Attack of the K Cars

Steve uses a 1987 Dodge Aries K-Car to show how these boxy and slow - but necessary - machines helped Chrysler Corporation to survive and live on to fight another day. Without these awkward econoboxes, today’s nine-second Dodge Demon wouldn’t exist.

[@twisted2291]

I'll say it. I Loved the K cars. I cut my teeth on them as a mechanic. I got so proficient in doing timing belts on them. The shop I worked at. Would try to line 3 or 4 of them up for me to punch out daily. The early Feedback carbs sucked, but in the 90's with EFI. They got a lot better. I would love to get me a Rampage, do a 2.5 turbo swap with today modern aftermarket ECU.

[@matthewbegin3462]

How about the balance shaft delete kit on the 2.6 mits .

[@vmaxes]

I remember the recommended service interval books for them back then, omg people were getting robbed by that book! Transmission oil change and spark plugs every 25000 km, repack bearings every 20k.😆 i worked at a dealer when these came out. And dont forget the headgasket, water pump replacements! Warrenty time in the beggining for a headgasket was adequate but Chrysler cut it to 1.5hrs or something so the techs started to just pull off the timing belt to the side, undo the headbolts, lift the head and slide in the new gasket. Get what you pay for!

[@kcarman88]

20 25 mins tops for me to replace.one

[@WhiteKnightCutlass]

As I started to read your post I thought he's crazy I never found a good carb on one of these cars, my mom had 2 a Aries k car that burnt the house down when she was warming it up in the attached garage, then she bought a charger with only 19,000 miles on it and it ran fine till it got into the 50,000 mile range and it would run great 40% of the time the rest of the time it ran like💩, went thru everything on the car till all that was left was the carb and payed a ridiculous amount of money for a remanufactured one ran good for about another 15,000 miles and then ran right about 20% of the time, and as a mechanic myself, it was really rare to find one with a good running carb on it, the ones that had the Mitsubishi motors were pretty good though, the rampages would make a cool little hot rod with the right mods, and those little colts with the Mitsubishi motors that had the extra shifter that had power and economy got crazy good mileage and were pretty good running and dependable cars

[@stuszith]

yes -those "cool looking hOLLEY~WEBER feedback carbs did suck!! - thnaks for EFI -even IF it wasn,t multiport!!!

[@rustydelorean6405]

I like it how he opens and closes the doors gently, like he’s in the dealership showroom.

[@N2YTA]

I know a couple of guys whose family business was a Chrysler Plymouth dealership founded by their grandfather in the 1930s. They remembered the dark days for Chrysler. When they would see an original version K car or minivan it was like they were looking at a classic/vintage car. The K car saved their family business.

[@mikehewson7057]

Here in Canada, because we pay higher taxes, many Canadians tended to buy cars for more practical and value conscious reasons than Americans. Americans had more disposable incomes for flashier cars. The Reliant, Aries, Omni and Horizon, were ubiquitous here. Few cars offered the combination of low price, space, value, economy, and ruggedness as this pair. For many Canadian owners, they were the Model T Ford of the 80s. And in many ways, the 2.2 litre engine was the Slant Six of the 80s.

[@tomjackson8431]

When I was a student, I bought a new Dodge Shadow in 1992. One day, I remember comparing the Shadow parked next to a 1981 Dodge Aries. The commonality of some parts and hard points that matched, was impressive. Chrysler learned very quickly after the late 70s, to become a much more efficient and practical manufacturer. Even if it meant their cars were not class leading, and becoming obsolete by the late 80s, they knew how to offer great value. Chrysler was always competitive, with solid designs, and pricing often thousands less than competitors.

[@mikehewson7057]

@@tomjackson8431 I recall, the Shadow and Sundance (K-Car derivatives), at one point, were two of Canada's most stolen cars. They were easy to break-in to, and they would be popular for joyrides. In 1980, I noted the roofline of the Aries/Reliant prototypes matched the new formal rooflines on the Plymouth Gran Fury, Dodge Diplomat and Chrysler LeBaron. I've never seen the car magazines (or few people), make that clear family resemblance connection. Likely because the K-Cars appeared so much smaller, than the M-Bodies. The boxiness of the M-Bodies came off better, as more formal.

