Estate sales can unearth some great classic cars, and while some or more desirable than others, this 1987 Dodge Diplomat Salon is a peach. It is an original and unmolested survivor with a list of desirable options. Its odometer shows 21,000 miles, but whether the figure is genuine is unclear. It has sat for around six years, but the seller has revived it so it can find a new home. The Diplomat is listed here on Craigslist in Scottsboro, Alabama. The seller set their price at $4,450, and I must say a big thank you to Barn Finder deaconstruct for spotting this remarkable survivor.
The seller recently located this Diplomat at an estate sale, confirming it had been in hibernation since 2017. They awoke the sleeping process, preparing it for life with a new owner. The car’s overall condition suggests it has led a sheltered existence. Its original Sarajevo White paint shines beautifully with no significant issues or defects. It cloaks panels as straight as an arrow, with surprisingly tight and consistent gaps for a car from this era. The seller says the Diplomat is rust-free, with no evidence of prior problems or repairs. The vinyl top is probably the low point of the exterior. It isn’t horrendous, but some blemishes and marks show signs of deterioration. The last thing the new owner needs is for rust to develop under the vinyl, so addressing the issue would be essential to prevent future grief. The trim and wire hubcaps are in good order, and there are no glass problems.
If this Dodge has a genuine highlight, that honor might fall to its interior. I wouldn’t classify it as showroom-fresh, but you will struggle to find an original interior from this era that presents so well. The cloth covers on the bench seats are excellent, with no wear or problems. The same is true of the remaining trim and upholstery, while the dash and pad haven’t suffered UV damage. Faux woodgrain is an acquired taste, but if you like it, you will be impressed by the condition of the acres of it found inside this Diplomat. There are no aftermarket additions and no missing items. The car features factory air conditioning, although it doesn’t blow cold. Other options include cruise control, remote mirrors, a rear defroster, a tilt wheel, and an AM/FM stereo radio.
The seller supplies this single shot of the Dodge’s engine, and you almost need a telescope to make out the details! It is powered by a 5.2-liter V8 that sends 140hp to the rear wheels via a three-speed A727 automatic transmission. That combination is crude by modern standards, but it appealed to potential buyers with an aversion to the more modern approach the company provided via its K-Car offerings. Performance is all you might expect when a V8 like this is asked to shift 3,611 lbs. The journey down the ¼-mile takes 18.5 seconds, and keeping the pedal to the metal will see the needle nudge 109mph. I appreciate that neither figure is particularly impressive, but this car’s drivetrain is about as robust as they come. If archaeologists unearthed one of these classics in an Egyptian tomb 2,000 years from now, a splash of fresh fuel and a new battery might be all that would be required to coax it back to life! After six years of inactivity, the seller pretty much followed that path reviving this gem. They also changed the oil, but that was about it. The Diplomat runs and drives well, although they suggest changing the tires due to their age. They say the odometer shows 21,000 miles but seem unsure whether the reading is genuine. I won’t commit either way unless there is verifying evidence, but the vehicle’s overall condition makes the claim seem plausible.
I’m under no illusions because I know this 1987 Dodge Diplomat Salon won’t appeal to everyone. If you feel that way, you are in illustrious company. Lee Iacocca was no fan of these cars when he was “head honcho” at Chrysler, feeling they didn’t fit in with his vision of the company built around the K-Car platform. Sales dropped substantially during the 1980s as buyers turned their backs on what they considered old technology in favor of more modern offerings. By 1987, only 20,627 buyers splashed their cash on a Diplomat. With sales continuing to plummet, the badge was quietly discontinued in 1989. Nobody knew it then, but it marked the end of an era. It would be sixteen years before Chrysler produced another rear-wheel-drive passenger car. A new generation of enthusiasts is recognizing that a tidy and well-preserved Diplomat represents a practical and affordable entry into the classic scene. This car seems to tick those boxes, but is it enough for you to pursue it further?
Oh, that front end stirring up some ghosts for me. I think I saw that image in my mirrors being pulled over, than any other cruiser. I knew some folks involved in law enforcement, that bought “civilian” versions as their personal cars, they were that good. Same reason for the Ford. Many waited until auction time, and got a pretty tired version of one, but this car, the “M” series, I believe was the last passenger car produced in Kenosha ending in 1989. Changes were afoot in the auto industry, BIG changes, Chrysler knew it and the M series, like the Crown Vic, represent some of the last what I call, “traditional” autos( engine, transmission, rear axle) the likes we’ll probably never see again.
