Happy Friday, Autopians! For our end-of-the-week special, we’re going to check out two coupes from that dismal decade between the mid-1970s and the mid-1980s. But these aren’t just any old slowpoke Broughamed-out two-doors. They’re both something special.
Why more malaise era cars? Because yesterday’s Little Beige Corvette did so well. I get the feeling that a lot of you voted for it under duress, and that if the RX-8 had had just one more pedal on the floor, the outcome might have been different. But a win is a win.
For me, it’s the Corvette anyway, regardless of transmission. Wankel engines are fascinating, but like Communism or a Vince Neil solo record, they sound a lot better in theory than they actually work in practice. I might not pass up a chance at an earlier Mazda rotary, under the right circumstances, but I’ll leave the Renesis work to serious rotary fans.
Now then: The so-called “malaise era” was full of objectively terrible cars. No one is going to deny that. But one category of cars reigned supreme during this era, and it’s a category I know a lot of us miss – the personal luxury coupe. Sure, they were slow, and excessive, and sometimes a bit tacky, but there’s just something about the idea of a big, comfortable car that’s just for you and one very special passenger that’s really appealing.
But we’re not going to bother with your run-of-the-mill Cutlasses and Cordobas. Today, we’re looking at one personal luxury coupe that has been turned into a dragstrip hero, and another that takes the whole concept of personal luxury to its ridiculous, glorious conclusion. Here they are.
1981 Dodge Mirada drag car – $16,500
Engine/drivetrain: 390 cubic inch overhead valve V8, three-speed automatic, RWD
Location: Dinwiddie, VA
Odometer reading: unknown
Operational status: Runs 11 second quarter miles, but isn’t street-legal
The dawn of the 1980s was a bleak time for Chrysler. The old rear-wheel-drive platforms were showing their age, the company was reeling financially from poor sales and the Aspen/Volaré debacle, and Lee Iacocca’s infusion of new ideas and government cash hadn’t kicked in yet. But somehow, out of this era came one of my favorite Mopar two-door designs: the Dodge Mirada.
Chrysler had a rich drag-racing heritage, of course, with the famous Hemi engine basically dominating the entire scene for a couple of decades. Chrysler could barely afford to keep the lights on, let alone field factory racing teams during this time, but it did supply cars to some folks who could, like drag racing legend Paul Rossi. The seller claims that this ’81 Mirada was one of the cars provided by Chrysler to Rossi for “testing purposes,” and has a long history of quarter-mile successes to its name. Currently, it is powered by a stroked 390 cubic inch Chrysler LA V8 and an A904 Torqueflite automatic transmission, both of which are relatively new.
Since this car was raced in NHRA’s “Stock” class, it has a full stock Mirada interior, carpet and all. It all appears to have weathered the years at the drag strip pretty well, and those velour bucket seats still look mighty comfy. This car has been a race car since day one, and as such has no title, so it isn’t registered for the street. There may be some loophole that would allow you to put license plates on it – I assume it has a VIN – but as of now, you’ll have to trailer it to the strip.
Honestly, I love the idea of this car, and if it were me, I think I would try to get it registered for the street, so more people could appreciate it. The idea of a beige malaise-era luxobarge that can run 11s just makes me smile.
1979 Cadillac Seville Opera Coupe – $24,000
Engine/drivetrain: 350 cubic inch overhead valve V8, three-speed automatic, RWD
Location: Granada Hills, CA
Odometer reading: 26,000 miles
Operational status: I assume it runs and drives just fine
“Downsizing” was a new word in Detroit’s lexicon in the mid to late ’70s. American cars had grown to comically large proportions, and to meet stringent new fuel economy standards, some fat had to be trimmed. General Motors saw the writing on the wall early, and in 1975 did something that would have been unthinkable a decade eariler: introduced a mid-sized Cadillac. Traditionalists may have recoiled at the idea, but the Seville sold well, and became a popular subject for customizers and coachbuilders, including the Grandeur Motor Car Company of Florida, who turned a few hundred Sevilles into the car you see here: the Opera Coupe.
Take a stock Seville, eliminate the rear doors, move the entire cowl and windshield back to about where the B-pillar used to be, re-use the front doors, and presto, you’ve got an Opera Coupe. Fill in the now absurd length of the front fenders with a pair of faux spare tire carriers to complete that oh-so-trendy “neoclassical” feel. Mechanically, it’s still a bone-stock Seville, with a fuel-injected Oldsmobile 350 V8 and Turbo-Hydramatic transmission – only now it’s got Cruella DeVil proportions.
It goes without saying that this new and “improved” Seville is now a two-seater. The entire front half of the stock Seville interior is simply moved rearward, to almost where the rear seat used to be. One can only imagine what it’s like trying to park a car from the back seat, with all that excess length sticking out in front. At least it looks like a comfortable place to be.
This car has a scant 26,000 miles on its odometer, and has recently been repainted. It looks – well, I won’t say “good” – but it is nice and shiny. The only other thing the seller says is that it’s “in excellent condition,” which I assume means it runs fine. It’s a pretty bulletproof drivetrain, as late ’70s cars go.
So there they are, the two extremes of what can be done with a personal luxury coupe. Go fast, or get weird; the choice is yours. You’ve got all weekend to think about it. See you Monday!
