There’s a different vibe with this 1986 Chrysler Fifth Avenue since the seller took off the factory wire wheel covers (they don’t say whether they’re included or not) and put on these black steel rims, dog dish caps, and new blackwall tires. I like it, it reminds me of a modern version of a 1930s town car. The seller has this one posted here on craigslist in Cottage Grove, Minnesota and they’re asking what seems like a very reasonable price: $5,200. Here is the original listing.
I guess, now that I look at the photos for the 20th time, I would rather have the factory wire wheel covers and white wall tires. I’d reserve the blackwall tires, black painted rims, and dog dish caps for a regular Chrysler/Dodge/Plymouth family sedan, or better yet, a law enforcement vehicle. Unless it’s an actual 1930s town car – and I know that most of those came with wide white wall tires – I’d probably source a set of original-spec wire wheel covers. What are your thoughts on the look of this tough luxury car?
This Sterling Silver Crystal car looks great to me, I don’t really see any, or many, flaws in the body, do you? The seller says that it has no rust, which is amazing for a car with Minnesota license plates on it. Having just 80,000 miles, that’s only around 2,100 miles a year so it’s feasible that this car has never been driven in a Minnesota winter.
Now that’s an interior! It’s not red leather but red velour is the next best thing in these cars, and it appears to be in really nice shape. Although, I’m not sure what’s going on with the corner of the driver’s seat back, that little yellow portion in the bottom right side of the photo. The M-body Fifth Avenue was offered from 1982 to 1989 and they were the last rear-drive V8-powered Chryslers until the Chrysler 300 came out in 2005.
The engine looks like a plush, velour back seat for some reason. Maybe because this is a craigslist ad and they typically don’t have engine photos, it must be in the CL boilerplate or something… In any case, this one should have its original 318-cu.in. OHV V8, which would have had 140 horsepower and 265 lb-ft of torque when new. The seller says that it runs and drives well, it has quite a few new parts, and the AC isn’t currently blowing cold. For $5,200 – good buy or goodbye?
LOOKS like a NARC car no thanks
Just a basic used to. Anything over 3500 even that is being over generous
This is a great buy!!! If this Chrysler was close to me. I would be driving it home.😂 I drove 5th Ave’s. at the dealership with this type of interior. All I can say is you better be awake I nodded out a few times sitting in this bench seat. It’s freaking amazing the comfort this vehicle has on the inside. It would be cool if it had the 360-4 under hood. I like the way the wheels look on this now…it looks like something a government agency for top official would drive. I am shocked nobody bought it yet for this price it’s a steal. Lucky next owner will enjoy it. 🐻🇺🇸
A 360 would be nice, but this would have a stock 318 (Magnum, maybe) with a 2-bbl carb and Electronic Spark Control, the cheezy illegitimate SOB of Chrysler’s Lean-Burn Ignition. And no matter what engine it would have, it’d still weigh right around 38-3900 lbs., tall rear end gears and a non-overdrive transmission.
This will always be a posh ride, but it’d take an awful lot to make it even a marginally quick one.
The magnum came out in 1993. Does anyone like the lean burn? They were terrible. No matter what model they were in.
It was easy to get rid of that spark control. Change the distributor setup to electronic setup. And it works fine without the spark control. They never never worked. I don’t care what anybody said it was garbage. 🐻🇺🇸
I’ve de-Lean Burned a couple of ’80s Mopars. Chisel the lean-burn box off the air cleaner, stab a conventional electronic distributor in the block and wire it up to a plain ol’ Orange Box. Then chuck the computer controlled ThermoQuad or Quadra-Bog in the trash and get a Holley 4165 spreadbore.
But this 5th will need a lot more than a LeanBurn-ectomy to be a quick car.
The 5th ave never came with a 360 couldn’t even order it with one
Scotty, that yellow is probably a sheep wool seat belt sleeve
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Looks like the kind of car someone would be buried in.
The ‘dog dishs’ are reminiscent of what would be considered a ” sleeper”……however it appears to have just the 318 ci 2bbl 140 horsepower/ 265 lbs ft of torque stock powertrain……..its the last of the frt engine/ RWD luxury BOATS OUT of Chrysler Dodge Plymouth before the ‘enhanced’ Chrysler 300 came along.
I prefer velour to leather for the High Brougham Era pillow-tufted interiors, and this red one looks to be in great shape. Wheels and tires are an easy swapover.
Looks like a fancy Dodge Diplomat Police cruiser, with crush velvet seats(cue Bruce Springsteen}.
This car reminds me of the car you could get a ride in, after too many cervesas. Sans the velour upholstery.
I hate it when someone screws up the original designer’s vision. Those hub caps are abominable. Needs the original wires and white walls.
Definite keeper. Although i’d scrounge up a set of the optional alloys that Chrysler had and a nice set of whitewalls. Is it me or is the suspension on the low side. I’d run over to the local suspension shop and swap in the Diplomat/Gran Fury police suspension to give it some road handling.
That spot that you think is the seat is actually the plastic trim around the door opening. That velour never stuck .Saw it on many a car.
Thanks, Craig!
Tough, honest, comfortable automobiles.
Those dog dish hubcaps look just ghastly on this stately lady. One must unsully her and get rid of those peasant class monstrosities at once.
🤦
I love that look. And thank God she has no whitewalls!
Oh my dear man, you cannot be serious. I dare say you have fallen prey to the prevalent syndrome, where all manner of things must present a veneer of sport. But surely, that is not in her idiom. And that, undoubtedly, is that of a most stately boulevard style.
I wish that I didn’t have my Grand Marquis right now. I just love the “M body” 5th Avenue. The 318 was bullet proof. I would buy this car in a heart beat. I owned 4 different Chryler “M-body” cars. I know those things like the back of my hand.
