One of the more entertaining aspects of being in the car hobby is seeing sudden surges of interest in a model that hasn’t seen much love over the years. The Chrysler LeBaron Convertible isn’t much of a collector’s item, a but a few years ago, we saw some combination of a YouTuber getting his hands on one and some truly world-class examples come up for sale that seemed to briefly make these ugly ducklings a bit of an item. You never want to get caught buying during one of these brief price surges, and it’s much smarter to buy a nicely preserved 1983 LeBaron like this one here on craigslist for just $5,988.
Thanks to Barn Finds reader Curvette for the find. When the LeBaron Convertible was conceived, the American auto industry was in an interesting place. The convertible had more or less been put into early retirement, no doubt put there due to the rise in factory sunroofs and T-top roof panels. With the detriments of the 1970s-era convertible design plainly obvious – wind noise, water leaks, inability to keep the cabin warm – it seemed the automotive industry was interested in putting this costly and cumbersome design to bed. However, a few years later, Chrysler would realize it needed to inject some life into the fledgling K-car lineup, and a convertible was the answer.
Like most convertible builds at the time, the work was outsourced to an aftermarket company, which led to all sorts of quality control issues related to structural rigidity. In later years, Chrysler would bring the assembly process in-house, and build quality would improve accordingly. The LeBaron and later Town & Country convertible were available with a wide range of luxury features like the Mark Cross leather interior shown here; there were also numerous electronic doo-dads that made you feel like you were driving the four-wheeled equivalent of a super computer. The seller doesn’t tell us much about the Chrysler’s history or mechanical upkeep, but it certainly appears to be in good shape.
Mileage is listed as being under 60,000. The front-wheel drive LeBaron was an opportunity for Chrysler to remind the world that convertibles still mattered, and the LeBaron was the ideal way to see the sky if you were looking for an open-air experience. The Chrysler shown here appears to be unmodified from stock and the backseat appears unused. Assuming this has the naturally-aspirate inline-four under the hood, power output is limited to around 85 horsepower; if it had the turbocharged variant (which I doubt it does), you’d see that number rise to a respectable 146. Would you ever consider rolling in a LeBaron convertible to get your drop-top thrills?
John Voight
Customers loved the size and the top operation was easy.
40 year old mid 80s electronics make me nervous. I hope Chrysler did’t get carried away with it beside the sound system. I see it has a built in cassette player. Is a Bic pen included?
Not a single thing wrong here. Looks to have been well cared for all its life. Nice colors. The computer played us into what we have today, for better or worse. The 2.2 is fine for a Sunday driver like this.
my mother had a 85 dodge 600 conv as one of her last cars. By 85 they had revised the top so it had rear windows and a glass rear window and a usable back seat. It was great to have a convertible again. You could feel the body flex over railroad tracks and bumps. No turbo but a reliable car that lasted many years.
I have a 84 convertible with 26K and the 2.6. Mine has the rear windows this was the first year with them. I think mine is worth more.
Typical dealer in western Washington outside of Seattle asking almost $6,000 for a $2,500 dollar car and they will even finance it for you summer is over so you have a few months to put it in the garage and go through everything for spring
You really don’t have a clue about car values. Go look up sales on these he is asking the low end.
Asking price and actual sales prices are far apart that’s why this car has already had one birthday on the lot.
What a fun car! I’d be all over this if I was in the market. Frankly, even if I wasn’t in the market, at this price, why not?
The turbo 2.2 wasn’t released until 1984. According to the ad, this one has the Mitsubishi 2.6.
The 1982-83 LeBarons were the best styled. I think the rear tail light were well designed compared to later models. This one is a beauty! The drivers seat and probably the arm rest need some help. You need to apply leather conditioner/cleaner EVERY week without fail to prevent stretch and cracking. I truly liked the Mark Cross interiors like this example has. They were classy. This was not a cheap car at the time. The wood sided ones cost even more. These cars were modern, luxurious and well built. They handled decently and got pretty good miles per gallon. They saved Chrysler. Please someone, save Chrysler again. Stellantis is killing the company. Chrysler is an American icon and it’s going to end up on the scrap heap of automotive history like Packard. Can’t Chrysler be saved?
This may be about one of a kind as it is the “Mark Cross” model
leather interior, only available on the Mark Cross Edition, but it has the
fake wood sides delete, OR, someone removed them and color matched the white paint. Either way it is a better car as those plastic wood sides faded
and became ugly. Also, this model came standard with the 2.6 liter
Mitsubishi engine with more pep than the 2.2. Does this have a 2.2?
mine has the Mark Cross interior and is bronze in color. They where offered with the wood sides and without mine does not have them, Mine has the digital dash which works fine.
Had one of these for a few years in the mid nineties. The best feature was that the top went down. Mine had the Mitsubishi “Jet” engine. It wasn’t too jet like. Being a convertible these will sell if in reasonable condition and priced right. GLWTS.
I guess alot of people do not understand that convertibles are worth alot of money no matter what the make.
Every time I see one of these, I will never be able to get that goofy jingle out of my head after John Candy & Steve Martin hit the road in that rental. FCA or whatever abomination they are now would do well to integrate it into some of their current ads.
We can laugh about it now, we’re alright.
I’m not a convertible guy at all but I am a Chrysler guy and overall this Lebaron looks pretty darn nice short of a few needed small fixes. Always had a fondness for the K cars. All the beyond lame, beaten to death Jon Voight jokesters must be moonlighting from BaT.