1986 Chrysler Laser XT review from North America

This was a family owned car before I got it, and that is when I am basing this on.

I got the car because one of the piston rings broke and scored the inside of the cylinder wall in several places, rendering the engine nearly inoperable.

The car sat for eight months, and in that time, everything went to heck;

The tachometer is permanently stuck at 3,000 due to rust.

The drivers side window motor is very weak, possibly rusted.

The travel computer does not respond at all.

It also had a few problems before it died;

The c/v joints and the u-joint were failing.

The weather stripping in the sunroof was leaking.

The cables that manipulate the door latches, gas door, and back hatch are all overstretched.

Various problems with the interior had occurred as well.

This is the '86 1/2 model, wich was the only time in wich the inter-cooler was offered... a rare car.

When I rode in the car, it seemed very smooth and soft, but also handled well and would push you back into your seat when the turbo was in use.

The seats are very comfortable, especially the 5-way electronic driver's seat... the back seats are rather cramped though.

The engine ran well for 17 years, with grandpa putting in the cheapest oil and gas he could find; there aren't many cars that can do that.

The engine has amazing response to turbocharging; 7 pounds of boost and an inter-cooler takes it from 93hp to 173, and I plan on getting a dohc 16-valve head so that I can put even more boost into it.

Parts are readily available as the daytona (its twin), lebaron, most k-cars, and several others all have parts usable in the laser, and as a bonus, the 2.5, 2.0, and 2.4 engines all use relatively the same block and thus will work as replacement engines.

Once I get everything fixed, this will blow all of my friend's cars away.