I agree that the spark control computer has to go. Well, if it stayed a 2 barrel that computer could stay, but a Mopar Performance Electronic Ignition Conversion kit could go in. If you need a little more umph, an Edelbrock Performer 318 Intake and a 600 cfm Performer AVS Carburator. The exhaust on these things is very restrictive. I always thought putting aftermarket converters on these with ful dual exhaust would wake these up, while not terribly effecting emissions. Top the carburetor with the Mopar Performance Retro Unsilenced Air Cleaner Assembly would finish the underwood appearance.
I question the choice of wheels, use the police steels for that Era. They look nicer. Finish them off with 1970 Rally Wheel Center Caps and trim rings. Yes, those center caps do fit the Police Steels. The screw holes line up. The only real downside might be the rear axle if you do this stuff. Most 5th Avenues used the 7 and 1/4 inch rear end. That’s a weak link just waiting to fail. The larger 8.25 inch rear axle might be hard to find. If your local salvage yard has any Police Spec. “M-body” cars, grab the rear axle and drive shaft. All the “M-body” cars are the same underneath. 1982-1989 cars even have the same sheet metal. That rear roof line is just a fiberglass plug with some padding and vinyl on it. It was a quick and easy way to give the car a more (cough) elegant look (cough). Chrysler wasn’t the only company that took an existing body and make a more upscale looking car out of it by adding some cheesy fiberglass plug to it. Still, it made the same body look different.
Yes it’s underpowered, but oh so comfortable! From a time when a luxury car aspired to be comfortable rather than a European sports car. I’ve never rode in one of these, but I’ve had the pleasure of sitting in one. I wish the overpriced “luxury car” my other half just bought came with an interior like that.
I have one, Zen, a 1987 with 41K original miles on it. I’ve owned it for two years now, and have TOTALLY enjoyed it! It drives nicer than most new “blob mobiles” and rides significantly better. It’s VERY quiet and luxurious going down the road and does not “float”; almost as quiet as my other car, a Lexus hybrid. Steering is a little vague being the recirculating ball type, but who cares? Mine has the wire wheel covers. It gets admiring glances and comments frequently. Highly recommended!
Cool, here’s to many more years of enjoyment for you!
I had one of these, an ‘82 in charcoal gray. My dad gave it to me as a teen. Yes as others have said it has tall gears but was really restricted by the 2 barrel intake. I literally had the pedal on the floor on the highway and a VW Rabbit buzzed by me driving through Vermont.
Was bored one summer so took off the 2 barrel carb/intake and installed a Weiand dual plane intake and a Holley 600cfm carb. After that that the AC compressor didn’t fit so I chucked it, dead weight, right? The Lean Burn computer I wrapped in a towel and let it bounce around on the driver side valve cover. I was a teen and didn’t know what to do with it since if I unplugged it the car would die so there it stayed on the valve cover wrapped in a towel. Changed the thermostat to a 195 degree type as the engine ran better. I later changed the Holley to a Thermoquad for the smaller primaries since I didn’t change the cam and helped off the line.
The exhaust from the cat to the single muffler was all welded so I managed to remove the muffler and from JC Whitney put on a “Y” pipe with flex exhaust so I had side exit exhaust. Sounded awesome( to me anyways…). Sounded like a slightly raspy IROC-Z Camaro. Added driving lights and full length leaf spring helpers.
Loved driving that car with my “manual automatic” transmission, hahahah. Always was shifting it manually. Opening up the intake/exhaust helped. Got the car up to 55mph in 1st gear and cruised easy over 100mph, just with the typical wandering common to Mopars back then. Speedo only went up to 85mph but speed was verified over 105mph by a Trans Am I found on the highway and we pulled off the same exit and I asked how fast were we going.
Spider gears in the diff went a couple times then traded it for a 1990 Acura Integra GS. That 5th Ave was the last RWD car I owned and miss the RWD. Wish my Type R was RWD….
It appears he wants to be an undercover drug cop wannabe.
Beautiful looking car. I’ve always loved original survivors. If only more pics were posted on Craigslist. Oh well. Given its condition, assuming everything works like they should, and it runs and drives safely, I’d be willing to pay around the asking price.
Love these old square cars. So comfy and nice to roll in. As much as I dislike wires the poverty cap look pretentious. A nice wheel disc from a diplomat or medallion would be better. Nothing UC about a 5th Ave.
I had an 1987 Fifth Avenue like this. Mine was Twilight (dark) Blue with dark blue velour interior. I loved it. If I were to buy this car I would locate a set of original style spoke wheel covers and get a set of original style white wall tires and drive it. It didn’t have overdrive but had a high gear rear axle and a lock-up converter so mileage wasn’t bad. It had the computer on the air cleaner and never gave trouble so I left it alone. I’m not sure what year this started but the 318 engine had a hydraulic roller cam and ran great. The only negative thing I can think of was it said to use premium fuel only. It was printed on the inside of the door over the gas cap.
And……we’re out of Corvettes to write about.
Rex, send Barn Finds the cars that you want to talk about.
I tried that.
Rex, you kind of have to flood them with car finds and they will bite on a few of them.
It seems like half the cars from this era had red interiors. Today, they are non existent. Funny how tastes change.
Take off the dogdishes and save them for driving in the winter, if you decide to drive a car like this all year. I bought steel wheels and dogdishes for my ’13 Charger for winter use and stored away the alloys. It gave the all black car a sinister, cop car look.
If it is really rust free as it looks…i would say that is amazing coming from Minnesota.Even so,this is more like a $3500-4 car.cop car on the outside and looks like grandma’s car on the inside.would just become a “nickel and dimer”when you would begin putting miles on it.
The issue with the seat you mention is actually th B pillar. They were wrapped in velour and had a tendency to wear out after a while of getting in and out of the car