LeBaron thread. POST PICS!!!

[turbokid]

Hell I post in here a ton I might aswell update yall on my barons =)
My 89 GTC Convert
before

during some work



Yes I gutted the interior in the driveway =)
After =)

This is after I put the new top on! Still needed a headlight motor and an alternator at the time. I pulled 2 tops (one was on the parts car still) and installed one in about 5 hours


I just drove it today
Still has all the problems it did 3 months ago
Hoping to clean it up some more. Needs a buffing, really needs a new interior, and it needs some more motor work but eh its a start!
The blue Baron

@ the HPAC show


And when its full of popcorn

[Rubix]

Quote:

Originally Posted by turbokid the GTC modle had nothing but a turbo in it... So I think its got the decklid and wheels of a GTC but there is no body colored grill, no turbo motor, (that means no boost gauge either), and its got no badging as a GTC. So I reserve judgement till more facts are given

The GTC badge is missing. But the "LeBaron" sticker is placed a few inches to the left, so you can see there there was a GTC sticker next to it once.

I think it is a real GTC because of the following aspects:

• It has brown stickers on the back instead of the Chrysler and LeBaron plates, the LeBaron sticker is placed to the left so there had to be a sticker next to it once. Only GTC's have stickers on the back.
• The Chrysler emblem on the middle of the back of the car is painted (metallic brown). As far as I know, only GTC's have not chrome but painted Chrysler logo emblems on the back.
• It's got wood grain panels in the doors, also a GTC feature.
• It's got a bagage rack on top of the trunk, a GTC-only feature.
• The door handles are painted/chrome combi, which was also a GTC feature. Non-GTC LeBarons had black door handles in 1989.
• GTC's in Europe never had a body-colored grill I guess. I've seen one in Germany and a coupe in the Netherlands and both had chrome grills.
• The color of the paint is a GTC-only color I think. I have never seen it on a non-GTC LeBaron but correct me if I'm wrong.

What did the GTC's have more on features?

Here you can see the opening for the missing "GTC" badge, the stickers on my LeBaron are placed exactly on the same locations. I want to place the sticker back by the way, as soon as I find one.





Nice pics btw! How did your blue LeBaron get full of pop corn?

[turbokid]

My friends suck lol
anyways here some of your reasoning is correct others not so much.
woodgrain-

chrome/body coloerd door handle

No rear badging on my GTC

I am sorry but w/o a turbo motor I really can't be convinced that this car is a GTC.

[Rubix]

Yeah I noticed the door handles on your blue LeBaron. Could be a separate option as well.

Please note that European and US LeBarons are not the same. Apart from the appearent differences, the motor options could have been different too. Or maybe the engine in my LeBaron isn't the original one anymore. Since it has all GTC features apart from the engine, I am pretty sure is is a GTC. Maybe with a engine replacement, though I think this is the original engine of the car. It could be that in Europe they didn't come with a turbo engine as a standard, I don't know.

I can't imagine why anyone would repaint it in a special GTC color, remove all original emblems and logos and stick on LeBaron GTC-style logos exept for the GTC one but still stick the LeBaron-sticker too far to the left, replaces all door handles, inner door panels, put on the luggage carrier on the back, etc., change everything except for the engine to make it look like a GTC without a GTC logo. I just don't think that happened. The paint is original and so are the logos on the back. It just has to be a GTC. Though I can't be sure if there was a non-turbo GTC in Europe, I think there was, or otherwise the engine in my car isn't the original one.




How much time did you have to waste on cleaning up the popcorn or did your friends do that for you? I would be pretty pissed off lol
Friends of mine once "decorated" the outside of my LeBaron with all sorts of stuff lol

[turbokid]

^that looks easier to clean up. All in All, vacuuming out the popcorn, cleaning it all out, detailing the interior, wiping down all the surfaces because of popcorn grease/butter it took about 3-4 hours. I try to detail the car every 2 weeks so it usually doesn't need that much attention. I am kind of a perfectionist when it comes to detailing my cars...
Ya maybe the Euro edition is optioned differently. It really wouldn't be that hard to put it back to being a turbo and not so slow

[Rubix]

Is that so? I'm a noob when it comes to car engineering. I have no idea how I should build a turbo into that car.

You detail your LeBaron? That's cool! I just clean and wax it every now and then. I want to clean the engine compartment but it leaks oil like hell so that makes no sense as long as the leaking is not repaired. The blue Baron looks very nice, it indeed looks like you take good care of it. What are your detailing schemes and how do you maintain the leather interior?

