Good morning! I’m back, after some slight technical difficulties last week. Our entire neighborhood was without internet service all Thursday afternoon and night, but of course folks still have to watch their cat videos, so the mobile network was jammed up, too. It took me ages to get a message through to Autopian HQ, but luckily my distress signal made it all the way down to Australia and was picked up by our good pal Laurence Rogers, who came through in a huge way. Thank you again, Laurence!
Today’s cars have nothing in common except that they’ve both been exactly where they are for a long time. Which one is a more likely candidate to revive? We’ll see in a minute. First, let’s see how Laurence’s Aussie choices went over:
Easy win for that Holden uuuuute. Personally, I’d rather have the Falcon; the extra length on the Commodore may be useful, but it looks goofy. Besides, as I mentioned in the comments, it would be fun to tell people you’re bringing a Ford Falcon to a car show, and then show up in that ridiculous thing.
I have one hard-and-fast rule when it comes to project cars of my own: they have to run and drive. This is partly practicality, because a flatbed tow truck can’t back up our steep and narrow driveway (found that out the hard way), but more importantly, because my wife wouldn’t stand for a non-running car sitting around. And that’s probably a good thing. My MG is currently breaking that rule – it’s taking up the entire garage, up on a QuickJack, while I replace the rear suspension bushings, repaint the wheels, and have new tires installed. But at least there’s a game plan; it’s not “I’ll get it running again eventually.” Our two choices today don’t seem to have such a plan, and I get the feeling they’re for sale under duress, because another member of the household is sick of looking at them. Here they are.
1964 Chrysler Newport – $2,500
Engine/drivetrain: 361 cubic inch overhead valve V8, three-speed automatic, RWD
Location: Hemet, CA
Odometer reading: 96,000 miles
Runs/drives? Probably not, but you can ask the spiders
First, let me just say that I think Chrysler missed an opportunity recently: They should have called the base-model six-cylinder 300 the Newport. Back when this car was built, Newport was the name of the entry-level Chrysler model, still fancier than a Dodge or Plymouth, but a lot simpler and cheaper than a New Yorker, Imperial, or 300. With all the nostalgia tied up in the LX/LD platform, the Newport nameplate would have fit right in. But nobody asked me, I guess.
There was no such thing as a six-cylinder Chrysler in 1964, of course; that was reserved for common Dodges and Plymouths. This Newport is powered by a 361 cubic inch V8 and a push-button operated Torqueflite automatic transmission. Both are simple, stout, well-built units, but judging by the number of spiderwebs under this hood, this engine hasn’t turned over in a long time. Could it be brought back? Probably, if you threw enough new soft parts at it. Would it be easier to just drop in a known running engine from something else? Undoubtedly. But some folks like a challenge.
It appears to have been dragged out of the weeds a little ways, anyway; I think this is an earlier photo, showing its original resting place, and the photo above is after they towed it out and aired up the tires. The body, thanks to that warm California sun, isn’t rusty except for some surface rust where the paint is gone. And surprisingly for a car left sitting out in the open like this, all the glass is intact. It’s not a bad-looking car, though personally I prefer either the earlier Virgil Exner craziness or the later fuselage-sided monoliths.
Somewhat worryingly, this is the only photo of the interior that we’re given. Is that because only the right rear door opens? Or because the rest of the inside is a complete horror show? Only one way to find out, I guess.
1991 Isuzu Rodeo – $1,200
Engine/drivetrain: 2.6 liter overhead cam inline 4, five-speed manual, RWD
Location: Burleson, TX
Odometer reading: 343,000 miles
Runs/drives? Ran when parked five years ago
I admit that I’m kind of jealous of people who can buy a new car and keep it for decades. I set out to do it once; I bought a brand-new base-model Mazda Protegé with the intention of keeping it forever, but circumstances changed, as they tend to do, and “forever” was actually only four years. The seller of this Isuzu Rodeo has held onto it eight times as long, racked up nearly 350,000 miles, and is finally letting it go after it has sat for five years with bad brakes.
This Rodeo is unusual in that it’s such a plain model; I’ve seen a few four-cylinder 2WD models before, but I had no idea they were available with a bench seat. It’s amazing how de-contented a “stripper” model actually was once upon a time: Not only were power windows and locks not part of the equation, but usually neither were air conditioning, intermittent windshield wipers, or even a radio. If carmakers today made such a plain no-options model, they’d sell a dozen of them to Luddites like me, who would almost immediately regret not springing for the fancier model.
One advantage of a car with one long-term owner is that every bit of its history is accounted for. Maybe not all of it is written down, or remembered, but there are no “I don’t know how the frame got tweaked; it was like that when I bought it” moments. This seller probably can’t tell you exactly how it acquired all of those 343,000 miles, but they can almost certainly tell you how it got that dent in the front, and they’re probably still embarrassed about it, or mad at someone else about it.
This truck was parked five years ago for a bad brake wheel cylinder, but it allegedly ran and drove just fine before that. Some work will be needed to wake it up, and then the entire brake system should probably be gone through. It also has a leaky exhaust manifold gasket that should be replaced.
