As a die-hard MOPAR fan (particularly late 60s to early 90s), this brought a huge smile to my face. The R Bodies are getting almost as rare as hens’ teeth - the fact that you’ve so lovingly looked after this Newport and even daily drive it in the winter time(!) is nothing short of awesome. Your knowledge of the cars and their history is to be commended. Fantastic video!!
1980 was the best year for these cars, I miss the one I had. I did recently pick up a 79 New Yorker. It's good to see there are still some on the road.
What a nice car! I've liked the R body's since they came out. They were Chrysler's answer to GM's B and C bodies that were all new and downsized for 1977, even though they were a bit late to the market. The Newport had very clean styling, and the New Yorker was a bit over the top with it's landau roof, hidden headlights, fancy interior. But it was still nice! Plymouth eventually brought out a version called Gran Fury, which was trimmed like the base St. Regis / Newport. I also want to say, your a very smart young man and you really know your stuff.
TJ Hooker car lol ! You are very lucky to find one in pretty decent condition . I own a 81 Oldsmobile Delta 88 sedan so I have a soft spot for these biggies .
I had the 1979 version of this car in the early 1990s. I got mine for $100 US from someone that was having trouble and wanted to get rid of it. It was green. Mine had wiring issues mostly due to some incompetent repairs and some idiot replacing all the fuses with 30A. It had the uninspiring but bulletproof 318 V8. Mine too would always start and never let me down. It was a rare car in my part of the country. I think I only ever saw 2 others in the years I had it. You would sometimes see them in movies as (sadly expendable) police vehicles. I replaced the interior door handle 3x as I recall. Also replaced the carb. The A/C worked on mine too until the last year or so it was too leaky to keep dumping R12 in it. A bit later I had a 1980 New Yorker which was one of my favorite cars ever. Thanks for the blast from the past.
I had a 73 Newport it was huge and hard to believe they made cars so large to be unibody construction and I constructed a full perimeter chassis on it and it made it very rigid very hard job for sure but I love the challenge. Good video bro 👌
1973 was the last year of the “fuselage“ bodies for all the full-size Mopar cars(1969 was the first year). The fuselage era was the last full-size cars for Chrysler that were truly popular. I remember I saw lots of those going around for many years. But the 1974 to 1978 generation of Mopar full-size cars that followed I noticed considerably fewer of those made. And even fewer 1979 to 1981 R bodies were made. T’is a shame because I always loved the looks of those R body cars.
What an informative video. There's something for auto mechanics, auto historians, and even auto-inspired philosophers. All smoothly articulated while driving in the cold and snow. Wow!
My unlce bought a 79 Newport new in Wisc. He moved to Phoenix, AZ in '82 and a few yrs later, the car saved his life. Some kid in a pickup turned right into his lane (reading a book!?) and hit my uncle head on..combined speed was close to 80 mph! Ofc the Newport was totalled, but my uncle was nigh unscathed..sore back for awhile was all. The Mopar unibody cars are very tough/strong cars! Crashworthy, bigtime...as any impact about anywhere is reinforced by literally the rest of the body..amazing.
These are cars from my childhood, the kinds of things that rolled around the streets where I grew up, tucked here and there in between the ubiquitous Ford LTDs. And I'm guessing the car is a little older than you are. Sometimes I look in the mirror and realize I'm middle-aged and feel old...and here a young man like you has picked up a piece of time that I remember well and has found interest in it. Makes me feel nice.
Dad had a I think was a 78 Buick Lesabre back in the day. Was comfortable as heck to drive and if you don't pay attention to the speedometer you'll be hitting like 80 thinking you're doing 55 because it doesn't feel like you are going that fast because you are just floating along comfortably and quietly unlike a smaller car. It was a different comfort feel than cars of today. It's like a fluffy pillow compared to foam pillow. It had a full bench seat up front so that thing can haul 6 grown adults legally. 7 if seat belts aren't a concern. The seats were like couches. And the trunk was huge. It was one of my favorite cars growing up.
Love it! Reminds me of my 1980 Dodge Mirada. I'm very impressed with your devotion to classic cars, especially at your age. Thanks for keeping this classic running!
I had a 79 newport, old car but I loved it. This car didn't bankrupt chrysler. They were in bad shape long before this came out. The volarie bought them time, then it wore out its welcome. It was poor quality and poor management. I read Lee Iaccoca's auto biography, and what he walked into. Chrysler was a money pit. he turned it around. this model was a downsized model, the 78 was bigger. I have pics of mine I smashed up in 2000. it saved my life.
I run an executive car service in Columbia SC. I specialize in unique classic cars. Our pride and joy is a 1972 Imperial Lebanon. Our most requested car is our 1979 Chrysler New York Fifth Avenue Edition, especially with the pilots. They love the lighted opera windows, no other vehicle, not even Rolls, had edge lighting. The lean burn, after 40 years still works. Chrysler engineering, nothing comes close to it.
I have always wanted a R body Chrysler ever since I saw them new as a boy in that time. I have all the dealer brochures for the St. Regis, New Yorker/ Newport ( which were in the same brochure) and the yes Grand Fury. I saw your add on kijiji and really wanted it however I have a 1980 Dodge Diplomat 2 door with t tops and like you I just don't have room for another one. If you ever find a St. Regis in my opinion that's the one to get because there weren't many and a lot of them got wrecked as police vehicles. By the way if that blue Valiant is your actual car my very first car was a 1967 Valiant 100 4 door that I bought when I was 15 off of a newspaper customer of mine back in the day. It had the slant 6 engine in it and I took it on many a date with my high school sweetheart who became my wife, but now I'm a grandpa and that was a long time ago. (1986) It's always great to see young guys liking old cars that puts a smile on my face. My son who is 26 could care less about cars. Anyways well done video look forward to the next one on this car. I wish I could buy it.
I remember when my father- in -law bought a 1979 Dodge St. Regis. Dark blue with a dark blue cloth interior. I loved it so much. Just a big nice comfy car. I miss those days.
