This is an interesting car. It not only looks great but it’s a bit of a restomod which we don’t typically see with a station wagon with a hotter engine, dual exhaust, and other modifications. This 1981 Chrysler Town & Country can be found here on eBay in Franklin, Tennessee, about 22 miles south of Nashville. The current bid price is just over $4,000 but the reserve isn’t met yet.
The seventh-generation Town & Country wagons were based on the M-body LeBaron and they were the last of the rear-wheel-drive Town & Country models. They were made from 1978 to 1981 and the following year, they were based on the smaller front-drive K-car platform. The Magnum 500 wheels are an interesting touch on this wagon. I’m sort of on the fence about whether I like them or not but I don’t know if I’d change them or not. How about you?
The seller says that this car was from North Hollywood, California originally and they bought it from the original owner three years ago. They were told that the car was always garaged and never driven in the rain and it had 81,499 miles on it. Then the speedometer started acting up so they replaced it with another one from a Chrysler 5th Avenue and it showed 63,000 miles. Now they say that it shows 67,000 miles which means that it should have about 85,000 miles now. I need a nap after that.
The front seating area looks great but we don’t see the back seat at all, unfortunately. I’m assuming that it looks at least as nice as the front seat does. They do show a partial photo of the rear cargo area and it looks super clean. They mention having the front seat repaired to fix a split seam but there are no photos from the driver’s side, I’m assuming that it was the driver’s seat.
This car originally had a 318 but it developed a rod knock and since the seller didn’t have any plans to sell it, they installed a new/rebuilt 360 V8 to replace the former 318. They also put in a new radiator, fuel pump, alternator, torque converter, and a new Mopar electronic ignition to replace the lean-burn system and much more. This looks like one of the nicest LeBaron-body Town & Country wagons that I have ever seen. Are there fans of this era T&C out there?
Since they pulled the original motor they shoulda just put a Gen III Hemi in there and really made it go. Also woulda been much nicer with leather inside. Cool car nonetheless.
Right, they shoulda invest 15-20 grand in a modern hemi swap which calls for replacing the transmission, rear axle with limited slip, new high pressure fuel system, new cooling system, and then sell it to us for 4k
The story says they did the swap because they had no plans to sell it. So yeah, right.
Hell, works for me!
Couple of performance upgrades to that 360 and you can stomp all the Hemis you want. I’ve never seen a LeBaron Town and Country I own a 1981 LeBaron Salon sedan with the Slant six.
Why are the cars I have great interest in always beige or white or gray?
I like the wheels.
Looks to be a beauty. Just soooo beige.
The choice of wheels is not doing it for me either Scotty. If it was my car it would be wearing factory aluminum road wheels from a 1981-1983 Mirada or Imperial.
They DO look better than the stock wheel covers, though, and I like them! :-)
Either that or a set of low profile black wall tires with steel rims and Mopar dog dish hubcaps from the era.
This is a beautiful car. You hardly see these anymore. This is a step up from the Aspen/Volare wagons and this has much nicer equipment on it. This size wagon was a great size, I’d find it useful. Not huge, but not small either. I think the wheels work on this wagon. What crosses my mind is, why did a car with only 85,000 miles on it need that much work? If the speedometer was acting up, add some graphite lubricant! If the engine had a rod knock, just replace the rod bearings. Why go buy a whole new engine? Needed a torque converter? That’s kind of an unusual thing to need to be replaced. Sounds like someone spent a lot of money and they won’t get most of it back. The rest of the stuff I can see needing replacement because of age.
In my experience any time you get a rod knock it usually means the crankshaft gets chewed up.
Once you hear a “rod knock” or more specifically when an engine rod bearing spins with in the large end of the rod it’s too late to install new rod bearings. The big end is out of round and will immediately turn the new bearing once started. Just a little tip for ya!
No doubt the torque converter was replaced because a 318 is internally balanced and a 360 is externally balanced. Torque converter has a huge weight on it.
have you ever driven a 318 lean burn????
I would have dumped the 318 too, and gone with the 360, way more torque then a 318 could ever put out, and you need that with a station wagon. Really looks good, nice driver
My aunt and uncle had a 1980 Dodge Diplomat wagon same color they drove it all over the country. great wagon great memories
Now if it had a 4spd like that Ford ….
It looks a little like the Family Truckster from National Lampoon’s Vacation.
If I were to swap out the speedometer, I’d have the replacement speedometer set to the same mileage that the old one had on it.
I’d agree, perfect sz.
But the 360? gas hog?