Luxurious Leather: 1983 Chrysler LeBaron Mark Cross Edition Convertible – Sold?

July 14, 2021 Update – We just confirmed the listing for this “Classifind” expired, so with no replacement found we’re assuming this ride “Sold?” While this one got away, please reach out either by email or call us directly if you’d like to be informed when we come across something similar.

The car that brought back the American-made convertible.  Chrysler’s 1982 LeBaron convertible. Yes, it was much smaller than the land yachts of yore and it featured a Japanese-produced Mitsubishi inline-four rather than a massive V8 Americans were used to.  However, after being falsely told throughout the 1970s that convertibles would be outlawed by the U.S. Federal government, it was refreshing to see Lee Iaccoca once again offer a product Americans were clamoring for.

The top-of-the-line LeBaron convertible offered in 1982 was the Mark Cross edition and we just came across this one-owner, 70K original mile example originally listed on Craigslist in June 2021 in Dayton, Ohio, for $5,000 currently. Our typical pricing sources do not consider this car a classic or collectible just yet, but they should in our humble opinion as it was the catalyst for a convertible resurgence that provided top-down fans many options during the 1980s and 1990s.

Under Lee Iacocca’s leadership, Chrysler came back from the brink of bankruptcy to pay back its Federal Government loan guarantees seven years early in 1983. Iacocca was on a roll and had more ideas up his product sleeve. In addition to preparing Chrysler’s innovative new minivan preparing to launch in 1984, Iacocca decided the time was right to re-launch the convertible body style for 1982. Chrysler called on Cars & Concepts (“C&C”) to design and build the LeBaron convertibles.

C&C heavily modified two-door LeBaron coupes on their way to becoming convertibles, a process that included thirty-two steps. They installed a boxed-in backbone along the center of the car and welded a three-piece windshield header to the A-pillars. The convertible top itself had a plastic rear window and broad rear quarter panels. The top-of-line model was the Mark Cross Edition, which most notably included a stunning two-tone brown leather interior in addition to many other options.
The pictures seem to hint that the hard-to-replicate Mark Cross leather interior appears to be well cared for and in like-new condition. These early eighties K-Car convertibles are a great way to get into the classic car hobby for not a lot of money.

Here’s the seller’s description:

“One owner Le Baron Convertible always garaged. Only 69,279.00 miles. The car runs great has no rust. These cars are becoming very collectible. Chrysler only built very limited convertibles during this year. Check it out you will not be disappointed. The car has all the options that were available for this model. Will entertain reasonable best offers.”

Show or go: what would you do with this Chrysler LeBaron Convertible?  Comment below and let us know!