And yes, these had their shortcomings, but ALL manufacturers were struggling with emission controls, and the car probably won’t run with them removed, a I can only imagine what a 30 year slumber would do to them, BUT, once debugged, and wouldn’t take much, you couldn’t ask for a better, not nicer, but better car to have. I hope you can find that parking brake pad and square quad sealed beams,,for starters, speaking of which, I think these still had that shrieking( alias “High Torque Gear Reduction” they called it) starter that woke you up when neighbor John left for the factory at 5am. Great find.
Oops, correction on the 30 year, but ANY lack of use isn’t good, and I think it is actual mileage.
Great comment Howard. I remember these in the mirror’s 🪞 🪞 too. And almost hiding in the ditches, upstate NY.. brown ones if i remember. I ran past a few w no top lites 🚨 head on and thought i would be burned. Got lucky. At the time i was in an 89LX trunk’ model 5.0. They had those too and we learned quick to recognize all the various front-ends and headlites of the cop rides. 💰
Hi Stan, I had a 5.0 LX too. I hated that car. The State Patrol ones you mention, were the “SSPs”, and were downright dangerous. Clocked at 144 mph, same as a new Charger, they were fast, but uncontrollable at that speed, and several crashes and no room for the perp, LEO went back to full size cruisers.
My memories of these weren’t good, either. I drove a cab in those years, on and off; and our newest cabs were Diplomats. Technically the same car as earlier Aspen/Volare cabs, but these felt…different. Heavier, and not in a good way. The Iacocca Numbness feeling got engineered in, somewhere along the way.
These were the cop cars of choice, too – for most urban police departments. That, after Car & Driver had made some snide remarks about outrunning “Police Volares” back in eight years or so earlier.
It just gave departments impetus to focus on LIDAR and aircraft speed-checking.
It is a nice blast from the past, and – as I said on the 210 posting – these cars, at their age, are for cruising, not dragging. It all depends on whether you have any memories, and/or if you think the different look and image is somehow “cool.” A lot of younger people do.
My wife and I had a similar car, a 1986 Fifth Avenue that was such a pleasant car to drive that when we loaned it to the wife of a surgeon who had just retired from the Army and moved to where we lived she refused to give it back and said just name your price.
Love the 5th ave. It was the sweet spot. Not new yorker, but sweeter.
A big , shiny turd!
Oh come on, I can think of many more “turdier”,,this car, in all it’s forms, was “AMERICA”, and what Americans SHOULD drive( my old man would say) I’m not sure I follow why this car should be classified a turd, aka, a POS. T’ain’t so.
I agree, Howard. I had the sister to this car, a 1988 Plymouth Caravelle Salon (Canadian). It was reliable, comfortable and handled quite well with the torsion bar/leaf spring setup. Sure, it was no rocket in acceleration but cruised down the highway quietly and safely. If one like this came up here in Ontario, I would be interested.
Back in the day, I could identify any vehicle by it’s headlight and blinker location. It was a very valuable talent to have as I usually drove, and we may have had a illegal beverage in the car on a Saturday night. Never tip your beverage at a crossroads, tip it straight back at a distance, always use your turn signals, and come to a complete stop. Our local police were at a time when the obnoxious green was the prevailing color and was so ugly. The afore mentioned tips are not to encourage drinking and driving, and I myself have hung up my bottle opener for good.No cellphones, no computers, just fun cars chasing cute girls, listening to good music having a good time.
Never have understood the lure of drinking and driving, never. Amazing that you, or some innocent person, is still here. I am glad you changed your ways, but judging by how many beer cans I see in my ditch every spring after the snow melts, many have yet to become decent human beings.
Hi Grant, well, to put things in perspective, as a truck driver, not many more put up with drunk drivers than us. I, by no means condone that behavior, but I come from a state, Wisconsin, that continually ranks #1 in drunk driving arrests. Like fishing in a barrel for the cops. As a young punk, drinking and driving wasn’t as taboo as it became later. I think Wisconsin had more bars per capita, than any other state. It was a social thing, and generally, folks didn’t get wasted, and didn’t have far to go home. I think, it was the influx of drugs AND booze, that was the real deadly situation. Today, distracted driving almost outweighs all the drunk driving combined, and a far greater risk to the public, but not much done about that,,yet.
