My grandfather had a 76, Brown with Tan interior and vinyl top. Was no match for my aunt's Cuda in a straight line but it was way more comfy.. He was a Mopar Man, retired from Ma Mopar after 30 years. The Cordoba was his retirement car.
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Story by Eric Rood
The 24 Hours of Lemons allows real people to live out their (slightly tempered) racing dreams. But if you want to race a classic American muscle car–think early V8 power and rear-wheel drive–how do you start such a build for hundreds and not thousands?
Jim Sayre of Valve Tap Racing followed the Mopar muscle car pedigree to its logical (and chronological) end: a 1978 Chrysler Cordoba. While you’re all replaying Ricardo Montalbán’s famous “rich Corinthian leather” pitch in your heads, consider the following the final Chrysler B-body checks for muscle car cred:
Setting all that aside, if you lower your standards a bit, the general layout of a Cordoba is very similar to a 1968 Charger R/T’s, which means classic muscle car handling (poor) and braking (also poor).
All the same, the Torqueflite transmission is robust, and the big, strangled 400 seems not to make enough power to hurt itself. The Cordoba is easy to drive and predictable–if unspectacular–which is great for Jim, who just wanted a car his family and he could race with some of his old Mopar friends. And crucially, it looks spectacular on a race track.
While you might not find a Mercury Cyclone or Pontiac GTO, complete the Lemons analogy instead with a Mercury Montego MX or a Pontiac LeMans Coupe GT.
My grandfather had a 76, Brown with Tan interior and vinyl top. Was no match for my aunt's Cuda in a straight line but it was way more comfy.. He was a Mopar Man, retired from Ma Mopar after 30 years. The Cordoba was his retirement car.
RICH CORINTHIAN LEATHER!!!!1111
I noted in the video that he refers to it as a "Small Chrysler ". That made me chuckle!!!
In reply to dean1484 :
Our peculiar habit of stuffing our corpulent bodies into tiny shoeboxes on wheels had yet to manifest itself. Many cars we think of as large today were, in their time, sold as "personal size" cars.
https://bestride.com/news/top-10-personal-luxury-coupes-of-the-1960s-and-1970s
They were small "ish" compared to their earlier bredren.. This is what my Grandpa's Cordoba replaced, 1972 Chrysler New Yorker Brougham. That thing had it's own zip code.
Having spent many hours riding around with a friend in his 400 ci Cordoba, I can tell you they were absolutely faster than you'd expect. Not fast like a built Camaro, but fast compared to most of the emissions-laden junk we stop light raced in the 1980s. Remove the Lean Burn system and add some exhaust and a cam, and Bob's your uncle.
Richard Petty's last Mopar race car was a Dodge Magnum, which was a sister car to the Cordoba, so there's sort of a race heritage...
I had a Magnum with a 400 big block. Ended up donating it to charity. Wish I hadn't, now, but gas was comparatively cheap then...
I was given a Magnum with a 360, I think. At the time I really didn't like it, too big, too metallic brown, automatic. But looking back on it now, and if the internet had been around to show how to mess with it, I would take it back.
06HHR (Forum Supporter) said:They were small "ish" compared to their earlier bredren.. This is what my Grandpa's Cordoba replaced, 1972 Chrysler New Yorker Brougham. That thing had it's own zip code.
I think I would rather have this one. Think of how much you could haul in that trunk.
In 1979 they made a Chrysler 300 off the Córdoba. Came with a 195 hp 360.
ddavidv said:Having spent many hours riding around with a friend in his 400 ci Cordoba, I can tell you they were absolutely faster than you'd expect. Not fast like a built Camaro, but fast compared to most of the emissions-laden junk we stop light raced in the 1980s. Remove the Lean Burn system and add some exhaust and a cam, and Bob's your uncle.
I'm not a hardcore Mopar guy but I seem to remember that the 400 was just a B and not an RB so it had a shorter deck than the other big uns. But it had a larger bore than even the 440. I guess the short deck height means that a 440 crank won't clear? I assume. Seems you could make a really big un.
Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) said:06HHR (Forum Supporter) said:They were small "ish" compared to their earlier bredren.. This is what my Grandpa's Cordoba replaced, 1972 Chrysler New Yorker Brougham. That thing had it's own zip code.
I think I would rather have this one. Think of how much you could haul in that trunk.
Just think how many votes you could stuff in the trunk on Election Day
A 401 CJ said:ddavidv said:Having spent many hours riding around with a friend in his 400 ci Cordoba, I can tell you they were absolutely faster than you'd expect. Not fast like a built Camaro, but fast compared to most of the emissions-laden junk we stop light raced in the 1980s. Remove the Lean Burn system and add some exhaust and a cam, and Bob's your uncle.
I'm not a hardcore Mopar guy but I seem to remember that the 400 was just a B and not an RB so it had a shorter deck than the other big uns. But it had a larger bore than even the 440. I guess the short deck height means that a 440 crank won't clear? I assume. Seems you could make a really big un.
The mains on the 440 crank have to be turned down to fit the 400 block. There is a good chance the counterbalance weights and/or the block will need massaging, as well. This will get you 451 cubes, which isn't all that much, but the lighter block, less reciprocating mass, and more compact size will net quite a few benefits aside from displacement. Offset grinding the rod journals and using Chevy rods with custom pistons gives even more displacement, but has tradeoffs, as well.
Honestly, the biggest limit for BBM power is in the stock heads.
In reply to Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) :
The one that gets me is the rich Corinthian leather reference...I've laughed about that since i first heard it and still do to this day
In reply to Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) :
The one that gets me is the rich Corinthian leather reference...I've laughed about that since i first heard it and still do to this day
Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) said:Think of how much you could haul in that trunk.
A friend's phrase was "that trunk would sleep 6 and berkeley 12!!!"
Russian Warship, Go Berkeley Yourself said:A 401 CJ said:ddavidv said:Having spent many hours riding around with a friend in his 400 ci Cordoba, I can tell you they were absolutely faster than you'd expect. Not fast like a built Camaro, but fast compared to most of the emissions-laden junk we stop light raced in the 1980s. Remove the Lean Burn system and add some exhaust and a cam, and Bob's your uncle.
I'm not a hardcore Mopar guy but I seem to remember that the 400 was just a B and not an RB so it had a shorter deck than the other big uns. But it had a larger bore than even the 440. I guess the short deck height means that a 440 crank won't clear? I assume. Seems you could make a really big un.
The mains on the 440 crank have to be turned down to fit the 400 block. There is a good chance the counterbalance weights and/or the block will need massaging, as well. This will get you 451 cubes, which isn't all that much, but the lighter block, less reciprocating mass, and more compact size will net quite a few benefits aside from displacement. Offset grinding the rod journals and using Chevy rods with custom pistons gives even more displacement, but has tradeoffs, as well.
Honestly, the biggest limit for BBM power is in the stock heads.
You can get a stroker kit these days to turn a 400 into a 512. A few years ago on the Hot Rod Garage TV show they did a build on a 400 that's in a 1965 Plymouth Fury station wagon, it looked like a relatively cheap way to get a lot of horsepower.
In reply to livinon2wheels :
Years ago I heard a comedian say, how many rich Corinthians does it take to upholster a Cordoba
Seriously, I'd be curious as to how much weight you could pull off something like that...
shameless but i have one for sale!! harlank@tkstp.com
Brett_Murphy (Agent of Chaos) said:RICH CORINTHIAN LEATHER!!!!1111
CORINTH IS FAMOUS FOR ITS LEATHER
In reply to 06HHR (Forum Supporter) :
I wonder if you could even open the doors on a car that size when parked in a modern sized parking space.
That's assuming the rows are spaced wide enough for it to make the swing into the space.
