Known issues with 1979 Cordoba?

[patrick66]

I have a line on a slick '79 360 car, and I'll leave it at that for now. What are (or were) known trouble areas or problems on a '79 to look for, and what are things that are outstanding; that are not considered trouble spots?

 

[Pete Kaczmarski]

If it is a 360 (E-58) Police Package 4 bbl great. If a 360 2 bbl still O.K. but will have the lock up torque convertor at 50 mph. No big deal. If it runs and drives with the Lean Burn then another plus. As far as rust, the worst is the underside of the car. Especially check for rust on the rear of the leaf spring as thy could rust enough to come through the trunk floor. Check for rear quarter rust including the back side of the rear quarters. Parts are still out there if needed. Good Luck. Here is my '79 Magnum GT.

 

[LS-300]

Another failure prone item is the windshield wiper assembly. There is a plastic part that fails preventing the wipers from working.

 

[Rebellion]

Pete Kaczmarski is exactly right.

I owned a '79 Cordoba as a daily driver, long ago. It was a fairly used up car when I bought it. Suffice to say, Long Michigan winters and constant road salt don't mix...I ended up with leaf spring ends protruding from my trunk floor!

Tom

 

[1 Wild R/T]

 

[patrick66]

It sounds like the wiper issue is the same as '78 C-bodies. A guy over there sells a fix for that.

We're not in a big hurry to complete a deal, as the Cordoba is in Winter storage. More to come, hopefully!

 

[Don Frelier]

Pete Kaczmarski is exactly right.

I owned a '79 Cordoba as a daily driver, long ago. It was a fairly used up car when I bought it. Suffice to say, Long Michigan winters and constant road salt don't mix...I ended up with leaf spring ends protruding from my trunk floor!

Tom

There's an easy fix for that:
1. Insert a screw jack or bottle jack in there and push them downward.
2. Cut a 4" X 4" and insert.
3. Drive vehicle until something else badly rusted breaks.

At least that's how we do it around here.

 

[Rebellion]

There's an easy fix for that:
1. Insert a screw jack or bottle jack in there and push them downward.
2. Cut a 4" X 4" and insert.
3. Drive vehicle until something else badly rusted breaks.

At least that's how we do it around here.

Don - Love that!

Actually, had it welded and drove it for years after.

 

[WileE]

My current 79 is the 3rd Cordoba I've owned, since the first one in the 70's. Since it's a garage kept survivor, it doesn't have the usual rot near the subframe, and rear floor/wheelhouses. I had a '79 300 years ago, one of the best cars I've ever owned. Outstanding ? I could drive this comfortable car coast-to-coast and back. For the money, these are probably the best value in the Mopar world.

 

[patrick66]

Thanks for the inputs!

 

[rumblefish360]

Thanks for the inputs!

Having owned 2-‘79’s, a Cordoba and currently a Magnum….

At the rear of the K frame, the end of the K frame where the attaching bolt runs upwards into the front frame fails, the rubber ISO pads wear out. While the rubber ISO mounts aren’t really the problem, it’s the K frame itself that rots out because it’s level and retains water. This on both sides. The fronts are normally fine.

Under the inside carpet, water also gets trapped. The cars seal up pretty good. The burlap-ish material under the carpet acts like a sponge. The floors rot out.

Double check, put your hands on the frame rails if possible, up front mostly for thin frame rails that maybe rusting out. Also by the steering box.