Back in 1987, a black Chrysler LeBaron Convertible (dramatically photographed on a black background with subtle lighting and foggy mist) was used in several ads to show off the new, sleek, aerodynamic styling of Chrysler’s luxury flagship model. And the ad agency laid it on thick with headlines saying, “Its power will move you. Its beauty will stop you.” and “The Sky’s The Limit.” and a lead-in sentence stating, “The people who re-introduced America to the convertible has just improved the art.” This impressive time capsule looks like it could’ve been the car used in that 1987 ad photo shoot. It still has its original factory paint and interior and has 10,906 original miles. It’s located in the town of Hempstead, New York and is for sale here on craigslist for an asking price of $9,500. A shoutout to Dennis House for sending this time capsule tip our way.The ad states that the LeBaron’s original owner is a woman who bought it new and always kept it in her garage. The ad also claims that everything on the car is original except for the battery. There are a number of nice photographs of the car’s exterior, interior, trunk, and engine bay, but no images of the undercarriage are provided. I’m not going to take too much time describing this car as the photographs tell the story. It’s amazingly preserved and doesn’t look like a 36-year-old car. It’s hard to nitpick anything on this LeBaron’s sleekish exterior as the black paint, black convertible top, trim, glass, and lenses look great. The boot is described as “like new as it has never been on the car,” and the lined trunk is also clean and looks unused. It’s sporting what Chrysler called their “Cast Aluminum Road Wheels” on its original steel belted radial blackwall tires and I’m not spotting any rust, dents, or scratches.The LeBaron’s gray interior is in terrific shape as well and is really a step back in time to what 1987 tasteful luxury styling looked like. The leather seats look near perfect and, no surprise, it has the obligatory amount of faux wood to contrast the very 80’s-looking gray and black instrument panel and floor console . Based on a photo of the LeBaron’s build sheet, it came from the factory with A/C, power top, windows, locks, driver’s seat, mirrors, and antenna, cruise control, tilt steering column, leather steering wheel, AM/FM radio with cassette player and the Electronics Package (Voice Alert, Monitor, Navigator). Nothing is mention by the seller if all of this is working or not.The engine bay is tidy and has the original 2.2-Liter Turbocharged engine that’s mated to a 3-speed TorqueFlite automatic transmission with a floor shifter. The build sheet also shows that the Turbo Package included “Sports Handling Suspension.” I find like-new, time capsules to be interesting and I’d bet there’s a good story here about the lady who pampered this black beauty for so many years. It’s probably one of the, if not the nicest original ’87 Chrysler LeBaron Convertibles around.
Probably the smart thing to do. Replace all belts and hoses to be on the safe side, and ditch the tires also. Yeah they only have 10k on them but dry rot?
Don’t forget a new valve cover gasket. The original equipment ones were junk.
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Big Bear 🇺🇸
Jul 29, 2023 at 7:58pm
Beautiful looking Lebaron. I was lucky enough to drive one for awhile…a hard top version same model same color and interior. Turbo also.. Had the Premium stereo system like this one and electronic dash. Use premium fuel and it was very quick. For me on this one need a picture of the odometer reading to see the real mileage. If this is true to 10,000 miles ..many parts need to be replaced due to age. Unless it’s going to sit in your garage and not go far. But to really enjoyed the Lebaron is with the top down cruise the country. Especially in the fall. Good price would be $9,000. Good luck to the next owner. 🐻🇺🇸
I had a 1989 Chrysler LeBaron couple with sunroof burgundy same wheels the dealer didn’t tell me it talked to you when I found out freaked me out but loved that car gave me 160,000 miles with no problems unfortunately a drunk driver took my car out totaled had just paid it off.
These, and this one in particular, are the sleepers of the collector car market. Out of the factory they were good looking (in the eye of the beholder, of course), mechanically sound, body was sound, performed well, and the top went up and down. A fox body Mustang in this shape would cost at least 3 or 4 x as much, a Camaro, maybe even more.
Had an 86, black/black with red interior, non turbo but with handling package. Came with Goodyear Vector tires and I scuffed the tops of the words Goodyear and Vector on the fronts Drove all over the East coast (Navy) up the Appalachian Mountains through snow storms … Gave it to our oldest daughter and when we found out she was ditching classes her senior year sold it to the first person to come along with $500,
Sorry but that is NOT a 10,000 mile car…nice try…see the built up brake dust residue on the passenger front wheel…also under the hood is pretty clean but lots of wear on the panel above the core support.
