Chrysler Cordoba
 

Hello everyone,

Hoping there's some people out there with some knowledge on older vehicles. My father still has his 1977 Chrysler Cordoba in his possession that was his first vehicle back in his high school days. He would tell me the only guy who could beat him had a Charger though he could jump him off the line and if they went a mile he'd reel him back in. Now it gets started about once a year and that's it. It does need work and I'd like to get it fully restored one day so I'm wondering where would be a good place to start looking for parts both OEM and aftermarket. The Cordoba's never came with a manual transmission, but that would be fun conversion if possible. Would like to completely build the engine up and throw on dual Holley carbs. To start it needs a new radiator as the current one has a hole in it so that car can't be ran for too long. Figure a nice large aluminium one would be nice.

Anyways, thanks for looking and appreciate any input/suggestions. I've learned a lot about the Z, but am not of the age to have been around pre-fuel injected engines that much :p

Specs:
Chrysler 400 cu in (6.6L) V8 B engine
260hp/410tq
8.2:1 compression
4-barrel carb w/ dual exhaust
3 speed auto trans

It all depends on whether or not you want to keep it "original". While this is older, it's not considered a "muscle" car, so restoring it back to it's 1977 condition, it may not garner the money that you would think its worth.

I know this has a lot of sentimental value for you and your Dad, so, in my opinion, I would do what you want to. If there are no models available in that year that had a manual transmission, there are other MOPARS that may be close enough in style to make the auto to manual transmission viable. Look at other Plymouth and Dodge models because I would almost guarantee that a manual was offered at one time or another. Adding dual carbs with a larger diameter exhaust would help it breathe, I would also suggest that you upgrade the points in the distributor to a pointless system. Any performance parts should be relatively inexpensive, so the sky is the limit on the amount of work you want to do on the engine.

Other than that, make it where it can be a safe, enjoyable and reliable car that you can drive for many years.

Oooh, I remember the ads. "Rich, Corinthian leather". Meant nothing, but when Ricardo Montabaln said it, women swooned.

Sorry I cannot help you on the (re-)build.

It was more a luxury car than American muscle, and shared a lot with the Chrysler Newport (we had the latter - it ran forever). Since you're talking a 40-year-old car, I don't know how many useful donor cars you'll even find anymore for parts. Surely, most scrap yards baled the carcasses for scrap steel a decade ago. Hopefully, there are some other, more commonly restored models which have similar enough parts still available in the after-market, to fit.

I'd suggest finding some good restoration forums (even if it is not specific to that model, maybe MOPAR ones can be of assistance). From there, it all depends on how much money and time you care to sink into it.

Thanks for the responses so far. I enjoy hearing the stories from those who were around it in its prime. I'm aware it's not a muscle car or generally sought after and that does not bother me. I like it because it's unique..kind of like the Z where it's not popular like the Mustangs, Corvettes and Camaros. This won't be a restoration to eventually sell but rather to keep and enjoy so I'm not concerned about keeping everything 100% original. We've already tore off the white vinyl top..not very appealing these days! It used to have a glass pack back in the day but he got in trouble with law enforcement on that one.

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i remember that car, ex had one.... nice to hear what you are trying to do....

So, a white 76 Cordoba with whore house red velour interior was my mother's daily driver. That car was so sweet! Ours had a 360 ci if im not mistaken... tons of grunt. Totally worth restoring as i might see one, maybe 2, on the road each year. Very cool car!!!

So, the coolest feature that I miss dearly on every car I've owned that was on the Cordoba was the 'brights' foot switch. I mean, that was a brilliant idea, and they still let it evolve up to the steering column. :facepalm: unbelievable!

Hey, post some pictures if you can. I'd love to see that 77!

My brother had a '77 with the 400 Lean Burn. The computer was on the back of the air cleaner housing. It had electronic ignition. No points. I would suggest that you get on some Mopar forums. You can always swap in a HellCrate motor. :eek: It's only $20,000.

https://jalopnik.com/the-mopar-hellc...u-d-1819971951

If it were my car, I'd go restomod - keep it stock cosmetically; upgrade suspension, motor (I'd avoid two-carb setup - a royal PITA to keep tuned properly), etc.

Any updates on the sweet Cordoba?

Wish there was. Don't have the means at this time to start doing too much. It is however about time for its annual fire-up and run for a while but only till it gets hot because the radiator has a hole

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Ricardo Montalbans car... Hell Yeah!!!!

Yes! "Look what they've done to my car!" :rofl2:

So a little update. We had been trying to get it started late this summer into fall but never could get it to fire without starter fluid into the carb but then wouldn't stay running anyways. First we tried the fuel filter as it wasn't pumping gas up top. Filter seemed crappy but a new one didn't fix it. Then we went with a new fuel pump even though the one on it is only a few years old. During that process we discovered the short rubber line that begins after the hard line coming from the tank to the fuel filter was completely mangled so fuel was leaking. I guess after 40+ years stuff goes to sh!t. One we replaced that sure enough we had fuel up top. Hard to keep running smoothly though, need to control the throttle by hand so it definitely needs work. I'm going to try and get some pics here soon enough.

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I'd start with new plugs, cap, and rotor. Might as well replace the plug wires while your at it. #2 on my list would be to rebuild the carb. #3 is a compression check.

Plugs, cap, rotor, plug wires, carb rebuild, replace ALL rubber hoses, vacuum and fuel.