My 1989 Chrysler LeBaron GTC Turbo 2: The Red Baron

      This is my 1989 Chrysler LeBaron GTC. It came with the Turbo 2 setup. It's 1 of 1,033 Turbo 2 hardtops produced that year. I bought in June of 2004 from someone in Ohio. I bought it as I was looking for a project car and I had owned a nice one of these that was totaled in an accident. I flew out there and bought the car for a mere $600. It had a good sized dent in the driver quarter panel and the door skin was rippled. The previous owner's son backed into it with the family Buick which was the reason he was selling it. I drove it all the back to Utah where I promptly fixed quite a few issues. My intended purpose of this car is to bring it back to new, if not better than new condition. I would also like to make it occasional track car, with emphasis on handling. When I'm done it should be putting down 350 HP to the wheels.

History: The Project Begins

      Before I even got the car home a lot of issue became apparent. The PCV valve hose kept popping off under boost. I didn’t fix that until I got to Colorado to visit a friend who had an extra screw clamp. The tires were cracked but didn’t show me that one of them had a slow leak until somewhere around the Indiana border. The brakes weren’t in good shape, they would fade easy and there was a good amount of pedal pulsation. Once I got it home I removed a lot of yellow “dress up” items under the hood, some pinstripes, the mud flaps, and a steering wheel cover.

Current Work: Where To Start?

      Well, Friday I put the car up on jack stands and got to work removing the suspension, brakes, and all the under body metal. A lot of the bolts are rusted in the bushings, rust welded to the inner sleeves. I've already begun using a cutoff wheel to cut off the ones that I can. I'm hoping I can use a press to get the two out that I can't get to with the grinder. The bushings and all the other rubber underside looked like I expected it to, came out in pieces. Now all the metal is out and all I need to do is remove the control arms and I can take it all off to the powder coater.

      Some other unforeseen issues cropped up. Rust was the word of the day, this time with the rear hard lines on the brakes. They promptly broke so they will be replaced along with the SS flex lines. Also, I forgot about the C/V boots. Being rubber, when I removed them the boots pretty much came apart. So, I had to go buy new axles as well. I figured since I apparently have a money tree growing out of my ass I should replace the rack, lines, and power steering pump while I'm in here.

      The car also barely passed emission this last time. It's been running rich and blowing some black smoke at WOT. So, I'll be replacing the O2 sensor while I'm here. The new clutch, flywheel, and pressure plate have already been installed. The old clutch looked to be in fine condition but the fly wheel had cracks in it. I assume it was overheated from a weak pressure plate. Also, while I was in there I changed the rear main seal. Tomorrow I will be cleaning up the outside of the transmission, installing the new polyuerthane motor mounts, and removing some undercoating, as well as buying some parts that I need. Once I get the metal back from the powder coater the new Koni struts and shocks and Eibach springs will go in with all of the polyurethane bushings and solid adjustable track bar. The brakes will be reinstalled with Hawk HPS pads, SS lines, and some fresh ATE Super Blue fluid. I also am painting the rotor hubs black to keep them from rusting.

      Some of the final touches will be a new valve cover and gasket, plugs, wires, and coil. I might also try to tackle some of the interior if I have time but I might have to put that off since I'm spending more than I put aside for this work. The icing on the cake is that Quafie discontinued the LSD for my trans so I had to buy one of those as well. So I pruned too much off the money tree and it died.

Table of Contents:

Page 1: Background, History, & Current Work
Page 2: Exterior
Page 3: Interior, Audio, & Gauges
Page 4: Wheels/Tires, Suspension/Steering, & Brakes
Page 5: Engine & Transmission
Page 6: Extra Shots