There is a generational gap between accepted cars in mainstream gearhead terms. Between roughly 1974 and the late 1990s, there is a pretty large swath of cars that are ignored for one reason or another. We aren’t talking Mustangs or Camaros here…we’re talking cars that even now you still get truckloads of crap over for working on, that can still be scored for cheap money, that don’t take much to be something fun and cool. I’ll champion the cause until the end, but tons of cars were cosigned to the scrapyard simply because they didn’t fit the image of what people wanted. They weren’t muscular enough, or they weren’t luxurious enough, or they weren’t good enough for any reason that would fit the narrative. It’s an area I’ve pretty much stuck to in my years, but my tastes are considerably off anyways.

Take this Chrysler Cordoba as a starting point. It’s a $600 Craigslist score with rust in the rear bumper and wheelwells, a vinyl roof delete, and generally looks like hell. Yeah, I would’ve adopted it…actually, to be honest, I watched this car on Craigslist for a bit, but couldn’t bring myself to pull the trigger on it. YouTuber Dylan McCool did pull the trigger, and dragged home the big-block Late B-body sled. For a gloss-over, this is a well-optioned Cordoba. In addition to the 400ci mill under the hood, it’s a bucket seat/floor shift car and has about every option minus the full gauge package with tachometer, from what I can see. That would make for a great cruiser. The 400 itself can be nice and mild, or would make a great start for a strong engine build. The 727 auto is sold, and the whole platform is the same as the 1971 Charger, but because it looks pure Disco Brougham, nobody except the most mentally questionable messes with them.

McCool’s goal is to get the Cordoba up to a respectable spec before moving on to a sleeper build. I like this guy’s work because it’s very real-world…nothing I don’t do myself, nothing you wouldn’t do at home either. Check out the first couple of installments on the ‘Doba’s journey back to the road. It showed up as a non-runner, but plugs and some carb work fixed that. The power windows still work. The key buzzer still works. It’s even drivable. It can only get better from here!