[@michaelhungate7506]

Yeah they were boxy and simple. They were very roomy. For all the jokes this simple little platform was the basis for the Caravan and Voyager. Talk about getting the very most out of a platform. Besides the minivans they had a whole bunch of other vehicles this was used for. I seen one of these about 2 weeks ago.

[@lb9gta307]

They are very much classic/vintage cars being upwards of 40 years old now

[@samrumade9429]

Love how he presents his subject without any drama. And a wealth of information.

[@javierdenardo2607]

He was a contributor or staff member at Hot Rod magazine

[@kurtzimmerman1637]

these cars saved chrysler and let me get a job at chrysler on January 4th, 1984. worked there for 7 years. started my own business after that. thanks for the video.

[@map3384]

The old Ks are unsung heroes of another time. I remember their debut when I was in high school. They filled a spot back then. The rental car fleets were full of them, every utility company used them and as a commuter car they weren’t that bad. You’ll never see anything like them in these times. The era of the standard vehicle is long over.

[@juliogonzo2718]

Yeah your right about utilities. When I was a kid my buddies dad had an ex bell telephone k wagon

[@sccarguy8242]

The real reason why the Kcar was so revolutionary for Chrysler was not just the Reliant and Aries… it was that FWD architecture and the k membered sub frame which allowed that same basic architecture to be used on ALL Chrysler products produced at the time except the Full size vans and trucks. The mini vans, Lebanon’s, Daytona, 5th avenue, charger, etc. All had a time where they used that chassis and it was that chassis that saved the company. It went beyond the typical “Badge engineering” that was and still is so common, and was the first real foray into “Chassis engineering”… one chassis for multiple lines all using same/similar parts.

[@alexcorona]

Basically the fox body for them.

[@67L-88]

I thought the same and it started with the Omni that was built by Chrysler under license from Volkswagen, as it was the Rabbit. I remember working on early Omni cars and the engines still have the VW Audi logo cast into them...

[@josephselva872]

@@67L-88 only the 1.6L engines. 2.2L were all Mopar.

[@deanstevenson6527]

@@alexcorona Lee Ilococca signed off on the Fox platform, then when Henry Ford II found some nested work on a transverse front drive four cylinder despite being told not to peruse it, he promptly got fired just before the Fox Mustang hit town. Lee had in no particular order.... 1.Mustang 64.5-73, 2.Mustang II, 3. Fox Fairmont 4. Fox Mustang, and 5.the Pinto, 6Maverick 7. Granada and 8. all the Torino and LTD/ LTDIì specialty coupes to his name, 9. plus the K car platform. The Pennsylvanian Long Riffle got off a turn me on Dead Man list of Nine Revolutionary rounds by the time he retired. The Fish Hank the Deuce Sent West Kept Mopar the Best. 1980 to 1993 was 13 years of stalwart development. The MPV Soccer Mom K was a true pinacle of printing money. Gosh I loved the way he played Lido!

[@124marsh]

I was in the US Military (ARMY& AIR FORCE) between 79 to 86 and I remember once the Government bailed out Chrysler Corp. the military started receiving K-cars and Ram Trucks.

[@dustyroads834]

I remember buying one of these used for my wife back in the early 90s. I wasn’t a fan of Chrysler and I was old school and the thought of front wd as a foreign gimmick. I was blown away at the gas mileage and it would go anywhere in the snow. I was in shock. Lol. Loved it.

[@Heighten666]

Love having you back Steve! I was a huge fan of Junkyard Gold, so having you back on this KZbin channel is awesome! Thank you so much!!

[@crustyoldoffroader7436]

Steve, show us the Barracuda in the background next?

[@justralphajerseyguystuckin3671]

I wanna see more on the Red Barracuda and/or the Blue Plymouth Satellite shown in the background !

[@tlr-nut7275]

Or the crew-cab sweptline.

[@cmintsurfer]

I was thinking the same thing!!!

[@raynus1160]

Ditto

[@pmafterdark]

You bet. Those year Barracudas are my favorite.

