KISS YOUR K GOODBYE

[Butch]

Without a FACTORY SERVICE MANUAL or PERSONAL EXPERIANCE FIXING your car, you may as well drive it into the ground. Chilton and Haynes DON'T get it. Joe blow mechanic don't get it etheir without the FACTORY SERVICE MANUAL. But NOOOOOO, so much time is wasted preaching about saving the cars from the crasher INSTEAD of saving the bible for the Damn cars. ONLY a mechanic can save these cars, NOT a historian. Case in point, I tried to sell a set of Factory sevice manuals I got out of the J/yard on here. Even the club Founder didn't buy them. 20 yr old electrical systems are problems waiting to happen. These problems aren't easy to fix without a proper wiring diag to go by. NOT stocking up on spare parts is another way to KISS YOUR K GOODBYE. NUFF SAID.

[89ARIES]

I understand. I also don't have any money or any support on this forum. I keep trying to add links and windows, and very little if any of you have stepped forward to lend me a hand.
But, I will continue to work on the car shows and the history that is important to preserve. Yes, I mean history. I don't see many other people out there trying to do car shows. All I need is some people to start scanning repair manuals or sending me hyperlinks. Most of you are great at complaining, but you are not good at supporting. And quite honestly, I have more important things to worry about. There wouldn't be a CKCC if I wasn't as passionate as I am. Nuff said.

[88 aries]

lol oh butch I admire your honesty, lol Ive got plenty of parts stashed away in my attic, but for those who drive them everyday and expect a mechanic to fix it, well then I guess those people can kiss their K goodbye. now maybe you can get by with some parts from a spirit or two but hell theyre 15 years old and not many of the newer parts will fit the 87 and below. but yes i will agree in the near future parts will be hard to find.

[Silverbeard]

Not ready to kiss mine goodbye, have been very lucky that there have been very few problems so far.

Would like to get hold of the shop and wiring manuals for the '82 LeBaron (Mark Cross Convertible) and 2.6L Mutsu. engine if not in the manual.

Thanks
Martin

[adben]

Nice car!! Just got one myself. I was looking also. Found a Hayes at the library, Also found that the one here in Las Vegas has a "database" for auto repair. Not quite like having a book in your hands, but you can go to it and find the stuff you need for that repair and print it out when you need to. Also found a Chilton for all Chrysler's 81-95 for $7 at a used book store. So maybe you can look in those areas and get what you need.

Say does your car have the "Mark Cross" emblem on the center arm rest? I can tell mine did, but it is very far gone, I am trying to find a picture of one in hopes of getting something to replace it when I redo the seats.
Anyway, Good luck and happy trails

[88AriesLEwagon]

I find it ironic that when something is "IN",everybody is on board.
Once time passes and "todays story" is "yesterdays news",its forgotten,its supporters are long gone and its relegated to the history books.
Time capsule back to 1980.
The K car was Chrysler's last hope.It had to sell.Its promotion was off the charts.
It was to save America from the imports.It was all by itself to save America from OPEC oil imports.
It was the answer to the former full size cars,with 6 passenger room,large trunk,"front wheel drive" traction,outrageous EPA economy numbers,3 body styles (with no wagon over at GM's X cars),classic styling,its quality was to raise the bar for American cars and steal sales from Honda/Toyota.
Lee Iacocca was said to be obsessed with the K car,and its platform that could be used for all future models to be based on,lessening development costs and speeding introductions into new markets.
The G car (Daytona/Laser) was an Iacocca idea.The convertible Ks (400/LeBaron) was an Iacocca idea.The woody convertible was an Iacocca idea.The C body (Dynasty/New Yorker) blocky styling with old fashioned dash cluster was an Iacocca idea (engineers wanted a more Taurus like roofline and nose).The Vinyl roofs were an Iacocca idea.

