Thread: K-cars
View Single Post
  #18  
Old 02-26-2018, 10:36 PM
MadMan's Avatar
MadMan MadMan is offline
The Resident Brony
 
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: Chicago
Posts: 1,217
Quote:
Originally Posted by maxhifi View Post
Wasn't there a front wheel drive new yorker based on the K car chassis too? Those were a bit nicer than the usual K's.
The New Yorker, Imperial, and Dodge Dynasty (my buddy has one that was beat to hell but it still works). His has the 3.3L, like from the vans. Decent motor, very simple. Those cars look miniscule on the outside, but are actually fairly comfortable inside. And the upper end New Yorkers and all the Imperials are nicely appointed.

Also, yes, sadly, clearcoat delamination was a problem for those years. Fortunately, the actual paint under it rarely comes off, so it just makes the cars ugly, not rusty.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Gregb View Post
We had a 1990 Dynasty which was an upscale K-car and it had a Mitsubishi V6 motor and it was an awesome car that got fantastic gas mileage.
I have the same V6 in my 'baron. Mitsubishi used it for a long time, then continued using variations of it for even longer. They licensed it to Chrysler in... I think 89, as Chrysler had no V6 in its arsenal at the time, and the Caravan really needed one. Chrysler used it all the way up till 96 or 98. It's a pretty sound motor, maybe not that powerful, but if you compare it to other cars at the time, 150 hp was not too shabby. And it has the very desirable attribute that its torque curve is as flat as a table. And the intake is as flat as a table too! So you can put your tools there while you work on it! They do have a tendency to burn oil, but replacing valve stem seals on it is actually pretty easy, and it's done.

Quote:
Originally Posted by CoogarXR View Post
That car offered NO protection. Sure, they get phenomenal mileage, because they are a 3-cylinder-powered soda can.
lol soda can. Hopefully all 4 of you turned out ok. But yeah, it's a tradeoff. You want safety you pay more for gas. Me? I wouldn't drive a 90s Toyota Corolla on the highway if you paid me. I know inside and out how those cars are built, like you say, a soda can.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Username1 View Post
I got an 88 Dakota, and it has a computer, and digital radio, and like he said, you can park it all winter and it'll start up in the summer without a jump.
Chrysler actually has a tighter tolerance on ignition off draw, they spec max 30mA, and every other maker specs max 50 mA, so I imagine that's why.

Quote:
Originally Posted by bgadow View Post
Like any used car, take the time to buy the nicest example your budget will allow. I'd try hard to find one that was fuel injected if at all possible. A manual, outside of Daytona's or maybe some of the convertibles, would be a tough find.
Agreed. Carbuerators suck. The only argument in favor of them is 'oh but you can make the car run better just by turning a screw!' Or, you know, you could let a computer do that for you, in realtime. As for the stick shifts, they were quite common in the day, I've seen many examples in the junk yards, but that's just it, the manual ones get junked first. Very few are left.

Fortunately both automatic transmissions, the 3 and 4 speeds, are pretty hearty little things (despite what people may say). And very easy to work on. The 3 speeds have a tendency for the governor to stick, giving you only 2nd and 3rd in forward, but you can, you know, fix that. The 4 speed A604 which you find on the later EEKs, people will have you believe are awful. The exact opposite is true. They are a shining example of simplicity AND electronic automation. They have NO bands at all, the solenoids come in a convenient small pack, the computer can actually detect how much of your clutches are left (something I've yet to see even the most expensive and modern cars do), and the only reason people think they're bad is because people used to change the trans fluid out for Dexron II (which was the prevalent fluid at the time), which disagrees with the clutches. Fortunately, you can't even buy Dexron II anymore, so you'd be hard pressed to make that mistake as pretty much any trans fluid you can buy now will agree with it.

Last edited by MadMan; 02-26-2018 at 10:55 PM.
Reply With Quote