[@KainKustomGarage]

Planes, Trains and Automobiles! John Candy and Steve Martin trashed that convertible!🤣🤣

[@kman-mi7su]

This guy is a walking encyclopedia of automotive knowledge.

[@aceautonewportky]

I recently saw a K car in super nice condition and thought yes there will be a collector market for these and bet one for the Caravan. Really like your content. I appreciate your knowledge.

[@seed_drill7135]

Certainly the Lebaron turbo convertible and The Rampage have become desirable, but cheap plastics and primitive electronics combined with no aftermarket support would make any K vehicle a difficult restoration project.

[@timothykeith1367]

The convertibles and specialty models already have a collector following . The days of finding a nice convertible for $400 are probably gone. Prices for the very original low miles K cars are pretty good. Wagons are a good bet for a collector K car. Some have even been restored to better than new. They appeal to the '80s nostalgia market and they are economical to drive. Nice first gen minivans are sought out, some are retromodded with SRT-4 engines.

[@busprowler]

We had K-cars at work when I first got promoted to Transit Supervisor. Everybody loved them. They were comfortable, super reliable city cars. Some were on the road 24 hours. Comfy seats, plenty of room and super tough. Most had over 200k miles of mostly city driving with lots of idling time. The Dodge Spirits were also very reliable. My Dad was a messenger then. He bought surplus K-cars from the county. Never had any problems with them. One car racked up 426k miles with only a cheap transmission replacement. The car worked local in Miami in the daytime and did nightly runs to Orlando. When it was removed from service, he gifted it to my Uncle. We lost track of the car at 480k miles and was running in Union City, NJ.

[@jsflagstad]

Well done as always Steve. The coolest K car I have ever seen was at Rock Falls Raceway in the early to mid 1990's. It wasn't racing, it was just sitting there for sale. It was a reliant K that had been converted to RWD and was aggressively tubbed with a ladder or 4 link rear, had a 340 backed by a 904 and then an 8 3/4 rear. What was cool is that the builder swapped out the front end with the New Yorker K body front clip for a little more class, so it looked like a tubbed, 2 door K Car New Yorker and it was BRIGHT Red with all of the New Yorker front end chrome. If I remember correctly, the guy was asking $4500 which now, would be an absolute steal for the work that went into it. Being in college at the time, it wasn't in my realm of possibilities, but I hope someone got it and is still enjoying it. At the time, my dad had the K Body Turbo 2.2 New Yorker and it was surprisingly quick for the times.

[@fritzcaddy]

Ready and eager for longer segments you have obvious knowledge and enthusiasm and detail about mopar your channel shows great potential.

[@shelbylancer454]

First couple of years, did have the 4 lug. Easy conversion to five lug. The later the car the better. Great vid Steve.

[@paullee2777]

Steve is the most interesting person on the internet.

[@whiskeycreekcustoms6296]

I’ve always loved his enthusiasm… a true car guy! Used to love watching him on Hot Rod TV. So glad to see he has a channel of his own now!

[@davidpeterson9287]

Him and uncle tony get all my KZbin time

[@mr.intensity2685]

@@davidpeterson9287 I couldn't believe it when Uncle Tony was doing an Oldsmobile video! I like Oldsmobiles, but I just thought he was strictly a MOPAR guy.

[@dannyzuehlsdorf3697]

you need to get out more

[@bobblowhard8823]

He is the second most person on the internet, after Weird Al.

[@onefortheroad2291]

Reading the comments and it’s great to see the K’s getting so much love! My grandfather as he got into his 80’s decided to downsize (he always drove full size Ford sedans as far back as I remember) and picked up his first used K, an 87 Reliant 4 door in red. The car I learned to drive on. He ended up getting 2 more before passing away and I had 2 or 3 myself (not by choice at the time, but in the late 90’s you could get a nice one for literally a few hundred dollars). Fast forward 20 some years and it’s funny how much love I have for them now. In fact I currently have a very clean 87 Reliant coupe with buckets and console shift. Have plans to convert to TIII and stick (videos on my channel if curious)

[@TralfazConstruction]

They were, seemingly, everywhere in that era. My wife's aunt traded a '75 Nova with 262 cubic inch V8 on a silver K-Car with a burgundy interior with a burgundy landau roof treatment. Her aunt was driving less and less in that era and she held onto the K-Car until 1990. Someone in the family, I can't recall who, got that very clean, dealer-serviced, ultra-low mileage car for $600. Every time I can remember seeing that silver K-Car out at a family function it was always in top condition looking like it had just come off the end of the assembly line.

