It’s fascinating to me to see the vehicles people put away for a rainy day, or more accurately, never drove in the rain. When such vehicles were new, there was a moment when the first owner, and possibly the second, decided that it should be preserved because of a projection of future value. Or perhaps the salesperson convinced them they were driving home in a future collectible. Either way, the outcome is the same: a car with very low miles, in excellent, condition, that never became a collector’s item of any kind. Check out this 1985 Chrysler LeBaron Turbo convertible here on craigslist with a hair under 40,000 miles and an asking price of $12,995.
Of course, to some extent, you can understand why some caretakers-turned-collectors thought the LeBaron was going to be a collector’s item. The K-car platform was a big deal when introduced, with Lee Iacocca championing the model as the future of the brand and many pundits at the time giving it credit for rescuing the company from the financial doldrums. Component sharing was rampant across the front wheel drive model’s lineup, and with a range of equipment levels that were all pretty generous, the car was a hit – any many at the time credited it with saving the company from financial ruin.
There seemingly wasn’t a version of the LeBaron convertible that wasn’t loaded up in some way. Cushy leather seats, thick carpets, door panels loaded with leather, power features, and wood trim, optional Mark Cross stereo, even a driver control system that could “talk” to the driver and make reminders for them – well, this was hardly an economy car despite many of the K car platform offerings being geared towards cheap and cheerful commuters. Of course, if you were buying a Plymouth Reliant, that’s all you needed – but for a car like the LeBaron, the expectations were certainly higher.
The turbocharged 2.2L four-cylinder was a common sight in Chrysler products from the 80s, and seemingly checked yet another box as it related to building a car that was something to everyone. 146 horsepower wasn’t a lot, but it was enough to turn in some decent performance out of the box. And, of course, the fuel injected engine could be easily tuned for more power if so desired. The seller’s car is in excellent condition in photos. and the cranberry paint job is a nice change of pace from white and woodgrain. Though the asking price seems ambitious to me, there’s still plenty of enthusiasts who think these K cars convertibles are objects of desire.
Ambitious is an excellent choice of words Jeff.
I always liked these Lebarons sporty classy and comfortable. If I’m not mistaken that 4cly turbo is a Mitsubishi engine. So it should be trouble free for a long time. I’ve never been a convertible person as in my opinion they are like the roof of a house sooner or later they will leak and need replaced and that isn’t cheap. I don’t see where the price is all that ambitious as in this day you won’t find a 40,000 mile convertible in this condition for less. The price is thru the roof on everything now days. To the seller GLWTS.
The 4-cyl engine is a Chrysler designed and built engine. I know, I had the same engine in a 1984 Dodge Daytona Turbo Z, one of the very first units built. This was one of the best new cars I ever bought and I drove it in the 1986 One Lap of America.
Hey Richard, This is Bob Amoroso. I just bought a 1981 Plymouth Reliant K car from the original owner with 76k miles. Great car! Excellent condition!
How long did you have it, how many miles? I have seen very few hit 100K without a blown head gasket and piston scoring.
The turbo is a Chrysler 2.2 not The Mitsubishi 2.6 I have a 84 with the 2.6 and with 25K miles and mark cross interior.
A K car is a K car is a K car, no matter what label you put on it.
Mark Cross stereo? No such thing, as far as I can tell. The Mark Cross package was primarily a trim package, and included leather upholstery in either tan and brown or silver and black. This car is not a Mark Cross edition.
No Mark Cross on this LeBaron. Mine had MANY electrical gremlins which kind of ruined my opinion. However, they were good looking at the time. It seems that no 2 door coupes have survived and basically only convertibles with a few wagons. The coupes were cool and so was the Reliant coupe. After 1983, the styling on all these K-cars became less attractive in my opinion. The original two or three years were definitely good looking. They saved Chrysler. This needs to happen again.
Ok so its two years newer but I suppose if you wanted to have it painted green you could make a replica of planes trains and Automobiles
Ooh! I’ll have to tell my neighbor these are not collector cars. He’s got a red convertible just like this one, but his has the continental kit too. Plus he has the little K car limo in dk blue also with a continental kit! On second thought, he might take umbrage, so I’ll just keep it under my hat…
I had one of these that I bought used in the middle nineties. Mine was triple white. I wanted it because it had a drop top. These K cars revived the domestic convertible from its decade long hiatus. Another shrewd idea from Lee Iacocca. I can’t remember the exact year but mine had a Mitsubishi “Jet” engine. At least that’s what was written on the valve cover. Fun little cruiser especially on a summer night in the countryside with the top down. This one is in nice shape. The seller will probably have to bargain some though. GLWTS.
Pretty sure Jon Voight owned that car.
I had a Mark Cross edition, 2.6 Mitsu engine, black with brown leather. Bought at a VOA auction for a few hundred bucks around 25 years ago. Really clean and a fun car for what it was.