The seller of this Claret Red 1977 Chrysler Cordoba lists the mileage as being 57,391 miles, and any car or truck with fewer than 100,000 miles always gets the stink eye, as far as the comments go. It’s impossible to tell things like the wear on the brake pedal in the photos, but you can check them out here on craigslist. It’s located in one of my favorite cities: Albuquerque, New Mexico. The seller is asking $5,500, here is the original listing, and thanks to Jack M. for the tip!
This ’77 Cordoba jumps off the page, or it will here at Barn Finds once this goes live. We’ve seen 12 1977 Cordobas here at Barn Finds, and here’s the color breakdown: five have been white, four have been brown, and there has been one blue car, one green car, and one gray car. This lipstick red, I mean, Claret Red car will stand out for sure. Here’s a brochure.
This car appears to be in really nice condition, although I’m a bit worried about the sunny climate in Albuquerque and that rear bumper filler material. It appears to be faded, and if it’s brittle, it won’t last long. Chrysler offered its well-dressed customers the Cordoba (as its own model) from 1975 through 1983, and the first-generation cars were made from ’75 until 1979. After that, Chrysler used the sharp-edged J-body cars until the end of the run. They were similar to the Dodge Mirada and the Imperial, which our own Todd Fitch drives regularly.
No power windows! I’m always surprised and bummed to not see power windows in a luxury car, but it was still the 1970s, and they weren’t standard as they are now in almost every vehicle. A friend of mine just bought a new Honda Gold Wing (not cheap!), and it has a power “windscreen,” which is crazy. The white “Corinthian leather” (direct from New Jersey) seats in this car look good, but are showing wrinkles (direct from my face), and the driver’s side is basically toast. The back seat looks fantastic.
The engine (kudos to the seller for including an engine photo) is Chrysler’s 360-cu.in. OHV V8, which, with the four-barrel carb, had 170 horsepower and 270 lb-ft of torque when new. It passes through a three-speed TorqueFlite as expected, and power goes to the rear wheels. They say it’s a great-running car and it sure looks good to me. Do you want your Cordoba in red, white, brown, green, or blue?
Wow!! A RED Cordoba?? I know that many mid 70’s car brochures from all the makes had at least one of their cars in a red like this with a white interior. And those colors work together too. Not all the cars from the 70’s were Brown or Green ( although it sure seems like it some days). I think the wheel covers are from a newer Chrysler Fifth Ave, and they really look right at home here. I don’t see them in the ’77 Cordoba sales brochure. The front end designs on these are beautifully done, the grill, headlights, and turn signals just work together very nicely. Given how nice the outside looks, I would definitely do something about the front seat, or seats, I think it would be worth it. And it has a 360? Even better. Jack M. Is on a roll with tips!!! I enjoyed your write up too Scotty, thank you.
About 7 years ago, I drove my little BMW 2002 to a car show over near St. Pete. There was an almost identical Cordoba at the show, and it really impressed me. I resolved right then to switch from the little Euro 4-speed/4-cylinder cars to full-sized Detroit iron with V8s. Soon thereafter I bought the ’63 Riviera and sold the BMW. Thanks Cordoba!
Its nice looking, for a fair amount could be made into a nice daily.. Just because i’m old i wonder if Bugs Bunny ever turned left at Albuquerque. ;)
I was thinking of mentioning that.