@@What.its.like. My second time...first was Beach Boys Getcha Back. I saw Greg Kahn Band and The Tubes live at the Mann in Philly in the summer of 1981. Break Up Song was their first hit and was on the charts at the time. I love classic and antique automobiles and really enjoy watching your videos. Thank you!
I was an auto technician working at a Chry-Plymouth dealership back in 1977 and remember the '77 Cordoba very well. They were exceptional autos. Very comfortable, handled great and built excellent. We had very few mechanical problems with them. Just a very great luxury car. Possibly the best Chrysler at the time. I have nothing but good memories about Cordoba. Lean Burn was a problem but we easily fixed them. The 400 CID was by far the best engine for the car. The 360 was junk. It's so nice to see the car finally being recognized.
That early Lean Burn system was very crude and drivability was often compromised; they were “clunky”, where the GM offerings from that era were smooth and unobtrusive. Even when the Lean Burn cars ran well, they didn’t. Replacing the distributor and carb with the conventional components totally change the personality of these cars - for the better. Kits were available directly from Chrysler.
My parents had a lean burn equipped 400 cid Cordoba. It hated cold starts and would stumble on cold mornings until it was fully warmed up. That was typical Chrysler even before lean burn. But I noticed that it had no top end power even though I’d advanced the base timing. It also ate valve cover gaskets for lunch l One night I noticed the exhaust manifolds glowing red . I discovered that the computer was never advancing the ignition timing above base timing. I simply replaced the distributor with one with a mechanical and vacuum advance. The difference was amazing. Never attempted to fix the cold start issue. But not only did power and valve cover gasket life increase (due to the manifolds not getting as hot). But fuel economy increased from 10 mpg to 15 mpg.
These were the other manufacturers attempt to cut into the Chevy Monte Carlo segment and the T-bird. Characterized by long hood and short deck. Meant to be personal luxury cars. Ricardo Montalban was the perfect showman for promoting the Cordoba. He was Mexican from Mexico, not from Spain, but definitely Castilian. "Corinthian" refers to a city in Greece. The original Lean-Burn wasn't available in California and these cars did have catalytic converters. California cars did get a computer mounted on the air cleaner later, but different from the Lean-Burn original. All cars sold in California, except Subaru and maybe Honda had catalytic converters 1975-on. Even cars manufactured in 1974 for the 1975 model year(like the Cadillac Seville). The main problem with the Lean-Burn systems was the vacuum diaphragm mounted on the Lean-Burn unit. It wasn't replaceable separately. You had to buy a new complete Lean-Burn unit from the dealer. Maybe later from a rebuilder. I think the Cordoba was my uncle's(then living in Florida) first Chrysler product which wasn't an Imperial. Maybe the fake fuel shortage and higher gas prices might have affected his decision to downsize. His everyday driver was a 1972 Datsun 240Z(with automatic transmission, no less). He was an aerospace designing ventilation system. The Boing 747 was one of his project designs. In California now, cars 1975 and older are no longer in the State smog program, so, like most of the other 49 States on even a little newer cars, smog equipment can be removed and engine modified to run like real cars should. Truly beneficial for emissions and performance equipment didn't arrive until the late-80's, as compression was also allowed to be raised somewhat. It would be hard to choose from the 77's you listed, but the Ford products still had the 460 V8 available, the GM's could be had with 400 to 455 c.i. V8's(Caddy was 425). I'd take 'em all.
..."I think the Cordoba was my uncle's(then living in Florida) first Chrysler product which wasn't an Imperial.......affected his decision to downsize." Maybe his "Auto-Temp II" in an Imperial burst a leak and it left a bad taste with the HVAC designer'. In 75, the Imperial had seats with a humorous use of light foam in the loose pillow look parts and a much more firm foam used right behind your shoulder blades. Either Cordoba interior was more comfortable. Good info.
Thank you for sharing this Chrysler Cordoba with its rich "Corithian leather". Chrysler had a winning lineup in 1977. The New Yorker from back then was quite nice. It was the Imperial before becoming New Yorker in 1976. You did your homework on this video as well. Good footage and images. They were going to give this car to Plymouth intitally, but they decided against that and gave it to Chrysler. 1975-1976 Oldsmobile Toronado or 1977 Lincoln Mark V or 1977 Pontiac Grand Prix.
I have never seen a 77 Toronado. They look really cool but I’ve never seen one in the wild. I totally agree. This was a really nice car that I just saw they sold
Of all the cars I have owned, 18 so far my 78 Chrysler Cordoba Crown with the 400ci engine is my favorite. I preferred the double stack headlights and the Crown padded roof. Absolutely great automobile. In 78 Chrysler developed a lock up torque converter, this improved fuel economy greatly. 78 Cordoba with the 400ci engine MPG ratings are 15 city, 23 hwy. I can verify 23 was no problem I managed 26 multiple time on long trips. Chryslers vehicle back then had the best A/C systems, air would be so cold condensation would form on the vents. Miss that old car.
Excellent research! BITD my mothers best friend in 1975 purchased a fully optioned Cordoba in triple black with a crank sunroof. When Carol showed up in that car it was like "oooh". Great memories.
My parents had one when I was a young kid in the early 80s. I remeber when mon picked me up fron kindergarten I didn't get the door shut and it opened I fell out of the cat while moving. I wasn't hurt but it was 1981 we didn't use seat belts back then.
My dad had a brand new 1977 T-bird in the Dove Grey edition. I drove the crap out of that car! It is still the sweetest car I've ever driven. I would take it back in a second!
My grandfather had a second gen., also replacing a New Yorker, which replaced a 300.. It overheated on them on a trip to Florida and was the last Mopar he ever owned (his brother the dealer had passed away by the time he switched to Ford Crown Vics).
77 T Bird 77 Cordoba 77 Mark V Ah yes. The infamous malaise years of US automobile production. Giant land yachts with big V8 motors that were choked and starved of horsepower by smog regulation. AKA 400 Lean Burn. However, they were big on feature sets with tons of options. It's like the automakers knew they were going to be choked down for power so it's they opted for luxurious instead. Ricardo Montalban's advertisement for the Cordoba was great. If you think about it. To this day we can't look at a leather interior in an automobile without the words "fine Corinthian leather* coming to mind lol.
Those “malaise era” cars were weak from a speed perspective, but as you pointed out, they had other attributes that made them attractive. For most, the cars weren’t as bad as many today make them out to be. I had a ‘78 Impala with the 305 4-V, and the only time the car seemed at all deficient compared to the 1960’s models was when I went wide-open-throttle. But on the plus side, it got better fuel mileage than the 60’s-mobiles.
Yes the front has all the room, but get 1 with tilt wheel. If you're a bit short, the fixed column will make you feel like you're driving a bus. Rear leg room is terrible for the size of the car. I've owned 4 of these, a 76 and 3 79s.
The Elite was one car that I really liked in its day. It existed for 3 years, but was sold as the Gran Torino Elite in '74 only. For its latter 2 years the Elite became a stand alone name.
@@What.its.like. The Thunderbird replaced the Elite in 1977 with a slightly downsized body. Thunderbird stopped using the larger Mark IV body, therefore its price was reduced as well.
While working at Southwest Leasing and Rental in 1979, the company purchased several new Cordobas for the rental fleet. I still like the "stacked headlights" 1978 and 1979s. We loaned a 1979 to actor Martin Mull while his BMW was in for service.
I inherited the car Chrysler replaced the Cordoba with, a 1980 Dodge Mirada. By then the Cordoba was the same car as mine but with a different nose and tail, every other part was identical. Actually the steering wheel was exactly the same as this 77. Nice job, Jay. BTW, most G body GM cars of the late 70s to mid 80s had that crotch cooler, hah!
