Low miles and excellent condition, I don’t know about you but it doesn’t get much better than that for me no matter what the vehicle is. In this case, it’s a first-year 1975 Chrysler Cordoba in beautiful Yellow Blaze. It can be found here on craigslist in equally-beautiful Kennewick, Washington. The seller is asking $6,000.
With just about any British car, it’s “Lucas, Prince of Darkness”. Deloreans always bring out the flux capacitor comments like there’s no tomorrow. Pintos always blow up. Many vehicles have certain infamous cultural references that come up every time they’re shown here or anywhere, and that isn’t a bad thing, it just is what it is. It’s like complaining about yet another overcast sky in Minnesota, it’s just the way it is (not bitter). For Cordoba, it’s “does it have ___ _________ ______?” You can fill in the blanks. And for the record, yes, this one does.
1975 was the first year for the Cordoba and it gave Chrysler buyers without an Oldsmobile or Lincoln budget the means to jump into the luxury arena. The Cordoba only came in a two-door coupe body style, just think of what a four-door sedan, convertible, or station wagon Cordoba may have looked like… (insert dream sequence here)… I didn’t do a photoshop exercise there, sorry for the tease. Ok, here’s a quick sedan. You can see the bumper filler panel on this yellow Cordoba is a slightly different color, I’m not sure if it was replaced or just faded at a different rate or what’s going on there.
Seller pro tip: when seeing a partial photo like the front interior image above, it automatically makes a potential buyer wonder what’s going on with the seats. The rear seats look pretty much like new, but there must be issues with the front seat or seats, otherwise, they would most likely be shown. In searching for Cordobas online, I ran across a listing for this same exact car with a slightly different description and an asking price of $4,200 or best offer. It mentions that the driver’s seat is ripped and the vinyl top needs to be replaced. The current listing says that it has a new vinyl half-top and tune-up so that probably explains the price difference.
The engine looks pretty nice if not a bit dustier than I would have expected to see on what otherwise looks like a clean car. It’s Chrysler’s 360 V8, the standard engine for the early Cordobas, although a 318 V8 was optional in this post-gas-crisis era. This is somewhat of a stripper Cordoba without power windows or AC, but it looks like a nice one for anyone looking for a first-year car. Have any of you owned a Cordoba?
This car is awesome, I want it.
Yes Rex. I want it too. I love that yellow
You mis-spelled ‘awful’.
Why would you replace the vinyl top but not buff the paint to a shine? A good polish and some Chrysler Road Wheels and this would be top banana!
PS: Cool photo-chop Scotty! I saw one once with the roof sawed off, these would have made great convertibles.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder…
So are eye boogers.
I like it Scotty, the only way I would own a Cordoba is like this one with fine Corinthian leather.
Oh boy..hey look..just for the record…there is absolutely no such thing as Corinthian leather.
Cranks and no AC? If that’s what I wanted, I’d get a Studebaker or Rambler.
I’ll never forget my dad’s 76.. leather buckets console shift sunroof 8 track CB radio ..man he ran the crap outra that car pulling the boat and all..
Was the cb radio or the 8track aftermarket ? I’m restoring mine, and I can’t seem to find or determine that Chrysler made the cb and 8track all in one factory unit.
Does it have rich Corinthian leather? :)
Oh..cut that out. lol
I knew of two 75 Cordobas where I grew up. A lawyer friend bought a triple black one at the start of the model year
And the grandpa to my neighbor had a yellow and white one just like this. When grandparents came to visit they had the yellow Cordoba.
One of the grandsons inherited the car and the yellow one was still very drivable and presentable in 2003 when the young man moved out of town for college
This is exactly like the first car I ever rented. I don’t recall the Fort Lauderdale rental company but I do remember that I didn’t have a credit card at that time and I was able to rent with cash. It was a great week!
Back in 1980 my sister’s first car was a 76 Cordoba. White exterior, white top and blue velour interior. The old guy we got it from had replaced the stock 2bbl with an aluminum intake and Carter 4bbl. He also ditched the cat at added dual exhaust that exited in up under the bumper like it was stock. It’s not much by today’s standards but back in the day it seriously surprised some unsuspecting people. She was quite the character. Someone just needed to look at her sideways and the race was on!
I have to share another funny story about this car. We had a long driveway with an aluminum cattle gate at the end. My sister had sent our youngest brother out to the bus stop which was at the end of the driveway to wait for the bus. She went to leave and was backing (flying backwards) down the driveway towards the road. Instead of looking out the back window when backing up she would hang her head out the drivers window like a St Bernard. Unfortunately the gate wasn’t all the way open but she couldn’t see it because it was on the opposite side. She ended up nailing that darn thing good. So, what does she do then? She flies out of the car and starts ripping and thumping on our 7 year old brother for not warning her. Poor kid, I think he is still traumatized from this.