[@magnusatheos7301]

Probably the most underrated cars ever! I had one with a 2.5. Tons of leg room, tons of trunk space, and with the 2.5 had decent power for what it was. Wish I still had it.

[@davidvanderson941]

I had one of the K cars with a 4 speed manual. It was a base level car with a front bench seat and a metal dash. It was a very comfortable car and excellent on the highway.

[@dginia]

I resurrected a K-car station wagon - for a time. The timing belt had broken. Got the car for free and it did not cost much to get it running. Where I was not equal to the challenge was in fixing the front seal. I did not want to drop the oilman. This made getting the anaerobic sealant in a certain place. I sold it to a co-worker and he drove it for a good long time until the oil loss became so great it broke down. I mean, we both knew what would eventually happen! The carb gave me a lot of trouble and eventually I found the base to be warped, causing an air leak. I flattened that and had better success. The exhaust donut was a major pain, as I recall, too. Glad I found the carbide bit for my Dremel tool for those bad bolts. An educational experience, for sure!

[@timothykeith1367]

The carb was a Weber licensed to Holley with electronic feedback. You can swap to the Weber without the wires and that solves a lot of the problems.

[@Toolaholic7]

Were popular on the TV show The Red Green Show too.Used on handyman corner as project cars,one was turned into a zamboni

[@tonychavez2083]

Thank you for giving love to an often forgotten model.. my dad was a Chrysler guy and bought a Plymouth Reliant K in 85' I just remember how big the back seat was for a compact car, the little 2.2L was no hot rod but was actually adequate and pretty bullet proof. He had almost zero mechanical issues with that car over the years..

[@stuszith]

Ok -but TALK about Rust / corrosion issues - especially in Upstate Ny area - gEEZZZ!!!!

[@tonychavez2083]

@@stuszith i believe it.

[@portlandon]

I had a 1984 Lebanon 4door for years. It was a 2.2 non turbo car. It was roomy, especially leg room. Plush velour interior. Got 27 mpg, although not very fast. It saved me a lot of money being a thrifty commuter. Problems were the head gaskets about every 65,000 miles.

[@camchrisman732]

My head gaskets usually lasted 100,000 miles

[@cjbert6790]

They were notorious for needing head gaskets.

[@casscountyrebel]

My first car was a 1981 Dodge Aries that I purchased for $200 in 1991. 2.2 with auto. While not quite the babe magnet, it got me through high school and kept me outta trouble because it was so damn slow! Also purchased a 1990 Dodge Daytona ES Turbo in 1999 with the 2.5 turbo/5-speed. I modified the Daytona with a TurboII rad/intercooler, Eagle Talon BOV, 3" exhaust, removed balance shafts, Saab cold start injector with pressure switch for "5th injector", and a home-made boost control valve with 18psi of boost. That car routinely surprised many Mustang 5.0's and Z28's.

[@TheRacerbrown]

Ibought a 82 Chrysler LeBaron Convert about 9 years ago. It had 12,500 original miles. It has the 2.6, gets 27-28 mpg. I had to replace the tires, belts and hoses, plus the muffler. We get it out on a nice sunny afternoon, oh it also has the Mark Cross leather interior.

[@MikeJBlues]

I owned several back in the day, drove one identical to this one when I was stationed in Germany in the early 90s. Very dependable

[@jayarnold8883]

I worked at a dodge dealer in the K car heyday. Great reliable cars. They had head gasket issues however they were incredibly easy to work on.

[@camchrisman732]

Had 3 k cars and a k car Chrysler.Put tons of miles on them.All used.Great cars.

