Doylestown Auto Repair

Junkyard Gem: 1991 Chrysler LeBaron GTC Turbo Convertible

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Chrysler’s

versatile front-wheel-drive

K Platform

saved the company from certain doom during the early 1980s, then spawned so many derivatives — including

the vehicle

that started the

minivan

revolution — that we can’t keep track of all of them. One of the original K-cars was the

affordably luxurious 1982 Chrysler LeBaron

, which evolved into a snazzy convertible later in the decade. The LeBaron disappeared after 1995, replaced by the

Sebring

and the

Cirrus

, and I’m seeing fewer and fewer of these cars during

my wrecking-yard explorations

. Here’s a sporty ’91 convertible in a Denver-area yard.

Junked 1991 Chrysler LeBaron convertible

The top-of-the-line LeBaron convertible in 1991 was, in fact,

badged by Maserati

and came only with

a Mitsubishi V6

. That 141-horse engine was the base powerplant for the ’91 LeBaron GTC, though an optional

2.5-liter, 152-horsepower straight-four

could be purchased for the LeBaron (but not for the TC By

Maserati

).

Junked 1991 Chrysler LeBaron convertible

The “litre” spelling was considered very classy by Detroit during the 1975-2000 period.

Junked 1991 Chrysler LeBaron convertible

Whoever bought this car in the first place must have been a bit of a hell-raiser, because here’s the 5-speed manual transmission that became increasingly rare in members of the K-Car family as automatics got cheaper.

Junked 1991 Chrysler LeBaron convertible

It also has the driver’s-side

airbag

, which meant that those horrible automatic seat belts that ruined early-1990s cars weren’t required.

Junked 1991 Chrysler LeBaron convertible

The interior has suffered much fading from the Colorado sun, but it started life as an exquisitely 1980s/1990s Bordello Red palace, all done up in pseudo-velour and hard plastic.

Junked 1991 Chrysler LeBaron convertible

Not quite 150,000 miles on the clock.

Junked 1991 Chrysler LeBaron convertible

1992 was the last year for the LeBaron’s pop-up headlights. That’s just as well, because the mechanisms that opened the “eyelids” tended to get flaky as the years went by.

]

There Is No Luxury Without Engineering.

from Autoblog http://bit.ly/2VfmHoy