I wonder how ole Ricardo would feel about the 1980 Dodge Mirada? Sure, he was a Chrysler Cordoba guy, the car that exclaimed in 1980, “Cordoba. A singular tradition,” but now you had the Mirada hornin’ in on that singularity. Heck, I guess you could even lump in the Imperial as well – they were all built on ChryCo’s J-Body platform and had that two-door personal luxury coupe vibe going on. Today’s Mirada find, courtesy of Lothar…of the Hill People, is the first of these that I’ve spied in a long time. Actually, I had completely forgotten about the Mirada (I keep wanting to call it “Miranda” after this goofy woman who I used to know) until encountering this listing, so let’s do a review and see what, if anything, we can recall. Pulaski, Wisconsin, is where you’ll find this two-owner Dodge, and it’s listed here on Facebook Marketplace for $5,900.
Dodge’s Mirada lasted four model years (’80-’83) and managed production stats of a bit over 50K units. A single two-door variant, in three different trim levels, was the sole body style, and it could qualify as a hardtop, but that busy C-pillar with its enclosed window muddies the classification a bit. Styling is always subjective, but I admit I’m drawn to this car’s angular lines. It looks like a bigger car than its 209.5″ in length projects, and it surprisingly rides on a 112.5″ wheelbase – I assumed it had more of a stretch. Tipping the scales at 3,400 lbs., the Mirada was in a good place size-wise for a personal luxury coupe in the worrisome fuel-shortage days of the late seventies and early eighties. Unfortunately, the images for our subject aren’t the best (we should do a remedial automotive photography class). What can be seen looks pretty sound, and the seller claims, “Car is a rust-free, unrestored survivor.” The finish still has depth, and the mini-vinyl top appears to be sound. The mileage is stated as 37K miles, but there’s no authentication for that claim. The “Forged Aluminum Road Wheels,” as they are known, set this Dodge off perfectly.
It wouldn’t be the eighties without velour upholstery in some shade of red! Again, the environment appears to be in good nick, but the images aren’t that telling. The upholstery and door cards show well, though the seller states that the headliner is gravity-bound in a couple of spots. Also noted are fully working gauges but an A/C system that will require servicing.
Under the hood is “old faithful,” a 120 net HP 318 CI V8 engine, which in turn, spins a three-speed TorqueFlite A904 automatic transmission. Power was down, as it was pretty much everywhere automotively in ’80, thanks to tightening emissions-control regulations and reduced fuel-consumption targets. The seller adds, “Has the original numbers-matching 318 V8 that runs perfect. Car runs strong and could be driven on a daily basis if desired.”
So, a standout car? Probably not, but it is a two-door coupe, powered by a V8 engine that drives the rear wheels, and it’s in fine low-mileage condition. This is a configuration we won’t see again, and if you dig this layout, the price seems reasonable. OK, that’s all I got; what’s your take on the Dodge Mirada?
Yet another case where the seller doesn’t bother going the extra mile to get the AC serviced, which always tells me it doesn’t need serviced…..it’s broken. I guess if everything else works (with the exception of the sagging headliner), it’s not a bad price. But why not just fix these minor things if that’s all that is wrong? Pure laziness…. or trying to cover up bigger problems?
Sold.
Steve R
Gosh these were pretty cars, though better without the nasty vinyl wig. At least not a fake convertible. Must have been garaged kept as the fragile plastic end caps are still in place. I saw a restored one at a Wisconsin car show this year, only one there out of thousounds of cars. Simply beautiful. There is a website that loves these. ForFMJbodiesonly, I think that was it.
Yeah, that obnoxious convertible top they put on these and the Cordoba (aka the “Cabriolet Roof Package”) was a crime against humanity! I hated them then and I hate them now. It looks much better in this configuration.
There’s a guy here in the Reno/Tahoe area who totally hot rodded one, he passed away and it’s been seen in auctions. He did some fancy Fuschia paint with a proper V8 and more, not a 318, it’s for sale. Not my style, but someones dream car
I’ve always loved theses cars, both the Cordoba and the Mirada, and I’ve owned a 1980 Cordoba, a 1981 Cordoba LS, a 1982 Cordoba LS and a 1983 Mirada CMX. I think the price on this one may have been a little on the low-side, hence why its already sold. Hopefully it was bought by someone who loves these cars and not by a dealer who will resell it for double what he paid for it.
i guess for 5k you could not go wrong. never was a fan of these.
I had bought an ’80 or ’81 Mirada back in, oh, 1989 and paid 1000$ for it, cash … 800 of which was a loan/gift from relatives who knew i needed something to get to job interviews and potential jobs (i was an unemployed 20-something fresh returned from overseas) it’s been a long time, so memories of exact year it was fade, but it had been the project car for some serious gearhead. He had the 318 bored & blueprinted out 30 over, installed Holley 4bbl carbs, a cold-air intake, high-perf oil and water pumps, did something to the exhaust, put on mag wheels, stiffer suspension … I had a list at the time of all his upgrades etc. but long lost. Anyway, I was a dumb kid with no job who should have known better just by listening to this thing idle in his driveway I was smitten … the sound of that beast was this low, resonating thrum that vibrated the ground around it “whump whump whump whump whump” just idling there…. Everything worked, including AC. Interior was beautifu, red pleather and just gorgeous … I was smitten … Well I left it idling and went into his house to do paperwork and pay him and etc. and i was gone about 20 min. When i got back outside and sat in “my new car” the gas guage had gone down about 1/8th of a tank. Man that should have warned me. LOL
This thing was FAST, i got pulled over doing 115 on an access road by a very young cop on my way home from seller’s house … He’d removed the license plate without me noticing … so 2 citations later I got it home and for about a year I owned this incredibly loud and fast beast. Not a single time was I able to afford to fill it up and it burned 1/4 tank or more just getting me to job interviews which I never got LOL.
It finally just was too $$$ for me and I ended up getting rid of it, but man it was a fun ride.
Darn I have been searching for one especially in this good of shape
I look in market place all the time
Lovely looking car. Although I was too young at the time to drive a car, I remember cars like this.
Someone was quick & sees a nice deal! headliner / AC no big deal, at this price my opinion. can’t have everything perfect on 40 years + vehicle. I saw one like this condition in Carlisle Swap a decade ago asking $6,000 these looks better in person than pics.
When the Mirada came out, I thought it was a very good looking car all around – outside and inside, and was perfect as a personal luxury car in the “affordable” range. I have no idea why anyone would think otherwise, but to each his own.
This one looks to be in excellent condition and the asking price seems a bit low for the stated condition, so whoever bought it got a nice distinctive-looking car for a very good price.
This was one of my favourite rides at the rent a car job. Good looks, reasonably comfortable but not a floaty barge. As with all early 80s cars, performance was a state of mind not a reality. The monster doors had a habit of cracking the trim piece between the door card and the window just by the lock plunger. If this had been in the neighborhood, I’d have been interested if an inspection proved it was as nice in person.