Someone has to spray some kind of lanolin undercoating like Fluid Film to prevent and arrest rust at least every couple of years or that thing will turn to iron ore in a couple of winters. It would take around 8 to 10 cans at around $8.00/can. It's very easy to do and the stuff is non toxic.
i have a 2001 Lincoln Town Car. Rear wheel drive and approximately the same weight, length etc, as your Newport. Living in Montana we get some god awful ice storms. We had one two weeks ago. The reason I mention this is that I purchased (4) studded snow tires and had them mounted two days before the storm hit. I cannot recommend this enough to people with rear drive cars. As long as you do not try to emulate the idiots in four wheel drives - slow down and take your time - the studs make this car nearly unstoppable. It is a cheap investment especially with the lunatic drivers in the snow. Incidentally, i drove two Newports a 1964 and a 1970. Great cars,
This is a classic vehicle in every sense of the word. This should be restored and displayed at Mopar in the Park or Mopar Nationals in Carlisle PA…(July 2024)…..
The Plymouth Gran Fury was only offered in 1980 and 1981 (R-Body) and wasn't only to police, though I doubt many were sold outside of fleet use. 1979 was the only year (until then since it was first offered) that a Fury wasn't available. I've had a few cars that used those 'plastic' caliper pistons too. I've bought NOS calipers that had them and I always remove and throw them in the garbage and get steel ones. The reason they did that, and it goes back to the beginning of the widespread use of the KH single piston calipers in the '70's, was for production reasons. It was faster and cheaper to make the volume of caliper pistons they needed in that material than steel and the subsequent plating operation. Of course, they would tell you they run cooler and other benefits. I've found they stick over time and are fragile to take out and install. I just don't like them.
They actually made about 210,000 of these across Plymouth, Dodge and Chrysler lines, though abot 60% of these were in 1979, when the Chrysler model in particular did pretty well for what was essentially an extensive re-work (and very well disguised one at that) of an old, old design.
GM's then new downsize B-body was a major rework of A-body, so Chrysler figured it was a good idea to do a minor rework of B-body..... then we know how that turned out
My 1974 carburetor equipped 318 Dodge Coronet started every time even below zero by pressing the gas once to close the choke and turning the key. Today, it's probably pretty difficult to find someone who can tune carburetor cars, though. Also, I think that winter tires are a must for rear wheel cars without posi-traction, but you'd have to find 4 extra steel wheels. The rubber in winter tires actually gets softer in the cold, so you'll be able to go most places front wheel drive cars can go.
I own a 74 Charger with a 318 2bbl. Replaced the accelerator pump inside the carb back in 1998 and have never touched it since. Starts and runs like new (then again, it only has 49k miles). I recently tuned my buddy's 72 Satellite Sebring Plus with a 318 2bbl and got that carb and ignition timing dialed in. Posted some videos of it on my channel if you're interested.
Just so you know, this is not the car that bankrupted Chrysler. These cars did not catch on, but the bankruptcy was well underway by 1979. The car that bankrupted Chrysler was really the 74 - 78 full sized C bodies, that Chrysler had spent lots of money redesigning and then didn't sell because the first fuel crisis happened right after they were introduced. Therefore they didn't sell. It was not the fault of those cars themselves. However, Iacocca had to get Chrysler Corp to be profitable as well as meet the government CAFE (corporate average fuel economy) standards that went into effect, and kept increasing with each passing year. 2 rear wheel drive cars were not needed, and the M body, which was slightly smaller and more fuel efficient, got to carry on. It's actually amazing the M body lasted as long as it did, given the circumstances of the 1980s when fuel economy was a top concern, was a government mandate, and nearly all rear wheel drive cars were disappearing as a result.
Authentic tan over brown color......and only a little rust on the bumper! Impressive, and the velour screams late-70s! Crank windows and a 318 V8. What more could you want? Keep this one going. Looks amazingly reliable, comfortable, and resilient. Good comparison to a Ram truck - just in sedan form.
Nice to see a young guy like you showing interest in, and keeping up an old car like that! The nose up look was on purpose. Even as far back as the 50s, some people preferred that stance so manufacturers did that just slightly. My 84 chrysler E class, which is an E body has a slight rake to it. My folks bought one new in 1984 and theirs sat like that from new.
This car did not bankrupt Chrysler. Among other things Chrysler never went bankrupt until 2009. Blaming this car for Chrysler's circa 1980 financial problems indicates a gross misunderstanding - or no understanding at all - of what happened with Chrysler during the era.
I love this. My first car was a 1980 Newport that my dad had used as a cab. It had 680k on it and ran well. You mentioned that you had good traction in the snow. I'm wondering if that's because you replaced the springs. I remember the first time it snowed, I couldn't get up a hill - the car kept turning sideways. I ended up driving backwards the rest of the way home lol. Thanks for posting this.
I owned a '79 Newport in '92 ($350 car!) It was too light in the rear (I cured this with a Chevy engine block in the trunk!) but it had a GREAT "360" under its hood! NICE RIDE!
Ahh, neat car! Don't sell it! Aha. I'm in wisc & not so much in recent times, but from 84-2000, I drove rwd Mopars (71 Satellite 440, 70 Fury 440, 66 Newport 440, 78 LeBaron 318, 88 5th Ave 318..like that) almost exclusively. I did have a '93 4x2 Dodge D150 pickup 5.9L mag..not as good a balance, but 200lbs of weight in the right side of the bed for winter helped a lot & she did rly well in even deep snow, with Good/Year Wrangler AT's. The rwd Moaprs do rly well in winter (Salt sux & basically negates use of them nowadays in southern wisc in winter)..the balance, or CG, is fine, even with an all iron big block, but deal is the rear leaf springs are so efficient at getting traction..in any conditions. Rain, sleet, or snow even. Yours being arched up adds even more traction, plus the ones in your R bod are long, so..yet more fab at traction. I wish the R bods had been the main rwd car for Chrysler in the 80's, over the M bod..nothing rly wrong with the M's, except the transverse torsion bar deal was not quite as good..for balance, or ride & handling. Most 73 & up (not the E bods) Mopar rwd cars need a metal or high density urethane front K member isolator biscuit for nicer handling. Eliminate the Isolate! ahaha. Thnx for the vid.
