1986 Chrysler LeBaron GTS review from North America

When I purchased the car, it smoked. We tried to correct this by replacing the valve stem seals, which helped a tiny bit. We had to pull the camshaft to do the job with the engine in the car. We decided to change the timing belt at the same time, since it was almost ready to go south, too.

After this repair, I drove it 2 days when it really started to blow smoke. Apparently, one bearing in the turbocharger seized and pumped about a quart of oil down the intake every 10 miles. The car still ran OK. So, back to the garage to repair it.

Changed the turbo, and the power steering pump (it had metal filings in it). Got it back together, fired it up and found out that the seals in the power steering gear had gone bad. So, had to replace the steering gear in it, too. Everything is OK, now.

Even with all the work that had to be done on the car, it has been relatively easy to work on. I call it a four-door sleeper hotrod, because of just how snappy the performance is. It is also really comfortable to drive, with lots of extras that I've been pleased with.

We paid $675 for the car, so by purchasing used parts we've been able to fix this car up for under $1000. I think it's a very nice bargain. The extra options that I like about it are:

- Driving computer (tracks mileage and a bunch of other things)

- Leather seats.

- Power seats & windows.

- Air conditioning.