1 Of 7 Convertibles: 1977 Chrysler Cordoba

The Cordoba was Chrysler’s personal luxury car, built from 1975 to 1983. It was heavily marketed and sold well at a time when Chrysler struggled to stay afloat. In 1977, Chrysler apparently decided to experiment with a Cordoba convertible and sent a handful of coupes to a coachbuilder to make it happen. This one in St. Petersburg, Florida, is said to be one of those custom cars and has just 13,000 miles, kept as a collectible, no doubt. It’s available here on Facebook Marketplace for $38,500. Thanks for the unusual tip, Tony Primo.

If you were around in the 1970s, you may remember Chrysler advertising the Cordoba with actor Ricardo Montalbán. He hawked the car’s “rich Corinthian leathers,” which turned out to be made up but looked and sounded great. Brisk sales brought in the cash flow Chrysler needed, with 150,000 units sold in 1975, 165,000 in 1976, and another 140,000 in 1977.

The number of these custom convertibles built isn’t certain. The seller says seven, and a story online says 17. But either way, the total isn’t many, so they’re a rare find today, and only examples from the 1977 model year are thought to have been modified. Though finished in Florida, this one was first sold in Arizona and has since found its way back to the Sunshine State. A collector no doubt owns it and drives it sparingly, as the current odometer reading suggests.

The photos are plentiful but could be better. We assume a 360 cubic inch V8 is under the hood, combined with a TorqueFlite automatic transmission. It looks fantastic and is loaded with all the options you would expect to see on an automobile like this. Everywhere you look, you see red and white, a great combination. The nearly 50-year-old paint is good but has a few age-related imperfections. Recent new parts include the gas tank and fuel pump, and the carburetor has been rebuilt. Hopefully, the documentation the seller promises includes the custom-built Mopar portion.