Nice to hear someone (You) just speaking normally to camera...too many Ytubers "Over-emote"...very irritating. Very Interesting car...we built some very nice and sometimes unique Chryslers here in Aust. many years ago...the Charger comes to mind with the high power 6 cyl. engine....cheers from sunny Australia
No, it was the Volare/Aspen line that did Chrysler in. Somehow, they managed to take one of the most reliable platforms they had, tge 225 Slant 6 and the Torqueflite transmission, ruin it, and put it in a car that was nowhere near ready for production.
I have a 1979 Dodge St. Regis that has been in my family almost 40 years, I'm a couple of years away from it having myself for 30 years. It's got over 280,000 miles on it and the only thing stopping me from driving it currently is the need for a new K-frame as my subframe bushings can only attach on three corners because of rust on the one mounting point that broke off. Everything you said about your Newport has been true for my St. Regis. It has been a reliable daily driver all that time and outlasted two cars meant to replace it. If you sell it, you'll miss having it. 1980 Chrysler products were spared the Lean Burn that year. My 1980 Cordoba left the factory sans Lean Burn.
@@auteurfiddler8706 Central Kentucky which is sort of the southern part of the Salt Belt. From what I've been told, you are correct about the B-body K member. I have a lead on a possible part from a '78 Cordoba. Hope it's better than I what I have currently.
@@patricklynch1962 The guy I know sells the Small Block K member for about 300 dollars but the much more rare Big Block K member is two or three times that price. If your Cordoba lead has a 400 K member , it won't work easily with your engine.
I had a '79 Newport, and that thing was a disgrace lol. The two front door handles were broken off, but luckily the front drivers window would only roll up partially and you had to put it up with your hands the rest of the way, so I got in the car by pushing the window down from outside and then reaching in to pull the door handle. The compressor pulley snapped off one day when I was headed to my minimum wage job, and I was so broke I didn't even have money to purchase a proper fan belt, I used to buy the temporary ones from R&s Strauss for five bucks lol. The transmission went out after about 2 months, and it's one of the few cars I had back then that the engine would still run no matter the time of year or temperature. Interesting times lol.
I really love old cars like the Newport more of a old school guy being still middle young. This car reminds me of Home Alone 2: Lost in New York when Harry landed on top of a green one destroyed the roof of that poor car that was a 1979 looked on imcdb also reminds of a show loved which doesn't come anymore TJ Hooker great show from the early 80s. These Newports came out in 1979 not sure when last year was made I've seen a New Yorker maybe two back in early 2000s from early 1980s, sure miss all of these old cars they were large and comfortable to drive also didn't have all that plastic see on newer cars now way back in good old days those cars were made out of metal having chrome and body hardware is better.
There was a tv series in the mid 80's called Sledgehammer. It was about a cop who broke rules to catch the bad guy. He drove a Dodge St. Regis. I went on a police ride along in the early 1980's. The officer I rode with was driving a 1981 St. Regis. His partner had a 79 St. Regis. I believe the one I was riding in had a 318 V-8. It was sooooo slow that it could barely get out of its own way. His partners had the 360 V-8. On the way back to the station, we raced his partner. The partner gave us two car lengths, which he immediately closed the gap and left us in the dust.
I drove this identical car, minus 8 track, through highschool. They purchased it as it matched the '80 Dodge St Regis they purchased brand new. Going through college i was gifted the Dodge having 110,000mi. It was like an upgrade of the same car...lol
My uncle had a Chrysler Newport. Don't know the year. Land yacht! He's jam all us cousins in it - days before safety consciousness! - and take us to Coney Island. Great memories.
There were a lot of these in service by the Washington state patrol back then. Generally they were decent cars, but they were large and their styling was not the best. It was a period when Chrysler was not doing well on their styling compared to other makes, and it showed in their sales. They also had a reputation for poor fuel economy along with so so build quality and were lacking in power and performance. Also, this is in the time frame of the federal Chrysler bail out loans and Chrysler was pretty much forced to discontinue these larger cars and the big block R and RB engine line in order to get the loans. 360 cid 5.9 L v8s became their biggest v8s for a number of years. That indirectly lead to the development of the v-10 truck and viper engines, because they could use the same tooling and had the engineering emissions data on those engines which they could apply to the v-10s. This is when the Chrysler K-cars were born and most importantly, the Chrysler minivans. Those were where Chrysler was generating their cash, so these large C body cars were left to die on the vine and were discontinued to free up production space for other vehicles.
I had one of these in a light blue. It wasn't very good and it wasn't very bad. Comfortable. The gas gauge didn't work. I would fill it up and reset the tripmeter and know I could go 10 miles per gallon. Put like 10 bucks in / 10 gal and go 100 miles. It worked!
Friend of mine his grandmother had a St. Regis looked just about like this. It broke down and sat until it was deemed useless found its way to scrap yard.
Remember seeing these as state trooper cruisers way back in the day. TV cop TJ hooker played by William Shatner drive this but the dodge version St Regis.
The electric fuel pumps are great, but always remember that unless specified on your particular pump, the vast majority are "pusher" pumps. Gone are the days when electric fuel pumps would pull, or suction, fuel efficiently. They now work best and last longest when mounted as near to the fuel tank as possible, and below the fuel level. When a customer of mine brings in a defective electric pump, it's almost always been mounted on the engine firewall, and prematurely failed because it was trying to pull fuel the length of the vehicle up to the carburetor. When I started selling auto parts back in 1989, there was a fuel pump on the market that was called a "gerotor" design, pronouned gee-rotor. It would pump anything in any situation, which is why, I'm sure, it was discontinued. If you can find a pump like that now you will definitely pay a premium, but I haven't seen any since maybe the early 2000's. The common cheaper design looks like what this fellow is using, and is good for the price...but that's not that great. Sir, you have a great looking time machine there. I enjoyed the video and you got a sub from me.
Torsion Bar front suspension, has a 3 finger height.. Take three fingers, index, middle and ring, put between top of inner fender and top of tire. Should be enough too get those three fingers just through there. That is the right riding height. Coil over shocks can do same on rear springs too. Overall, love the “M” bodied Chryslers.
