East Hartford, CT. Tools.
My lower back is screaming at just the thought of sitting in those seats for more than a 10-mile suburban trip.Sure, but from a showroom standpoint, the interior seems like it should be like a day at the spa.That would be the LeBaron GTS, with manual to get the nice long overdrive fifth. Comparing 1987 to 1987 (randomly chosen reference year) the Fifth Avenue was a foot shorter, 207″ vs. 219″, on a 4″ shorter wheelbase, 113″ vs. 117″. It was our first luxury car and drove very comfortably and quietly on the highway. Low budget sleeper built from a pristine 5th planted in the junkyard by way of a locked up 318. Probably a little less interior trim. It’s definitely not the worst fake limo roof.You said it. Bah! Nor was it a hot rod, with tons of sound insulation, plush carpeting, button-tufted velour (or optional leather), and seventy-five pounds of tacked-on Landau roof weighing down the smogged 318 V8.
I presume someone at Dodge got tired of the Diplomat being seen as a fleet-only car and managed to get the SE approved as the deluxe version on the cheap…but I really don’t think they sold many.There were always civilian versions which could be trimmed quite comfortably, going back to the 1980 restyle (and before). In another confusing name swap, the New Yorker name was now used for another new K-car line in 1983, the E-body New Yorker and For 1984 the car was simply called Fifth Avenue, setting the name that would continue for six successful years.
Another piece of trivia is that these cars were built under contract by AMC from calendar year ’86, through AMC’s absorption, until model year ’89.
The Fifth Avenue name was first used in 1979 on an upmarket sub-model of the R-body Overall production of the R-body New Yorkers was low (less than 75,000 from 1979 through 1981) and Fifth Avenue production was at most 25% of them. I made quite a side hobby of detailing the former into looking like the latter.
New York had a bunch of them. There are some out there in CC land that would label these deadly sins models…..sorry can’t convince me of that, nor legions of other Fifth Avenue loyalists.Nice job on this fascinating car. I remember the Fifth Avenue in Blind Date, and Bruce Willis 300ZX, I think his brother in the movie was a Nissan salesman played by Phil Hartman?Yes Carmine, Phil Hartman did play his brother, and drove a pretty nice Town Car Signature–well, until Bruce threw up in it…So who else immediately recognized this cul-de-sac as belonging to the CerealMarshmallows YouTube channel?
However, torque was decent at 265 ft-lbs.
Autos I’d wager that with so many going to government fleets it was likely the ONLY civilian Dippy on the base during those years.These ended in 1989, and had Air Bags.
Those seats had to have been super comfy. One interesting addition to ’89s was a driver-side air bag, also installed on the Dodge and Plymouth versions.And with that, the M-bodies departed. ® A registered trademark of the National Automobile Dealers Association, under license to J.D.
Experience improved ride comfort and smooth handling with the replacement Mevotech ball joints. The Reliant and Aries themselves were finally gon… (assuming it gets to 95).
They have all been good cars . We owned an ’85 that was stolen in the early 1990s. Yes indeed, you could still get soft Corinthian leather in your 1988 Fifth Avenue!And they were so simple: 318 V8, rear wheel drive, torsion bar front suspension, live rear axle and unit construction. But the R-body was gone. If you are going to leave it in non-running shape with flat tires and no ability for anyone to test drive it, you should be prepared to accept the kind of money that will have a buyer not feeling bad about making a pure gamble. I forgot about that model being sold alongside the newer, longer, more formal car, especially up in Canada. they will have wear.Plus, seniors were still frequenting showrooms of the D3. “ONE OWNER CAWR GUY HERE…”I remembered he threw up in a car at the end, but I didn’t remember what kind of car it was, I saw this movie in the theaters, and never again since.Those alloys change the whole character of the car. Giving the doors the same treatment really set these cars apart.Nice writeup as always. From the seller's description: Original owner 1988 Chrysler Fifth Avenue for sale on Hemmings.com. The interiors on those were actually quite nice inside.Until the headliner fell on your head. I thought maybe someone that wants it for a car show where they buy and clean them up and take them to car shows.
Great quote from an article of the time (google the quote for complete article):“While sales of those full-size, rear-drive Chrysler cars are up 17 percent this year, AMC`s production of the Renault Alliance built in Kenosha has dwindled from 100,000 units last year to 60,000 this year. Over 4 weeks ago on autofunds.
Just don’t go challenging any Mustang GTs or IROC Camaros.But how many folks who bought these cars new would do such a thing? I owned a 1976 Dodge Aspen Custom sedan, which gave next to no trouble, and no rust here in California, with the right parts to make the 318 REALLY go, garaged all the time and looking near-new until I was offered some really silly money for it.