[@stuszith]

YEAh -but how many folks had bad headgasket jobs??? I had a 86 lebaron 2.5 I had to REdO the headgasket - pULL oFF the head and check for distortion/warpage -and clean Everything off sceintifically -- it ran Ok after that till I learned 3 yeras later YOU GOTTA replace the WATER PUMP!!!

[@jayarnold8883]

@@stuszith Hey if you had a bad thermostat which stuck closed you could cook the head gasket too . Lots of motors and head gaskets were wrecked by ignorant or abusive owners. .Add the turbo and the problems got worse. Chrysler wasnt the only bad apple here . Ever hear of the quad 4 ? Back in the day we changing head gaskets at the dodge dealer for 2 or3 hours flat rate but over st the g.m. dealer the quad 4 head gasket was like an 8 hour job.

[@martinliehs2513]

As I recall, the head gasket was an issue with the Mitsubishi sourced 2.6 l engine. It seems like the standard Chrysler 2.2 l engine had a better reputation for durability.

[@magnusatheos7301]

I had one head gasket fail and replaced it with a Mopar performance gasket. Never had another issue.

[@christopherlaflam6383]

My 83 Dodge 600 was my first car. Perfect size. Cushy, roomy, smooth. Loved it. Miss iit.

[@jwc00789]

I had a 1989 Dodge Aries 4 Door and it was great reliable basic transportation, which was all I wanted of it.

[@GrantOakes]

I WANT THE BARRACUDA IN THE BACK AT 4:00. Seriously though, I've owned 3 K cars and they are incredible! Not flashy, but solid, reliable cars that will give you 200,000 miles plus of economical transportation.

[@boogts]

I have a 67 Barracuda and my k-based (J body) Lebaron shows clearly what 20 years of advancement and engineering will do. I kinda laugh what shitboxes the late 60's cars were, but muscle cars...right?

[@xeutoniumnyborg1192]

That Cuda in the back is calling out "rescue me, please."

[@jonmoore8995]

My uncle is still driving his K-car as a daily driver. Maintains it himself.

[@jdubskiwright2380]

There reliable when maintenance is kept up....my mom towed a pop up camper that weighed about 1200 lbs it even towed thru the smoky mountains...after the k car we gotta brand new 97 Toyota Camry and had tht till 2009 when I got into an accident and it still ran fine but insurance totaled it out because the age. It really only needed a hood radiator and a front bumper..insurance companies are such assholes I swear

[@Poopsticle_256]

Massive respect to him

[@stuszith]

@@jdubskiwright2380 1200 LBS witha K-Car thats Awesome!!!!!

[@stuszith]

thats awesome - He must wash the underneath of it every month!!!

[@jdubskiwright2380]

@@stuszith not really lol but I t dont think those k cars were supposed to tow anything..just the fact it towed it thru the mountains was something

[@haroldbirge6881]

Thank you for the junkyard crawl so awesome

[@triptriplett4285]

Steve is awesome, I absolutely love old junkyards. What an adventure

[@mikesr3407]

"A Door Is Ajar " all I could hear from my memory ! One of the worst I mean first cars I worked on ! LOL

[@VC-Toronto]

I worked at a Dodge dealership back in the day, and sometimes cars would come in and the chip was set to French, ,so we got all the audio warnings in French until reset.

[@vettekid3326]

If you didn't live thru that era when the K car came out you wouldn't understand how radical a change for Chrysler it and the mini vans were as the bain childs of Lee Iacocca that took Chrysler from bankruptcy to one of the most profitable car companies in America. The downside to the boxy K car was they kept the styling way too long after other companies started coming out with sleeker, more aerodynamic styling like the Ford Taurus and the Oldsmobile Cutlass of the mid eighties, both front wheel drive, transverse mounted with much more powerful V6 engines.

[@KMFDM781]

I've always wanted one in "business beige" with rubber floor, stick and a turbo 2.2.

[@robertnussberger2028]

Everything is better in beige.

[@elevatorbernie4924]

I remember drooling over the Direct connection mopar catalog.... they sold a kit to convert the fwd dodge daytona to rear wheel for drag racing.

[@stevenjohnson9836]

Never a 3 speed manual transmission. All were a 4 speed or 5 speed manual transmission ( transaxle )

[@jaxxmadine]

Some came with VW 4 speed manual. They also had a 3 speed auto.

