In a TV commercial, a suave, tuxedo-clad Ricardo Montalban, driving a 1984 Chrysler LeBaron Convertible, turns, looks into the passenger side cameraman and says in his smooth, confident, accented voice, “You’re about to be seduced by power and luxury. LeBaron’s classic luxury now surges ahead with turbo power.” Yes, the turbocharger option was the big news for the ’84 LeBarons and it dominated their advertising messages. And here’s a clean, great-looking survivor that has been cared for and pampered for the past 42 years. It has the turbocharger, a beautiful Mark Cross leather interior, and the seller claims the car “drives smooth and strong.” If you want to relive the ’80’s, this ’84 LeBaron Convertible is located in Chandler, Arizona, and is for sale here on craigslist for $12, 200. A shout out to Barney for spotting this dandy drop top and sending it our way.
I’ve written several articles on Barn Finds about clean, well-preserved LeBaron Convertible survivors and usually get three reactions from owners: 1. They really liked these cars, 2. They really didn’t like these cars, and 3. They mention the John Voight, a periodontist (not to be confused with Jon Voight the actor) story line in a Seinfeld episode. I personally think these second generation LeBarons are attractive automobiles (the new power rear quarter window added in ’84 helped the car look better visually with the convertible top up). This ’84 LeBaron Convertible is one of the cleanest ones we’ve featured here on Barn Finds and I’m not spotting any big issues with it. The black paint shines, the gray pin striping compliments nicely, the power black convertible top looks decent, and all of the trim, glass, rubber, and even the faux wire wheel covers and tires look very good.
The Mark Cross Edition interior is most luxurious and features ” rich leather” in various shades of gray (along with faux wood trim). Overall, the LeBaron’s interior is impressive and plush and well equipped with AC, power everything, and an AM/FM stereo radio/cassette player. The leather seats aren’t showing any rips, the door panels are in beautiful shape, and I’m not spotting any major wear issues. The seller, who has owned the car for 15 years, says that everything works, including the digital speedometer and the “A door is ajar” Electronic Voice Alerts.
Strangely, the seller didn’t include photos of the engine bay. This LeBaron has the optional turbo that was added to the 2.2-liter four-cylinder engine. Ricardo promised “performance” and Chrysler stated in their ads that the new fuel-injected turbocharged engine would deliver 140 horsepower – a 40% boost from the standard 2.2-liter. Unfortunately, Chrysler only offered a three-speed automatic transmission which stunted performance potential. There are 80,100 miles on the odometer and the seller says “it drives smooth and strong and the turbo works great.” Back in 1984, Chrysler claimed to make the best built American cars and backed them with a 5 year or 50,000 mile Protection Plan on the engine, powertrain, and against outer body rust-through. So, what do you think? Ricardo Montalban ended the TV spot by saying, “No other car moves you quite like a LeBaron.” Are you moved to be the next owner of this attractive ’80’s time machine?
Fantastico! Nice one, Ron and Barney! I had basically the same car in the mid-late-80s, but mine was silver with the same Mark Cross gray leather interior and it had the 2.6 Mitsubishi engine. I like black much better; it’s much more formal. Not that a K-Car with chrome could ever really be that formal.
Great pic SG. Lol. Always liked these cars, the Turbo and Torq-flite moved these along well.
Liking that photo, Scotty. I don’t remember seeing them in silver. Hopefully you didn’t need to punch that turbo too hard to outrun that elephant…
You guys reminded me of a Dodge 600 drop top I drove years ago. It was for sale, and I wanted to buy it for my girlfriend who is now my wife. I didn’t have the cash, and we were saving to get married, so instead we wound up getting an ’88 Ford Festiva for free from her parents as a wedding gift. These are great cars and wouldn’t mind at all getting one now all these years later. Scottys is the same color as the one I wanted. This is a nice one!!!
The quarter windows were added when Chrysler moved production in-house, there’s a MotorWeek video showing them cut the tintop off and weld in the floorpan support, all in bare metal with the body still on the jig it was welded together in.
I really liked all of the K-cars. The LeBarons were my favorite, especially the woody option. That said, this particular one is striking. It looks great! Too bad Stellantis doesn’t have something up its sleeve to save Chrysler. The K-cars did the trick before. They were brilliant!
Had a white 1982 LeBaron,with the 2.2 engine. It had a vinyl top burgundy leather interior. It was a nice driver, economical 22 miles per gallon in town and 28 on the highway. Drove it for 6 years put 180,000 miles on it then traded it for a 1988 Dodge Dynasty. Great little car.
My mother always had a convertible and it was a sad day when they stopped making them. I remember how excited she was when we learned Chrysler was bringing them back. She got a gold Dodge 600 and it was used in the family for many years. I bought a Mustang GT convertible and the body felt more solid.
I hear the radio still works even if it catches on fire.
I prefer the Jon Voight edition.
Does anyone remember that turbo lag
Being a lover of 80’s turbo Mopars I always thought these were great looking cars, even if I’m not a convertible guy. Also great is that it’s a turbo version. Overall it looks in beautiful condition. Wish though he had included a engine photo at least. Not sure if he’ll get quite what he’s asking but it’s definitely on the higher end from what I can see.
If this was on Butthead A Trailer there’d already be about 50 lame, beaten to death Jon Voight jokes in the comments. 🙄