You ought to be proud of yourself for doing all that work on a car that is probably twice as old as you are. Furthermore, you got a great deal on it, paying only 800 bucks for it despite all the problems it had. Only thing I don’t remember you mentioning was how many miles (or kilometers) it had when you bought it, and how many are on it now.
I miss my '72 Royale, so one of these would be the perfect next one to have... given how I always have at least two of some form of transportation. (one older--one later.)
The "nose up phenomen" is probably done for the photosession,you put extra weight in the trunk to lower the car,and suddenly the car appeared to be longer.I heard this from an old proffesional photographer,this is an old and often used trick back in the day
I drove a '79 Newport for a while, white with red interior. Nice driving car, though I had put a used engine in it. Probably got it for $600 or something though, back in the day.
These cars were great, but not competitive with Chevy or Ford, on every level. The gas mileage was much worse, and they were more expensive to build and buy. Chrysler was really behind on powertrain, even though this platform was ahead of the curve. They tried an electronic fuel injection on the Imperial(2-door version of this car), but it was a non-functional disaster, and each one had to be dealer re-worked/fit with a carburetor. Everybody got sucked into the Aluminum Bumper Craze then. Our Grand Wagoneer had it. It peeled, and then split in half when my Dad hit a deer. The 1979 Recession was more of a Great Depression in the States, it must have been brutal in Canada.
I don’t really agree with the title of your video… the R body Mopars didn’t really bankrupt Chrysler. They were already in financial troubles for a good 5 or 6 yrs before these cars came out. The R body cars were basically a good car. Just had a lot of quality control issues.
Let's not forget that they never filed for bankruptcy until the Obama administration, and they were asking for loan guarantees at the beginning of the Carter administration. Plus initial sales were strong, until the gas crisis. If anything, they tided the company over until Carter finally agreed to the loan guarantees in late 1979.
2WD pickups are the worst in terms of empty-bed traction. It’s even worse than an empty cargo van. The Newport at about 3800 pounds meant that at least 1800 pounds sat over the real axle. A 2WD pickup weighing 3800 pounds would have less than 1400 pounds of empty bed sitting over the rear axle.
They were decent cars but rejected at the time with all of the craziness (oil crisis again, rumors of bankruptcy, imports, etc.). I remember thinking that they were clean, modern, and less fussy/overdone than the models they replaced but being sixteen I was much more interested in older MoPars or the new Horizon/Omni cars.
What bankrupted Chrysler in '79 wasn't the car lines designs or drivetrains. The R-bodies looked pretty good along with the '80 Cordoba & Mirada, Aspen & Volares. Omni & Horizon were decent looking also. The 318, 360 V8s & slant 6s & 727 torque flite trans were bulletproof. What was killing Chrysler was poor quality & fit & finish. Some people avoided buying them. I knew guys would buy a new or used Chrysler product & the first thing they would do is readjust all exterior hoods, doors & trunk lids. For quite a while they were great, cheap used cars. When Iacocca announced labor concessions & a 4 year pay freeze caused his workers to cop an attitude. They just didn't care & it showed. Windsor & Brampton assembly quality wasn't too bad.
It didn't bankrupt Chrysler. By 1980, Chrysler was for years, run by old men who didn't want to change with the times and downsize when the rest were doing so. Chrysler didn't go bankrupt when this car was built, Lee Iacocca was able to get loans from banks and the government guaranteed those loans if the company failed.
Build Quality was Horrendous, proof of lack of Quality Control. Maybe the Assembly Workers knew Chrysler was going bankrupt? The car chase scene in Smokey and The Bandit using the R Body Monaco and Saint Regis cop cars was made possible by these unwanted surplus cars is part of what made that movie great so they did literally go out in a blaze of glory !
These cars are basically unicorns!!! I haven't seen a 79-81 Newport or St Regis on the road in many years. Take care of it!!!
We had both, both the same style of this one and color. Most people couldn't tell which one I was driving in highschool.
That’s a gorgeous old classic! 800 dollars!!? Incredible price. I love the American interiors of the late 70’s early 80’s. Credit to you 😊
😊
As a die-hard MOPAR fan (particularly late 60s to early 90s), this brought a huge smile to my face. The R Bodies are getting almost as rare as hens’ teeth - the fact that you’ve so lovingly looked after this Newport and even daily drive it in the winter time(!) is nothing short of awesome. Your knowledge of the cars and their history is to be commended. Fantastic video!!
Gotta have Mopar!
Me too! I wanna get my hands on a nice M-body one day
1980 was the best year for these cars, I miss the one I had. I did recently pick up a 79 New Yorker. It's good to see there are still some on the road.
These were NOT great MoPars (the era of GREAT ended in '73 at Chrysler) but they were okay.
I just found this video and your comment. What's up Nathan!
What a nice car! I've liked the R body's since they came out. They were Chrysler's answer to GM's B and C bodies that were all new and downsized for 1977, even though they were a bit late to the market.
The Newport had very clean styling, and the New Yorker was a bit over the top with it's landau roof, hidden headlights, fancy interior. But it was still nice!
Plymouth eventually brought out a version called Gran Fury, which was trimmed like the base St. Regis / Newport.
I also want to say, your a very smart young man and you really know your stuff.
TJ Hooker car lol ! You are very lucky to find one in pretty decent condition . I own a 81 Oldsmobile Delta 88 sedan so I have a soft spot for these biggies .
I had the 1979 version of this car in the early 1990s. I got mine for $100 US from someone that was having trouble and wanted to get rid of it. It was green. Mine had wiring issues mostly due to some incompetent repairs and some idiot replacing all the fuses with 30A. It had the uninspiring but bulletproof 318 V8. Mine too would always start and never let me down. It was a rare car in my part of the country. I think I only ever saw 2 others in the years I had it. You would sometimes see them in movies as (sadly expendable) police vehicles. I replaced the interior door handle 3x as I recall. Also replaced the carb. The A/C worked on mine too until the last year or so it was too leaky to keep dumping R12 in it. A bit later I had a 1980 New Yorker which was one of my favorite cars ever. Thanks for the blast from the past.
