I was always more of a GM or Ford fan, but occasionally Chrysler would come up with something to stir my interest. I think one reason I liked the style of the new smaller full-size Chrysler better than the GM and Ford products is I’ve always been a hardtop fan. You say these aren’t hardtops. True, even though they were sedans, they had the frameless door windows that were so commonly associated with hardtops. GM and Ford decided to go with full frame doors with their downsizings in 1977 and 1979. This nice low mileage 1979 Chrysler Newport 4 door sedan is found here on Craigslist in Oshkosh, Wisconsin and was brought to our attention by Barnfinds reader Ikey Heyman.
Not much information is given about the car other than it has a low 21,000 miles. A couple of things look aftermarket here with a trailer hitch and a non-factory antenna mount. Hopefully, it was never used much for towing. This Chrysler appears to have a two-tone finish with silver bodysides and gray roof, hood, and trunk. The seller calls it a super nice barn find but doesn’t give any history of why it was in a barn in the ad or much other information.
It would have been nice if the seller had decided to let the power windows down or opened the doors to give us a better view of the interior. It does look very nice the best I can see, though. It brings back memories of mine in the seventies going to car dealers on Sundays when there were no salesmen around and cupping my hands and peeking through the windows to see the interior features. This car also includes power seats, cruise control, and tilt steering wheel.
These don’t appear to be original stock wire wheel covers, but other than that the car looks in great shape. The seller decided not to include a picture of the engine which he says runs smooth. The engine is a V-8 so that means either a 318 or 360 cubic inch displacement. The best news is the price. Where else can you get such a nice low mileage car for only $2,100?
Unfortunately, this body style did not sell very well and was discontinued after only three years. It would also have been nice if Chrysler had made a two-door in this body style, but I guess that was the purpose of the Cordoba when it was downsized in 1980.
Cool car. I hope Chrysler thanked Buick for the design! Looks like a chinese copy of a LeSabre.
Quick sale
Car is already gone. If I’m correct he also dropped the price to $1900. What do you get for a car for that money. You can loose double that on depreciation on a $50k vehicle in one year. I really like my ’79 New Yorker. Its in great shape, reliable and get 16 mpg.
I am classic car fan and collector. 2 years ago I bought ALL original 80 NewYorker Fifth Avenue cream combo color has 15K miles since new with all documentation and manuals. got 360 2v of course fully optioned front electric seats also I paid $13,500 for it
I find this downsized Chrysler more attractive than earlier larger Chrysler cars of the mid 70s. It’s a damn shame that it never sold well.
I was very surprised of Negative stuff told about R body Chryslers!! I heard the factory ‘ Lean Burn box ‘ is No good and that the cars had lower build quality than earlier full size ! I just keep getting lots negative feedback regarding R bodies .To be honest I was shopping for earlier New Yorkers 75 to 77 found lots very clean low mile examples but Its very huge sizewise I reside in Beirut Lebanon very small country congested narrow roads I thought made sense the 79 to 81 R New Yorkers and still big for driving here !
I have both, an ’78 and ’79 New Yorkers. Each have their own positive and negatives. For most aspects I prefer my 1978.
What about the 300 parked next to it ?
My guess is everyone would like to hear more about that
In my neck of the woods, the R body didn’t see a great deal of police/taxi use, while their Ford and GM counterparts did….for me the ChryCo cars retain an aura of being luxury cars for seniors. Despite the fact that I’m approaching that demographic, I’ll never surrender to it in what I drive.
’62 300 Special Convertible…..the only way to get a stick shift car this year. Three speed on the floor, no P.S. or P.B. but does have leather, sure grip rear end and 413 for options. No official numbers but one speculation out there is one of six made.
Thanks too cool cars
I get impression the R bodies were some of worst Chrysler ever made but in my opinion still better than later front wheel drive K cars ! To be also Fair They are essentialy based on 70s B bodies and if Not mistaken have lots of carry over tech from 60s cars also ! Not bad in my book !
I traded a 1986 Buick Park Avenue for a 1980 Newport and it was great move. The Chrysler was much better ride and handled much better! Then I later purchased a new 2006 Buick Lucerne and what a mistake that was!
I remember seeing one of these sitting on a dealer’s lot with two different taillights. It was brand new, fresh from the factory, with a Chrysler Newport taillight on one side and a Dodge St. Regis taillight on the other. That’s not indifferent quality control, it’s sabotage.
I had the lesser-optioned Dodge cousin to this, the St Regis, that began its life here locally as part of our police department fleet. Vinyl seats, crank windows (cranks in the rear were absent) and a very plain AM/FM radio.
While the 360 cube small block was no fire-breather in 1980 a 4bbl ThermoQuad atop the intake and factory dual exhaust helped a bit and once the original mufflers were deleted it at least sounded satisfying when you shoved the Go to the mat and the carb’s secondaries opened up.