Its a nice clean car scrolling through the pictures I’m fairly certain that the odometer has rolled over should still make someone a nice ride for a few years
Nothing intriguing here, another product of the mostly ill-fated 80s. And “Diplomat”, who in the world conjured up such a stupid name for a car.
Same guy who named the Buick Envoy.
I’d drive it, and not a lot of money needed to get into a solid old dodge, with the tried and true 318.I like other old cars, but after many year’s of trial and error, I’m basically a Mopar or no car man.
“Stellantis” is any better? What Snowflake came up with that?
Lee Iacocca may not have liked the cars, but I guarantee he liked the fat profits they generated, particularly the Chrysler version, which usually outsold the Dodge by a considerable margin.
Hi CC, it’s a well known fact, and coming from Wisconsin, I’d know, all Iacocca wanted was the Jeep. He knew full well cars like this were on the way out, and while they were dated, Chrysler did make out on these cars, not much really new engineering-wise, and these cars probably help fund the K car initiative. I remember a sign in Kenosha years ago, with all the vacant land from AMC, “Realty courtesy of Lee Iacocca”,,,it’s well known, he was not particularly welcome in Kenosha.
You are absolutely correct, Howard. Chrysler bought AMC to get Jeep, Diamler bought Chrysler to get Jeep, and Fiat merged with Chrysler to get Jeep. Chrysler got a bonus in the form of a new plant in Ontario and the design rights to the Eagle Premier, which was the basis for the LH cars. The old M-bodies must have made a mint for Chrysler, or it wouldn’t have been worth moving production to Kenosha. It’s unfortunate that Chrysler chose to close the Kenosha plant rather than update it, but that’s the reality of modern automobile economics – it’s cheaper to start from scratch than it is to modernize an existing plant.
Ah the 80s. We may have hated some of the cars, but stop and think how ugly today’s garbage SUVs are and then factor in the price. $56,000 for a total POS Jeep. Remember Jeep means Just Empty Every Pocket.
I owned three Diplomat police cars. Loved every one of them.
Love em Boatman, always wanted one, went to the auction and the cabbies would always outbid me.
Yes, Stan, I saw that a lot. Just have to be persistent. I got two of my three at Park Police auctions. They were the best ones to get.
I owned 4 “M” body Chrysler products back in the day. All purchased used. Two were absolute junk. Those being a 78 Chrysler LeBaron and an 85 Dodge Diplomat Salon. The other two were a 83 Chrysler New Yorker 5th Ave that I resurrected and a 88 Plymouth Gran Fury Salon. Those two I trusted to take me anywhere, and they did.
I like this Diplomat. I know these cars inside and out. If I could, I would buy it. And, no it doesn’t have an A727 Torqflite Automatic. I’m thinking an A998 or A999 either of which is closely related to the A904. Just a point of contention with me. These two transmissions are perfectly capable transmissions behind the 5.2 liter 318 V8. The 318 V8 is nearly bullet proof, the only really questionable part is the Electronic Spark Control Computer as they had their issues. Many worked fine, some were problematic. If it were to become an issue, convert it to the Mopar Performance Electronic Ignition, swap out the factory 2 barrel carburetor and intake manifold for Edelbrock pieces and enjoy your ride. You’ll be surprised by the performance increase. Maybe find some one to custom make a dual exhaust system for it. If emissions are a concern, DynaMax, Casco and Magnaflow all make low restriction Catalytic converters. A good intake setup and free flowing exhaust does wonders for a 318. If you’re wondering why Chrysler didn’t do this, the fact is they did. Latin America countries had displacement restrictions on certain cars based on weight, so Chrysler gave the 318, the 340 treatment for those markets, those cars were surprisingly quick.
The Dippy’s 318-2 barrel should be backed by a wide Ratio A-999, with Locking Torque Convertor and a Mopar 8-1/4” rear Axle, geared at 2.45:1. With gear ratios of 2.74:1 in 1st and 1:54 in 2nd, it actually lunged out of the hole with the same vigor as the standard ratio Torqueflite with a 2.71:1 rear axle. The convertor locks (hydraulic actuation in the valve body) at 45 MPH in high, unless tour foot is buried deep enough to tell the TF not to shift. The 318 Pursuit Packages had a 2.94:1 differential gear-set, and Quadrajet which helped somewhat, but any gain was shut down by a 2” Single Exhaust.