(Image credits: Craigslist sellers)
Mirada. Hands down.
Dodge for me. That Seville coupe just looks wrong.
Hard pass on both. Ugh.
The awesome Mirada for sure!
It might be fun to take the Caddy and replace the fake wheel covers with LCD screens connected to cameras on the opposite side of the car, so it looks like there’s a hole through the car.
I am a fan of the Mirada. But this particular one got me thinking…that Seville would make a hilarious drag car, and that’s what I am going to do with my imaginary dollars.
I love the Mirada, but I also appreciate absurdity (I would happily collect Mitsuokas) and would love cruising around in that Caddi-hack and collecting weird looks!
I haven’t seen a Mirada in quite a while and I actually like this one. Needs a VIN or that’s way too expensive. That other thing . . . forget it. Just driving it would be difficult with that long nose and then it’s got those dumb stubby doors with what looks like massive blind spots. But, I had seen one before a long time ago and forgot about it so this got me to check them out to see how they were built out of curiosity. Pretty hacky as it turns out. This one appears to have a 1-piece hood (must make it difficult to service or else it would have to be propped up at quite an angle and make for a nice sail or maybe not clear a garage ceiling), but others have the hood shifted back to the cowl so that opening is set back a ways from the nose, leaving that area enclosed. What’s under it? Appears to be a huge space for radiator and AC condenser and a long, extended fan shroud, but I couldn’t find any photos showing specifically. Where the inner fenders were cut for the extension, the sheetmetal is left where it was sliced and the back of the wheel covers for the fake spares are clearly visible (why not make that a clever storage area at least?). Ultimately, it’s a funny idea tossed out while drinking that is not supposed to survive the light of sobriety and certainly not be built.
I’m adding dinwiddie to my lexicon. I’m just not going to use it as a proper noun.
C’mon Mark, “Exposed” wasn’t that bad back then, was it? It had Steve Stevens all over it and sounded as contemporary as anything else in that genre did at that time. I was still young and thought it was cool then…
That being said, I would agree that it sounds incredibly dated in todays ears, and all of the records after that one, ooff… 🙁
Nope.
How much to request an Adrian Clarke article on the Seville Opera Coupe?
I think the Mirada looks great! This one is in really good condition, with a stout drivetrain, I think it’s a great deal. I bet I could get it on the road in my state, and I would definitely try.
I don’t even like those Sevilles in stock form. That thing … YUCK!
Even as a bonified Zimmer fan, I just don’t care for those Opera Coupe’s proportions. Meanwhile, I did have an ’83 Chrysler Cordoba that was actually a pretty nice car. If it hadn’t had the dreaded tin-worm invade the front sub-frame, I would have happily driven it longer than I did.
With that in mind, combined with the price-savings, I can’t resist going for the Mirada. Being that I live in a state where inspections are a far-distant concept, and bonded titles are possible, I could likely have this thing street-legal in less than a year. In the meantime, I’m sure I could sneak it up to the annual main-street car-show (helps when the town cop is a huge car-guy). It would go over quite well there.
So I wake up and open Autopian while preforming my morning ritual and now I am haunted by the image of that abomination. Well, I’ll try to be positive. I probably won’t see anything worse today. Hopefully
The Chrysler is a tacky, unusable contraption that can’t be driven on the open road. The latter is it’s main advantage against the other tacky, rather usable contraption.
Was all set to sit this one out, but the fact the Dodge was a dragger from new pulled me into that camp.
That’s wild isn’t it? it’s not the reason I picked it but it must be an interesting story.
That Caddy scream model me after Superfly.
This is not an example of it, but the Seville could be tastefully converted to a PLC; witness the San Remo, though I wish they’d just kept the standard taillights.
Yeah, I did see that one while browsing, but as I’ve said before, this isn’t about finding good cars. That thing is way too normal-looking to generate the kind of comments this one is getting.
I chose the Caddy because the fender mounted faux spare tires are so ridiculous.
This isn’t even a “well, if I HAVE to pick one” choice, I genuinely LOVE that Dodge. That thing just looks so damn cool. I don’t think you could build a car like that for that, so it’s probable a good price, especially if one wants a unique street/strip car. And for the era, I think it’s a decent looking car. No rot top is nice, but I almost think one would complete the look.
Also, note to self: big n little Hoosiers make damn near ANY car look cool.
“Opera Coupe,” without opera windows? Pass. Guess it’s Dodge by default then.
My god that caddy looks like a cartoon car, the proportions are so absurd. Mirada would be such an awesome street sleeper if you could figure out how to register it-do the BaT rich boy thing and register in Montana? If you let me drive it occasionally we can use my parents address there 😀
I tellya, the proportions on the Caddy are too derpy to make it work for what it’s going for and the price is three times as high as it should be, but I don’t care, it amuses me. Drag racing doesn’t interest me because I don’t have a competitive bone in my body so I have no use for that otherwise admirable Mopar, but I would giggle my head off pegging that Cadillac’s 85 mph speedo on the freeway while still getting passed by Toyota Sienna minivans.
I could find many, many enjoyable ways to make that Caddy even stupider.
Mirada in a heartbeat (didn’t even take 11 seconds of thinking). I wouldn’t expect any issues getting it registered for street use up here in Canada as long as it has a VIN.
You would literally have to pay me to drive that Caddy.