I had a 73 Newport it was huge and hard to believe they made cars so large to be unibody construction and I constructed a full perimeter chassis on it and it made it very rigid very hard job for sure but I love the challenge. Good video bro 👌
1973 was the last year of the “fuselage“ bodies for all the full-size Mopar cars(1969 was the first year). The fuselage era was the last full-size cars for Chrysler that were truly popular. I remember I saw lots of those going around for many years. But the 1974 to 1978 generation of Mopar full-size cars that followed I noticed considerably fewer of those made. And even fewer 1979 to 1981 R bodies were made. T’is a shame because I always loved the looks of those R body cars.
What an informative video. There's something for auto mechanics, auto historians, and even auto-inspired philosophers. All smoothly articulated while driving in the cold and snow. Wow!
My unlce bought a 79 Newport new in Wisc. He moved to Phoenix, AZ in '82 and a few yrs later, the car saved his life.
Some kid in a pickup turned right into his lane (reading a book!?) and hit my uncle head on..combined speed was close to 80 mph!
Ofc the Newport was totalled, but my uncle was nigh unscathed..sore back for awhile was all. The Mopar unibody cars are very
tough/strong cars! Crashworthy, bigtime...as any impact about anywhere is reinforced by literally the rest of the body..amazing.
These are cars from my childhood, the kinds of things that rolled around the streets where I grew up, tucked here and there in between the ubiquitous Ford LTDs. And I'm guessing the car is a little older than you are. Sometimes I look in the mirror and realize I'm middle-aged and feel old...and here a young man like you has picked up a piece of time that I remember well and has found interest in it. Makes me feel nice.
Dad had a I think was a 78 Buick Lesabre back in the day. Was comfortable as heck to drive and if you don't pay attention to the speedometer you'll be hitting like 80 thinking you're doing 55 because it doesn't feel like you are going that fast because you are just floating along comfortably and quietly unlike a smaller car. It was a different comfort feel than cars of today. It's like a fluffy pillow compared to foam pillow.
It had a full bench seat up front so that thing can haul 6 grown adults legally. 7 if seat belts aren't a concern. The seats were like couches. And the trunk was huge.
It was one of my favorite cars growing up.
Haha, I can definitely relate to that weird sense of speed in these cars. Feels like you're moving much slower than you are
@@Liam8488 I remember in 1974 somebody who had a ‘69 Lincoln told me that it would be very easy to creep up to 100 miles an hour and not even know it.
Love it! Reminds me of my 1980 Dodge Mirada. I'm very impressed with your devotion to classic cars, especially at your age. Thanks for keeping this classic running!
I had a 79 newport, old car but I loved it. This car didn't bankrupt chrysler. They were in bad shape long before this came out. The volarie bought them time, then it wore out its welcome. It was poor quality and poor management. I read Lee Iaccoca's auto biography, and what he walked into. Chrysler was a money pit. he turned it around. this model was a downsized model, the 78 was bigger. I have pics of mine I smashed up in 2000. it saved my life.
I run an executive car service in Columbia SC. I specialize in unique classic cars. Our pride and joy is a 1972 Imperial Lebanon. Our most requested car is our 1979 Chrysler New York Fifth Avenue Edition, especially with the pilots. They love the lighted opera windows, no other vehicle, not even Rolls, had edge lighting. The lean burn, after 40 years still works. Chrysler engineering, nothing comes close to it.
I have always wanted a R body Chrysler ever since I saw them new as a boy in that time. I have all the dealer brochures for the St. Regis, New Yorker/ Newport ( which were in the same brochure) and the yes Grand Fury. I saw your add on kijiji and really wanted it however I have a 1980 Dodge Diplomat 2 door with t tops and like you I just don't have room for another one. If you ever find a St. Regis in my opinion that's the one to get because there weren't many and a lot of them got wrecked as police vehicles. By the way if that blue Valiant is your actual car my very first car was a 1967 Valiant 100 4 door that I bought when I was 15 off of a newspaper customer of mine back in the day. It had the slant 6 engine in it and I took it on many a date with my high school sweetheart who became my wife, but now I'm a grandpa and that was a long time ago. (1986) It's always great to see young guys liking old cars that puts a smile on my face. My son who is 26 could care less about cars. Anyways well done video look forward to the next one on this car. I wish I could buy it.
Good video - thanks for sharing!
I remember when my father- in -law bought a 1979 Dodge St. Regis. Dark blue with a dark blue cloth interior. I loved it so much. Just a big nice comfy car. I miss those days.
My first car was a 1971 Chevrolet Caprice - that car could go through ANYTHING. Never got stuck in all the winters I owned it.
Heavy cars. They are tanks. I love those chevys
😂 that Garfield Cat in the window, I haven't seen that since I was a kid, nice video
Someone has to spray some kind of lanolin undercoating like Fluid Film to prevent and arrest rust at least every couple of years or that thing will turn to iron ore in a couple of winters. It would take around 8 to 10 cans at around $8.00/can. It's very easy to do and the stuff is non toxic.
i have a 2001 Lincoln Town Car. Rear wheel drive and approximately the same weight, length etc, as your Newport. Living in Montana we get some god awful ice storms. We had one two weeks ago. The reason I mention this is that I purchased (4) studded snow tires and had them mounted two days before the storm hit. I cannot recommend this enough to people with rear drive cars. As long as you do not try to emulate the idiots in four wheel drives - slow down and take your time - the studs make this car nearly unstoppable. It is a cheap investment especially with the lunatic drivers in the snow. Incidentally, i drove two Newports a 1964 and a 1970. Great cars,
Provided studded tires are legal..Which they are not in many states
More style than a Lamborghini today
LOL! Love the KC and the Sunshine Band! 1980 Chrysler Newport was a nice car. We had great stuff back in the day.
This is a classic vehicle in every sense of the word. This should be restored and displayed at Mopar in the Park or Mopar Nationals in Carlisle PA…(July 2024)…..
