Parked and Needy: 1986 Chrysler Conquest
When a project car is in your neck of the woods, it becomes infinitely more appealing to take home as a project. It’s just a rule of the universe; we’re all bound to these guidelines. This 1986 Chrysler Conquest is a desirable 1980s enthusiast car that was mirrored at Mitsubishi with the Starion, and either version is a smart car to buy right now given the popularity of performance cars from the 80s and 90s. This Conquest supposedly had an engine rebuild not too long ago but was parked due to issues with the fuel injection system. Find it here on Facebook Marketplace for just $1,800 and located in Rhode Island.
With staggered wheels, box flares, and a full body kit, the Conquest came from the factory looking like a proper sports car. The 2.6L engine was turbocharged, helping it to check all the boxes of what features a 1980s sport compact should have. The later cars were offered with an optional Sports Handling Package, which this car would not have – but could be upgraded to if you wish. The paintwork is tired but the seller claims despite being from New England, this Conquest is pretty solid overall. The glass is in good shape and the same goes for the tail lights. The wheels are a must-have on a Starion or Conquest, and while looking slightly pitted due to corrosion, they’ll come back to life with powdercoating.
If you are to own one of these cars, you’re going to have to live with automatic seatbelts. I had a Subaru XT6 with those auto belts and while I remember them from my youth, I still could not adjust to having them in a project car after spending so many driving years without them. The best feature of the Conquest or Starion is the “Turbo” lettering on the seat belt, however, so I would find a way to co-exist. The seller’s car is definitely a project and he even mentions just swapping over the good bits to another chassis, but I’d like to see this one saved provided it isn’t rusty underneath. It won’t be easy and you’ll likely blow past the average selling price for one, but relatively few are left as worthwhile project cars.
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Comments
Always thought these were so cool when they came out. The wheels were icing on the cake. Mid 80’s was a crazy time for futuristic japanese type sports cars. The controls at a fingers reach off the steering wheel, sharp lines. These didn’t get the luv maybe the power train was not quite there but the styling is spot on.parts may be a problem to find, so this may be a good parts car.
Having owned a couple of these over the years I can say that they are one of the nicest driving vehicles of the era on a long haul. One was a slightly modified 88 that at 75 mph would accelerate to 100 in a couple seconds.
At one time I had the Conquest, an 06 GTO, and a 91 ZR-1 Corvette. I was heading to the SEMA show from central AZ and chose the Conquest; even with a non-working stereo!
Fast, fun, and comfortable.
Worth the $ and pesky seat belts all day…
Unfortunately the Conquest didn’t conquer the America car market.
It was here and gone pretty quick, like 2 or 3 years.
It’s Mitsubishi brother Starion appeared in Cannonball Run 2.
And like the car…..became a totally forgettable movie.
I owned one of these new and loved it.The biggest problem Chrysler came out with a recall to replace the main bearings.After that the engine was noisey.We picked it up at the dealer and drove to Tacoma from Las Vegas through Susanville in 13 hours.The wide tire setup was fantastic.Would hold the road like glue.Traded after the Chrysler mod.