I had one for 9 years. Had to restore the vinyl top and paint. It sat unused after my sister had her first child. A 1979 Chrysler Newport with the 318 (5.2) engine and the 904 transmission. Fantastic car. The only trouble was as you can see on yours. The aluminum bumper. Which since I live in Quebec, Canada. The winters are severe. The salt doesn't do well for the bumpers. The front bumper also aluminum fairs better than the rear one. I did the whole peel the chrome skin of the lower front bumper. And painted it black. But the rear one started having problems. So I changed it. I found a Police pack car. It was a Plymouth Fury. But both these cars are the same. The Police car's rear bumper is steel. No chrome skin. You have to get the special bolts for it. And you have to remove the reinforcement on the back of the aluminum bumper. I got other parts from the Fury as well. The only other problems I had were the frameless door glass. The weather stripping starts to have problems. I bought new weather stripping from a Chrysler dealer. But after a while they started leaking like the old ones. I used to put black duct tape on the top of the glass so the rain wouldn't get in. The other thing is you have to be careful of the quarter windows on the rear doors. To change the seal or sometimes do work on the rear doors you have to remove the glass. Be care not to break the "H" clips that hold it to the pillar. The last problem I had was the death blow to the car. The water gets in where the air vents are on the front of the car. On the lower windshield. Where the air goes in for the heat/ vents. Water and debris run to the corner and start to rot the metal. I saved it a couple of years by closing that off. It made no difference to the heater. But alas the damage was done. The lower pillar on the passenger front door rotted. And the part connecting the body to the partial from had been eaten away. The front passenger door started to sag. And that was that. In the 9 years that I had it. I changed the wheels and hub caps for Keystone solar ten mags. Changed the exhaust. Did a complete replacement of the floor , changed the windshield. Did the short block on the engine. Rebuilt the transmission. I'm a mechanic. So except for the exhaust and transmission it was me. I did let a shop I knew do some of the engine work. I changed the torsion bars on both sides. The driver's side broke. And then the passenger side broke. I have always been an American car guy. I had a 1975 Chrysler Town & Country station wagon. A 1979 Chrysler Newport, 1987 Chrysler Fifth Avenue, A 1989 Buick Regal, another 1987 Chrysler Fifth Avenue, 2002 Buick Regal, 2002 GMC Sonoma pickup, 2003 Chevrolet S10 crew cab 4x4 pickup and since last year I have a 1996 Chevrolet Lumina APV mini van. I bought it from my 97 year old Landlord. In great shape. Now it's my daily driver. I still have my S10.
What a handsome car! Great color combination, fantastic two tone! Looks like it's in nice shape, too. I remember when these cars came out. I was memorized by the head light covers on the Dodge St. Regis, and the formal landau roof on the New Yorkers. But, the Newport was my favorite. Good luck and enjoy it
Great find! R-bodies were so rare to begin with. I was a kid then. I barely remember a few R-body New Yorkers, and I remember a burgundy colored St. Regis I saw, but not many at all. Mopars were not common in my area, and my family was solidly GM.
My grandma had a 1980 Dodge St. Regis with the same exact color combo as this Chrysler. She bout it brand new in 1980 and kept it for 12 years until she traded it in for a Lincoln Towncar.
I have always loved those R body Chrysler's I hope to get one one day. You're right the 318 is a way better engine then the 360.. thanks for sharing your car.
@brianbeswick3646: I would have thought that the 360 V8 would have given livelier performance. But you say there's reliability issues with the 360 which I would have originally chosen. My guess is issues like rocker arms and valves.
Nice Car! My mom and dad had one back in the day and it had that same color paint scheme, but it was a forest green on the bottom and light green on the top. Very pretty Congrats on the find!
My Grandfather bought one of these brand new and it was this exact two tone blue color combination. It had the dark blue velour interior which was gorgeous. I loved this car and was very sad when he got rid of it. He kept his cars immaculate.
"I used to be with ‘it’, but then they changed what ‘it’ was. Now what I’m with isn’t ‘it’ anymore and what’s ‘it’ seems weird and scary. It’ll happen to you"
I thought you lived in new york with a new york accent when you said you lived in Florida 😂 cool accent this car was made a year before i was born in 1981 great classic
Don't think the original owner wasn't neglectful with the maintenance on the car since he was elderly. Those things probably didn't need to be replaced at the time he stopped driving it. When they just sit for a long period of time it's normal to flush & replace old fluids trans, brake fluid etc. You would want to put fresh fluids in along with spark plugs and wires and cap. I couldn't tell if that engine had the lean burn ignition system. That was the worst thing Chrysler put on those engines. Lots of problems. People were buying kits to by pass that ignition system so that it was the way before they started putting those in. My 78 imperial had one & I got the kit and paid to have switched over. The car ran like garbage with the lean burn but when I got by passed it ran like a gem. Yeah definitely want to change all the original fluids and plugs and wires. Wires if needed as long as they aren't dry rotted
For 1980 Chrysler didn't use Lean Burn on any of their cars. They received a waiver from the US Government to produce them without it and use standard emission controls to save money on each car. I've owned 1979 and 1980 R Bodys and the lean burn was actually more powerful in daily driving. The ignition system they used was circa 1975, but the 4-pin ignition box eliminated the full voltage start feature.