Leaving a car sitting around in a non-running state isn’t something I would ever want to do, but I understand how it happens. “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans,” after all, and an extra car is often low on the priority list. But I can also understand how a patient spouse can walk by a derelict car only so many times before enough becomes enough. I don’t know for a fact that that’s the case with either of these, but it sounds plausible. Which one would you drag home and revive?
(Image credits: Craigslist sellers)
Are you looking for a hobby or transportation? The Rodeo will be back on the road in a month or two, although who can say for how long? At this age and with that mileage anything can blow, right down to the insulation on the wiring harness.
Based on my personal experience with restoring an old car, driving the Chrysler is realistically five years and ?10,000 dollars? away (without paint) assuming you are doing most of the work yourself. The engine and trans are going to have to come out and be rebuilt if for no other reason than the fact all the seals and gaskets are going to be potato-chip crisp. It’s probably easier to do a swap than restore what you have but while that teeters the time down, it totters the cost up. The interior is going to a all custom work because the seat foam in the seats is going to be as orange and crumbly as the dregs of a bag of Doritos.
The A/C system will have to be custom too but that’s just money these days.
Still at the end of five years and $=X? you’ll have a cool old car that needs paint.
Any cool factor is derived from rarity and that is derived from undesirability. The only reason to rescue this (or any other vintage car that is not highly desirable) is because you love it. And no one loves a 6 cylinder 4-door Newport. I saved a ’64 Corvair barn find that was way better than this but only because I like it.
You generally will find it hard to get to 343,000 miles and 30-ish years when you have to deal with the extra complexity of options and “we just invented the next big thing in electronic gadgets”. Pour one out for the stripper.
If I saw that Rodeo, I would slip a $5 in its cladding.
So, this is not your first rodeo…
The problem with calling the base 300 a “Newport” is that there is a lot of imagery that word brings up. For instance, I imagine a Mint Green Chrysler with stripes and my buddy’s dad driving it with the windows down and a big old cigarette hanging out his mouth.
I went with the Chrysler though. It seems like a worthy project and would be a great cruiser once you got it to move and stop on its own.
I voted for the Newport and like them…yeah whenever I hear it all I can think of is the brand of smokes…even funnier is they have the mint green packaging like the car you mentioned
The Isuzu would need a bigger engine and 4WD to make it remotely interesting as an adventure vehicle. As it is, it’s just an old, slow, unsafe in a crash, gas guzzling SUV whose time has passed and it’s not even worth doing much with as a time capsule. I say this despite really liking 90s era Isuzus. I’d also be very worried about what rust, mold, and humidity have done to a car from the more or less eastern side of Texas. That’s a hard no.
The Chrysler is from an era where I hate the styling, but it’s at least the bones for an interesting project if that’s your particular jam. Given the time, effort, and money it could be turned into something fun.
Aren’t those rodeos also the Vauxhall Frontera, which was a horrible rust magnet? Chrysler pls.
I bet the Chrysler has something living in it, hence the aborted attempt at interior pics.
Banshee!!!
I will take, no, embrace that hoary old Chrysler. A few greenbacks to get it roadworthy, and I can drive to rehearsal when Dan Akroyd calls to say that he’s getting the band back together.
Yes, I’ll be one of the new guys.
Hell yeah, just fix the cigarette lighter…
I was ready to vote for the Newport as a mini resto and go kinda car. Likely easy to get running as long as the engine has compression BUT the Rodeo ended up better than I expected. Even if it needs an engine, it’s just better and at 1200 it’s a good starting point to cut up and make into a decent off roader.
Fix up the Chrysler and you have something worth having. Fix up the rodeo and you just have an old rodeo, a stripped down one with 2wd at that. Also who leaves a car derelict over a wheel cylinder? I suspect that the wheel cylinder is just the final straw in a laundry list of other small issues and faults that add up to one 343,000 mile headache, and that’s before it sat for 4 years.
If y’all are curious about the Rodeo [ I don’t really know why you would be, but to each their own. ], I have the listing right here: https://dallas.craigslist.org/ftw/cto/d/fort-worth-1991-isuzu-rodeo-26l-l4-sohc/7648943154.html
I guess this isn’t common knowledge yet, but everyone has all the links all the time.
Every Showdown has an intro section and then a section for each choice: the names of those sections are links to the original advertisements. So for today scroll up to the heading ‘1991 Isuzu Rodeo – $1,200‘ – that will take you to the same CL item you posted. 🙂
Yeah, for some reason they don’t highlight red like the other links, but the subhead for each car is always a link to the ad for it.
Rodeo, just because it would likely be easier to get back to runner condition. Also I just really dislike old four-doors. They’re even boaty-er than your standard road boat. from the 50s/60s/70s. There’s a reason they stuffed those big-ass engines in ’em, and it ain’t to make ’em quick in the quarter. It’s to make them simply functional.