@@HelpingHand-ic4wt I didn't mind it, ride was very smooth but the 318 was a dog. Emission laws I guess. Had a spare ballast resistor in the glovebox at all times thanks to my uncle who passed it down warning me they were known to go often. Did have to switch it once after a storm, not sure if the rain was a factor
An elderly customer at a garage I worked at bought a '76 Cordoba. His hearing was going so he did not want a radio. When the dealer told him it was standard and he had to have it he got mad and said "I won't pay for a radio if I can't hear the damn thing!" They took out the radio and give him a discount. It was probably the only Cordoba with a radio delete plate and a cover in the fender for the antenna hole. My next door neighbor had a '76 with the 360. He's let his son drive it sometimes and we cruised around in it a bit. It was a very nice car. I'd choose the 1977 Pontiac Grand Prix, 1977 Oldsmobile Tornado, and the 1977 Cadillac Fleetwood 2dr Brougham. I agree with you about the '75-'77 being the best years for the Cordoba and I did not like the switch to rectangular headlights either.
All of the big 3 bought their leather from the same supplier well into the late 80s. The only things that set them apart were colors and textures. The actual hide material was the same.
Beautiful car. Also, can you profile the 1967 green Mercury parked to the front and left? My father had one and it was the most beautiful car he ever owned. They are rare. We used to call it the Hawaii 5-0 car. I love your channel and want to interview you for Crankshaft Magazine.
If anybody is old enough to remember the Montelban commercials, here is a parody of that commercial: th-cam.com/video/8vpvJdlPHpI/w-d-xo.html . Sorry Jay, but the Cordoba was a Chrysler-ized Monte Carlo, whether it be the round or square headlight version. And, like you said, the "Corinthian" leather is just ordinary leather. As usual, nice presentation. WYR= T-Bird, Cougar (it's XR-7, not RX-7. RX-7 is a Mazda), and Mk V Lincoln. No clue about the song!
The "Lean Burn" system had a few variations ranging from bad to nearly undriveable 💩 The technology wasn't there yet to make it work, but now every car does something similar via computers. Chrysler was having QC problems at the time. This was the last generation of the large 'personal luxury car' where bigger meant better. That was helped along with recurring 'gas crisises' and the rise of Japanese cars being made better and with much better fuel economy. The back seats in all of these were more like a '2+2", and not meant for anyone to use for long. The Cordoba was the best-looking of the bunch. The "Corinthian leather" was just a trademarked name of a type of leather one supplier offered; in effect it was hardly any different than any other leather but it sounded good in marketing. Later in life Ricardo Montleban said he wished he'd never made those commercials and that he really disliked the car. On T-Tops, anyone who has had a car with them won't have another one; they're a total hassle, they leak, and they turn the car into a scorching-hot greenhouse in the summer. They came about as a replacement for convertibles, which at the time could not be made to pass Federal safety roll-over testing. This was the "malaise era" as another big YT car channel calls it, where just about everything about American cars sucked 😦 I had a 75 T-bird for awhile and it was spacious for front-seat comfort with decent ride quality, but it had no other redeeming virtues whatsoever. This was typical of all these cars at the time; overweight, underperfrorming. poor fuel mileage, with engineering and build quality falling off a cliff as corporate Detroit lost touch with the changing market. On WYR I'd rather pick "None" except that these cars were some of the last ones which the average person could understand and mostly fix themselves economically without the need for a scan computer or an array of special tools. So be that as it is... WYR#1 Grand Prix, which still had the Pontiac difference going for it. WYR#2 I'll make Jay happy and pick the Cordoba WYR#3 goes to the 2dr Caddy but it needs a diamond in the back, sunroof top, TV antenna, and of course gangster whitewalls 😎
The body pieces that are the same 77 to 78 are the doors, roof and rear quarter panels. The 78 79s have a longer header panel, so shorter frt fenders and hood. 78s were going on a diet believe it or not, and 79s even more so, with more use of aluminum and plastic. Like all personnel luxury coupes of the era, they were really meant for 2 passengers and maybe the kids. I'm only 5'7 and it's tight back there. I've had 4 of these throughput my life. A 76, and 3 79 300s. I still have 1 of the 300s. I like the car even though it is big and poorly packaged. They drive nice, decent brakes, good engines and transmissions. Ditch the ELB and rejet the carb and it'll run like you'd put a new engine in it. Fun fact is if you ordered a dual exhaust hd 360 or 400, the floor pan was modified and seat frames and tracks were different to accommodate the dual converters. Also the std 25.5 gallon tank was changed to a 21.
Okay, for the first scenario I would pick the Pontiac, hands down. The second would be the Toronado. For the third it would be the Cadillac. When I graduated from High School in 1988 I went car shopping and looked at a couple Cordobas but one was priced too high and the second had really high miles on it and looked a bit worse for wear. What's funny was I ended up with a Mark V, which I later sold and replaced with a Fleetwood. And I liked the Fleetwood far better of the two. But I still like the Cordoba and might have bought one had the right one come along
The Cordoba will forever be remembered as the wrath of Khan … “from hell’s heart I stab at thee” - and it almost was, until ole Lee Iacocca came onboard at Chrysler and saved them to fight another day. That man was a genius (I mean Lee, not Ricardo).
I’m happy you like that story at the end I was on the fence of even putting it in at all.. that was a while ago.. it’s crazy. The connection mind makes with cars and music. It takes back totally different time.
My mom had a 76 cordoba, and i had a 76 fury sport. Both had cloth interiors... didn't want to kill any corinths just for the leather. It takes two corinths to make one interior!
I agree with you, I'm surprised how many people prefer the stacked headlights. I feel like same way about the Monte Carlo. I had a 75 with the round headlights. I didn't like the stacked on the 76.
The metal trim with the ornate stamping may be called a filigree design. It's all over the dash and door panels. I think the first year, 75, there was a similar filigree in the exterior pinstripe. filigree noun, fil·i·gree ˈfi-lə-ˌgrē 1: ornamental work especially of fine wire of gold, silver, or copper applied chiefly to gold and silver surfaces a headband decorated with silver filigree 2a: ornamental openwork of delicate or intricate design b: a pattern or design resembling such openwork a filigree of frost c: ORNAMENTATION, EMBELLISHMENT writings … heavy with late Victorian filigree -Jack Beatty
5:08 The '75-77 look, though a bit influenced by Europe, was unique in American car design. The 1978 'refresh' seems more a 'defresh', looking much like several other US cars.
Vinyl tops looks nice when new but are a hassle to keep nice and eventually get old and dry start cracking and invite rust and become expensive to replace
Had a 76 Cordoba black on black. Beautiful luxury car. It was unfortunately built on a platform that was created for a much lighter Plymouth vehicle. The wheel bearings were susceptible to failureI Still loved that car.
Pontiac Grand Prix (I like the '76 a bit more), Chrysler Cordoba, Chrysler Cordoba. I think Chrysler was going for a mix of Monte Carlo and Jaguar with their front end styling.
The 1977 Cordoba had one year only taillights, but they all had yearly grill changes. Back in the day I liked seeing cars switch to rectangular headlights, but over time have decided I prefer the round lights. My favorite cars shown here would be the Cordoba, Toronado and Fleetwood.
When I was growing up our neighbors got a new Cordoba, it was either a 75 or 76. It had a beautiful high gloss white paint finish, with the plush burgundy interior and it had the wire wheel covers., it was a beauty! It also had a thick padded unique looking steering wheel. I agree that the steering wheel on this one looks like it doesn't fit the car. It looks like the one used on the Aspen/ Volare models. I think Chrysler had a few different optional ones, for the various models. That beautiful and sexy Gran Prix would be my first choice🤩 in the second it would be the toronado. I would take any of them in the third back to pick just the one I'd probably go with the Cordoba.
