The K-Car - One of the cars that helped save Chrysler

Status
Not open for further replies.
Funny. I just watched that. My dad bought a brand new 82 reliant with the 2.2. It had several issues over the years. In 87 he bought a brand new Dodge Omni that was a complete piece of garbage.
 
Originally Posted by Chris142
Funny. I just watched that. My dad bought a brand new 82 reliant with the 2.2. It had several issues over the years. In 87 he bought a brand new Dodge Omni that was a complete piece of garbage.

Yeah the Omni's were a problem for most. Especially in wet weather. I'll never forget that a passenger side mirror was an option and not standard.
lol.gif


I didn't know the K-Car came in an executive and stretch models as mention in the video. Who the heck would want a K-Car Stretch (limo) version?
crackmeup2.gif


My dad's New Yorker had the talking computer. Miss that... It was way ahead of its time for the 1980's. Even the digital dashboard.
 
Last edited:
Have not viewed it yet... but I am one of the (perhaps few) individuals who had really, really good service and an enjoyable drive-quality out of their K Car.

I bought a 6 month old, ex-rental '87 Plymouth Reliant "Canada K" in Oct. of 1987. It had 12,000 km / about 8,000 miles on the clock - and it had the balance of a 7 year / 115,000 km powertrain warranty on it. Why oh why would anyone necessarily buy an ex rental?... I did, thinking that with that powertrain warranty - I could not go wrong.

What did the car have:

- 2.5 litre throttle body fuel injected (single Bosch injector) engine... with twin balance shafts under the crankshaft. This was the Chrysler stroked 2.2... with added balance shafts

- 3 speed A/T with lock-up on 3rd

- split bench cloth seat; fit 6 people in a pinch

- higher spring-rate optional springs (AKA "heavy duty suspension")

- manual A/C

- no cruise, crank-windows, manual locks

- panhard-rod stabilized twist axle (with added, integral rear antisway bar), coil springs

- MacPherson strut front suspension (with anti-sway bar)

- power rack and pinion.

- non-interference valves, timing belt

I had that car for some 26-1/2 years. I put about 215,000 km on it... not a lot, by BITOG standards, I know.

Problems encountered: - 1 O2 sensor; drivers' side window regulator (manual)

That's the sum-total of all of the problems.

That car, believe it or not... being the 7th model-year iteration of principally the same design - drove really, really well. The steering was not overboosted, and it tracked very well. The panhard rod really effectively (laterally) located the twistbeam axle, behind. The HD spring and the amount of anti-sway (by the antisway bars) was optimal. Did not ride rough; but was not flacid. And the damping was just right.

The 2.5 litre engine was really torquey for its size. It had a 4.09" stroke... so not a high-revver, for sure, but the balance shafts made for a smooth revving engine. It had strong bottom-end torque.

Visibility... being a 'real square design... was excellent. At times I towed an 8' load-bed landscape trailer and backing up this trailer was so, so, easy - with this incredibly clear-view back end.

Whereas styling was not sleek... I have to say that that car was a very good car for me. To this day my wife wishes she still had it.

YMMV, I know. The two best things Chrysler did...was add fuel injection, and add balance shafts to the stroked engine.
 
Last edited:
My favorite K-car was a Plymouth Reliant that a guy had built while I was working at US41 Dragway about 17 years ago. Body was completely stock, still had steel wheels and those hideous machined hubcaps. He had taken a Daytona IROC 2.5 engine and dropped some serious coin on it; larger turbo, cam, intercooler, head work, etc. It had about a 4200 rpm stall, and he would pull into the water box with the front tires, yank the parking brake, and do his burnout (he ran a 26x8.5 slick on the front, looked totally silly) but it had a super quiet exhaust so it was "OG Sleeper". He had to stage super early to get it up on boost, and then would crank off 9.40s at around 132-134 mph. Remember, these things were ~2200-2300lbs from the factory, so the car probably only made 450-500HP and was peaky as all get out. Then he would unbolt the slicks, toss them in the trunk, and drive it home. It was one of the few Chrysler products while I worked at the track that never blew up or oiled down the track, so it was always fun to watch. I'm sure he made quite a nice chunk of change in those days, since there were always street races in the greater Chitown area.
 
When I was in the Army we had K Cars as MP squad cars. My buddy Jim Tolles got his nick name "Two Wheels Tolles" while driving one in reverse one night at Ft. Devens MA. Yea, don't ask.... :)
 
My dad's first was an 88 with Bosch TB Fuel injection. It had a bad flywheel when he bought it off the guy who thought it needed and engine. He pulled the transmission away, took the fly wheel off put a new one on, reattached the transmission and drove it for 7 years doing not a thing to it but regular maintenance and then sold it for the $1500 he paid for it. It was a 2 door version.

Then he got the Wagon with the 2.6L Mitsubishi engine in it. Drove the crap out of that thing until it cracked the head. (common). He put a head on it and then sold it about a year after that and bought his Chrysler New Yorker (used) because it had a bad head gasket. He changed the head gasket and drove it for 5 years until the frame rotted out. (This car wasn't sprayed with Krown).

Then he bought a Dodge Colt (Mitsubishi) because it wouldn't run right from the guy who had it. Found out that whoever did the timing belt had timed incorrectly and also had mucked with the distributor timing as well to try and make it run right. He set it up properly and drove that car for 5 years before selling it for what he paid for it.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by Cdn17Sport6MT
Sounds like your Dad knows how to save vehicle $... I like it!


Only ever owned 1 new car and that was his Alpha Romeo and it was in an accident a week after he bought it. Had it all fixed by the insurance and then hail took out the body/paint. After that he always drove used with stories like those vehicles above.

