21K Original Miles! 1981 Chrysler Cordoba LS
Calling Ricardo Montalban, your redesigned car has arrived in the form of this 1981 Chrysler Cordoba LS – and I hope that you like what they’ve done to it. I had actually forgotten about this redesigned version (1980-1983) of the Cordoba, probably because I tried to forget about the original (1975-1979) and its “rich Corinthian leather” interior. This is a very sharp-looking car, and one not covered often, so let’s look at it in detail. This Chrysler is located in Homewood, Illinois and is available, here on eBay for an opening bid of $9,000 or a BIN price of $9,500. Thanks to Larry D for this tip!
The Cordoba occupied the personal luxury coupe market segment that was all the rage in the mid-’70s, a space more often controlled by the Monte Carlo, Grand Prix, Thunderbird, and Charger SE. Lincoln and Cadillac’s representatives in this slot were the Mark IV and El Dorado, respectively but the Cordoba went a different direction by riding on a smaller platform and being less ostentatiously adorned. Popular? You bet, first-year sales were approximately 150K units. Downsized for 1980, the Cordoba now even offered a six-cylinder engine – something that would have been a big no-no in prior times, but those times were now changing. In 1981, the Cordoba LS, with its distinctive gunsight crosshair grille, was introduced and that design added a bit of sporting flair, ala Chrysler 300, to the staid coupe. Alas, Cordoba’s popularity, unfortunately, imploded in 1981 with only about 21K copies finding homes.
The listing for this Chrysler is a tome. If you want to know its entire history, take the time to go through the listing. The seller is the fourth owner and claims the 21K mile reading is genuine and documented. No doubt about it, this Cordoba is sharp-edged and slab-sided – I like it. The sharply creased lines are beautifully enhanced by the perfect Nightwatch Blue finish, a finish that is not original, though the shade is. Garaged always, there is no indication of rust or a history/evidence of crash damage. Of note are the aftermarket alloy wheels, they really set this Cordoba apart but the white-letter tires, I think, detract from this car’s bearing.
The disappointment is under the hood in the form of an 85 net HP (90 HP in California), 225 CI slant-six engine, and that may be the reason that no image is included. Don’t get me wrong, the slant-six was a masterful piece of ChryCo engineering and perfectly adept in a Valiant, Dart, or a taxicab, but in a car that looks as impressive as this Cordoba LS – I don’t think so. And that could be what’s holding up the bidding. The only optional engine was the tried and true 318 CI V8. The seller claims, ” Runs quiet and for what it is, while no Hemi, handles itself with aplomb“. As usual, a TorqueFlite three-speed automatic transmission puts the power to the rear wheels.
So what’s inside? Don’t know, there’s only this inane image of the back seat included – and that’s suspicious. From what can be seen, ole Ricardo is going to be disappointed as it looks like blue velour and not rich Corinthian leather. The seller does state, “The interior is nearly perfect with nice seats, nice upholstery, nice door panels (no cracks) and a real nice soft dash pad. Headliner is mint“. That’s nice though “trust but verify” is usually warranted in online sales – where are the images?
There you have it! It looks great, and I don’t mean just the condition. Subjectively speaking, the Chrysler designers did a bang-up job on this Cordoba LS. And it will probably find a new owner though I don’t know about the $9K minimum – I really think that old design, underpowered engine will be an impediment – and no, putting an LS in it, is not an appropriate solution…So tell me, what’s your opinion, right car, right engine; right car, wrong engine; or wrong car, wrong engine?
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Comments
Back in high school my buddy had this car in silver with red interior and the optional 318. He had his license before me so he’d pick me up on his way in to school. I loved that car, it was so bad ass looking but man, what a POS. It would stall out all the time, presumably because of the good ol’ lean burn system. He ditched it after a year for his mom’s 79 Caprice Landau.
81 dodge mirada, 225ci slant, ran 360k miles, gave it away, drove out under its own power, show respect…car was a beast…
Saw this car at Chicago Radwood 2021. It won best in show. It’s really nice in person.
Those wheels were a factory option.
I tried to find them on the Cordoba options list and couldn’t. Seems to me there was no Chrysler identifier on the center cap so I assumed they were non-OEM.
