Original 400: 1976 Chrysler Cordoba
By the second half of the 1970s, Chrysler was a corporation that was in severe financial trouble. Things were so bad that it was teetering on the verge of heading to that great automotive graveyard in the sky. However, the advent of cars like the Cordoba allowed a stay of execution until Lee Iacocca arrived like a knight in shining armor to drag the company out of the hole it was in. Our feature car is a 1976 Cordoba owned by a gentleman with decades of experience as a Chrysler mechanic. He has addressed a few of the car’s inherent design flaws to make it a more civilized beast for its next owner. With the vehicle now mechanically sound, he has listed it for sale here on Craigslist. The Cordoba is located in Fenton, Michigan, and it could be yours for $7,500. I have to say a big thank you to Barn Finder rex m for spotting this tidy survivor for us.
During its initial development cycle, the company had intended the Cordoba to hit the market wearing Plymouth badges. However, the corporation’s financial crisis led them to brand the vehicle as an upscale Chrysler to maximize potential profits. This proved to be a sound decision, and our feature car was 1-of-165,000 to wear the Cordoba badge in 1976. This one looks like a beauty that wears Deep Sherwood Sunfire paint with a matching Green landau-style vinyl top. The owner believes that most of the paint is original, and its shine is impressive for its age. Like the panels that it covers, there are a few blemishes. However, if potential buyers view this classic as an original survivor, its condition is definitely acceptable. The state of the vinyl is excellent, with no evidence of bubbling or deterioration. Apart from financial chaos, one other thing that Chrysler was renowned for during this period was producing cars with a tendency to rust. That isn’t the case with our Cordoba because it has managed to remain rust-free and rock solid for the past forty-four years. I tend to believe if the tin worm hasn’t managed to sink its teeth into the steel by now, this car must be a good one. The original trim is in good order, and while the windshield has a crack below the driver’s sightline, the remaining glass is in excellent condition.
Buyers in 1976 could choose from a range of engines to slip under the hood of their new Cordoba, but this one chose the 400ci V8. The rest of the drivetrain includes a three-speed TorqueFlite transmission, power steering, and power front disc brakes. It seems that the advent of tighter emission regulations strangled Chrysler’s V8 range more severely than other manufacturers in the early days, although they did manage to turn the tide as time marched on. This V8 would have produced 175hp in its prime, which was sufficient to send the car through the ¼ mile in 18.3 seconds. There are a couple of factors worth noting with our feature car. The first is that the owner claims that it has a genuine 30,000 miles on the clock. He doesn’t indicate whether he holds verifying evidence, but the vehicle’s overall condition suggests that this is possible. The second is that as a person with more than fifty years of experience as a Chrysler mechanic, he has taken the opportunity to ensure that the car is in sound mechanical condition. A previous owner had installed a dual exhaust, and this remains intact. One of the seller’s major changes was to unbolt the original intake and Electronic Lean Burn carburetor and hurl them into a corner of his workshop out of sight. In their place, that 400 now wears an Edelbrock intake and a Holley 4-barrel carburetor. I do not doubt that these changes will have unleashed a few extra ponies and would make that V8 more civilized into the bargain. The original system is in the workshop, and he offers potential buyers the option of taking it if they want. His knowledge of these engines motivated him to remove the original troublesome nylon cam gear and substitute a more bulletproof double roller set. He used that opportunity to install new valve stem seals. It seems that the effort and expense was worth it because he says that the Cordoba is ready for a spot of cruising or a cross-country journey. With his extensive experience, I’m inclined to believe this claim.
The Cordoba’s luxury leanings become apparent when we turn our attention to its interior. By today’s standards, it might appear pretty basic. But in 1976, this was not too shabby. Buyers found themselves with a bench seat with a fold-down armrest, air conditioning, a tilt wheel, an AM/FM radio, and a host of interior courtesy lights. It appears that everything works as it should, and the overall condition is excellent for a vehicle of this age. There is no visible wear or deterioration with the upholstered surfaces, no cracks on the dash or pad, and the faux-woodgrain is in good order. It looks like the carpet is free from significant wear, and the same is true of the wheel. If anything, I would rate the interior more highly than the exterior. That’s quite an achievement when dealing with upholstery and trim as pale as we find in this Cordoba.
I don’t know if it would be fair to label the Chrysler Cordoba as the company’s savior. However, the small profits it generated in its early years of production bought Lee Iacocca the time to rationalize operations and raise the loan guarantees required to set it on a path that would lead to financial stability. They were not cheap when new, but this car demonstrates that tidy examples can be affordable classics in today’s market. This one is probably priced at around the top end of what a buyer might expect today. Still, its lack of rust, tidy presentation, low odometer reading, and overall mechanical health probably go a long way towards justifying that figure. I suspect that the owner will likely find himself a buyer, but he may need to be patient for this to happen. Do we have any readers who might be tempted to pursue this one further?
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Comments
If ever there had been such a thing as vehicle plagiarism, this Monte Carlo knock-off was it.
Quite true. I actually like the Cordoba styling a bit better though.
How bout the ’70 barracuda? Could be mistaken from the side(especially) or even front(comparing to an RS from a distance with the hidden headlites open) ’68 Camaro. The body lines of the 2 cars are very similar.