Unfortunately, Chrysler had lost its way by the time the Cordoba came out. The car seemed to be overpriced and yet crude, too crude for my dad to tolerate as a company car. We ended up getting a Ford Thunderbird instead.
Jay, this is Marcel in Yuma, I don't understand, the "STATS" you put down are for a "360"=4.00 bore/3.53" stroke, and the "400" with> 3.9" bore/ 3.3" stroke? How does this happen?
Jay, the problem with purchasing a Chrysler product back in the day was…once you had a Chrysler, no dealers other than a Chrysler or Dodge dealer would give you anything decent in trade. Just like AMC. My dad would get my mom a new car every other year. He was a GM guy (every guy was very make loyal back then), and it was usually a top-of-the-line GM brand, like a Olds Ninety-Eight or a Buick Electra. Occasionally a Cadillac. My dad couldn’t make a deal on a new Ninety-Eight Regency at Jim Lupient Olds (remember the dealership in the movie “Fargo”?), so my mom went out shopping on her own. She came back with a 1977 Cordoba. This was her first car after we moved to Minnesota, as it replaced the 1976 Corvette my dad sold when we left California. It was replaced with a 1978 Buick Park Avenue. She was never allowed on a car lot by herself after the Cordoba. My dad made me promise on his death bed to make sure she could not select her own car…ever. She said she preferred a smaller car. She was told she could have a Monte Carlo or an Olds Cutlass Supreme. 😂 Oh…you forgot to point out the 8 track tape player…and you shoulda played something by The Bee Gees…
I had my mom's '86 Lincoln Towne Car , after she passed. I took that car and redid so many things on it. New Vinyl Top, 2 into one/> Dual exhaust. New gaskets, "Flowmasters", and made it get from 19 mpg Hwy, up to 24 Hwy., new paint job , from white, to that Cadillac Pearl paint......it was just beautiful... when I got it (just UNDER 100K), to just over .....
That’s awesome I was able to get 28 hwy with the 88 (the 1st one) I also delivered pizza in it and didn’t do too bad lol I raced a 2002 ford explorer in a destination race and beat them I had it maxed out the speedometer only went to 85 but the needle wrapped clear around and said 20.. it didn’t feeling like we were on the ground anymore but hovering above it out of all the cars I’ve owned that was my favorite tied with the 67 mustang
J, J, J... It's "rich" Corinthian Leather ;-) Ahhh, the age of "personal luxury"... Monte Carlo's, Grand Prix's, Cutlass Supreme's, Mark V's, Eldo's, Toronado's, Thunderbird's, Cougar's, Charger's and the Cordoba's... everywhere you looked, luxo-barges with HUGE doors! Ahhhh, I miss those days! Looking back, everyone wanted a Cutlass Supreme. I never saw the fascination. I actually prefer the '80-'83 generation, but these first generations were gorgeous! Those T-tops were awful. They leaked terribly. And that electronic lean burn thing was pitiful. They caused more headaches! Beautiful car to give a tour of! WYR: 1) T-bird!!! 2) Cougar XR-7 (RX7 was a Mazda)... 3) Mark V!!!! (guess we an se where my loyalties lie ;-)
Yeah, there was a point in my life where I just wanted luxury land barges I kind of wanna get a Lincoln town car and do a nostalgia episode with it but I don’t wanna pay a whole lot of money for one because I’m planning on having a little bit of fun with it.. lol 160 HP doesn’t sound like a lot of fun but I can assure you it can be if you know how to drive it.. Thank you so much for the correction I said the wrong thing I’m dyslexic, so it happens a lot. I caught a lot of mistakes in this episode. I guess I had that one slipped through. Great choices
@@What.its.like. No prob buddy! As I get older (you... graduate 2007... omfg... lol) I get stuff mixed up all the time. Enjoy your 30's... after 40 it's not all downhill, it's a damn cliff!
These were beautiful when new and still are I had a 77 cordoba with the 400 and the original owner had striped off all the lean burn garbage and installed a edolbrock intake and 4 barrel carb that woke her up and gave me about 16-18 mpg for the wyr ill take the cordoba and the Pontiac thank you
That’s why I said the lean burn system was and is marketing BS there are vehicles now that get the same gas mileage as these cars did if car companies cared about gas mileage, they could do so many more things of what they are doing. They do the stop start technology, which I think so stupid.. computers and direct injection and they still can’t get over 30 miles to the gallon. Some cars don’t even get that it’s absolutely insane.
@@What.its.like. Our 1956 Cadillac Sedan deVille got 17 mpg in 1969. We drove it to Minnesota that summer. Years later, the "soft plugs" blew, my father parked it in our middle yard and then my parents sold it for $150 in 1977!
Ricardo Montablan. Corinthian leather. When I lived in Hawaii, I briefly owned a '77 Cordoba. A good riding car- smooth on the road, but take it slow on the turns.
Interestingly, Ricardo Montauban's Cordoba did NOT have leather upholstery, which wasn't too popular in Southern California. He had "Indian blanket" style upholstery. What is a "Cadillac converter"?
that might have been called "Navaho", Chrysler Newports were offering a similar style of native fabric. At some point, Cordoba offered a white interior with a black & white check pattern fabric that was very sporty/mod. In his TV ads, Ricardo mentions Corinthian leather as he's sitting on the standard velour bench seat with armrest which always fit me better than the leather buckets.
I was partial to the solid roof design and really didn't like the T roof design. My fav year was the '77 model. Strange...you show 2 different cid for the same bore/stroke LOL. It really wasn't meant to have secondary passengers per se. Children were ok but adults...only for a short time. '77 Gran Prix and '77 Cordoba, and '77 Lincoln Mk5.
My sister and her husband owned a 76 Charger Daytona with the 400 (sister car as you noted). Good looking car, rode well. Looking under the hood brought back many memories (after it was out of warrantee, I became the warrantee when it needed work). I agree with you, the round headlight model years look better to me as well. Of note - T-top is not named due to the shape. Porsche trademarked "Targa Top", so the work around became calling them "T Tops". WYR: 1977 Grand Prix, 1977 Olds Toronado, 1977 Mark V (is the Caddy had been a Coupe D Ville - it would have won out). Excellent coverage as always, especially like that you noted Lean Burn cars did not require a catalytic converter. Thank you ~ Chuck
Hi Jay! I'm glad you got to try those Corinthian Leather seats! Those commercials were all over TV when I was 11 or 12 years old, and I remember Ricardo, big time! Thanks for showing the 1977 Cordoba, as it shows what a good-looking car those were! Definitely don't like the stacked headlight styling either. I had a 1986 Lincoln Town Car and it didn't have many options but that was a GOOD car! Only thing wrong with it when I traded it for a Mustang at the turn of the century was it had a leaky rear seal. Had way over 100K on it. Extremely comfortable car and I really enjoyed driving it! WYR#1 Going Pontiac on that one, what a pretty car! #2 Cordoba! Let me have that Corinthian leather, baby! #3 Mark V! Always wanted a Cannonmobile, he always had the big Lincoln two door!
Awesome choices. Thank you so much for sharing your experience with owning a Lincoln town car. I want to buy one of you nostalgia just to show that 160 HP can be fun.. there is an old dirt road not far from where I live and there’s a triangle in the middle of it. There’s three dirt roads that I would love to do a drift around the triangle in the town car in the middle of cornfields
This was definitely a classic car, iconic from its timeframe. This model never took on the overdone 1970s look of its contemporaries, like that Pontiac or the Lincolns. Because of that alone, I would pick the Cordoba for all three WYR scenarios. Cars from that era could be downright ugly (not unlike some of the cars from 1958-59) but not this one. And I would agree the 1977 was more attractive than the ‘78 model. Not to mention I remember those Ricardo Montalban commercials.
