By the time that the eighth-generation Town and Country Chryslers rolled around, the world had changed dramatically since they first came onto the scene just before World War II. The cars had also changed dramatically as you can see when you compare an early car with this 1985 Chrysler Town and Country turbo wagon. This one can be found here on eBay in Earlville, New York, and the bids are just over $1,200 but the reserve isn’t met.
Most of you know that I’m boring when it comes to modifications, even as far as adding different wheels to a car. I prefer the factory spokes, fake or not, but that’s just me. I’ve lost a few wheel covers in my day on hard-cornering maneuvers so I can see the benefit with having a wheel without a cover over it. The best of both worlds is when a seller is giving you both sets of wheels which is the case here! Win-win. The owner says that this LeBaron “is in good condition for its age. No rust or rot and has been well cared for.”
The interior looks great in this car from what I can see. I had a LeBaron convertible Mark Cross edition from this era and it was a fantastic car. It wasn’t a speed demon but it wasn’t overly-slow either, and it was 100% trouble-free and fun to drive with the top down. The Town and Country wagon was something that I looked at and maybe I should have gotten one of those. It may have been a better investment, but as a young, wild and crazy guy, I opted for a ragtop. There was also a Town and Country convertible with woodgrain on the sides which we’ve seen here a few times in the last couple of years.
The big hook with this car, other than the plastic and tape woodgrain, is the turbo engine. This is Chrysler’s 2.2L inline-four which with a turbo had just under 150 hp. That doesn’t sound like a lot today but the non-turbo had 100 hp. Yes, please, on a 50% power boost and a 4-second improvement in 0-60. I had the Mitsubishi 2.6 in my LeBaron and it was great but it had just over 100 hp. Have any of you owned a K-Car LeBaron?
The Nevada state motor pool bought a ton of Dodge K-cars and kept them in the fleet for 20+years..more than a few were patched together with bits & pieces from other K-cars towards the end but they always seemed to keep running, much to the chagrin of those poor souls in the state agencies that don’t get the front page news lines every day..
Bueller? Bueller? Bueller? Lol
Great movie!
Ugly car but great movie!
“I was gonna buy Ferris a car with the commission I made from the Wisconsin people…”
The TURBO labaron wagon, the true starting philosophy for the Viper?
I had a 1985 Dodge 600 Turbo. I loved that car. It ran great, looked great. When the turbo kicked in, wow, hold on to the steering wheel! Living in the Boston area, the wheel wells and floor rotted out. Other than that, it may be the best car I ever owned.
It is up to 2000 dollars. Working air cond. What a garage sale car.
Hey, had a LeBaron Convert, drove like it had a hinge in the middle! Traded it in on a Fiero GT and never looked back.