Wrong. The warning chime was standard across the Newport/St. Regis upon its 1979 introduction. Chrysler Corp. even bragged about this in their brochures.
Hey, there, great car! Just wanted to FYI you, tho, the car does not weigh 5320 lbs.. big Caddies and Lincolns topped out around 5k! 5320 is the gross max weight of car and passengers. The curb weight of your Newport is about 3500 lbs.. 🤓
Downsize for 1979 the Chrysler, Newport and New Yorker, which were about a foot shorter than their 1978 counterparts Not a full-size car back in a day or full-size cars
Chrysler Tech When These Cars Were New, I'm A Chrysler Guy, But To Be Honest The Build Ouality Was Horrible. These cars Fell Apart Going Down The Road! You Were Lucky To Find One This Nice. Enjoy It! Thanks For the Posting ⛽⛽⛽
I had one for 9 years. Had to restore the vinyl top and paint. It sat unused after my sister had her first child. A 1979 Chrysler Newport with the 318 (5.2) engine and the 904 transmission. Fantastic car. The only trouble was as you can see on yours. The aluminum bumper. Which since I live in Quebec, Canada. The winters are severe. The salt doesn't do well for the bumpers. The front bumper also aluminum fairs better than the rear one. I did the whole peel the chrome skin of the lower front bumper. And painted it black. But the rear one started having problems. So I changed it. I found a Police pack car. It was a Plymouth Fury. But both these cars are the same. The Police car's rear bumper is steel. No chrome skin. You have to get the special bolts for it. And you have to remove the reinforcement on the back of the aluminum bumper. I got other parts from the Fury as well. The only other problems I had were the frameless door glass. The weather stripping starts to have problems. I bought new weather stripping from a Chrysler dealer. But after a while they started leaking like the old ones. I used to put black duct tape on the top of the glass so the rain wouldn't get in. The other thing is you have to be careful of the quarter windows on the rear doors. To change the seal or sometimes do work on the rear doors you have to remove the glass. Be care not to break the "H" clips that hold it to the pillar. The last problem I had was the death blow to the car. The water gets in where the air vents are on the front of the car. On the lower windshield. Where the air goes in for the heat/ vents. Water and debris run to the corner and start to rot the metal. I saved it a couple of years by closing that off. It made no difference to the heater. But alas the damage was done. The lower pillar on the passenger front door rotted. And the part connecting the body to the partial from had been eaten away. The front passenger door started to sag. And that was that. In the 9 years that I had it. I changed the wheels and hub caps for Keystone solar ten mags. Changed the exhaust. Did a complete replacement of the floor , changed the windshield. Did the short block on the engine. Rebuilt the transmission. I'm a mechanic. So except for the exhaust and transmission it was me. I did let a shop I knew do some of the engine work. I changed the torsion bars on both sides. The driver's side broke. And then the passenger side broke. I have always been an American car guy. I had a 1975 Chrysler Town & Country station wagon. A 1979 Chrysler Newport, 1987 Chrysler Fifth Avenue, A 1989 Buick Regal, another 1987 Chrysler Fifth Avenue, 2002 Buick Regal, 2002 GMC Sonoma pickup, 2003 Chevrolet S10 crew cab 4x4 pickup and since last year I have a 1996 Chevrolet Lumina APV mini van. I bought it from my 97 year old Landlord. In great shape. Now it's my daily driver. I still have my S10.
Not only is that a unicorn color combo, that thing is really optioned out for a Newport! Gorgeous rare R Body. Congratulations!
So few of these cars have been preserved, glad to see this one. I had a 79 St Regis.
You have a St. Regis those are so rare. Love those cars.
What a handsome car! Great color combination, fantastic two tone! Looks like it's in nice shape, too. I remember when these cars came out. I was memorized by the head light covers on the Dodge St. Regis, and the formal landau roof on the New Yorkers. But, the Newport was my favorite. Good luck and enjoy it
Was a nice ride in it's day. Took a family of 6 from memphis tn to marina ca to killeen tx. We did that TX to CA trip every other year in the 80's
Great find! R-bodies were so rare to begin with. I was a kid then. I barely remember a few R-body New Yorkers, and I remember a burgundy colored St. Regis I saw, but not many at all. Mopars were not common in my area, and my family was solidly GM.
My grandma had a 1980 Dodge St. Regis with the same exact color combo as this Chrysler. She bout it brand new in 1980 and kept it for 12 years until she traded it in for a Lincoln Towncar.