Now forward to a time when Chrysler paid off the government guaranteed loans,brought out all these new models based on the K platform,sales downturn in the early 90s,Iacocca retires,plans for all new vehicles (the cloud cars,Neon,LH cars,minivans),sales success and new ownership (Daimler),and the gutting of Chrysler,sale to Cerberus,massive sales declines and bankruptcy.....and where does the K stand? Nowhere.Its forgotten.The once darling of Chrysler Corporation,the saviour of America and its parent company itself,whats supposed to be vs Evil (the Japanese) became just another old,worn out,used car.
For all the attention given to the car by Iacocca,Sperlich,the government (for the loans),every car magazine going,millions of American car buyers,today there is little to no support of the car.
Parts are being discontinued right and left.Old NOS parts are drying up fast.Junkyards are being purged of their stock.
Old Chrysler mechanics are dying off.
The once almighty,holy grail "icon" to the Chrysler faithful is slowly going away.
Truth be known,"true" Mopar faithful never cottoned to the small FWD 4 cylinder jobs with official Chrysler division names applied (Daytona must have really killed them...).The days of 440s,383s and Hemis didnt translate well to them into these low hp models that many couldnt even chirp the tires.They never supported Iacoccas efforts,and treat that breed with disdain to this very day.
Those who did support Chrysler's comeback were very vocal about it.Chrysler was lucky,a lot of people bought Ks and various other products due to Iacocca's struggle to save the once great company,and wanted to lend a hand in whatever way they could.Buying a car or two was their way to help the American icon.That is where their responsibility ended.Either their K served them well and they moved on to future company products or got a lemon and vowed never to go back.How many of these people own one today? How many are Chrysler supporters still? How many have bought imports and never looked back? Do we think these people care at all? Do they look fondly back at their past purchase but are unwilling or unable to do anything about it?
In a perfect world,some rich people who owned these cars would get into a vintage mindset and do their part to assure support for these would continue into the future.The owners of large automotive parts companies would reinstate discontinued parts and develop long since dropped items by Ma Mopar.But we all know this isnt going to happen.Support is where one can get it.With a small percentage of the millions still around,the numbers just arent enough for aftermarket companies to gear up and make parts for a few hundred sales a year.As time goes by it will get worse.
Like the Edsel that came before...it was much ballyhooed and then shunned by its maker.
The K and its offshoots saved Chrysler however,and in the end they have gotten the same treatment.
Those who buy a new Volt or Cruze may think its a car of today and tomorrow,but remember history,what WAS hot at one time,loses its luster and is forgotten tommorow.If in 10 years a new Volt owner thinks he's going to get full parts and service support,he's crazy.And it will only go downhill from there.Time moves on...

[89ARIES]

Which is why our job is so hard and why we must work together and save what is left.

[89ARIES]

But the good news is the K woodies and K convertibles have a large following, and this club will continue to try to save whats left, and people will be extremely sorry by 2020 that they destroyed the luxurius 1982 LeBaron 4dr Sedan. There is one for sale in Ohio right now. Its about time people tried to save the rare and mundane. And, they certainly looked classy. They just had their issues like anything else.

[capev86]

woodies and convertibles may be the most popular....but i like the cleaner look of the reliant and aries w/ the woodgrain delete. the only parts that you have to worry about right now are body and interior pieces. electronics, engines and chassis systems can be swapped from 90's k based models (and are generally an improvement). there is still aftermarket support from a few vendors dedicated to the turbo-dodge community. and with forums like turbododge and turbo-mopar, the well of used parts hasn't dried up yet. this is a great site for us original k car lovers, but things are not as grim as you might think. these cars are easy to work on so any REAL mechanic who isn't attached to his OBD II scanner (like a baby to it's mother's tit) should be ok to fix most issues.

[K-CAR_WAGON]

I also prefer the non-Woody models. Yes, in general you can swap alot of the mechanical parts from the next generation particularly for the ones with American engines and particularly for the 2nd series K-cars. However, unfortunately most of the higher end early K-cars have the 2.6 liter engine in which a swap is not as straighforward. I suspect swaps are also not that easy on cars with the electronic dashboards.