[@TheWhitetailrancher]

I actually like those darn things. Dependable, descent, basic transportation. exactly what a car is supposed to be in the end. Get your family from "A" to "B" as fiscally responsibly as possible! They were no muscle car. But they were never supposed to be. They weren't a 4x4 pick up either! They were however an economical family car!

[@judgegixxer]

My uncle had a few, thru the 80's /early90's, he loved them.

[@TheWhitetailrancher]

@@judgegixxer Yup, descent little cars!

[@dogsense3773]

You wouldn't make it from A toB most unpendable car on the road in the 80s

[@TheWhitetailrancher]

@@dogsense3773 I put 416 k mikes on one. Your car obviously wouldn't make it to A or B to see me there thousands of times you darned knothead.

[@dogsense3773]

@@TheWhitetailrancher the u.s army had lots of these cars and in the motor pool we had over twenty with blow head gaskets and the timing belts never make it to 60,000 miles and on the highway you would see them dead on the side of the road,just telling you what I saw, thanks!

[@Riverdeepnwide]

Two K-cars and one H (lengthened K) were essential parts in raising my family. Their economy and reliability made them fun and appreciated and frankly I miss them. Lee Iacocca’s book was a great read on how Chrysler turned around in the ‘80s.

[@altaloma7789]

You can say that K cars will never be collectables, but then... The various Shelbys (including his own Omni) and the Dodge Spirit RT (fastest production sedan in world for 92) were pretty cool. And if anyone ever runs across Frank Sinatra's Town and Country Station Wagon, the one with the Shelby engine and suspension, I'm pretty sure it's really collectable. The beauty of the K cars was that they made great sleepers.

[@andregonsalvez9244]

Great video ! A car from my youth , These were everywhere back in the 80 now I don't see many on the road and when I do it puts a smile on my face .

[@projectinlinesix]

Hey, Steve! This content rocks! Thank you!

[@patrickmoran8790]

That’s a whole different critter than the Dodge Brothers right hand drive truck that I remember from Horn Lake MS Power Tour stop, and Chili’s. I’m the guy with glasses that introduced you to my friends in the booth. Driveshaft talk. After I enlisted in the USAF, my Dad kept wheels under my middle younger sister in an Omni with the VW engine, for pennies on the dollar.

[@classic287]

I had an 88 Plymouth Reliant LE station wagon back then. It gave a ride like a full size Impala. Quiet, it had plush velour seats. Torque converter lockup. Remarkable power for a 2.5L 4 cylinder. Small outside, easy to park. Roomy inside (twilight zone). Probably the most satisfying car I've ever owned, next to my current 06 Highlander...

[@jadesmith6823]

I judge the suspension on a vehicle when comparing the lugs, by the diameter of wheel against weight and velocity. What a beautiful time ❤️🙏

[@bradthompson7365]

1981-1985 Had 4 Bolt hubs, 4x100.1985-1989 they came with a 5bolt 5x100 hub. They came with 2 engines 2.2L or 2.5L in the Reliant or Aries. the Lebaron, New Yorker, and E-Class which all K Cars, came with V6 Option in 1987.

[@TinManKustoms]

The k car was my first car in high-school. Back in high-school auto class we swapped out the 4 cylinder for the 6 cylinder motor out of a 92 Plymouth Aclaim and then put a turbocharger on it. It wasn't as fast as a camero but what a sleeper car.

[@trillrifaxegrindor4411]

hey,are you from drayton ontario--canada? i lived and worked on a farm there from the mid 70s to the early 80s ,went to a few tractor pulls around there too ! drayton had a lot of mopar nuts around

[@TinManKustoms]

Yes I live close to that area. There's still a pile of Mopar guys in the area

[@spamanator666]

Of all the cars in the world, I never would guessed Steve to feature a K-Car!

[@twisted2291]

It was a very important part of Dodge/Chryslers history. As Steve said. If it wasn't for those cars. We would have the modern HEMI and Hellcats etc. we have today. The K car saved them from bankruptcy.

