Name another stretched, front wheel drive, turbocharged, four-cylinder limousine based off an economy car. Come up with any? How about one owned by a former President? Or a famous blue eyed crooner? This 1986 Chrysler Executive Limousine pushed the K car envelope to the absolute max. Find this one of 138 turbo limousines for $1200 in Mineola, Texas, here on Craigslist.
I’d want to see some hard evidence before believing that Frank Sinatra owned this exact Executive Limousine. Lee Iacocca was known for giving away many K cars to the famous, such as the first 1982 LeBaron Convertible to Brooke Shields, but it seems that Sinatra’s limo went to his maid before being auctioned off last year. And it didn’t quite match this black on gray velour model. But does it even help the price having a celebrity name attached to such an odd automotive dachshund?
All kidding aside, this 1986 Chrysler is one of the rarest Mopars ever built. It might not be the prettiest, but from 1982-86, these oddities were hand built by ASC, sported custom made body panels and glass, had Chrysler’s latest in turbocharged technology, and were owned by celebrities and hotels alike. They took the back half of a Lebaron coupe, the front half of a sedan, slapped on a New Yorker front clip, added 30” inches to the wheelbase, and covered the roof seams in thick vinyl to create a limousine that was shorter than a regular Fifth Avenue sedan. Can you say parts bin? The final year had the high performance engine and the revised rear end styling. Only in the 80s would this crazy idea make it past a late night of board room drinking to the sales floor!
Ignoring the alleged Sinatra tie in, this Executive Limousine looks very clean and complete. The gray tufted interior could use a thorough cleaning and the bubbly tint needs to be scraped off, but the model exclusive floor mats and foot rests are intact, and it is said to run well. Also, the front radio should be in the back compartment and the back radio should be in the front. Hopefully the dingy engine compartment doesn’t mean a blown head gasket. A glass partition could be electrically raised or lowered for those private meetings on the go or to chastise the chauffeur for racing Mustangs. And with 146 ponies pulling less than 3000 pounds, the go should be brisk. But add seven passengers with the jump seats folded down and the AC blowing, and the K car roots will probably start showing. For this price and exclusivity, can you buy a more unique car? And when was the last time you saw one?
I wonder if this has better rear suspension than the ’86 New Yorker I used to have? Having it rebuilt once and replaced once, made it a real pain. The digital speedo was crap as well, Chrysler replaced the entire dash 4 times while under warranty. I refused further shenanigans when the warranty lapsed, as after about 20 miles it cured its own problems. I sold the piece of crap for $1.
This car has more value when crushed.
This car is an amazing combo of rare, ridiculous, super cheap, and practical. Go full retard on the turbo mods and this would be a ton of fun.
“Full retard…” Lol!!
Delivered one of these for Auto-Driveaway back then. Was one of the best ways to get across country at the time on the cheap.
No. More appropriately, “Oh hell, no!” Cheap, gaudy, underpowered, and all -around a flaming turd
Why? Just why?
Im sure the car museum at the Linq hotel in vegas has ole blue eyes car? They did back in may anyhow.
Still has its uses as a low end limo if you do not want to spend the money on a more expensive Cadillac, Lincoln Limo
Has a far better use crushed. Maybe it can be converted into some practical structural steel.
The seats look like plush, they are not! The photo does the purchaser an injustice.
There is no real back support. If you like a reclining drivers seat, this piece of crap will provide you with a permanently reclining seat, because it breaks easily.
If I had only known that someone wanted something cheap, then I could have sold it to you for $1.
I would see it more as a family car for somebody that has a lot of kids.
Sinatra may have advertised for Iacoccoa but he never drove or owned a K car. Beneath his status.
He actually owned a few K cars, including a limo and a LeBaron Town & Country station wagon. All given to him by Chrysler.
Chrysler was digging itself out of a financial hole, and could not afford to tool up for a luxury car, they made do with what they had. We laugh now, but, it is much better looking than the Seville bastardization above and for someone who needed a limo, but only bought MOPAR, it filled a need.
A K car limo! Talk about an oxymoron. Good thing this is in Texas…..i’d be tempted just for the hell of it.
I used to have a limo company in the 90’s and was looking to add one of these to my fleet. They offered more room than a conventional town car making it a nice ride to the airports with much better fuel economy.
Hmmm…. I still have the full-color Chrysler brochure for one of these.
True story: I bought the brochure at a used-book store in Akron Ohio quite a few years ago. Not more than 10 minutes after leaving the store with my purchase and driving home, 3 fire trucks “flew” past me on their way to a massive blaze. You guessed it; the used-bookstore was the one on fire and all those other brochures I had perused (such as ones for the Oldsmobile 442, Pontiac GTO, and Mustang Muscle Parts) were lost.
I still curse myself for being so frugal that I passed on them.
RB
You need this car, Reg. God has spoken.
This wouldn’t be a bad acquisition for the Lane Museum
A friend of mine has one that was owned by Richard Nixon. Oddball car, he has 3 limo’s. 54 chrysler, a 90’s Lincoln an the K-car.
Hey, I just picked up one of these about two weeks ago. Mine’s a little customized though. Here she is:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcO9ZFieHpI
High-larious! One more thing you need to add to your “upgrades”-one of those plastic steering wheel wraps to match your interior. Bling Bling!
It is now priced at $500 and no mention of Sinatra.
I may have missed the post above where the Sinatra link was debunked (typical I just jump right to writing), but I know it can’t be his. As a K-Car collector I was bidding on the official Sinatra car (with documentation) that sold for a STUPID high price to a collector in Turkey who’s a Sinatra fenatic. When the bidding passed $5K I bailed and if memory serves or sold for the low/mid teens.