I learned to drive in a 77 Cordoba with bucket seats and a console. 318 because my dad was a tightwad.
Your dad may not have been a tightwad…he simply hoped to get 14 MPG rather than 12. After all, gas prices had reached a whopping 75 cents!
75 cents in 1977 = $3.16 today
My first car was a ‘75 Córdoba. Black. Burgundy leather buckets with center counsel. 400 under the hood. Rust killed it at 90,000 miles.
I bought a Cordoba in 1975. It was burgundy with a black vinyl top. It had a 318 with an air pump and no catalyst so I could burn leaded gas in it. And yes it had fine Corinthian black leather. It was a terrible car. The build quality was terrible and it had many electrical problems. I had it less than a year. I sold it and bought a New Yorker with a 440. I was the parts manager in a Chrysler Plymouth store so I always bought new cars for $100 over cost.
I wonder if leaded gas was such a great thing to be able to use – especially when you consider how hard it was on spark plugs and oil. If they sold leaded gas again today, I wouldn’t buy it. I’d love it if the gas today were all ethanol-free though, since ethanol is a crap additive.
THE BANANA BOAT!!! Was what we called my Yellow 1976 Cordoba. I got as payment for replacing a 1/4 panel on Suburban. I would have NEVER bought a yellow car with a GREEN vinyl top and a GREEN leather interior. I later painted the top white to soften the looks of the car.
We were drinking one night, my buddy who was driving said
“How do you turn on the interior lights?”
I said “turn the switch.”
“I did!” he said.
I replied with “Now turn on the 4ways, then step on the brake.”
The interior lights would flash with the other lights.
It had a minor electrical fire one time.
I had a 75 Cordoba in 1980. Beautiful brown with the half vinyl roof. Bad thing was the 318. Of all the 318’s that I’ve owned (several) this one was pitiful, totally powerless and practically un-driveable when cold. Very comfortable and pretty though. Definitely would have been better with the 360.
“Un-driveable when cold” I heard often. I was a partner in a carburetor remanufacturing company. Find a mechanic that
knows how to adjust the automatic choke, idle speed and idle
mixture while the car is in drive with someone holding the
brake pedal down and it becomes “a great all-weather car!”
Earl
Hi. Would be possible to explain little bit more how to do it please. Thanks
We are very spoiled today! (A good thing.) Remember when on a cold morning each car had its own little routine? Two pumps on the gas, then hold the gas halfway down, turn the key, if it doesn’t start, repeat, and if it doesn’t start, hold the gas to the floor in case you flooded it. And you had to baby sit the car for several minutes to be sure it would keep running and to kick it off high idle so it didn’t sit there racing at 2000 rpms…
Now we push a button on a remote… at 15 below zero the car just starts and runs.
I can hear Ricardo Montalban now.
Ju look beautiful, baby
I can hear Ricardo too. “You can’t expect me to ride in a car that doesn’t have air conditioning…? Get me a Mark V.”
I had one that I bought when they first came out. Loved all the luxury aspects of the car, but it did not love me back. Whole series of issues, many of them electrical. Only car I had that was worse was an 85 XJ 6 jag.
I traded the Córdoba in on a Buick and ran the wheels off it for three trouble free years.
My dad worked for Chrysler and we would get two ‘Executive Lease’ cars every year. The Cordoba was such a hot seller that they asked my dad to take a Charger SE instead. Black with black vinyl half-roof, red velour interior and most options (we called it the bordello!). It was one of the two cars I learned to on (other being a Plymouth Scamp).
Great looking car and drove very smoothly (with the typical Chrysler over-boosted power steering). Loved that car but unfortunately drove the Scamp much more often!
It looks nice, but really all the Cordobas (Pre-1980 & Post 1980) along with their cousins (again especially for a Pre – 1980 car), they weren’t and aren’t highly sought after. If the seller was Asking ~ $4,500, then yes it would be a nice starting point and/or asking price. Especially since it is a large car without AC!
Whoever ordered the car in a time where AC was almost the best option anyone can order in a car wasn’t thinking way ahead. That fact alone proves that the car was a daily driver that was at least taken care of and again was just meant to drive with no fore thought.
It’s remarkable how similar these are to the Dodge Chargers are the same years.
Obviously, Chrysler did not have the budget to differentiate these cars.
I worked at the Chrysler corporate sales office in Hazelwood, MO when the Cordoba was introduced in 1974. My boss was to take delivery of the first car, in the area so I went to the railhead to pick it up and drive it back. It was silver with a silver half top and a beautiful dark maroon interior. The railhead was about 15 minutes from our office, but during that short drive loose trim rattled, the radio didn’t work, and the passenger side arm rest fell off. Attractive car, but the Monte Carlo had a 5 year head start in looks and build quality.
I think ’70s GM cars rusted even faster than all the others. lol
The ’74 monte had a very huge ungainly bumper on the front & was heavier since it had a full frame.