[@spamanator666]

Yep, he said all that in the video... Did not say I don't get it. Was just saying this is probably one of the most boring cars he has spent time filming for this channel.

[@chickencrapoperator]

If I had a million dollars I’d buy you a K car, a nice reliant automobile!

[@tjlang5959]

Funny song

[@langer24106]

I love this. Growing up, K cars were everywhere. My dad even had one. Automotive history is amazing...this car pulled Chrysler out of bankruptcy...this and the minivan.

[@Tumbleweed_Tx]

yeah, the minivan... Invent a new type of vehicle that no one knew they needed, and it saved the company. Station wagons disappeared overnight, replaced by the minivan.

[@VC-Toronto]

@@Tumbleweed_Tx VW had a "minivan" before Chrylser did but it didn't take off like the Caravan. I worked at a Dodge dealer before and when the Caravan was introduced, and we all got some Sweatshirts and Trackpants with the Pentastar logo and the designation T115. Later on we found out that T115 was the codename for the Caravan project. When the first car transport pulled up to the dealership and started to unload them, all eyes were glued to them. The first few years were kind of rough, 2.2 liter engines, some with stick shift, rear seats that were a PITA to take out, transmission problems, etc etc. 30+ years later they are still selling and hauling kids to soccer.

[@dogsense3773]

Selling parts to keep these junks on the road that's how they got out of bankruptcy

[@bradhampton6457]

Had 2 of the K cars. A 1982 Aries SE wagon and an 88 Aries sedan. Great cars. Good reliable transportation. Good mpg.

[@hellhound47bravo3]

A couple of things. While all Aires and Reliants had the "K" badging, I do not recall seeing them on other vehicles derived from the platform. Second, you are probably right in saying that these cars will never be collectable, at least in terms of something the average person will go out of their way for like the tri-five zombies out there. But, they are decent, nice vehicles, and deserve respect, especially in my opinion the second generation, which cleaned up the styling a bit. They were cars for average people, and there's nothing wrong with that.

[@brianbloom1799]

Steve My father Bought a K car brand new, Drove it for years and loved it, Good old days Miss the 60,s Though.

[@DavidNeyens]

Extremely important automobiles. Groundbreaking design and packaging that saved Chrysler.

[@dennisschmitter7310]

Oh yes I remember the days! Had timing belts down to an hour or an hour and a half. Also used to do head gaskets in an hour and a half out the door! Popped the top timing cover and valve cover, slid timing belt off. Pulled the head bolts and then use a floor jack underneath on the catalytic converter to lift the head up enough to clean and slip in new gasket.

[@aarondaniels3923]

I love seeing the oddity and eclectic items INSIDE the cars. Pretty sure there was a porch beam in the citation, and a good pair of jumper cables in this one. So funny.

[@archiebunker6059]

My wife inherited a K car wagon, from a great aunt that had passed away, it was in excellent condition, I was a little bit embarrassed by it so I took all the emblems off it, it was in the early 2000's when we got it, alot of people didn't know what it was, it was a good car but it was basically a beer can with a motor. I think it made it to a 100k miles and tranny went..

[@winterburden]

I love K Car style. I'm modding one with a Hemi, it's gonna be classic.

[@tsmith578]

Hey Steve , been following your channel on KZbin a bit , and watching some of your live chat with Uncle Tony. I agree that the K car was a Very important part of 80s Chrysler ,. but don't forget about the K cars cousins such as the Dodge Omni and the Plymouth Horizon. , which actually did start its production back in the end of the 1970s , 1978 if I remember correctly,. and were built until 1990. witch during production they made a rare turbo model . and with a few mods could run close to ten seconds in quarter mile. but to find one these these days is pretty rare . such as a Dodge Daytona turbo from the same era. . I actually owned a 1984 Daytona Turbo about 20 years ago , witch was the first production year , for those ,. and the 1984 was model all its own being a 5 speed only , and had two separate computers , instead of only one SMEC computer like later models. IT was a very fun and fast little car. then later on Dodge and Plymouth made the Shadow and Sundance that also had an available 4cyl turbo. and a 3.0 litre v6 , witch of was the same v6 as the Mitsubishi 3000 GT. , and there were also a Dodge /Plymouth mini van that had a 4cyl turbo . and ones that had the same 3.0 litre 3000 GT engines. . I grew during the time of all of them , knew many people that owned them , and had many friends and family that worked for Chrysler. Thank you for all your Videos Steve , Great Content Man , although I think you should make many of them a few minutes longer. Keep up the great work . Tim from Wisconsin .

