“1976 Newport. It’s an impressive car that lives up to your idea of a Chrysler. Only its price range may surprise you.” So says a Chrysler brochure showing the big and heavy C-body Chryslers in the Bicentennial year. The seller has this 1976 Chrysler Newport two-door hardtop posted here on craigslist in Eugene, Oregon and they’re asking $2,900. Here is the original listing.
A two-door hardtop, what’s not to like? The ghost of its former black vinyl top lives on in the form of faded paint and the seller says that they know of no rust issues, but there are many other issues with this two-door hardtop Newport. It looks great in the photos, though, doesn’t it? Well, other than this one mystery spot. At first, I thought it might be cracked bodywork, but zooming in on it makes me think it’s just a scratch or something less severe. What do you think?
The sixth-generation Newport was made from 1973 for the 1974 model year until 1978. For any of you who were around back then, you remember the gas crisis, and most car companies were caught off guard. This is a heavy car with a huge V8 engine, something that we didn’t think much about in the early 70s, but by 1976, customers and carmakers were scrambling. The seller mentions the dual exhaust poking out under the rear bumper, saying that it has “newer custom true dual exhaust with flowmaster style mufflers.”
The interior is where things get really cool, at least in the optional Castilian fabric seats. You can see that the front seats have seen better decades, but luckily, SMS Auto Fabrics still has this wild fabric available, so line up your upholstery shop and you’ll be in business. Well, you can see that it looks a little rough inside overall, so there’s more work to do, but the backseat looks good.
Here’s where a lot of the work will take place – here and under the dash. This is Chrysler’s 400-cu.in. OHV V8 with around 200 horsepower and 320 lb-ft of torque when new. This one looks scary under the hood, not to mention the rust on the underside of the hood and other surface rust. The valve covers and air cleaner have been changed and the seller says that the wiring is a bit of a mess, with some things not working and it’ll need a lot of sorting out as per their description. For $2,900, who would take a chance on this two-door Newport?
Wow, that fabric is really wild! It looks like something AMC would do.
Should make 250HP with the valve covers and air cleaner. But seriously, a nice looking reasonably priced ride.
It’s neat to see one that isn’t badly rotted, but it’s an undesirable car that’s missing it’s A/C compressor, needs electrical work, which could be a nightmare, and the front seat being damaged, I don’t think they’ll find a buyer at any price.
C bodies are coming up in price and would be desirable with solid bones. A guy by the name of Murray Park in Tiffin, OH has most parts for these used and NOS. Wolverine Auto Wrecking in Oregon is also another good source for Mopar parts of this vintage.
Missing the entire HVAC system! Black paint covering the delete plate. You can see it has set for quite awhile with the intake having paint missing from all the mice urine eatting away at it. Not desirable but definitely would make an awesome cruiser. Those cars rode like a dream. My neighbors had a brand new one in 76 when gas was 58 cents a gallon!
I’d be curious if SMS has that seat fabric. Either it’s not desirable and they’re asking $50 per yard, or it’s not desirable and they’re asking $300 per yard. Place your bets.
Perfect for Lahey 🍸 🥴 to wheel over to the K.O.D 🌯 then, A&W 🍔 for Randy 🤰
Yup, 300.00 a yard for my 77 Nomad Chevy. I am still debating considering I just bought the seat kit for my 72 Impala convertible for a little over 600.00 with the sale and it is nice quality and looks exact.
Vehicles are cast in film/TV in the same way actors are. Sometimes vehicles used on camera become at least as famous as the human characters, so when we see similar models on the street, we are reminded of the film. Think the Aztek in Breaking Bad, the T-Bird in Thelma and Louise, the Charger in Dukes of Hazard. Some people think they can look cool by driving a Mustang like Steve McQueen in Bullit, or a 007 Aston-Martin .
When I saw the Newport featured here, I thought the same thing as Stan: Who would want to drive a car like the losers on Trailer Park Boys?
This isn’t a Lean Burn car. Still, I’ve never seen a 400 Mopar that ran correctly. Always stumbled off idle, even when completely warmed up. The missing A/C system is a huge concern. The cruise control is also missing parts. Electrical problems on these shouldn’t be that big a problem. These aren’t that complicated.
The big thing is the body. It appears solid and if it is, then that’s 70% of the concern gone. These are big heavy cars. They ride like a dream, but are not economy cars. My Parents had a 1974 Monico Custom Wagon, best it did was 18 mpg on the highway. Don’t expect more than that.
If you can get it for $2,900 and are handy, then go for it. It’s short comings aren’t insurmountable. These are starting to attract attention on the collectors market, but these are not going to be high end value cars. You can get into the collectors market relatively cheaply by getting one of these. The interior is probably going to be the biggest challenge.
I like it but can’t imagine how the wiring got so messed up. The listing says “a/c delete” but “a/c crudely removed” would probably be more accurate as delete usually means it was built without it. I’ve never seen a Chrysler with that style upholstery but Chrysler was doing some unusual things when this car was built.
I know I will get some flack but these are crap. Gas hogs, lean burns, thermo floods, electrical gremlins. If any American car of the 70s was pinned for quality issues, it was these. I never had a good one. I have a 75 Coronet and love it. trouble free, always works. Even worse than this was the Imperial, New Yorker. Aside from header panels a few other trim items, they were the same. I use to love the left fender signal marker would light up to remind you that you were accelerating too hard and were compromising fuel economy. 600.00 bucks and that’s it. Use it as a back drop on a show or derby it. No love for these.
Your wrong big time. These cars rode and drove great. It all depends on who was behind the wheel, how it was maintained and who worked on it. This car is way too solid to “derby it” which is dumb advice. Another good source for parts is http://www.forcbodiesonly.com
This one, or the same year Fury for 5K more? I’m going to go with this one every time.