I’ve always liked these for some odd reason. It’s like Lee Iacocca took a pain pill, a K car, and a Viagra and got in the mood for companionship. He put them all in a bottle, shook it up, and this car was born .Lee was cruising the strip the following day looking for $50 an hour love in a car like this. Still like it, though, The flip lights, to me, anyway, looked better than the Lebaron’s composite light refresh. These were awesome car rentals on the coast back in the 90’s
I drove a stunning ’91 convertible, non-turbo, and I have to say, it was by far the worst car I ever owned. It wasn’t for lack of maintenance or care by me, but the transmission went out at 36K miles, (according to the odometer, which I found out later had been tampered with by the dealer). Chrysler ended up putting three transmissions in it before they got it right. Then, it started just dying while I was driving. They put in several new computers. I sold it when it was running well and never looked back. I still think it was maybe the prettiest car I ever owned. Over the three years I owned it, it was in the shop 27 times. That is not an exaggeration. Chrysler put almost 8K worth of parts into it, all under warranty, and it was still not to be trusted.
“Your door is a jar”
I remember that Roland. I had a Dodge 600 that did the same thing.
My grandfather’s new yorker had that same voice reminder system too!
When is a door not a door?
Beautiful , no mikes, nice leather, but would it need timing belt done, since it’s so old?
Looks like there is an alarm system and I would also think that it’s been retrofitted to r134a freon by the looks of the Schrader valve caps.
Certainly a not out of line asking price but at 8250 it would be worth the crashoot
Probably the smart thing to do. Replace all belts and hoses to be on the safe side, and ditch the tires also. Yeah they only have 10k on them but dry rot?
Don’t forget a new valve cover gasket. The original equipment ones were junk.
Beautiful looking Lebaron. I was lucky enough to drive one for awhile…a hard top version same model same color and interior. Turbo also.. Had the Premium stereo system like this one and electronic dash. Use premium fuel and it was very quick. For me on this one need a picture of the odometer reading to see the real mileage. If this is true to 10,000 miles ..many parts need to be replaced due to age. Unless it’s going to sit in your garage and not go far. But to really enjoyed the Lebaron is with the top down cruise the country. Especially in the fall. Good price would be $9,000. Good luck to the next owner. 🐻🇺🇸
Great seats 💺 👍
I bought one of these new in coupé form. Same equipment list and interior, white exterior. My first new car as a young lawyer. Fond memories.
I had a 1989 Chrysler LeBaron couple with sunroof burgundy same wheels the dealer didn’t tell me it talked to you when I found out freaked me out but loved that car gave me 160,000 miles with no problems unfortunately a drunk driver took my car out totaled had just paid it off.
Coupe
These, and this one in particular, are the sleepers of the collector car market. Out of the factory they were good looking (in the eye of the beholder, of course), mechanically sound, body was sound, performed well, and the top went up and down. A fox body Mustang in this shape would cost at least 3 or 4 x as much, a Camaro, maybe even more.
Had an 86, black/black with red interior, non turbo but with handling package. Came with Goodyear Vector tires and I scuffed the tops of the words Goodyear and Vector on the fronts Drove all over the East coast (Navy) up the Appalachian Mountains through snow storms … Gave it to our oldest daughter and when we found out she was ditching classes her senior year sold it to the first person to come along with $500,
Sorry but that is NOT a 10,000 mile car…nice try…see the built up brake dust residue on the passenger front wheel…also under the hood is pretty clean but lots of wear on the panel above the core support.
I’ve always liked these for some odd reason. It’s like Lee Iacocca took a pain pill, a K car, and a Viagra and got in the mood for companionship. He put them all in a bottle, shook it up, and this car was born .Lee was cruising the strip the following day looking for $50 an hour love in a car like this. Still like it, though, The flip lights, to me, anyway, looked better than the Lebaron’s composite light refresh. These were awesome car rentals on the coast back in the 90’s
I drove a stunning ’91 convertible, non-turbo, and I have to say, it was by far the worst car I ever owned. It wasn’t for lack of maintenance or care by me, but the transmission went out at 36K miles, (according to the odometer, which I found out later had been tampered with by the dealer). Chrysler ended up putting three transmissions in it before they got it right. Then, it started just dying while I was driving. They put in several new computers. I sold it when it was running well and never looked back. I still think it was maybe the prettiest car I ever owned. Over the three years I owned it, it was in the shop 27 times. That is not an exaggeration. Chrysler put almost 8K worth of parts into it, all under warranty, and it was still not to be trusted.