The Plymouth Gran Fury was only offered in 1980 and 1981 (R-Body) and wasn't only to police, though I doubt many were sold outside of fleet use. 1979 was the only year (until then since it was first offered) that a Fury wasn't available.
I've had a few cars that used those 'plastic' caliper pistons too. I've bought NOS calipers that had them and I always remove and throw them in the garbage and get steel ones. The reason they did that, and it goes back to the beginning of the widespread use of the KH single piston calipers in the '70's, was for production reasons. It was faster and cheaper to make the volume of caliper pistons they needed in that material than steel and the subsequent plating operation. Of course, they would tell you they run cooler and other benefits. I've found they stick over time and are fragile to take out and install. I just don't like them.
They actually made about 210,000 of these across Plymouth, Dodge and Chrysler lines, though abot 60% of these were in 1979, when the Chrysler model in particular did pretty well for what was essentially an extensive re-work (and very well disguised one at that) of an old, old design.
GM's then new downsize B-body was a major rework of A-body, so Chrysler figured it was a good idea to do a minor rework of B-body..... then we know how that turned out
I always loved the 1979-1981 Dodge St Regis, Chrysler Newport and the Chrysler New Yorker and New Yorker 5th Avenue.
My 1974 carburetor equipped 318 Dodge Coronet started every time even below zero by pressing the gas once to close the choke and turning the key. Today, it's probably pretty difficult to find someone who can tune carburetor cars, though. Also, I think that winter tires are a must for rear wheel cars without posi-traction, but you'd have to find 4 extra steel wheels. The rubber in winter tires actually gets softer in the cold, so you'll be able to go most places front wheel drive cars can go.
I own a 74 Charger with a 318 2bbl. Replaced the accelerator pump inside the carb back in 1998 and have never touched it since. Starts and runs like new (then again, it only has 49k miles). I recently tuned my buddy's 72 Satellite Sebring Plus with a 318 2bbl and got that carb and ignition timing dialed in. Posted some videos of it on my channel if you're interested.
Just so you know, this is not the car that bankrupted Chrysler. These cars did not catch on, but the bankruptcy was well underway by 1979. The car that bankrupted Chrysler was really the 74 - 78 full sized C bodies, that Chrysler had spent lots of money redesigning and then didn't sell because the first fuel crisis happened right after they were introduced. Therefore they didn't sell. It was not the fault of those cars themselves. However, Iacocca had to get Chrysler Corp to be profitable as well as meet the government CAFE (corporate average fuel economy) standards that went into effect, and kept increasing with each passing year. 2 rear wheel drive cars were not needed, and the M body, which was slightly smaller and more fuel efficient, got to carry on. It's actually amazing the M body lasted as long as it did, given the circumstances of the 1980s when fuel economy was a top concern, was a government mandate, and nearly all rear wheel drive cars were disappearing as a result.
Long applause! Thanks for the ride 👍
i had a new 1979 New Yorker 360 all white nice car.
Authentic tan over brown color......and only a little rust on the bumper! Impressive, and the velour screams late-70s! Crank windows and a 318 V8. What more could you want? Keep this one going. Looks amazingly reliable, comfortable, and resilient. Good comparison to a Ram truck - just in sedan form.
Nice to see a young guy like you showing interest in, and keeping up an old car like that! The nose up look was on purpose. Even as far back as the 50s, some people preferred that stance so manufacturers did that just slightly. My 84 chrysler E class, which is an E body has a slight rake to it. My folks bought one new in 1984 and theirs sat like that from new.
This car did not bankrupt Chrysler. Among other things Chrysler never went bankrupt until 2009. Blaming this car for Chrysler's circa 1980 financial problems indicates a gross misunderstanding - or no understanding at all - of what happened with Chrysler during the era.
They only made 9001 Newports for 1980....very rare bro!
I love this. My first car was a 1980 Newport that my dad had used as a cab. It had 680k on it and ran well. You mentioned that you had good traction in the snow. I'm wondering if that's because you replaced the springs. I remember the first time it snowed, I couldn't get up a hill - the car kept turning sideways. I ended up driving backwards the rest of the way home lol. Thanks for posting this.
I owned a '79 Newport in '92 ($350 car!) It was too light in the rear (I cured this with a Chevy engine block in the trunk!) but it had a GREAT "360" under its hood! NICE RIDE!
Nice car! Take care of it. Not many left. It is cool though to see one being used as regular transportation instead of just a summer cruiser.
Ahh, neat car! Don't sell it! Aha. I'm in wisc & not so much in recent times, but from 84-2000, I drove rwd Mopars (71 Satellite 440, 70 Fury 440, 66 Newport 440, 78 LeBaron 318, 88 5th Ave 318..like that) almost exclusively. I did have a '93 4x2 Dodge D150 pickup 5.9L mag..not as good a balance, but 200lbs of weight in the right side of the bed for winter helped a lot & she did rly well in even deep snow, with
Good/Year Wrangler AT's.
The rwd Moaprs do rly well in winter (Salt sux & basically negates use of them nowadays in southern wisc in winter)..the balance, or CG, is fine, even with an all iron big block, but deal is the rear leaf springs are so efficient at getting traction..in any conditions. Rain, sleet, or snow even. Yours being arched up adds even more traction, plus the ones in your R bod are long, so..yet more fab at traction. I wish the R bods had been the main rwd car for Chrysler in the 80's, over the M bod..nothing rly wrong with the M's, except the transverse torsion bar deal was not quite as good..for balance, or ride & handling. Most 73 & up (not the E bods) Mopar rwd cars need a metal or high density urethane
front K member isolator biscuit for nicer handling. Eliminate the Isolate! ahaha. Thnx for the vid.
Nice to hear someone (You) just speaking normally to camera...too many Ytubers "Over-emote"...very irritating. Very Interesting car...we built some very nice and sometimes unique Chryslers here in Aust. many years ago...the Charger comes to mind with the high power 6 cyl. engine....cheers from sunny Australia
I love old cars and trucks
No, it was the Volare/Aspen line that did Chrysler in. Somehow, they managed to take one of the most reliable platforms they had, tge 225 Slant 6 and the Torqueflite transmission, ruin it, and put it in a car that was nowhere near ready for production.
