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Rough Start: I Lost My Heart In…North Dakota?! 1981 Cordoba For Cheap


Rough Start: I Lost My Heart In…North Dakota?! 1981 Cordoba For Cheap

For this Rough Start, I searched the whole state of North Dakota. I picked North Dakota because honestly, I had absolutely no idea what I would find. I’ve never been in that region of the United States (Western Montana is the closest I’ve been so far) and I’ve never seen the cars up there. I will say I’m impressed. Lots of early ‘70s Oldsmobile 98s popped up, as well as a few trucks. But one car stood out to me…

Cordoba 3

Get it out of your system now. Yes, McTaggart found another J-body Mopar. I was having flashbacks to my ’81 Mirada I had not too long ago. This one is a 1981 Chrysler Cordoba LS. It’s red. It doesn’t have a vinyl roof, which is nothing short of a freakin’ miracle. And it’s a Slant Six car. Here’s the rub: It’s clean. Best I can tell, there’s only one worry spot on the whole body, just behind the driver fender’s wheelwell. The paint looks like it’s worn very well, and it has the 15×8 Mirada 10-spoke wheels. I’m not liking the centers painted, but that’s just me, and that can be fixed easily. The exhaust looks new, and the only thing I see missing is the chrome-ish strip meant to be in the front nosecone. Minor loss.

Pretty much any Mopar engine fits. The car looks nearly bone-stock, and that Torch Red is the best color Chrysler had on the books in ’81. I’m willing to bet that the interior matches the rest of the car’s appearance. At $1,750, that leaves a very decent bit of change to play with. I’d have to V8 this car, and I’m sure I’d still have plenty of cash left over to tint the windows and drive the hell out of it.

You can see the Cordoba’s Craigslist ad here. 

Everyone loves a clean, unmolested two door…right? Where should I look next?

Cordoba 2


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2 thoughts on “Rough Start: I Lost My Heart In…North Dakota?! 1981 Cordoba For Cheap

  1. 440 6pac

    If my memory is right, and it is about 50% of the time these days, the vinyl roof was an option on the Cordoba LS. I’ve only seen about 5 LSs with a vinyl roof. But the Mirada CMX came with the vinyl roof standard. I’ve only seen one CMX without a vinyl roof. I took if off the one I had.

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