What the Pursuit package desperately needed was a 360 (3.58” stroke, rather than the 3.31” stroke in the 318), an electric cooling fan package, the Wide Ratio Small TF and at least a 2-1/2” mandrel bent exhaust with a high-flow muffler (Sonic Turbo was the killer in ALL flow Tests, even against 3” competitors). When Chrysler modified AMC’s valve train to match their heads in 1992 (4 years after production of the “M-body” ended) added a single ribbed belt Front End Accessory Drive (FEAD) and streamlined their exhaust manifolds, the Mopar small block was back with performance that rivaled the 1960s.
I prefer my Diplomats be molested.
Pretty awful cars in their day but like most old cars, oddly appealing to our sense of nostalgia. Keep in mind these were basically a visually updated Aspen/Volare after that cars disastrous reputation. Chrysler knew they could not rehabilitate the damage done by those models so, a quick restyle, new model name and presto, the history of the Aspen/Volare was eliminated. An Impala/Caprice or Crown Vic was a much better driving car in the day but these had their fans. Overall, this generation and the previous one are the cars that killed Chrysler’s reputation as an “Engeneering” company.
I bought a used, 1987 or 1988 Plymouth Fury Salon like this one 10 years ago; low miles, beautiful condition, 318, and it was a great car, not too big, not too small, beautiful seats, good handling, everything worked, enjoyed it for a couple of years until the Lean Burn electronics started acting up, then I got rid of it quickly.
There was a rumor that Dodge dealers wouldn’t sell you this car unless you had an AARP card.
They were simply dressed up Volares. Same dashboards, frames, engines etc. Slant Six was standard, known as the super six in that year, 318 had awful lean burn system as it was called…people would remove them at that time. This system was so bad that Chrysler had a retrofit kit available to for the soon to be released Imperial with the same engine. Once removed, it was the usual outstanding engine that it always was. You could also get them with the E-58 360 police engine. Overall every engine was great. The 360 was also present in the Dodge little red express truck. If you remember, that truck was the fastest vehicle in America then. It was faster than the Corvette. The Diplomat 360 was slower because it was heavier. Diplomat police cars were common then. The one pictured here looks to be very nice. It would make a nice cruiser today that you could wrench right in your driveway or garage.
Dan, I’ve seen a dozen or more of these in police form, and I’ve never seen or heard of a 360 equipped one.
Sorry people, I thought it was a 78 Diplomat, not 87-hence the references to little red express trucks being fastest car in America.
Grotesque.
I owned a Dodge Diplomat and it was one of the best cruising cars I’ve ever had. – Mine had plush front buckets separated by a console. The cloth upholstery was wine-red with a padded vinyl roof to match over cherry-blossom white (white with a tint of blue) paint – beautiful color. It was powered by a 318 cu engine pushing a very responsive automatic tranny. It had a full gauge cluster – no idiot lights – and an FM/AM Cassette 4 speaker stereo radio. The car rode like a much more expensive car, and you could cruise down the highway all day long and the Diplomat kept you comfortable all the way. It was a very under-appreciated car. An excellent car and well built. I put a lot of miles on my Diplomat and never had any maintenance problems. The scheduled checkups and maintenance was all it needed. It was in great shape when I sold it, and the person who bought it from me said it was one of the best cars she had ever owned too. They were good cars, which were never given their due. This one looks like an excellent one to have to put it back on the road for those long highway cruises again.
Hi,I would Love to own this fine time capsule.Got pulled over for racing someone in a truck by a local Police Dept driving one of these cars.God Bless the Men and Women in Blue.Thank You for your service.Any ho buy this car would make a great sleeper.Just don’t get caught speeding in NJ it’s not cheap seriously people.Not kidding
Transmission was an A904 Torqueflite. The 727 was used behind big blocks generally and no longer used in passenger cars by the time this car was built.
There was a 2 door Diplomat , but oddly, i don’t think i ever seen one! …
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/eb/1980_Dodge_Diplomat_%2827490007975%29.jpg/1280px-1980_Dodge_Diplomat_%2827490007975%29.jpg
It looked similar to a 2 door fairmont futura, but unlike the latter, the 2 door dodge had sportier frameless side glass.