T-Bird, XR-7, Cordoba Also seem to recall a story in which Ricardo Montalbàn tried to correct the pronunciation as core-doe-BAH rather than core-DOE-bah, but Chrysler execs ignored him of course. 😅
The more accurate comparison vehicle for this Cordoba would be the 70s Monte Carlo. The mid-size personal luxury coupe is an extinct species nowadays and most likely will never return. I always preferred the 73--75 model Monte Carlo to any of the other choices, but I also always loved the design of the 75-77 Cordoba - kind of twin cars in a way I guess.
In regard to late model vehicles not having cornering lights....yes they do! I own a 2020 RAM 1500 that has them. They operate from the fog lamp openings. The marker lamps you refer to are called opera lamps. The moulding down the center of the hood is called a wind split moulding. The beltline is below the side window opening. You were referring to the body feature line. I was a parts counter person for ten years. That's how I learned the terminology. 34:21 My sister had a '77 Cordoba with St. Regis package. It is a Spinnaker white body with white vinyl roof, white leather with tan carpet and dash pad. It had the 360 with the thermoquad carb. Nice driver but wasn't great for gas mileage.
My brother had one with a 318 they were nice cars. I was wandering if you could feature the 1962 Vauxhall Envoy A-B Series I slightly remember this car I was like 6,7 years old when my father owned it before selling the car.I would really appreciate if you could find one and give it a review Thank you
Having owned a 76 and a 78 Cordoba I lean towards them. however, I would probably like the MarkV and the Cadillac better. Too bad your 2nd Town car let you down as I like those as well, ....Thanks!
Awesome =) The problem with the second town car wasn’t a transmission issue. It was a spark plug problem got second and third opinions and everybody I took it to said yeah that’s a transmission issue. I couldn’t afford to keep putting transmission in the car. Nobody else can fix it.
Another great episode, Jay. I really liked these cars, and still think they are good looking and luxurious. But I’m a FoMoCo guy, so I.d take the Thunderbird, the Cougar and the Mark V.
had a 1977 Cordoba 400 4 bbl velour interior lean burn was junk put earlier electronic distributor and the same thermoquad my 74 360 'Cuda had on it, it would shift out of 1st at 55 mph and 100 mph out of second who knows what top end was
You left out the 77 Chrysler LeBaron. I had one; dark brown with light brown landau roof and velour interior and aluminum disk wheels. The boat-tail rear was very unique for the time. My LeBaron looked a lot like the side view of 78 Cordoba you showed as far as the trim level.
"Corinthian leather" is strictly A TERM that gained popularity in the 1970s as a marketing description for certain luxury car interiors. However, it's important to note that the term itself is not a technical or industry-specific designation for a type of leather. It was coined to evoke a sense of opulence and sophistication, but it doesn't refer to a specific leather type or manufacturing process. As such, there are no inherent benefits directly tied to "Corinthian leather." Instead, the benefits associated with the term typically relate to the quality and features of the leather used in luxury car interiors.
I owned a 77 cordoba, loved that car, was so classy and beautiful. Today's cars all look alike, with no real class anymore, they think that putting some electronics in it is so great but ain't. I don't want all that crap in my car, just one that gets me from a to b, and looks nice.
The Mark V or the Fleetwood Brougham for me. But i have a fondness for the 77 Cordoba with the 400. Although if you gave me a 77 Olds 98 Regency Coupe or Electra Limited I'd take those two over all....
Greg Kihn Band...Break Up Song?
Bingo we got a winner and first timer too??
@@What.its.like. My second time...first was Beach Boys Getcha Back. I saw Greg Kahn Band and The Tubes live at the Mann in Philly in the summer of 1981. Break Up Song was their first hit and was on the charts at the time.
I love classic and antique automobiles and really enjoy watching your videos. Thank you!
@@ANACAD thank you so much for all the positive vibes. Happy you got this one =)
I was an auto technician working at a Chry-Plymouth dealership back in 1977 and remember the '77 Cordoba very well. They were exceptional autos. Very comfortable, handled great and built excellent. We had very few mechanical problems with them. Just a very great luxury car. Possibly the best Chrysler at the time. I have nothing but good memories about Cordoba. Lean Burn was a problem but we easily fixed them. The 400 CID was by far the best engine for the car. The 360 was junk. It's so nice to see the car finally being recognized.
Awesome thank you so much for sharing you experience =)
Our 360 was pretty smooth and quiet. No sports car but it had nice torque. Only complaint we had was the electric ignition module aways going out.
Have had many reliable 360s since the 70s, currently have a 78 cordoba with a factory 400 4brl and cloth interior.
I owned a 77 cordoba exactly like your feature car. Mine was powered by a 400 engine. Yup fine corinthian leather too.
Jay, I still have bits of that TV Cordoba ad stuck in my mind, the rich Corinthian leather, the brick drive... Thanks for the memories!
That early Lean Burn system was very crude and drivability was often compromised; they were “clunky”, where the GM offerings from that era were smooth and unobtrusive. Even when the Lean Burn cars ran well, they didn’t.
Replacing the distributor and carb with the conventional components totally change the personality of these cars - for the better. Kits were available directly from Chrysler.
Had a 78 with 360. Replaced the ignition system and rebuilt the carb. Could never get used to the long hood 😢
My parents had a lean burn equipped 400 cid Cordoba. It hated cold starts and would stumble on cold mornings until it was fully warmed up. That was typical Chrysler even before lean burn. But I noticed that it had no top end power even though I’d advanced the base timing. It also ate valve cover gaskets for lunch l One night I noticed the exhaust manifolds glowing red . I discovered that the computer was never advancing the ignition timing above base timing. I simply replaced the distributor with one with a mechanical and vacuum advance. The difference was amazing. Never attempted to fix the cold start issue. But not only did power and valve cover gasket life increase (due to the manifolds not getting as hot). But fuel economy increased from 10 mpg to 15 mpg.
These were the other manufacturers attempt to cut into the Chevy Monte Carlo segment and the T-bird. Characterized by long hood and short deck. Meant to be personal luxury cars.
Ricardo Montalban was the perfect showman for promoting the Cordoba. He was Mexican from Mexico, not from Spain, but definitely Castilian. "Corinthian" refers to a city in Greece.
The original Lean-Burn wasn't available in California and these cars did have catalytic converters. California cars did get a computer mounted on the air cleaner later, but different from the Lean-Burn original. All cars sold in California, except Subaru and maybe Honda had catalytic converters 1975-on. Even cars manufactured in 1974 for the 1975 model year(like the Cadillac Seville). The main problem with the Lean-Burn systems was the vacuum diaphragm mounted on the Lean-Burn unit. It wasn't replaceable separately. You had to buy a new complete Lean-Burn unit from the dealer. Maybe later from a rebuilder.
I think the Cordoba was my uncle's(then living in Florida) first Chrysler product which wasn't an Imperial. Maybe the fake fuel shortage and higher gas prices might have affected his decision to downsize. His everyday driver was a 1972 Datsun 240Z(with automatic transmission, no less). He was an aerospace designing ventilation system. The Boing 747 was one of his project designs.
In California now, cars 1975 and older are no longer in the State smog program, so, like most of the other 49 States on even a little newer cars, smog equipment can be removed and engine modified to run like real cars should. Truly beneficial for emissions and performance equipment didn't arrive until the late-80's, as compression was also allowed to be raised somewhat.
It would be hard to choose from the 77's you listed, but the Ford products still had the 460 V8 available, the GM's could be had with 400 to 455 c.i. V8's(Caddy was 425). I'd take 'em all.