I have a 1979 Dodge St. Regis that has been in my family almost 40 years, I'm a couple of years away from it having myself for 30 years. It's got over 280,000 miles on it and the only thing stopping me from driving it currently is the need for a new K-frame as my subframe bushings can only attach on three corners because of rust on the one mounting point that broke off. Everything you said about your Newport has been true for my St. Regis. It has been a reliable daily driver all that time and outlasted two cars meant to replace it. If you sell it, you'll miss having it. 1980 Chrysler products were spared the Lean Burn that year. My 1980 Cordoba left the factory sans Lean Burn.
I believe a B body K member for a 73-79 car will work. I know a guy that has one for sale in So Cal, though, I am guessing you are up north.
@@auteurfiddler8706 Central Kentucky which is sort of the southern part of the Salt Belt. From what I've been told, you are correct about the B-body K member. I have a lead on a possible part from a '78 Cordoba. Hope it's better than I what I have currently.
@@patricklynch1962 The guy I know sells the Small Block K member for about 300 dollars but the much more rare Big Block K member is two or three times that price. If your Cordoba lead has a 400 K member , it won't work easily with your engine.
@@auteurfiddler8706 the car is supposed to have a 318 which would match my engine.
I had a '79 Newport, and that thing was a disgrace lol. The two front door handles were broken off, but luckily the front drivers window would only roll up partially and you had to put it up with your hands the rest of the way, so I got in the car by pushing the window down from outside and then reaching in to pull the door handle. The compressor pulley snapped off one day when I was headed to my minimum wage job, and I was so broke I didn't even have money to purchase a proper fan belt, I used to buy the temporary ones from R&s Strauss for five bucks lol. The transmission went out after about 2 months, and it's one of the few cars I had back then that the engine would still run no matter the time of year or temperature. Interesting times lol.
I really love old cars like the Newport more of a old school guy being still middle young. This car reminds me of Home Alone 2: Lost in New York when Harry landed on top of a green one destroyed the roof of that poor car that was a 1979 looked on imcdb also reminds of a show loved which doesn't come anymore TJ Hooker great show from the early 80s. These Newports came out in 1979 not sure when last year was made I've seen a New Yorker maybe two back in early 2000s from early 1980s, sure miss all of these old cars they were large and comfortable to drive also didn't have all that plastic see on newer cars now way back in good old days those cars were made out of metal having chrome and body hardware is better.
There was a tv series in the mid 80's called Sledgehammer. It was about a cop who broke rules to catch the bad guy. He drove a Dodge St. Regis. I went on a police ride along in the early 1980's. The officer I rode with was driving a 1981 St. Regis. His partner had a 79 St. Regis. I believe the one I was riding in had a 318 V-8. It was sooooo slow that it could barely get out of its own way. His partners had the 360 V-8. On the way back to the station, we raced his partner. The partner gave us two car lengths, which he immediately closed the gap and left us in the dust.
sure grip all right i learned something!
what an awesome car
I drove this identical car, minus 8 track, through highschool. They purchased it as it matched the '80 Dodge St Regis they purchased brand new. Going through college i was gifted the Dodge having 110,000mi. It was like an upgrade of the same car...lol
Love these comfortable driving cars but I have to comment on the coat. Classy
I don't care what anyone says, that is a beautiful car and you got a steal for something worth way more, so take good care of it
I could listen to you talk about cars all day if I could get my hands on a 71 Newport well that would be my dream 440 big block
Chrysler could have kept this car and improved upon it. Sad.
Sales were too poor to justify keeping them around.
My uncle had a Chrysler Newport. Don't know the year. Land yacht! He's jam all us cousins in it - days before safety consciousness! - and take us to Coney Island. Great memories.
Holy crap it’s an R-body! What website are you selling this on, I always wanted an r-body Chrysler!
The price is in CAD as well
@@Liam8488 yeah but where do I go to put in an offer
@@incompetentdiplomat3716 You can shoot me a message on Kijiji if you're seriously interested. I'm not sure if you need to make an account. Thank you
@@Liam8488 I don’t know what a kijiji is but I’ll try
@@incompetentdiplomat3716 That's the website it's listed on ;)
Beautiful car.
There were a lot of these in service by the Washington state patrol back then. Generally they were decent cars, but they were large and their styling was not the best. It was a period when Chrysler was not doing well on their styling compared to other makes, and it showed in their sales. They also had a reputation for poor fuel economy along with so so build quality and were lacking in power and performance. Also, this is in the time frame of the federal Chrysler bail out loans and Chrysler was pretty much forced to discontinue these larger cars and the big block R and RB engine line in order to get the loans. 360 cid 5.9 L v8s became their biggest v8s for a number of years. That indirectly lead to the development of the v-10 truck and viper engines, because they could use the same tooling and had the engineering emissions data on those engines which they could apply to the v-10s. This is when the Chrysler K-cars were born and most importantly, the Chrysler minivans. Those were where Chrysler was generating their cash, so these large C body cars were left to die on the vine and were discontinued to free up production space for other vehicles.
I had one of these in a light blue. It wasn't very good and it wasn't very bad. Comfortable. The gas gauge didn't work. I would fill it up and reset the tripmeter and know I could go 10 miles per gallon. Put like 10 bucks in / 10 gal and go 100 miles. It worked!
love this old American cars
Friend of mine his grandmother had a St. Regis looked just about like this. It broke down and sat until it was deemed useless found its way to scrap yard.
New to the channel, cool car!!
Cool. It looks nice. I love funky cats. As you know, this is a DOWNSIZED Chrysler.
Such good looking cars, too bad they didn't sell better.
The front end resembles my 1979 Buick Electra 225 which I purchased new..
Handsome cars, love the R body's.
kilometers ? my third grade teacher missed the mark when she said we going metric back in '73.
i like the Motor.....
Remember seeing these as state trooper cruisers way back in the day. TV cop TJ hooker played by William Shatner drive this but the dodge version St Regis.