I had a 78 Cordoba in college. Driving home from the beach, the rear perches for the rear leaf springs rusted out and popped up through the trunk. The rear axle was on the bump stops...and no one noticed. We had a full trunk and she kinda sagged already. I fixed it by lifting the car and sliding some pressure-treated lumber through the perches. She served me for another year, making beer runs and such. Then she became a parade float which ultimately killed her. She had survived an engine fire put out with saltwater and fixed with electrical tape, but not fraternity float duty.
In reply to No Time :
I had problems in compact spaces with my Firebird when I had it back in the aughts, i couldn't imagine parking a 72 New Yorker today. Those doors go on for miles and miles.
I'm glad this article came back up to the top, not least for Rrrich, Corinthian Leatherrrr. I drove my first Lemons race at NJMP last month, and we got to meet Jim in the best way.
The Princess Buttercup Foxstang decided to start leaking gas, which is an unforgiveable sin at Lemons for good reason. Our first suspicion was the dry-rotted gas tank neck seal. Not available at any of the local parts places, so the team walked the pits with assorted rubber pieces and asked if anyone had anything. Jim said "that's a filler neck seal" and checked his Big Book of Spares. Voila!
It turns out that Mopar and Ford must have bought from the same supplier, the Mopar part fit great.
Great guy, fun cars to see on track.
In reply to stuart in mn :
I bought an 81 IMperial to do a similar build.
Setting all that aside, if you lower your standards a bit, the general layout of a Cordoba is very similar to a 1968 Charger R/T’s, which means classic muscle car handling (poor) and braking (also poor).
Trivia - the brakes ont he Cordoba and other late '70s B and R bodies used to be a pretty popular upgrade for 1960s era Mopars until the junkyard supply ran out, being about an inch larger in diameter for the front discs. I have a set on my Dart.
VegasNick said:In reply to stuart in mn :
I bought an 81 IMperial to do a similar build.
"It would take all the power in the Grand Coulee Dam to get that thing over 200mph". Richard Petty, the year before he switched to Pontiac.
Streetwiseguy said:VegasNick said:In reply to stuart in mn :
I bought an 81 IMperial to do a similar build.
"It would take all the power in the Grand Coulee Dam to get that thing over 200mph". Richard Petty, the year before he switched to Pontiac.
Petty had been spoiled by the "fuselage" design Charger that he ran all the way up till '78. That design was perhaps the best there ever was right up until the mid '80s T-birds that would probably have set records at Bonneville if they'd chosen to do so.
I bet my friend's Cordoba is still dieseling in a corner of some parking lot somewhere.
I didn't know the Cordoba was a Dodge Monaco coupe! While in my teens, my dad bought a 71 Dodge Monaco with a 383--this was a very potent motor without any mods and it could sufficently propel that gargantuan car down the road. The car was "quick" in the 1980's but handling was not a strong point. Ours was a strange irridescent green color with a back vinyl top and black interior. You could fit four children in back, three adults up front (bench seat), and scores of dead bodies sideways in the trunk--largest trunk on a passenger car I have ever seen.
In reply to DavyZ :
Wrong Monaco. 1971 was a C body.
1977 Monaco was available as a B-body.
In both sedan and coupe.
You're thinking Mirada.
Equally blech
You DO know why a Super Bee is called that? What better name to apply to a super B body? B just became Bee for marketing
MadScientistMatt said:Trivia - the brakes ont he Cordoba and other late '70s B and R bodies used to be a pretty popular upgrade for 1960s era Mopars until the junkyard supply ran out, being about an inch larger in diameter for the front discs. I have a set on my Dart.
They're actually easier to find now than they ever were. After they disappeared from the yards, for a brief, shining moment there was a supply of Brembo parts - at one point I bought the remaining couple of pallets and moved them cheap to other moparheads. But now you can get a variety of them through Rock Auto for $50-60 each which is probably less real money than I was selling them for 20 years ago. Great upgrade, with several caliper choices. The Viper calipers fit under a 15 inch steelie.
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