..."I think the Cordoba was my uncle's(then living in Florida) first Chrysler product which wasn't an Imperial.......affected his decision to downsize."
Maybe his "Auto-Temp II" in an Imperial burst a leak and it left a bad taste with the HVAC designer'. In 75, the Imperial had seats with a humorous use of light foam in the loose pillow look parts and a much more firm foam used right behind your shoulder blades. Either Cordoba interior was more comfortable.
Good info.
T-Bird, Chrysler, and Lincoln for me. Regardless of which one you pick these cars represent a era in automobile history that is gone forever.
Totally agree
Great choices
Thank you for sharing this Chrysler Cordoba with its rich "Corithian leather". Chrysler had a winning lineup in 1977. The New Yorker from back then was quite nice. It was the Imperial before becoming New Yorker in 1976. You did your homework on this video as well. Good footage and images. They were going to give this car to Plymouth intitally, but they decided against that and gave it to Chrysler. 1975-1976 Oldsmobile Toronado or 1977 Lincoln Mark V or 1977 Pontiac Grand Prix.
Third, cougar, and the Mark. Handsome down. So much better looking cars. Cougar overall.
thats a very nice Cordoba Jay 👍 I'll take the Toronado with the t tops and the wrap around back window. haven't seen one in years.
I have never seen a 77 Toronado. They look really cool but I’ve never seen one in the wild. I totally agree. This was a really nice car that I just saw they sold
There used to be a ‘77 or ‘78 Oldsmobile Toronado XTS street parked near me. So extreme and striking!
Cordoba across the board!!!
Sweet choices =)
T tops leak and are hot especially here in Florida and always leak give me a hard top no vinyl
Great points
Of all the cars I have owned, 18 so far my 78 Chrysler Cordoba Crown with the 400ci engine is my favorite. I preferred the double stack headlights and the Crown padded roof. Absolutely great automobile. In 78 Chrysler developed a lock up torque converter, this improved fuel economy greatly. 78 Cordoba with the 400ci engine MPG ratings are 15 city, 23 hwy. I can verify 23 was no problem I managed 26 multiple time on long trips. Chryslers vehicle back then had the best A/C systems, air would be so cold condensation would form on the vents. Miss that old car.
Awesome thank you so much for sharing your experience with your car
The Cordoba with a 400 is a pretty hard car to beat. A very good car.
A friend of mine had one of these while another friend had the Dodge Magnum. The other sister car. Spent a lot of time in these. Beautiful cars.
Excellent research! BITD my mothers best friend in 1975 purchased a fully optioned Cordoba in triple black with a crank sunroof. When Carol showed up in that car it was like "oooh".
Great memories.
My parents had one when I was a young kid in the early 80s. I remeber when mon picked me up fron kindergarten I didn't get the door shut and it opened I fell out of the cat while moving. I wasn't hurt but it was 1981 we didn't use seat belts back then.
My dad had a brand new 1977 T-bird in the Dove Grey edition. I drove the crap out of that car! It is still the sweetest car I've ever driven. I would take it back in a second!
My Uncle George had 2 successive Cordobas and he thought highly of them. Prior he owned New Yorkers and Imperials then after moved onto Lincolns.
Awesome =) they are very cool overlooked underrated cars
My grandfather had a second gen., also replacing a New Yorker, which replaced a 300.. It overheated on them on a trip to Florida and was the last Mopar he ever owned (his brother the dealer had passed away by the time he switched to Ford Crown Vics).
77 T Bird
77 Cordoba
77 Mark V
Ah yes. The infamous malaise years of US automobile production.
Giant land yachts with big V8 motors that were choked and starved of horsepower by smog regulation. AKA 400 Lean Burn. However, they were big on feature sets with tons of options.
It's like the automakers knew they were going to be choked down for power so it's they opted for luxurious instead.
Ricardo Montalban's advertisement for the Cordoba was great. If you think about it. To this day we can't look at a leather interior in an automobile without the words "fine Corinthian leather* coming to mind lol.
Awesome choices =)
Those “malaise era” cars were weak from a speed perspective, but as you pointed out, they had other attributes that made them attractive. For most, the cars weren’t as bad as many today make them out to be.
I had a ‘78 Impala with the 305 4-V, and the only time the car seemed at all deficient compared to the 1960’s models was when I went wide-open-throttle. But on the plus side, it got better fuel mileage than the 60’s-mobiles.
All of them
Awesome choices
The use of space in the land yachts was really poor I have noted; I would expect rear leg room in a 5 + metre vehicle to be excellent, and it is not.
Yes I agree with that statement it’s better in Lincoln and Cadillac but not as much space as you’d expect
Yes the front has all the room, but get 1 with tilt wheel. If you're a bit short, the fixed column will make you feel like you're driving a bus. Rear leg room is terrible for the size of the car. I've owned 4 of these, a 76 and 3 79s.
BTW- No such thing as Corinthian leather. Marketing just made that name up.
Totally agree I said that one time and it started a war so I left that out
BTW, i loved my cordoba
In '75 I was looking at the Ford Elite and Cordoba. Ended up with the Elite. Both were exceptional cars. But the Elite was the better offer.
The Elite was one car that I really liked in its day. It existed for 3 years, but was sold as the Gran Torino Elite in '74 only. For its latter 2 years the Elite became a stand alone name.
Thank you so much for mentioning that one I’ve never saw or even heard of the elite.. I’m still finding new cars =)
@@What.its.like. The Thunderbird replaced the Elite in 1977 with a slightly downsized body. Thunderbird stopped using the larger Mark IV body, therefore its price was reduced as well.
While working at Southwest Leasing and Rental in 1979, the company purchased several new Cordobas for the rental fleet. I still like the "stacked headlights" 1978 and 1979s. We loaned a 1979 to actor Martin Mull while his BMW was in for service.
How many Corinthians did it take to leather the car? That's what I want to know.
Hahaha
I agree with you the firs gen are sharp. I was wanting either one of these of the Ford Eite also like same year Monte Carlos
I inherited the car Chrysler replaced the Cordoba with, a 1980 Dodge Mirada. By then the Cordoba was the same car as mine but with a different nose and tail, every other part was identical. Actually the steering wheel was exactly the same as this 77. Nice job, Jay.
BTW, most G body GM cars of the late 70s to mid 80s had that crotch cooler, hah!
Awesome thank you so much for sharing that memory with us =) happy you dig this episode
the "replacements", the FMJ (Mirada) cars were better in many ways :)
@@HelpingHand-ic4wt I didn't mind it, ride was very smooth but the 318 was a dog. Emission laws I guess. Had a spare ballast resistor in the glovebox at all times thanks to my uncle who passed it down warning me they were known to go often. Did have to switch it once after a storm, not sure if the rain was a factor
The Mirada replaced the Magnum in 1980, but the Cordoba went on until 1983.
An elderly customer at a garage I worked at bought a '76 Cordoba. His hearing was going so he did not want a radio. When the dealer told him it was standard and he had to have it he got mad and said "I won't pay for a radio if I can't hear the damn thing!" They took out the radio and give him a discount. It was probably the only Cordoba with a radio delete plate and a cover in the fender for the antenna hole. My next door neighbor had a '76 with the 360. He's let his son drive it sometimes and we cruised around in it a bit. It was a very nice car. I'd choose the 1977 Pontiac Grand Prix, 1977 Oldsmobile Tornado, and the 1977 Cadillac Fleetwood 2dr Brougham. I agree with you about the '75-'77 being the best years for the Cordoba and I did not like the switch to rectangular headlights either.
Awesome choices great stories. Thank you so much for sharing this memories.=)
Very nice car,
My parents owned a 1978 , we drove it on our Honeymoon night!