The best was his Dodge Van with the Slant 6. He rolled the odometer on that thing multiple times. Wouldn't quit. The timing chain finally let go somewhere around >400,000km (>240K miles)
 
Originally Posted by StevieC
I'll never forget that a passenger side mirror was an option and not standard.
lol.gif



Ha, yeah so did the 80's Jeep Cherokee XJ and Comanche.
 
Originally Posted by StevieC
Yeah the Omni's were a problem for most. Especially in wet weather. I'll never forget that a passenger side mirror was an option and not standard.
lol.gif


That wasn't that uncommon back then.
Heck, my 84 Rabbit also didn't have a passenger side mirror. That was an option.


Originally Posted by Cdn17Sport6MT
I bought a 6 month old, ex-rental '87 Plymouth Reliant "Canada K" in Oct. of 1987. It had 12,000 km / about 8,000 miles on the clock - and it had the balance of a 7 year / 115,000 km powertrain warranty on it. Why oh why would anyone necessarily buy an ex rental?... I did, thinking that with that powertrain warranty - I could not go wrong.

What did the car have:
.
.
- manual A/C
- no cruise, crank-windows, manual locks

That's the sum-total of all of the problems.


Oh the humanity!!!!
cry.gif

How on earth did you survive with MANUAL A/C?!?!
To think, you had to actually push a button to activate the air con!
crazy2.gif
 
Originally Posted by Lolvoguy
Oh the humanity!!!!
cry.gif

How on earth did you survive with MANUAL A/C?!?!
To think, you had to actually push a button to activate the air con!
crazy2.gif


To this very day I like down-to-basics cars... stupid, simple. I actually like to hear the engine, especially when it is manual transmission car (which is my preference when it is suited to a manual 'box).

Yup, I don't necessarily even have the sound system going, lest I not hear the car operate!
 
I'm young, but I thought all cars had manual AC? At least I've never been in a car that the AC was automatic, and my cars both have that awful auto climate control "feature" I leave off.
 
in '85, dad traded in his old(brown) aspen wagon on a new, super base model Omni. ($5000)
how basic you ask?
one mirror
no ac
manual windows
manual locks
no radio(dad had a local shop put an AM only unit in it.)
4 speed manual( the primitive computer thought it had a 5 speed.. the shift light would flash on cruising in 4th)
Puegot engine

some years later my brother moved to TX in that car.
then our uncle bought it for our cousin, who drove it until the floor rusted through('96 or so)
every few hundred miles you had to stop and tighten one of the plugs...it kept backing itself out.
 
Last edited:
The neighbor across the street had an Omnirizon. It would stall no less than 10 times backing out of the driveway. People seem to love them, though. There's a few of them (somhow) still running around and they are a cult classic.

The K platform definitely saved Chrysler. I can still hear the horrific piston slap as an Aries or Caravan drives by in my memories.
 
Originally Posted by BobsArmory
When I was in the Army we had K Cars as MP squad cars. My buddy Jim Tolles got his nick name "Two Wheels Tolles" while driving one in reverse one night at Ft. Devens MA. Yea, don't ask.... :)


We had plenty of K-Cars and Dodge full size & compact size trucks in the USAF in the late 80's and early 90's. The Security Police used the cars for patrol and we used the trucks on the flightline. Seems like the base commander's car was a New Yorker.
 
A buddy of mine sold insurance on the road and he drove a dark red one. It was loaded up pretty good with the velour red seats and it seemed like it had a ton of chrome on the exterior and interior dash etc. I don't think he had any problems with it but the car was very slow to accelerate. He didn't keep it over a couple years.
 
My late mother in law had one ... drove it forever.
As the car got older and needed minor things - lifetime Mopar mechanic (from our church) retired and opened a little shop next to his home.
 
"manual A/C"

Had an '81 in Houston, TX. Incredibly good AC. A great place to find out who made the best AC. The AC in Japanese cars were totally inadequate. Sweat city.To save $$$, I guess Chrysler just used the AC from their largest cars. Other than that, it was troublesome. Could not keep cv boots in it. Got an '86 K wagon as a company car. Was so much better than that '81. No mechanical issue at all. Lots of space
 
Originally Posted by earlyre
in '85, dad traded in his old(brown) aspen wagon on a new, super base model Omni. ($5000)
how basic you ask?
one mirror
no ac
manual windows
manual locks
no radio(dad had a local shop put an AM only unit in it.)
4 speed manual( the primitive computer thought it had a 5 speed.. the shift light would flash on cruising in 4th)
Puegot engine
some years later my brother moved to TX in that car.
then our uncle bought it for our cousin, who drove it until the floor rusted through('96 or so)
every few hundred miles you had to stop and tighten one of the plugs...it kept backing itself out.

My dad gave me the choice of any one of his 3 cars when I graduated college...a Maverick, a Comet (same thing), and a '76 Nova.
He kept an extra car around because he wanted to be more sure of always having one running and then he ended up with 3 for himself when my mom died.
The Comet had no power steering and the Maverick was getting bondoed about every other week, so the Nova was the way to go for me. That car was no screamer (I6 250), but it also felt peppy compared to the Ford/Merc products he had.
The Nova had two big downsides...a funky "heavy duty" rear suspension that constantly broke, and no A/C.
And I was moving to Texas.
I brought 5 nice white dress shirts with me for work and they were all ruined within 3 months from sitting in Dallas traffic with no A/C.

Dad sold the Maverick for maybe $50 when the brakes went out completely...he told the people who were buying it that it needed to be towed and they just drove it away, anyway. Dad thought about calling the cops because he knew that thing was a menace on the roads, but the people in it were a little scary and he didn't want them coming back to his place. Don't know what happened to the Comet...he bought himself a used Marquis (not Grand) that he thought was the greatest thing ever until he had a stroke several years later and couldn't drive anymore.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top