1987 Chrysler Fifth Avenue from North America - Comments

It sounds like you've had the same good experience with the 318 and 3-speed automatic that most Chrysler owners have had. The 318s are virtually indestructible and are smooth runners, and it would be hard to name a better automatic transmission than the Chrysler 727 or 904. I don't know what happened after the 1980's when people started having trouble with Chrysler automatics. Somehow they lost sight of what made their 3-speeds so great.

Well according to the label on the door jam it weights 5035 Ibs which my friend said is a little more than 2 1/2 tons.

He's right: the '87 5th is a full-sized, chrome-bumpered boat -- *not* to be confused with the 3.0 engine mid-sized New Yorker.

Damn right the fifth avenue and diplomat,gran fury were built at a time when there was not so much greed in the world just like mercedes benz when they were all built in a more genuine era of engineering, but now all car companies are engineered by sleazy cost saving laywers.

The 5035lb weight rating on the door jam is the gross vehicle weight rating - which is the maximum amount of weight you can have in the car including passengers and luggage. The "curb" weight is in the 3600 to 3800 lb range, depending on year and equipment.

Oh, I didn't know that.

My 87 Fifth Avenue was rear-ended by an Oldsmobile Toronado going nearly 40 mph. It knocked the Chrysler up the road with a loud bang, but I was okay except for a stiff neck. I dreaded getting out of the car and seeing the damage, but when I did, it consisted of a pushed to one side bumper, a buckle on the passenger side fender and a cracked taillight.

The insurance appraiser opened the trunk and was astonished to see that the floor pan hadn't even buckled. He said the old Chryslers were built like bank safes, and I have to agree. The estimate for repair was 842.00, the Toronado was totaled. The appraiser mentioned that the car weighed about 3800 pounds of real Detroit iron and chrome. It had plenty of get up and go and got 16.5 around town on regular gas, too.

On May 9th 2006 I was forced out of this wonderful car. It had just under 110k and nothing wrong with it, minus what was written above, and also the brakes and oil pan. I can't believe it's been a year already, the 'Fifth is still very missed.

I have a 1987 Fifth Avenue and I have had not one problem with it; 150000 km on it and it still runs strong like the day it was made. It is my first car and I have had it for 5 years. The best car I could have gotten for $5000.

Need help with a 1987 Fifth Avenue. I hit the brakes because someone slammed on theirs, and after that my car died and took a minute to start. Afterwards the car has lost power, and I want to know if it could be the EGR valve? Need help please, it's drinking way too much gas to even drive.

To the previous commenter who has problems after slamming the brakes. Rebuild the carburetor as you probably have a stuck float. You could upgrade to a 4bbl carb and manifold or even the TBI fuel injection system from a 87 to 91 Dodge truck. There's MOPAR websites that can talk you through the carb rebuilding or TBI swap.

I own one, and the sticker on the door does say does say 4800 pounds, which if I'm correct, is just about 2/1-2 tons.

My dad also owned a 73 Newport, a 73 sedan Deville and 79 Fleetwood. Yes, they were monsters, and they weighed close to the 7000lbs mark...

BTW, the M body dates back to the late 70's, maybe even 76-77, so in reality it is a 70's car made in the 80's with some spare parts left over from the era, or designs that stuck.. They stuck because people didn't want those dinky front wheel drive New Yorkers or the Caddy or Lincoln's new, faulty in its beginning stage, rear leaf spring-less suspension...

Case in point, they are actually quite heavy, yes not as big as those giants, but they also had 400ci engines, and above that were steel everything parts, just very heavy and inefficient.

In all honesty, these Fifths are solid, great, cheap, dependable cars, because they are so simple yet sophisticated. It's a shame cars are crappy today, with the exception of few like Caddy.

M bodies weighed in at 3500 pounds for basic Plymouth Gran Furys and Diplomat sedans, to 3800 fully loaded Diplomat SE and Fifth Avenues, which nowadays would be considered light for a car of that size. But one thing's for sure, and that is the M body was a proven design, and almost indestructible compared to the trash rolling off the production lines of today.