[turbokid]

I use lexol every 2 weeks on the interior, I vacuum it out really good, I use dupount plastic cleaner(armorall dries out the dash and it eventually cracks). I then take it to the car wash, high pressure wash it, dry it off WELL, Wax it, shine the tires and wheels etc!
Good way to maintain your top is before you put it down for the first time in the spring scotchguard it well. Also end of summer! When you first put it down its stiff as a board and thats when its most likely to tear, rip, break etc. That lebaron and my Laser are really nice cars so I try to take care of them the best I can. Especially since the lebaron only has 62,000 miles on it.
Your car looks exceptionally nice. Any good plans for it other than de-euro'ing it?

[83sdc]

anybody know where i can get a GOOD driver side door for an 89 coupe with hand crank windows? and am still in need of a shifter boot for a 5spd!

[turbokid]

Where are you in missouri?
I might have a shift boot. I will look

[83sdc]

springfield area. i think i left you a message on car domain once?

[turbokid]

Maybe. Pretty cool. I might be in Bolivar in a couple weeks.
I have family there.

[crusty shadow]

dude you need to come to hit the junkyards in st louis- there are usually at least a dozen lebarons in the yard every time i go, most just quit running for whatever reason and were just junked- LOTS of good body panels - doors hood etc. these cars dont seem to get wrecked around here very much. pick n pull has an all u can carry sale every so often- 30 bucks all u can carry. last time i got a door, rear hatch, sway bar , end links and a few other misc odds and ends for a friends mustang....

[turbokid]

^mid September I will be at gateway all weekend. We can hit the yards at that time if you are available. Wonder if I can carry a motor
I need quite a bit of interior for my car and 2.5 turbo in it gtc upon warm up has Piston slap like crazy.

[topdollar69]

Rubix,
89 GTC Lebarons should have the following options from the factory, dark pewter body mouldings, 11 inch vented rotors front and rear, black interior trim, digital automatic temp panel, analog speedometer, 16 inch lace wheels, body color grille, dark pewter penstar, GTC specific decals, and GTC specific luggage rack. Now your car obviously has the 16 inch lace wheels, and the everything else that would be on a GTC Decklid, but none of the rest of the visible GTC specific parts. The things that make me think you have an 89 Lebaron Premium are, chrome wheel arches, black body mouldings, and woodgrain trim in the interior. In the last pictures you have posted it looks like the car has been hit in the rear. I would guess the decklid was replaced and the lace wheels were taken off the donor car at the same time. As was previously mentioned, chrome and body colored door handles were standard on all 89 Lebaron coupes and convertibles. The light pewter color on your car was a standard color in 89 available on all trim levels. However, the easiest way to find out what the car is will be to post a pic of the fender tag on the radiator support.

[Rubix]

Quote:

Originally Posted by turbokid I use lexol every 2 weeks on the interior, I vacuum it out really good, I use dupount plastic cleaner(armorall dries out the dash and it eventually cracks). I then take it to the car wash, high pressure wash it, dry it off WELL, Wax it, shine the tires and wheels etc! Good way to maintain your top is before you put it down for the first time in the spring scotchguard it well. Also end of summer! When you first put it down its stiff as a board and thats when its most likely to tear, rip, break etc. That lebaron and my Laser are really nice cars so I try to take care of them the best I can. Especially since the lebaron only has 62,000 miles on it. Your car looks exceptionally nice. Any good plans for it other than de-euro'ing it?

Thanks I have taken a look on the Internet for information about the products and the lexol products are also available in the Netherlands. I will give them I try!

On the photos my car looks better than it actually is. It is in very good shape but has some issues. I want to get its exterior as nice as possible. But first I need to get some technical issues fixed.

• The garage just put new tires on.
• It leaks oil like a strainer on various places in the engine compartment, I will try to get this fixed in July.
• The power steering doesn't work with low rpm's, I guess the pump is broken.
• It needs a new exaust. I want to put a nice chrome end on it, not big, just a nice chrome end.

Then some things on the interior need to get fixed. It's full of dents (smaller and bigger ones). It needs a new hood because this one is like a waterscape. The left door and left and right plates after the rear wheels have small dents. I want to repaint the black strips on the bumpers and the sides but I want to find a good type of paint for it. Then I want to completely clean the engine compartment. The interior is already fixed (some small issues like a broken mirror in a sun flap, missing light covers, etc). Oh and I want to put a new windscreen in, the current one is full of scratches and two small spots.

Quote:

Originally Posted by topdollar69 Rubix, 89 GTC Lebarons should have the following options from the factory, dark pewter body mouldings, 11 inch vented rotors front and rear, black interior trim, digital automatic temp panel, analog speedometer, 16 inch lace wheels, body color grille, dark pewter penstar, GTC specific decals, and GTC specific luggage rack. Now your car obviously has the 16 inch lace wheels, and the everything else that would be on a GTC Decklid, but none of the rest of the visible GTC specific parts. The things that make me think you have an 89 Lebaron Premium are, chrome wheel arches, black body mouldings, and woodgrain trim in the interior. In the last pictures you have posted it looks like the car has been hit in the rear. I