Ok, I’ll own my weirdness…I really want a 1987-93 Chrysler LeBaron coupe converted to RWD, powered by a late-model Hemi and a six-speed. The inspiration comes from Mark Beckett’s 1990 Dodge Daytona, which I got to ride in when I shot the feature on his car (which you can read about HERE.) I like the shape and proportions of the coupe, but good luck finding one. Instead, if you search for a 1980s LeBaron on Craigslist, more than likely you’ll find the 1987-95 convertible. You know the one…they were everywhere for years, the rental agencies loved them, older folks loved them, young women loved them. The sporty drop-top K-car that didn’t look like a decapitated Aries K, usually painted silver or teal or some funky shade of purple. That one.
I’ve dealt with a LeBaron droptop before…a woman who gave me a temp job shortly after I got out of the Army had one that needed to be thoroughly detailed (read: car wash carpet shampooer for two hours straight) and as long as I was cleaning it up, I could drive it to make sure everything else was good before she turned around and sold it. For a car that was left to the Washington State elements for months, it did surprisingly well, top up or down. But the 2.2L four-cylinder was only truly adequate for a powerplant, didn’t like being beat on, and did not inspire anything but a reason to send the convertible on it’s merry way.
But here’s an interesting Craigslist find: a 1994 LeBaron GTC that is ready to accept a 2003-2008 truck-sourced 5.7L into it’s engine bay. All you need is a good junkyard motor and a truck computer, and you will be on your merry way! Or, at least, that’s what the seller claims, but there’s a lot of work done already: an unknown automatic sits waiting to mate up to an engine, there are aftermarket gauges in the pod and an aftermarket shifter in the console, and the car appears to be a roller in need of power. Scoring an unfinished project is always a risk, but for $1,700, could it be worth it? You’ll probably need around that amount to get a good 5.7L and PCM, and we suspect that there’s some other final detail finishes that will need to be addressed, but unless the floor doesn’t exist in the car anymore, there’s a good chance you could get this LeBaron going for under the $5,000 budget!
Craigslist Link: 1994 Chrysler LeBaron GTC Convertible
That’s pretty hideous.
That thing may be a perfect sleeper, even with the exhaust note. I’d get one those ‘oil squirter’ things for the exhaust to blow smoke. Nobody would look twice at a smoking k-car