a domestic product through and through. A friend would occasionally smoke me in my 73 road runner. Hated that little car but it was wicked.

 

[patrick66]

The Laser was the Chrysler version of the Daytona and was upscale as to be expected.
Of course when I look at the plastic inside this car I cant imagine what the down market interior was like.

The guy I purchased it from told me about kits that were sold to allow you to turn the 2.2 North and South with a transmission and go rear wheel drive. Apparently for a specific race series.

I would like to see one.

As a kid I wrongly associated these cars including Omni with FWD imports and really hated them. I did not know until last year that the 2.2 was a domestic product through and through. A friend would occasionally smoke me in my 73 road runner. Hated that little car but it was wicked.

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The kit you speak of was a Direct Connection kit that allowed a 318/340/360 to be installed. A buddy built one in Oklahoma back in 1988, and it was a screamer! He had blown up the original 2.5L one Friday evening, and he ordered the kit that following Monday. It took two weeks to arrive. He spent maybe two weeks doing the conversion. As a street car, it was downright scary! In the quarter, it was actually quite a good car for that purpose.

 

[Snotty]

As a kid I wrongly associated these cars including Omni with FWD imports and really hated them. I did not know until last year that the 2.2 was a domestic product through and through. A friend would occasionally smoke me in my 73 road runner. Hated that little car but it was wicked.

You weren't totally wrong. The original engine in the Omnirizons was a 1.7 liter VW. Once they built the 2.2, and later 2.5, they dropped that VW motor. Both of those Chrysler engines were excellent.

 

[patrick66]

And that VW 1.7L was only in the OmniHorizon for the 1978 and 1979 model years. There was a Peugeot 1.7 also in that period. None ever made it to K-cars or any other K-derivative, nor the remainder of the P-car line (O/H).

ALL 2.2L and 2.5L Four engines were Chrysler-designed and built 100%.

 

[Mid70's Chrysler Fanatic]

<snip>… As a kid I wrongly associated these cars including Omni with FWD imports and really hated them. I did not know until last year that the 2.2 was a domestic product through and through. A friend would occasionally smoke me in my 73 road runner. Hated that little car but it was wicked.

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I had a 1984 Dodge Aries station wagon with the 2.2 mated to a five-speed. I encountered auto mechanics who insisted that the engine was made by VW. If he didn’t even know who made it, he wasn’t knowledgeable enough to work on it!

 

[patrick66]

He was obviously blind to the Pentastar cast onto the front of the head!

 

[70bigblockdodge]

I love the unmodified originals. 1981-1983 Imperial is one of my favorite designs but with an aweful history. First computer fuel injection on a production vehicle, which got a bad rap. Most people didn't know it was a closed system meaning car would run bad or not even start if air filter cover was not screwed on properly. A $5 air filter gasket usually dried up and leaked air into system, so they ended up replacing the whole fuel injection system with a carburetor. First digital dash in production vehicle but it was faulty too.

Actually 1958 Chrysler and DeSoto "electrojection" was first electronic fuel injection production cars. Also plagued with problems and ultimately recalled and replaced with dual 4bbls much like the 81-83 Imps.
The 1.7 VW engine made it till 1982 at least, I had a '82 024, and a '81 TC3 both with 1.7 VW engine.
I would like to get a 81-83 Imperial. I would like to tweak one to shoot for really high highway mpg. A compression bump with a later 80s roller cam engine with swirl/fast burn heads, or a magnum. With a cleaned up exhaust system. Combined with slick shape, easy low 20s mpg.

 

[Northcoast300h]

Actually 1958 Chrysler and DeSoto "electrojection" was first electronic fuel injection production cars. Also plagued with problems and ultimately recalled and replaced with dual 4bbls much like the 81-83 Imps.
The 1.7 VW engine made it till 1982 at least, I had a '82 024, and a '81 TC3 both with 1.7 VW engine.
I would like to get a 81-83 Imperial. I would like to tweak one to shoot for really high highway mpg. A compression bump with a later 80s roller cam engine with swirl/fast burn heads, or a magnum. With a cleaned up exhaust system. Combined with slick shape, easy low 20s mpg.

Thanks for the correction. After some research, I found the 1957 Rambler "Electrojector" was the first electronic fuel injection production car....but I think all of them were soon recalled and replaced with carbs. Then there was the electronic fuel injection on the 1957 Corvette, but that was mostly mechanical fuel injection. I think the 1982 Imp had the "first throttle body EFI". Before that, they were different types of external manifold injection but I could be wrong. Fuel injection dates back to 1872, so many weird things could have happened since then.

 

[Justin Plant]

Cadillac had electronic fuel injection on the 500 in 75 or 6. Didn't do a thing for mileage but drivability was improved.

 

[patrick66]

You might laugh, but we use these for runners all the time. The plymouth champ is the latest addition with its dual stick shifter. I have 5k into both cars.

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Diggin' the little Champ! These were really superb little machines. They'd get from 40-50 mpg all day long. Of course, the TwinStick 4+2 manual trans made for fun driving. Dad owned two of these. One in the early '80s and the other in the early '90s, both were towed behind the motorhomes he had owned then as tag cars. Everything is pretty accessable...except the starter, which requires removal of the intake and exhaust manifolds. It sits tucked underneath both.

The later Imperial's weaknesses are the air ride rear suspension and the automatic transmission. Parts are made of unobtanium for both these days. My neighbor scrapped his '91 when the rear suspension collapsed, and no one would work on it. I've heard installing air shocks is the solution, but I've never owned this particular model to know for certain. But, boy, these are beautiful turnpike cruisers!

Is the Imperial in the back a '65 ragtop???