JO
Those were the forged aluminum wheels available on several Mopar models during the vintage. Very nice looking. I think the center caps said “Chrysler corporation” around the edge in tiny lettering. Agree the white letter tires don’t look right. Should have whitewalls.
I believe those are Mirada wheels (an even rarer beast) This is as beautiful as the blue restore Mirada I saw somewhere on the net last year. I really wanted that one, but this is just as nice. Same color too, I think. Such pretty cars, but 85 HP? The slant six was a marvel, but the lean burn killed it. A car like this needs at least a smidge more oomph.
Yes, I had a new 1980 Diplomat “Sport” with the same factory wheels and same velour interior (except wine red), and the same 6 cylinder. It was almost a pretty as the featured car. I drove it 11 months and believe it or not, someone offered me $1,000 less than I paid for it new. I took their money and never looked back. It was a nice car, but the 225 six was just too under powered. Cheap drive for a new car for almost a year for $1,000!
I think the RWL tires help separate it from luxo barge territory. IMHO
I like it because it has unique but attractive (to my eyes) styling, it’s in great shape, and it is rarely seen today.
“This listing was ended by the seller because the item is no longer available.”
@ Jim: there were a lot of quality inside photos further down in the listing. I say were as the seller has removed the ad. Either he has seller’s remorse, or he sold it. From the extra photos at the bottom of the ad, the new owner bought himself a real cream puff.
Thx, I scrolled down but I guess not far enough.
JO
i had a black 80 dodge mirada, same wheels, red velour, 318, nice car, sold it due to divorce…
My best friend’s Dad has one of these when we were in High School. Has the 318 and his Dad was an excellent hot rod mechanic. What a great car! I remember Glenn telling he always sped past the cop shop because ” those guys aren’t home man”
Curious this Chrysler got the cross-hair grille while its Dodge Mirada sibling didn’t, reckon that was juuust before they decided to make that grille motif a Dodge signature styling cue.
Nice car, and the Slant-6 is able to be hopped-up if one were so inclined. You could convert it to a OEM period-correct “Super-Six” setup with 2-barrel carb. Or you could go custom with a 4-barrel setup, headers, exhaust, etc. It’d definitely be the only tricked-out ‘81 Cordoba at the cars and coffee
Supercharging the slant-six is an option. :)
https://torqstorm.com/product/supercharger_kit_slant_6/
DANG!! I MISSED this one!!! Everything I wanted (excepting the /6) but I could’ve lived with that!!! :-(
Moparman, I am too old to be buying any more cars, but I agree, this one is so very wonderful (though I think the Miradas were even nicer) Do you know how much this sold for?
I have a 1981 Cordoba LS in white with red cloth interior if you are still looking. 23k original miles, 318 V8. I realize this is a very old post but worth a try.
Send it in so we can feature it on the site Mike!
It states 3.7 engine Slant sixes were good but not in the later ones. The slant 6 in this car has a catalytic converter right below the carburetor and another under the car there was a lot of heat under the hood that caused vapor lock burnt gaskets and poor driveability hesitation and low power .Working at the dealer I would never buy one with all the customer complaints
In 1977, Air Force bought Volare 225/6 wagons with Canadian emissions package that were good for 110mph on the German autobahns. Or so I’ve been told.
New CRATE HEMI. NUFF SAID
Hellcat/Demon engine would be great, what a sleeper!
I’m not a Chrysler lover- torsion bars, cart springs and slant sixes don’t float my boat. That aside, I’ve liked the looks of these from back in the day. Throw in a 340 or 360 and keep the slant in the shed.
My recollection is Lean Burn/ Electronic Spark Advance was only used on V8’s, never on a slant six. Also by 1980 I believe the old one barrel slant six was gone. So this would be a 2 barrel set up from the factory
Hello kids!
This was my car from 2013 to 2021. Under my ownership, it won “Raddest in Show” at Chicago’s Radwood even in 2021. I had one in high school back in the day, but it rusted to the ground in 18 months. I found this creampuff with only 8K miles on it, and really enjoyed it. The Slanty was a pain, though. It ran perfect, but with its long stroke, at modern Interstate speeds, if felt like one was driving a lawn tracter. At city speeds, it was just fine. This one did not have Lean Burn (which is not well understood!), nor did it have two cats that one commenter suggested. You can find pictures that I took while I owned it here: http://www.functionbox.org/Darlene/