That’s in good condition for its age .I’d hold on to it . Definitely a keeper. That car is Better built vs todays .
I owned a 1979 Dodge St Regis bought new and basically the same as yours, it was a wonderful car, think about it every so often.
Gorgeous car!
Bro this is one helluva ride you got!! Love it
I have always loved those R body Chrysler's I hope to get one one day. You're right the 318 is a way better engine then the 360.. thanks for sharing your car.
@brianbeswick3646: I would have thought that the 360 V8 would have given livelier performance. But you say there's reliability issues with the 360 which I would have originally chosen. My guess is issues like rocker arms and valves.
Nice Car! My mom and dad had one back in the day and it had that same color paint scheme, but it was a forest green on the bottom and light green on the top. Very pretty Congrats on the find!
the old more beautiful from this ❤
Newports did not come standard with air conditioning, but a good many (most?) were probably built with it.
Love it. You're a lucky man.
My Grandfather bought one of these brand new and it was this exact two tone blue color combination. It had the dark blue velour interior which was gorgeous. I loved this car and was very sad when he got rid of it. He kept his cars immaculate.
Me gusta el carro
That's such a cool car :)
i drove one as cab back in the day they came base with slant six good on gas
Very nice Chrysler Newport.
"Don't tell me that it's crazy. Don't tell me I'm nowhere. Take it from me. It's hip to be square." :D
"I used to be with ‘it’, but then they changed what ‘it’ was. Now what I’m with isn’t ‘it’ anymore and what’s ‘it’ seems weird and scary. It’ll happen to you"
I thought you lived in new york with a new york accent when you said you lived in Florida 😂 cool accent this car was made a year before i was born in 1981 great classic
They’re great cars. I’ve got 2 R bodies. A 79&81 New Yorker. They really are nice driving cars. I actually have a video of my 81 posted.
How do find your video? I would love to see it.
Just search harryrez
These were under appreciated in their day and still are. Good thing is that they are still affordable. I'm in Naples Florida where are you located?
Door ajar beeping? I was expecting the buzzer.
Don't think the original owner wasn't neglectful with the maintenance on the car since he was elderly. Those things probably didn't need to be replaced at the time he stopped driving it. When they just sit for a long period of time it's normal to flush & replace old fluids trans, brake fluid etc. You would want to put fresh fluids in along with spark plugs and wires and cap. I couldn't tell if that engine had the lean burn ignition system. That was the worst thing Chrysler put on those engines. Lots of problems. People were buying kits to by pass that ignition system so that it was the way before they started putting those in. My 78 imperial had one & I got the kit and paid to have switched over. The car ran like garbage with the lean burn but when I got by passed it ran like a gem. Yeah definitely want to change all the original fluids and plugs and wires. Wires if needed as long as they aren't dry rotted
I looked closer the lean burn ignition in your engine was removed and replaced with the kit. Smart person that did that
Wow, you have a '78 Imperial when they discontinued them in '75? lol, I'm just giving you some shit - I know you meant a New Yorker Brougham
For 1980 Chrysler didn't use Lean Burn on any of their cars. They received a waiver from the US Government to produce them without it and use standard emission controls to save money on each car. I've owned 1979 and 1980 R Bodys and the lean burn was actually more powerful in daily driving. The ignition system they used was circa 1975, but the 4-pin ignition box eliminated the full voltage start feature.
Aluminum bumpers started. In 1979
Wrong. The warning chime was standard across the Newport/St. Regis upon its 1979 introduction. Chrysler Corp. even bragged about this in their brochures.
Very nice //
Hey, there, great car! Just wanted to FYI you, tho, the car does not weigh 5320 lbs.. big Caddies and Lincolns topped out around 5k! 5320 is the gross max weight of car and passengers. The curb weight of your Newport is about 3500 lbs.. 🤓
4k they were Big
I thought it was 3800 pounds
The GVWR is the total weight of the car plus carrying capacity so you subtract that from the GVWR and get the actual weight
I learned to drive on this, it's a death trap.
P195 width tires on a car that large insane but at least they are 15 inch rims
Downsize for 1979 the Chrysler, Newport and New Yorker, which were about a foot shorter than their 1978 counterparts Not a full-size car back in a day or full-size cars
They were still bigger than GM or Ford full size ‘79s.
That's what she said !
It was the St Regis 😀
Chrysler Tech When These Cars Were New, I'm A Chrysler Guy, But To Be Honest The Build Ouality Was Horrible. These cars Fell Apart Going Down The Road! You Were Lucky To Find One This Nice. Enjoy It! Thanks For the Posting ⛽⛽⛽
Not all
That don't matter to me.
Had this car and my mother totaled it😖
Same exact dash as a mirada I see
Chrysler Newport diesel??
The '80's Chryslers are not the most sought after cars.
Love the car but not the interior. Cold in the winter and burn your ass hot in the summer, no thanks.