I owned almost that exact rodeo in green (manual, 4cyl, 2wd) and had it for about 12 years and a couple of hundred thousand miles and 2 cross country moves and that thing was bulletproof. I finally sold it when I was able to upgrade to a nicer car and also didn’t want to spend the money on replacing the head gasket because I didn’t need 2 vehicles.
One of these is a huge 60’s V8 powered American car, the like of which seems rare and exotic to someone from the UK.
The others one is a Vauxhall Frontera with the wrong badges on it.
Charm beats dull, especially if all I can do it look at it.
In other news: my Z4 Coupe has been abandoned at a mates house for two week with its freshly repaired cooling system because while it was broken I decided to replace it with something shiny. Now I can’t see it any more I’m starting to understand how cars can get left in a field for years. I just need to take some pictures for the advert, but it’s a 20 minute drive and every time I get there it’s raining, so…
There. You answered my question above: it IS a badge engineered Frontera, and will therefore dissolve on contact with moisture. I mean, it’s interesting to see one still consisting mostly of paint and metal, not FEO2, but still. I wouldn’t buy one.
Technically, the Frontera is the badge-engineered one since it’s an Isuzu design not an Opel one.
I voted Rodeo because it’s the devil that I know. My mom owned 2 Rodeos, a 1G like this one and later a 2G but both of hers were V6 powered. The oft quoted saying “A GM will run bad longer than other cars will run at all.” applies here as well since Rodeos are mostly GM under the hood. (At least the V6 models are)
Isuzu because this ain’t my first rodeo.
The Rodeo is the lesser of two evils since it’s newer (easier to obtain parts), half the price of the Newport, and likely not quite as far gone.
Since I’ve never owned one before, I could say that it is literally my first Rodeo.
Our family has long enjoyed a 1963 Chrysler New Yorker, also in white – absolutely amazing for group cruises. We’ve unloaded that thing in front of ice cream parlors, and every eye is on that car as 7 humans and a dog emerge. Gets way more attention you’d think, simply because of its stretched dimensions and glistening chrome, but also because it’s not your run-of-mill muscle car or classic roadster. Super rare and only ever seen one similar Newport on the road. Plus, 413ci burnouts with push-button serenity.
I was all about the Rodeo until I realized it was RWD. I’d still pick it as it’s cheaper, red, and could be useful once running if you get the right tires. The interior nastiness is just a challenge for the Bissel Green Machine and me.
I recently fell in rabbit holes related to some of the mentions for both of these recently. For the Chrysler, it was about big sedans but for the LH cars (and Plymouth specifically). For the Rodeo bench, I saw it mentioned offhand somewhere; it made more sense when remembering it was based off a pickup too so surely shared part, but still unusual as I don’t think other import brand SUVs offered a front bench. I think it was on the books only ever on the base models and through at least ’94. Which the ad also says the I4 was first-year-only, which isn’t true as Rodeos always offered a 4, but the early V6s were the GM 3.1 so that part isn’t inaccurate.
I think they look better with the outside-mount spare tire, but I’ll still take the Rodeo, could use a good cleaning inside but also seems like a decent cheap hauler.
Why would anyone want a 4 cylinder 2WD Isuzu with no radio, no AC and 350,000 miles? There’s a reason this was never repaired and left to sit.
That Chrysler is not exactly a beauty queen, but it’s at least got classic lines and V8 power.
And no AC in Texas?!? GTFO.
I never had A/C (that worked) in any of my shitboxes for years here (never cared to put $ into it that I didn’t have, especially since I worked outside in it all day anyway!) It wasn’t til a couple years ago I got a car w/ working A/C- even then it just a little while driving to cool off since it’s SO damn hot (Supposed to be over 105 degrees all week)
I’m looking at these rollers with the question “Which one is worth all the effort?”
Hint- It’s not the Rodeo.
I’d also accept “neither” as an option, but either way that Isuzu isn’t worth putting a dime into IMO.
It also looks to have AC…
Yup
Rodeo, please, he said with some surprise.
Despite the ran-when-parked description and the clean-it-with-fire interior, the Isuzu would be pretty useful once the minor issues have been addressed.
The Chrysler, unfortunately, does not have a title. The VIN plate is attached to the door frame with screws, and according to the seller’s description there is no VIN tag at the base of the windshield. It has some new parts, but it seems like it could be a headache to make it legal.
Those are some important details. Add in the lack of interior pics, and you might have convinced me.
Fix the Rodeo and it has some utility. Fix the Newport and you have a homely classic car that no one will want to be seen in. I’m ridin’ with the Rodeo.
Rodeo is cheaper, and will be far easier to ressurect. I of course went Newport, because who TF wants a rodeo?! Especially one with 350k on it!
Both are going to require significant levels of work to get back on the road, but one of them will still be a 2wd Rodeo when you’re done. Newport for me, if I’m going to have a fair-weather vehicle for the snow belt, it might as well look cool.
Rodeo for me, who could resist a 2wd SUV with a manual and bench seat (even if that seat needs a deep cleaning). First changes would be to swap away the alloy wheels for the steelies (and lower ride height) of the base 2wd pickup.