Awesome
I heard that the name 'Corinthian' was simply made up, as there is no such thing as 'Corinthian leather'
I’ve heard that as well but didn’t want to start a war with that, leather that was made in a warehouse in NJ
All of the big 3 bought their leather from the same supplier well into the late 80s. The only things that set them apart were colors and textures. The actual hide material was the same.
A skinned Corinthian would beg to differ….
Beautiful car. Also, can you profile the 1967 green Mercury parked to the front and left? My father had one and it was the most beautiful car he ever owned. They are rare. We used to call it the Hawaii 5-0 car. I love your channel and want to interview you for Crankshaft Magazine.
I’ll be down for an interview
Shoot me an email
What_its_like@yahoo.com
I’ll do that car the next time I go out there
Where is Ricardo Montalban when we need him??........oh wait a minute, we have Jay😍.......way more informative and interesting!!
Hahaha thank you
If anybody is old enough to remember the Montelban commercials, here is a parody of that commercial: th-cam.com/video/8vpvJdlPHpI/w-d-xo.html . Sorry Jay, but the Cordoba was a Chrysler-ized Monte Carlo, whether it be the round or square headlight version. And, like you said, the "Corinthian" leather is just ordinary leather. As usual, nice presentation. WYR= T-Bird, Cougar (it's XR-7, not RX-7. RX-7 is a Mazda), and Mk V Lincoln. No clue about the song!
Awesome thank you so much for that correction I knew I’d say it like that eventually hahaha
Great choices I’ll check that link out
I really miss my 77. It was just like this one except it was blue.
The "Lean Burn" system had a few variations ranging from bad to nearly undriveable 💩 The technology wasn't there yet to make it work, but now every car does something similar via computers. Chrysler was having QC problems at the time. This was the last generation of the large 'personal luxury car' where bigger meant better. That was helped along with recurring 'gas crisises' and the rise of Japanese cars being made better and with much better fuel economy. The back seats in all of these were more like a '2+2", and not meant for anyone to use for long. The Cordoba was the best-looking of the bunch. The "Corinthian leather" was just a trademarked name of a type of leather one supplier offered; in effect it was hardly any different than any other leather but it sounded good in marketing. Later in life Ricardo Montleban said he wished he'd never made those commercials and that he really disliked the car. On T-Tops, anyone who has had a car with them won't have another one; they're a total hassle, they leak, and they turn the car into a scorching-hot greenhouse in the summer. They came about as a replacement for convertibles, which at the time could not be made to pass Federal safety roll-over testing. This was the "malaise era" as another big YT car channel calls it, where just about everything about American cars sucked 😦
I had a 75 T-bird for awhile and it was spacious for front-seat comfort with decent ride quality, but it had no other redeeming virtues whatsoever. This was typical of all these cars at the time; overweight, underperfrorming. poor fuel mileage, with engineering and build quality falling off a cliff as corporate Detroit lost touch with the changing market. On WYR I'd rather pick "None" except that these cars were some of the last ones which the average person could understand and mostly fix themselves economically without the need for a scan computer or an array of special tools. So be that as it is...
WYR#1 Grand Prix, which still had the Pontiac difference going for it. WYR#2 I'll make Jay happy and pick the Cordoba WYR#3 goes to the 2dr Caddy but it needs a diamond in the back, sunroof top, TV antenna, and of course gangster whitewalls 😎
Hahaha
Is the other car channel Ed’s car reviews love his channel
Thank you so much for sharing all the information and insight
@@What.its.like. Yep. AFAIK he coined the term "Malaise era"
The body pieces that are the same 77 to 78 are the doors, roof and rear quarter panels. The 78 79s have a longer header panel, so shorter frt fenders and hood. 78s were going on a diet believe it or not, and 79s even more so, with more use of aluminum and plastic. Like all personnel luxury coupes of the era, they were really meant for 2 passengers and maybe the kids. I'm only 5'7 and it's tight back there. I've had 4 of these throughput my life. A 76, and 3 79 300s. I still have 1 of the 300s. I like the car even though it is big and poorly packaged. They drive nice, decent brakes, good engines and transmissions. Ditch the ELB and rejet the carb and it'll run like you'd put a new engine in it. Fun fact is if you ordered a dual exhaust hd 360 or 400, the floor pan was modified and seat frames and tracks were different to accommodate the dual converters. Also the std 25.5 gallon tank was changed to a 21.
Thank you so much for sharing this insight
Okay, for the first scenario I would pick the Pontiac, hands down. The second would be the Toronado. For the third it would be the Cadillac. When I graduated from High School in 1988 I went car shopping and looked at a couple Cordobas but one was priced too high and the second had really high miles on it and looked a bit worse for wear. What's funny was I ended up with a Mark V, which I later sold and replaced with a Fleetwood. And I liked the Fleetwood far better of the two. But I still like the Cordoba and might have bought one had the right one come along
Thank you so much for sharing those memories =)
The Cordoba will forever be remembered as the wrath of Khan … “from hell’s heart I stab at thee” - and it almost was, until ole Lee Iacocca came onboard at Chrysler and saved them to fight another day.
That man was a genius (I mean Lee, not Ricardo).
Totally agree Lee Iacocca was a genius
Nice to hear the story as well as the review! The connections are what make cars special to us all, in many different ways.
I’m happy you like that story at the end I was on the fence of even putting it in at all.. that was a while ago.. it’s crazy. The connection mind makes with cars and music. It takes back totally different time.
My mom had a 76 cordoba, and i had a 76 fury sport. Both had cloth interiors... didn't want to kill any corinths just for the leather. It takes two corinths to make one interior!
Hahaha nice =)
Which one did you like better? Did you like the sport fury or the cordoba?
Both were nice...I liked my interior color better. Blue with what looked like little lightning bolts in the pattern.@@What.its.like.
Oh, the Olds Tornado,,,,,, it's the cousin/brother to the Cadillac Eldorado........> FOR SURE!
Jay, I think the 1977 Cordoba with the round headlights is a much nicer looking car than the 1978.
Totally agree
I agree with you, I'm surprised how many people prefer the stacked headlights. I feel like same way about the Monte Carlo. I had a 75 with the round headlights. I didn't like the stacked on the 76.
The metal trim with the ornate stamping may be called a filigree design. It's all over the dash and door panels. I think the first year, 75, there was a similar filigree in the exterior pinstripe.
filigree
noun, fil·i·gree ˈfi-lə-ˌgrē
1: ornamental work especially of fine wire of gold, silver, or copper applied chiefly to gold and silver surfaces
a headband decorated with silver filigree
2a: ornamental openwork of delicate or intricate design
b: a pattern or design resembling such openwork
a filigree of frost
c: ORNAMENTATION, EMBELLISHMENT
writings … heavy with late Victorian filigree
-Jack Beatty
5:08 The '75-77 look, though a bit influenced by Europe, was unique in American car design. The 1978 'refresh' seems more a 'defresh', looking much like several other US cars.
Vinyl tops looks nice when new but are a hassle to keep nice and eventually get old and dry start cracking and invite rust and become expensive to replace
Totally agree =) it was a fad
Had a 76 Cordoba black on black. Beautiful luxury car. It was unfortunately built on a platform that was created for a much lighter Plymouth vehicle. The wheel bearings were susceptible to failureI Still loved that car.
1977 Oldsmobile Toronado with front wheel drive and Oldsmobile Rocket 403 CID V8.
For 1979 only the 300 name was brought back for the first time since1971. It was a Cordoba with the 300 name and a different grill.
Pontiac Grand Prix (I like the '76 a bit more), Chrysler Cordoba, Chrysler Cordoba. I think Chrysler was going for a mix of Monte Carlo and Jaguar with their front end styling.