No different from the Camaro being a rip off of the Mustang, The Chevy II being a rip off of the Lark/Falcon/American/Valiant , The El Camino being a rip off of the Ranchero, etc…
DON, these other cars you mention are different enough from each other to be easily identifiable. But IMO, the ’70 barracuda & ’68 camaro open headlite RS are just TOO similar to each other on the outside, excluding tailites.
The only people that would mistake this for a Monte Carlo, or a Barracuda for a Camaro are just not car people, so can easily be ignored.
You got that right!
My dads 76 had the console sunroof and the Corinthian leather … was a good car
Of course you know that “Corinthian” leather was just a marketing tool. The hides came off the same shelf as those for a Dodge Dart.
The Corinthian cattle take exception to your comment.
These were good-looking cars, as Ricardo Montalban would have agreed. But the motors were smogged out under-powered pigs. The only difference really between a 360 or 400 Chrysler motors was the speed…at which they used gas.
Probably hard for anybody under 50 to understand but back in the mid-70s, the Chrysler name had a lot of equity as a premium brand. So indeed, it was a wise decision to call this tarted up mid-sized Fury/Coronet a Chrysler. Ford found similar success when it took advantage of the Thunderbird name by sticking it to the Gran Torino Elite for 1977.
Ultimately, the concept got played by less successful attempts like the 1975-79 Seville (Nova), 1977-80 Versailles (Granada), the 1981-83 Imperial (Cordoba, ironically) and worst of all – the 1982 Cimmeron.
It’s funny, this car would not have caught a second glance from me a a kid. But now at 50 I find I love these big cruisers, and especially dig the ones with colors, both in and out, that are as far as possible from today’s gray scale boredom. Cars and prices like this seem a reasonable way to purchase some cool for the weekend.
My dad had a brown Cordoba with a brown leather interior. 400 CI lean burn was indeed crap. It was a fun car for a teenager to hoon around town. Just remember to flip the air cleaner lid back over before you took it home, lol.
And who could forget this,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ec26KB43tc
Jack Jones crooning about the ‘76 Chrysler New Yorker:
https://youtu.be/ZTjXMrlaIk4
My brother had one . The lifters started rattling at 20k miles total lemon
When the Cordoba came out in 1975, the ad campaign and sales brochure called it “the new small Chrysler.” Instead of giving it some exclusivity, the Dodge Charger SE became its badge engineered twin for a period of time.
This particular example needs a proper set of whitewalls.
My uncle owned the biggest full service gas station in our town, a lot of cool cars passed through there. I went to work there when I was 14 in 1974. In early 1975, he took delivery of one of the first Cordoba’s around. It was a new beige Corinthian version with a 360 V-8 and all the options. Later that year, I got my driver’s license and not long after, he let me borrow it for a date. Man! for a just turned 16 year old to show up at my girlfriends house in that sweet ride; I was on cloud nine. First time I was in control of such an impressive luxo ride. Yes, fond memories of times now long past.
It’s gone…
My dad had one with the lean burn 400. When if started running bad he assumed it was the computer. Turned out there was a recall on this model for the carb floats absorbing gasoline and sinking, causing rich condition. The dealer performed the recall and ,y dad finally sold the computer at a yard sale after he retired.
There is one in my town, black, black interior, five spoke mags and a built 440. Beautiful and very fast luxo ride.
One of the prettiest cars ever made, and total junk at the same time. I bought a new silver one. I had to specify that the vinyl roof was to be deleted and saved over a thousand right there. It was silver, when silver was a rare color. In the shop constantly. I had the leather interior, which was thin and cheesy and tore easily. But at least it was extremely comfortable to sit in while waiting for the tow truck.
The sister to the Dodge Charger…I actually liked the tail lights of the charger much better. This one just doesn’t look right with white letter tires….needs a nice set of whitewalls!
I had the same car same color people wound say your the guy with the green Monte Carlo all the time
Lee Iacocca had nothing to do with the Cordoba. He came to Chrysler in November of 1978. The 1979’s were already out and the second generation Cordoba and the Dodge Mirada were less than 10 months away from full production.
As far as fuel economy in the first generation Cordoba, a 400 lean burn would give you mid 20’s on the highway. A 360 back then would never give you 20 mpg highway.
Lean Burn/Electronic Spark Advance could be finicky, but if you had a tech that understood electricity, they ran like a charm. Many driveability issues were fixed by cleaning the battery terminals and the top of the battery. The system needed at least 10.5 volts to operate correctly. Also cracked intake manifolds caused driveability issues when techs set the carb too rich. When the engine warmed up, the crack was gone and the setting was too rich.
I miss those cars.
I bought this Cordoba! It’s been my “around town” daily driver since October 2021. It’s been an amazingly reliable (and comfortable) ride. The only things I’ve had to work on were a few minor mechanical bits (ignition module, coil, brakes), otherwise she’s held up rather well. I had a ceramic coating applied to preserve the original paint, and I keep a cover on the driver’s seat to prevent any rips or stains from happening by mistake. I wash her down thoroughly every time she gets driven in the winter season or on a dirt road (frequent underbody inspections and rustproofing application helps too). The car runs very well on leaded non-ethanol gas, and there’s always people excited to see the car around town!
Laser lover, thanks for checking in here. Many of us enjoy reading what happens to vehicles featured here.