Why are the whitewalls wider on the passenger side of this Cordoba? Maybe a curb hugger?
No lean burn here & a dream to work on under the hood w/o a/c. & no troublesome ’60’s domestic p/w motors to worry about.
Yes i love Cordobas ,,i own 3 of them,,1978,1981 and 1983,,all in excellent condition,,love to drive them they are head turners. My `81 has a slant 6 motor and it is my daily driver. Lee..
The biggest thing that hurt these cars with some enthusiasts is they were used as the basis for the 1975 Road Runner. It was a disaster. On its own merits, it’s a cool car. I always liked the headlights and turn signals….. they played a strong pump hand in the design department. I hope to see more people appreciate how ever few of these are left.
Had one exactly the same year, same colour, but inside black leather and black vinyl top with a 318 ci. Very good car. Wish i kept it.😊🚗
For any one who is considering a Cordoba or Mirada as a daily driver, the 1980 to 1983 versions are the ones to target because they are smaller, less weight (~800 lbs), somewhat easier on gas, and thus making them easier to drive and manuvore around.
My 1980 Mirada was hands down the biggest pile of bumper-to-bumper JUNK I have ever owned.
Bad paint, dulled and flaked off. Can’t wax it, don’t wash it, just sweep off the flakes.
Rear bumper losing huge chunks of chrome in < 2 years. (Replaced by zone rep – grudgingly – who tried to say it was my fault because I hadn’t waxed the chrome. It was already coming off when I got the car as a 10,000 mile demo.)
Fender end cap creases did not line up with those in the fenders even if installed correctly.
One rear taillight crooked, no way to adjust it straight.
"Chrome" (plastic with silver tape beneath) yellowed in some areas, not others
"Chrome trim" in car's rubber nose would not stay put at 70mph, was blowing back on the hood like catfish whiskers
ALL interior trim – tops of doors, A pillar, C pillar, sides of back seat area – made of hard plastic which cracked, 1/8 inch gaps every several inches
Trunk leaked, nowhere for water to drain out of fenders. Had to drill holes in my just-bought car to let 4 inches of water out of the bottoms of the rear fenders
Warped dash
Poorly stitched “Corinthian Leather” sets, crooked seams
Carpet cut too short, so it would not stay tucked in at the door sills
Differential with so much slack, on cold idle made an enormous CLANK when shifting into reverse.
318 V8 that felt like it made about 80 horsepower, pathetic
All this in a car by the time it was 2 years old.
I had wanted to buy a Cordoba or Magnum of the earlier / original design like this yellow one but waited. I have to believe it would have been far better; my buddy’s 1977 Cordoba was for sure.
Great cars. I was almost 11 when they came out, but I must say this is the first one I have ever seen without A/C. Very odd that it wasn’t ordered with it.
Frankly I don’t see the point of a luxury car that doesn’t even have AC. I like all the goodies – power windows etc. – but AC is the bare minimum for something portrayed as ‘luxury’.
This one’s a real stripper model.
Bought a new Cordoba in 77. Metallic brown with matching vinyl half roof
One of my favorite cars I have owned.
Only traded it off because we had 2 young boys and then twin girls
Two doors dont work well with a family like that! But I enjoy my 83 trans am with the t-tops which I got for my big boy toy.
My buddy bought a ’77 Cordoba and it was a funny experience at the car dealer. I was with him. He actually went there looking to buy a Plymouth Fury Sport, the cheaped-down version of a Cordoba. (Note: a Fury Sport is NOT a Sport Fury.)
My buddy who is not very ‘up’ on cars drove the salesman crazy. He had a list of things he wanted on the car. But most of what he wanted either didn’t make sense or couldn’t be gotten with other things he picked out. I still remember him saying ‘Okay, and I want (such and such) engine” and the salesman whacked his pen down on the desk. “You DON’T want that engine. That’s an engine they only sell in California and it doesn’t run worth a darn.” I think he turned all shades of red before telling my buddy ‘You might just as well buy a Cordoba, the way you want me to order this Plymouth it’s going to cost you just as much.” We took that as great news and he picked out a nice very typical Cordoba off the lot instead of ordering the Fury Sport.
You’ll never believe me, but my first new car, right out of college, was a 1976 Chrysler Cordoba, special ordered from the dealership where I worked my summer jobs. Black with gold F.C.L., sunroof(rare), styled steel wheels(rare,chrome trim), console(never seen another), lean burn(government rebellion), basically checked every box. You also won’t believe that I stole the show with my friends in the Talladega infield in 1976 with my “old man’s” car. When they took a closer look, all my friends could say was WOW. By far, the most memorable car I’ve owned. Saw a twin on a Meacum auction on TV and would have bid my house if I had been registered.
Yes it is such thing go do your history on it start with Mr. Chrysler in PA. , The inventor and original owner of Chrysler. Also it was in the Chrysler Cordova.