The 1977 Cordoba had one year only taillights, but they all had yearly grill changes. Back in the day I liked seeing cars switch to rectangular headlights, but over time have decided I prefer the round lights. My favorite cars shown here would be the Cordoba, Toronado and Fleetwood.
When I was growing up our neighbors got a new Cordoba, it was either a 75 or 76. It had a beautiful high gloss white paint finish, with the plush burgundy interior and it had the wire wheel covers., it was a beauty! It also had a thick padded unique looking steering wheel. I agree that the steering wheel on this one looks like it doesn't fit the car. It looks like the one used on the Aspen/ Volare models. I think Chrysler had a few different optional ones, for the various models. That beautiful and sexy Gran Prix would be my first choice🤩 in the second it would be the toronado. I would take any of them in the third back to pick just the one I'd probably go with the Cordoba.
Unfortunately, Chrysler had lost its way by the time the Cordoba came out. The car seemed to be overpriced and yet crude, too crude for my dad to tolerate as a company car. We ended up getting a Ford Thunderbird instead.
1977 Chrysler Cordoba.
That is a typical design of the time: 4 people can sit in the rear, 3 in front, however the rear passengers have to be legless, even the car is huge.
There's a Cordoba down the road I never see move and keep thinking of having a talk with the owner.
Jay, this is Marcel in Yuma, I don't understand, the "STATS" you put down are for a "360"=4.00 bore/3.53" stroke, and the "400" with> 3.9" bore/ 3.3" stroke? How does this happen?
Yep … Somehow, the 400 and the 318 have the same bore and stroke … 😁
Slides got screwed up happens time to time
Correction Mercury Cougar XR7, Mazda RX7!
Exactly what I was thinking
Yep I knew I was going to say it like that eventually lol
I thought the first gen were better looking than the second
I agree I’ve never seen a second generation in the wild
You're a funny guy, Jay. " If you wanna press pause and save that for later when you're on the toilet." I nearly spat out my tea when I heard that. 😂
Haha I try to keep things interesting
I would go for Mark V
Awesome choice.. I love mark V as well they are just so nice even now
Jay, the problem with purchasing a Chrysler product back in the day was…once you had a Chrysler, no dealers other than a Chrysler or Dodge dealer would give you anything decent in trade. Just like AMC.
My dad would get my mom a new car every other year. He was a GM guy (every guy was very make loyal back then), and it was usually a top-of-the-line GM brand, like a Olds Ninety-Eight or a Buick Electra. Occasionally a Cadillac. My dad couldn’t make a deal on a new Ninety-Eight Regency at Jim Lupient Olds (remember the dealership in the movie “Fargo”?), so my mom went out shopping on her own. She came back with a 1977 Cordoba. This was her first car after we moved to Minnesota, as it replaced the 1976 Corvette my dad sold when we left California.
It was replaced with a 1978 Buick Park Avenue. She was never allowed on a car lot by herself after the Cordoba. My dad made me promise on his death bed to make sure she could not select her own car…ever. She said she preferred a smaller car. She was told she could have a Monte Carlo or an Olds Cutlass Supreme. 😂
Oh…you forgot to point out the 8 track tape player…and you shoulda played something by The Bee Gees…
til ya just can't boogie no more... boogie..
That would be a good song for this as well but not that song
We had a family member that bought a 77 Cordoba Gold Crown with the 440 had nothing but issues with that funky ignition it had.
Oh wow
Yup. Our 360 had ignition module problems too.
There was a 1978 Chrysler Town & Country wagon.
I had my mom's '86 Lincoln Towne Car , after she passed. I took that car and redid so many things on it. New Vinyl Top, 2 into one/> Dual exhaust. New gaskets, "Flowmasters", and made it get from 19 mpg Hwy, up to 24 Hwy., new paint job , from white, to that Cadillac Pearl paint......it was just beautiful... when I got it (just UNDER 100K), to just over .....
That’s awesome I was able to get 28 hwy with the 88 (the 1st one) I also delivered pizza in it and didn’t do too bad lol
I raced a 2002 ford explorer in a destination race and beat them I had it maxed out the speedometer only went to 85 but the needle wrapped clear around and said 20.. it didn’t feeling like we were on the ground anymore but hovering above it out of all the cars I’ve owned that was my favorite tied with the 67 mustang
This is the best example of this car I’ve seen.
Same this is the nicest one I’ve ever seen
J, J, J... It's "rich" Corinthian Leather ;-) Ahhh, the age of "personal luxury"... Monte Carlo's, Grand Prix's, Cutlass Supreme's, Mark V's, Eldo's, Toronado's, Thunderbird's, Cougar's, Charger's and the Cordoba's... everywhere you looked, luxo-barges with HUGE doors! Ahhhh, I miss those days! Looking back, everyone wanted a Cutlass Supreme. I never saw the fascination. I actually prefer the '80-'83 generation, but these first generations were gorgeous! Those T-tops were awful. They leaked terribly. And that electronic lean burn thing was pitiful. They caused more headaches! Beautiful car to give a tour of! WYR: 1) T-bird!!! 2) Cougar XR-7 (RX7 was a Mazda)... 3) Mark V!!!! (guess we an se where my loyalties lie ;-)
Yeah, there was a point in my life where I just wanted luxury land barges I kind of wanna get a Lincoln town car and do a nostalgia episode with it but I don’t wanna pay a whole lot of money for one because I’m planning on having a little bit of fun with it.. lol 160 HP doesn’t sound like a lot of fun but I can assure you it can be if you know how to drive it..
Thank you so much for the correction I said the wrong thing I’m dyslexic, so it happens a lot. I caught a lot of mistakes in this episode. I guess I had that one slipped through.
Great choices
@@What.its.like. No prob buddy! As I get older (you... graduate 2007... omfg... lol) I get stuff mixed up all the time. Enjoy your 30's... after 40 it's not all downhill, it's a damn cliff!
Hahaha that’s what I’ve heard but I still look like I’m in my 20s so many 40 won’t be so bad it’s just a number
These were beautiful when new and still are I had a 77 cordoba with the 400 and the original owner had striped off all the lean burn garbage and installed a edolbrock intake and 4 barrel carb that woke her up and gave me about 16-18 mpg for the wyr ill take the cordoba and the Pontiac thank you
Unfortunately, no one is permitted to make this update on any California vehicle, even if it makes the car run better!
That’s why I said the lean burn system was and is marketing BS there are vehicles now that get the same gas mileage as these cars did if car companies cared about gas mileage, they could do so many more things of what they are doing. They do the stop start technology, which I think so stupid.. computers and direct injection and they still can’t get over 30 miles to the gallon. Some cars don’t even get that it’s absolutely insane.
@@What.its.like. Our 1956 Cadillac Sedan deVille got 17 mpg in 1969. We drove it to Minnesota that summer. Years later, the "soft plugs" blew, my father parked it in our middle yard and then my parents sold it for $150 in 1977!
That's a Mercury Cougar XR-7. Not RX.
That hood release was in my dad's 95 Spirit 😯
Ricardo Montablan. Corinthian leather. When I lived in Hawaii, I briefly owned a '77 Cordoba. A good riding car- smooth on the road, but take it slow on the turns.
Awesome they rode so nice
Interestingly, Ricardo Montauban's Cordoba did NOT have leather upholstery, which wasn't too popular in Southern California. He had "Indian blanket" style upholstery. What is a "Cadillac converter"?
that might have been called "Navaho", Chrysler Newports were offering a similar style of native fabric. At some point, Cordoba offered a white interior with a black & white check pattern fabric that was very sporty/mod. In his TV ads, Ricardo mentions Corinthian leather as he's sitting on the standard velour bench seat with armrest which always fit me better than the leather buckets.
