1979 Chrysler New Yorker 360 CID

Summary:

Excellent low cost transportation and unique

Faults:

Carburetor

Evaporator core + various other parts of the A/C system.

Leaf springs

Windshield wiper switch

Transmission

Various electrical problems.

General Comments:

With out a doubt the best car I have ever owned, I actually at today's date 2/17/08 still drive the third one of these Chrysler New Yorkers I have owned.

These cars handle surprisingly well for a nearly 3 ton automobile, have acceptable performance and get reasonably good fuel economy for the size car (15 - 17 MPG).

Virtually all of the problems I have had on these cars (and they have been the same exact problems on three separate cars) have been due to age.

If you know what to maintain on these cars they are extremely reliable. I have ran the first two cars well over 200K miles, my current New Yorker is relatively low mileage at 80K.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 17th February, 2008

6th Nov 2010, 16:22

1979 Chrysler New Yorker Fifth Ave Edition was the best car I ever owned for 20 years. Only 1 repair on the starter cable. And the usual tires, brakes, etc.

4th Nov 2013, 19:09

I guess I should write an epilogue as I started the thread. I sold the third and last New Yorker in late 2008. It was a difficult decision, but I was commuting long distances to work, fuel was running >$400 per month at the time, so something had to give.

There was nothing wrong with the New Yorker at the time I sold it, its power train went to restore a Christine clone, kind of sad all in all.

Lane

In reply to 6th Nov 2010, 16:22

13th Mar 2020, 23:51

These cars are wonderful.

15th Mar 2020, 04:25

Despite the quality control issues, these vehicles were great at what they did.

Excellent ergonomics and space management were the hallmark of these cars.

If you latched onto a police package version, all the better.

In reply to 15th Mar 2020, 04:25

15th Mar 2020, 22:06

Way back when, I owned three of these R-bodies ('79 Newport, '80 Gran Fury and '80 St. Regis). All three had essentially the same interior with minor differences between '79 and '80. They were relatively roomy (as they should have been, considering how large they were). However, "excellent ergonomics" was definitely NOT in evidence. The "fall away" dashboard design made the controls mounted at the bottom of the dash hard to reach, and the gauges mounted in deep "tunnels" were hard to see.