Check your external lights one of the tail lights is out at least. External lighting is very important even with a vintage car.
predecessor to the K cars that saved Chrysler from bankruptcy
The electric fuel pumps are great, but always remember that unless specified on your particular pump, the vast majority are "pusher" pumps. Gone are the days when electric fuel pumps would pull, or suction, fuel efficiently. They now work best and last longest when mounted as near to the fuel tank as possible, and below the fuel level. When a customer of mine brings in a defective electric pump, it's almost always been mounted on the engine firewall, and prematurely failed because it was trying to pull fuel the length of the vehicle up to the carburetor.
When I started selling auto parts back in 1989, there was a fuel pump on the market that was called a "gerotor" design, pronouned gee-rotor. It would pump anything in any situation, which is why, I'm sure, it was discontinued. If you can find a pump like that now you will definitely pay a premium, but I haven't seen any since maybe the early 2000's. The common cheaper design looks like what this fellow is using, and is good for the price...but that's not that great.
Sir, you have a great looking time machine there. I enjoyed the video and you got a sub from me.
Torsion Bar front suspension, has a 3 finger height.. Take three fingers, index, middle and ring, put between top of inner fender and top of tire.
Should be enough too get those three fingers just through there.
That is the right riding height.
Coil over shocks can do same on rear springs too.
Overall, love the “M” bodied Chryslers.
For the price you got the deal of the century
These look a lot like the Buick Le Sabres of the same era.
They do! There's a couple of those around here and I always think that. Not sure who aped who
Neighbor down the highway swears by them. A diehard Chrysler man.
You ought to be proud of yourself for doing all that work on a car that is probably twice as old as you are. Furthermore, you got a great deal on it, paying only 800 bucks for it despite all the problems it had. Only thing I don’t remember you mentioning was how many miles (or kilometers) it had when you bought it, and how many are on it now.
I miss my '72 Royale, so one of these would be the perfect next one to have... given how I always have at least two of some form of transportation. (one older--one later.)
The "nose up phenomen" is probably done for the photosession,you put extra weight in the trunk to lower the car,and suddenly the car appeared to be longer.I heard this from an old proffesional photographer,this is an old and often used trick back in the day
I drove a '79 Newport for a while, white with red interior. Nice driving car, though I had put a used engine in it. Probably got it for $600 or something though, back in the day.
Those cars are minty. My boss has a 79 LeBaron.
My grandmother had a brother who drove Chrysler Newports for years ! He swore by them !
These cars were great, but not competitive with Chevy or Ford, on every level. The gas mileage was much worse, and they were more expensive to build and buy. Chrysler was really behind on powertrain, even though this platform was ahead of the curve. They tried an electronic fuel injection on the Imperial(2-door version of this car), but it was a non-functional disaster, and each one had to be dealer re-worked/fit with a carburetor.
Everybody got sucked into the Aluminum Bumper Craze then. Our Grand Wagoneer had it. It peeled, and then split in half when my Dad hit a deer.
The 1979 Recession was more of a Great Depression in the States, it must have been brutal in Canada.
It’s interesting in Canada you say “Chryzler” and in the US we say “Chrysler”
It might just be the Saskatchewan accent, I'll have to keep my ears open to how people say it now
I vaguely recall that Milwaukee Police used the Dodge St. Regis around 1979-80.
i had a 60's dodge dart that had excellent snow traction also. -Probably weight distribution.
I don’t really agree with the title of your video… the R body Mopars didn’t really bankrupt Chrysler. They were already in financial troubles for a good 5 or 6 yrs before these cars came out. The R body cars were basically a good car. Just had a lot of quality control issues.
Let's not forget that they never filed for bankruptcy until the Obama administration, and they were asking for loan guarantees at the beginning of the Carter administration. Plus initial sales were strong, until the gas crisis. If anything, they tided the company over until Carter finally agreed to the loan guarantees in late 1979.
2WD pickups are the worst in terms of empty-bed traction. It’s even worse than an empty cargo van. The Newport at about 3800 pounds meant that at least 1800 pounds sat over the real axle. A 2WD pickup weighing 3800 pounds would have less than 1400 pounds of empty bed sitting over the rear axle.
They were decent cars but rejected at the time with all of the craziness (oil crisis again, rumors of bankruptcy, imports, etc.). I remember thinking that they were clean, modern, and less fussy/overdone than the models they replaced but being sixteen I was much more interested in older MoPars or the new Horizon/Omni cars.
That nice fancy landyacht for just about 800dollars 😮🤩
What bankrupted Chrysler in '79 wasn't the car lines designs or drivetrains. The R-bodies looked pretty good along with the '80 Cordoba & Mirada, Aspen & Volares. Omni & Horizon were decent looking also. The 318, 360 V8s & slant 6s & 727 torque flite trans were bulletproof. What was killing Chrysler was poor quality & fit & finish. Some people avoided buying them. I knew guys would buy a new or used Chrysler product & the first thing they would do is readjust all exterior hoods, doors & trunk lids. For quite a while they were great, cheap used cars. When Iacocca announced labor concessions & a 4 year pay freeze caused his workers to cop an attitude. They just didn't care & it showed. Windsor & Brampton assembly quality wasn't too bad.
If you don't clean the underneath and inside the fenders, it's going to rust away. I would hate to see that happen to a car you don't see anymore.
So you were -16 when this car was manufactured?
Thumbs Up !
It didn't bankrupt Chrysler. By 1980, Chrysler was for years, run by old men who didn't want to change with the times and downsize when the rest were doing so. Chrysler didn't go bankrupt when this car was built, Lee Iacocca was able to get loans from banks and the government guaranteed those loans if the company failed.
Build Quality was Horrendous, proof of lack of Quality Control. Maybe the Assembly Workers knew Chrysler was going bankrupt? The car chase scene in Smokey and The Bandit using the R Body Monaco and Saint Regis cop cars was made possible by these unwanted surplus cars is part of what made that movie great so they did literally go out in a blaze of glory !
Keep it, big car and easy to work on.
And they say there's no snowballs in heck.
Ur too cute to be driving that old car
The New York State Police used Newports in 1980, (I got pulled over by one on I-84).
I would like to see the dash and the back of the car