I was partial to the solid roof design and really didn't like the T roof design. My fav year was the '77 model. Strange...you show 2 different cid for the same bore/stroke LOL. It really wasn't meant to have secondary passengers per se. Children were ok but adults...only for a short time. '77 Gran Prix and '77 Cordoba, and '77 Lincoln Mk5.
Is possible those numbers are messed up. It took me a while to find the bore and stroke sizes… and had to fix the slides a couple times
My sister and her husband owned a 76 Charger Daytona with the 400 (sister car as you noted). Good looking car, rode well. Looking under the hood brought back many memories (after it was out of warrantee, I became the warrantee when it needed work). I agree with you, the round headlight model years look better to me as well. Of note - T-top is not named due to the shape. Porsche trademarked "Targa Top", so the work around became calling them "T Tops". WYR: 1977 Grand Prix, 1977 Olds Toronado, 1977 Mark V (is the Caddy had been a Coupe D Ville - it would have won out). Excellent coverage as always, especially like that you noted Lean Burn cars did not require a catalytic converter. Thank you ~ Chuck
Awesome thank you so much for sharing those memories =) also for the t top correction sweet choices
Hi Jay! I'm glad you got to try those Corinthian Leather seats! Those commercials were all over TV when I was 11 or 12 years old, and I remember Ricardo, big time! Thanks for showing the 1977 Cordoba, as it shows what a good-looking car those were! Definitely don't like the stacked headlight styling either. I had a 1986 Lincoln Town Car and it didn't have many options but that was a GOOD car! Only thing wrong with it when I traded it for a Mustang at the turn of the century was it had a leaky rear seal. Had way over 100K on it. Extremely comfortable car and I really enjoyed driving it! WYR#1 Going Pontiac on that one, what a pretty car! #2 Cordoba! Let me have that Corinthian leather, baby! #3 Mark V! Always wanted a Cannonmobile, he always had the big Lincoln two door!
Awesome choices. Thank you so much for sharing your experience with owning a Lincoln town car. I want to buy one of you nostalgia just to show that 160 HP can be fun.. there is an old dirt road not far from where I live and there’s a triangle in the middle of it. There’s three dirt roads that I would love to do a drift around the triangle in the town car in the middle of cornfields
This was definitely a classic car, iconic from its timeframe. This model never took on the overdone 1970s look of its contemporaries, like that Pontiac or the Lincolns. Because of that alone, I would pick the Cordoba for all three WYR scenarios. Cars from that era could be downright ugly (not unlike some of the cars from 1958-59) but not this one. And I would agree the 1977 was more attractive than the ‘78 model.
Not to mention I remember those Ricardo Montalban commercials.
Great choices =)
T-Bird, XR-7, Cordoba
Also seem to recall a story in which Ricardo Montalbàn tried to correct the pronunciation as core-doe-BAH rather than core-DOE-bah, but Chrysler execs ignored him of course. 😅
Haha nice awesome choices
The more accurate comparison vehicle for this Cordoba would be the 70s Monte Carlo. The mid-size personal luxury coupe is an extinct species nowadays and most likely will never return. I always preferred the 73--75 model Monte Carlo to any of the other choices, but I also always loved the design of the 75-77 Cordoba - kind of twin cars in a way I guess.
yes, you're correct, these were in the marketing class called "personal luxury car". A luxury car as a daily commuter, a smaller luxury car-for-one.
In regard to late model vehicles not having cornering lights....yes they do! I own a 2020 RAM 1500 that has them. They operate from the fog lamp openings.
The marker lamps you refer to are called opera lamps.
The moulding down the center of the hood is called a wind split moulding.
The beltline is below the side window opening. You were referring to the body feature line. I was a parts counter person for ten years. That's how I learned the terminology. 34:21
My sister had a '77 Cordoba with St. Regis package. It is a Spinnaker white body with white vinyl roof, white leather with tan carpet and dash pad. It had the 360 with the thermoquad carb. Nice driver but wasn't great for gas mileage.
Awesome thank you so much for that correction I’ve never seen a late model with them but they do exist =)
My brother had one with a 318 they were nice cars. I was wandering if you could feature the 1962 Vauxhall Envoy A-B Series I slightly remember this car I was like 6,7 years old when my father owned it before selling the car.I would really appreciate if you could find one and give it a review
Thank you
I’ll look for one Vauxhall is a brand that’s very scarce here
Having owned a 76 and a 78 Cordoba I lean towards them. however, I would probably like the MarkV and the Cadillac better. Too bad your 2nd Town car let you down as I like those as well, ....Thanks!
Awesome =)
The problem with the second town car wasn’t a transmission issue. It was a spark plug problem got second and third opinions and everybody I took it to said yeah that’s a transmission issue. I couldn’t afford to keep putting transmission in the car. Nobody else can fix it.
WYR:
1- Pontiac
2- Chrysler - sans Lean Burn
3- Caddy - These 425 Caddys were NICE cars. I much preferred the 4-door models.
Sweet choices =)
Another great episode, Jay. I really liked these cars, and still think they are good looking and luxurious. But I’m a FoMoCo guy, so I.d take the Thunderbird, the Cougar and the Mark V.
Sweet choices glad you dig this episode =)
had a 1977 Cordoba 400 4 bbl velour interior lean burn was junk put earlier electronic distributor and the same thermoquad my 74 360 'Cuda had on it, it would shift out of 1st at 55 mph and 100 mph out of second who knows what top end was
Wow that’s crazy thank you so much for sharing your experience
The carpet is called cut and crush pile , not shag
First car was a 79 lebaron with similar steering wheel and it was leather seats
You left out the 77 Chrysler LeBaron. I had one; dark brown with light brown landau roof and velour interior and aluminum disk wheels. The boat-tail rear was very unique for the time. My LeBaron looked a lot like the side view of 78 Cordoba you showed as far as the trim level.
Thank you so much for that correction
"Corinthian leather" is strictly A TERM that gained popularity in the 1970s as a marketing description for certain luxury car interiors. However, it's important to note that the term itself is not a technical or industry-specific designation for a type of leather. It was coined to evoke a sense of opulence and sophistication, but it doesn't refer to a specific leather type or manufacturing process. As such, there are no inherent benefits directly tied to "Corinthian leather." Instead, the benefits associated with the term typically relate to the quality and features of the leather used in luxury car interiors.
Great information thank you so much for sharing that
I had a '76 Charger back in the '90's. What I remember about that car was the highway ride- smooth as glass. And the gas mileage- it kind of sucked.
Awesome thank u for sharing those memories, lean burn was BS
I owned a 77 cordoba, loved that car, was so classy and beautiful. Today's cars all look alike, with no real class anymore, they think that putting some electronics in it is so great but ain't. I don't want all that crap in my car, just one that gets me from a to b, and looks nice.
Totally agree plus they track your every move leave cell phone at home and go off the grid
Fine Corinthian leather seats, made of the finest hides from Corinthia (street). Where is Corinthia you ask? It’s South of the Ironbound flats 😂
Hahahaha =D
The Mark V or the Fleetwood Brougham for me. But i have a fondness for the 77 Cordoba with the 400. Although if you gave me a 77 Olds 98 Regency Coupe or Electra Limited I'd take those two over all....
Great choices with awesome write ins
Yep l was right the first time you are
SPILTING HAIRS !?!?!
Hahaha
I'll take Mark V and/or the Cadillac over all of them.
Looks like a Coupe DeVille in the pic
Awesome choices
Pontiac Grand Prix 1977.
WYR all of them if I had to pick T bird XR7 cougar as it is the only one I have driven
Awesome choices =)
Those are all good ones, I own a 76 Cordoba bought from original family so I gotta go Doba !
Awesome =) choice