HombreCalgarian
Member
Life took an interesting and unexpected turn that highly likely will see us moving down to the Golden State. Unfortunately the Newport is 4 years too young to be easily rehomed to Cali with CARB et al. So with a heavy heart we decided to find a new home to the big cruiser while we have time.
1978 Chrysler Newport, (1)30,000 kms, Canadian spec, loaded with options, everything works. Asking 13,000CAD or 10,000USD.
The car is located to Calgary, but we can certainly drive reasonably out of town to show it to serious buyers.
Garaged all its life here in AB and Vancouver, not a spec of rust anywhere, top or bottom. All trim and interior is complete, does not have rips or cracks (or any signs of wear) and is in excellent shape. Original paint. Vinyl roof is like new, no bubbling or cracks/tears.
The interior does not have the 'old house' smell, never smoked in.
The odometer is in kilometers and currently shows ~31,000 kms. Originally we tended to believe it, but according to a message from someone here who happen to have known the original owner, this is more likely to be 130,000 km (81,000 miles for US folks) as at some point in the past the car was used as a daily. It has also been shown extensively here on annual History Road meets at Reynolds Museum.
And it continues to not be a garage queen, being driven and enjoyed almost daily in summer, so the numbers will creep up. It will cruise easily at interstate speeds all day. My biggest surprise was when we were testing the waters before purchase, is how much tighter a handler the Mopar C-Body is than fullsizers from either Ford or GM.
Full set of options, most notable:
- Auto Temp II (workes flawlessly in any weather from +35 to -15, based on our personal experience);
- power windows;
- separate front power seats;
- power antenna;
- central lock;
- Telescoping and tilting steering wheel;
- Wipers with intermittent cycle (with the dreaded wiper cam remade from acetal using the old one as a base);
- Original AM/FM radio with station presets and 8-track player (a few working cassetes included) with 4 speakers.
The car is completely stock except for:
- the Sniper EFi 4150 replacing the original carb, distributor and coil for reliable running in any weather and altitude, sharp throttle response and a bit better economy. If needed, everything can be rolled back to original. The install was sort of documented here on this forum.
- Useless DOT sealed beams replaced with E-code Hellas with H4 halogen bulbs for low and H1 for hi beam, making the car very comfortable to drive at night.
- The car is Canadian spec, so it never had the same amount of smog controls as found on US cars. Additionally, I removed and plugged the holes for the riser valve hardware. With fuel injection it is not needed. But again, if need be, this can be rolled back to stock with relative ease.
Maintenance and upkeep: new roadforce-balanced all-season General tires (white striping is glued on); new gaskets for the oil pan, valve covers and AT; all new engine/transmission mounts; new HD shocks; new radiator and heater hoses + thermostat; ATF, brake fluid and coolant flushed; rebuilt front calipers and new pads/shoes all around; new master cylinder; new serpentine belts; new spark plugs and wires. Front hubs repacked and retightened, steering box tightened just a bit for more precise feel; Drive shaft rebuilt/rebalanced. AC system is converted to R134 by the prior owner.
Issues:
- Last summer I managed to drive over freshly painted road markings somewhere, so the lower body right behind the front left wheel has a few pinhole-sized yellow dots.
- Weather stripping above door glass is showing its age on the outer edge (dry rot). They still keep water out even sprayed with high pressure car wash, but will wistle at speeds over 120 kmh (75 mph).
- This being Alberta, the windshield is not perfect. But remains crack-free nevertheless.
- Cruise control worked flawlessly with the original carb setup. Per Holley, Sniper does not have integration for the 'analogue' cruise, so even though it is possible to install the original braket on the Sniper linkage and experiment with settings, I never bothered to try as I never use the feature even on our modern daily drivers. All cruise control hardware remains intact and present, just disconnected.
Will gladly answer questions from interested parties.
1978 Chrysler Newport, (1)30,000 kms, Canadian spec, loaded with options, everything works. Asking 13,000CAD or 10,000USD.
The car is located to Calgary, but we can certainly drive reasonably out of town to show it to serious buyers.
Garaged all its life here in AB and Vancouver, not a spec of rust anywhere, top or bottom. All trim and interior is complete, does not have rips or cracks (or any signs of wear) and is in excellent shape. Original paint. Vinyl roof is like new, no bubbling or cracks/tears.
The interior does not have the 'old house' smell, never smoked in.
The odometer is in kilometers and currently shows ~31,000 kms. Originally we tended to believe it, but according to a message from someone here who happen to have known the original owner, this is more likely to be 130,000 km (81,000 miles for US folks) as at some point in the past the car was used as a daily. It has also been shown extensively here on annual History Road meets at Reynolds Museum.
And it continues to not be a garage queen, being driven and enjoyed almost daily in summer, so the numbers will creep up. It will cruise easily at interstate speeds all day. My biggest surprise was when we were testing the waters before purchase, is how much tighter a handler the Mopar C-Body is than fullsizers from either Ford or GM.
Full set of options, most notable:
- Auto Temp II (workes flawlessly in any weather from +35 to -15, based on our personal experience);
- power windows;
- separate front power seats;
- power antenna;
- central lock;
- Telescoping and tilting steering wheel;
- Wipers with intermittent cycle (with the dreaded wiper cam remade from acetal using the old one as a base);
- Original AM/FM radio with station presets and 8-track player (a few working cassetes included) with 4 speakers.
The car is completely stock except for:
- the Sniper EFi 4150 replacing the original carb, distributor and coil for reliable running in any weather and altitude, sharp throttle response and a bit better economy. If needed, everything can be rolled back to original. The install was sort of documented here on this forum.
- Useless DOT sealed beams replaced with E-code Hellas with H4 halogen bulbs for low and H1 for hi beam, making the car very comfortable to drive at night.
- The car is Canadian spec, so it never had the same amount of smog controls as found on US cars. Additionally, I removed and plugged the holes for the riser valve hardware. With fuel injection it is not needed. But again, if need be, this can be rolled back to stock with relative ease.
Maintenance and upkeep: new roadforce-balanced all-season General tires (white striping is glued on); new gaskets for the oil pan, valve covers and AT; all new engine/transmission mounts; new HD shocks; new radiator and heater hoses + thermostat; ATF, brake fluid and coolant flushed; rebuilt front calipers and new pads/shoes all around; new master cylinder; new serpentine belts; new spark plugs and wires. Front hubs repacked and retightened, steering box tightened just a bit for more precise feel; Drive shaft rebuilt/rebalanced. AC system is converted to R134 by the prior owner.
Issues:
- Last summer I managed to drive over freshly painted road markings somewhere, so the lower body right behind the front left wheel has a few pinhole-sized yellow dots.
- Weather stripping above door glass is showing its age on the outer edge (dry rot). They still keep water out even sprayed with high pressure car wash, but will wistle at speeds over 120 kmh (75 mph).
- This being Alberta, the windshield is not perfect. But remains crack-free nevertheless.
- Cruise control worked flawlessly with the original carb setup. Per Holley, Sniper does not have integration for the 'analogue' cruise, so even though it is possible to install the original braket on the Sniper linkage and experiment with settings, I never bothered to try as I never use the feature even on our modern daily drivers. All cruise control hardware remains intact and present, just disconnected.
Will gladly answer questions from interested parties.
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