[@adamreily7079]

My first car was a hand-me-down 85 Plymouth reliant with the 2.2 liter, 2 barrel Holley carburetor. I was getting big into cars, and was always trying to tune it for more power and to run smoother. Drilled out the mixture plug to make mixture adjustments, swapped out jets from some other k car I found in the junkyard. Rebuilt the carb 3 times to get the float and needle set right, but it ran smooth after that. Just still never had much power. But I learned how to work on cars, and I could drive myself around in highschool.

[@kaischmidt8030]

I had an ‘87 Reliant 4 door and it was a great car. Super easy to work on, cheap to maintain, and close to 30MPG. Got wrecked by a kid in a Camaro that lost control in the rain. I’d buy one again if I found a nice one.

[@mrsteve4313]

I loved my 1985 Plymouth Reliant se front bucket seats, 5 spd stick 2.2. I had it when I went to college in 1992-93.

[@TheHelado36]

I love K cars ! I think they look impressive if we’ll preserve in any auto show , it will draw all the attention !

[@TheNyarcangel]

My family has been driving Pentastar(Dodge,Plymouth Chrysler,Jeep) for over 40 years. They are beasts in the snow. Miss my K-Car. It looked like Grandpa's car but,gotta love 30 MPG.

[@Sean2002FU]

they were great cars!! I owned 2 dodge omni's and if I could get one now, I would!! that 2.2 liter engine was damn near bullet proof!!! it just kept on keeping on!.....great cars!

[@timothykeith1367]

Some of the 2.2s have piston pin knock, sounds worse than it actually it. Almost like a diesel.

[@Sean2002FU]

@@timothykeith1367 yea, that piston wrist pin was a problem sometimes.........but all and all great motor! I did have those pins replaced on my first one!

[@flashg67]

I own a 1985 Dodge Aries Wagon, with a 2.2 liter engine and a 4 speed manual transmission. They used 4 lug wheels until 1986. Mine has the 4 lug wheels on it. I swapped the crappy feedback carburetor with a Weber Carb and it ran much better. I actually had it out for a drive today.

[@jackoesterlejr.3454]

The Dodge Aries & Plymouth Reliant were built in Fenton,Missouri...Plant #1 South. They built 70 an hour rolling off the assembly line! I was hired for the Chrysler LeBaron, Dodge Diplomat, & Plymouth Caravelle..export auto to Canada! When we built these auto's we had the fastest union auto assembly line in the world! It was 80 units an hour! Thank You! U.A.W. Local 136

[@analogidc1394]

I've never seen a K-car with rusted fenders, the rear quarter seemed to be prone to that. It was square and boxy, but it sold well in the day. I still see the odd one on the road even in 2021.

[@sdavidb5620]

I owned what I believe was a 1984. Red two door with sunroof. It had a four speed manual with a sorta cool shifter. It was an interesting little rig. Muffler feel off so my guy at the muffler shop put a straight pipe on it. Was only loud down shifting. The head gasket developed a very bad leak. So I ran it often very low on water. When the heat Stoped I added. At the time I worked in a salvage yard after school. Lots of free coolant.

[@99somerville]

Drove one as a company car for a few years. Dependable and decent amount of room inside. I love bench seats!

[@amjperformance9444]

Every now and then you can still find a decent one that's not all rusted out or beat up. They don't weigh much. Turbo Daytona parts (turbo swap, trans, brakes, sway bar, etc.) are bolt in. With a little fab work, SRT4 engines can go in. Sure, it's still FWD and not stupid fast but can be a lot of fun on the cheap (as project cars go) and fairly simple to tinker around on. Fun enough, I've got a pair of T&C wagons with turbo/5spds and an Aries that's in the process of a turbo swap.

[@thefinalroman]

Good luck finding complete motors I got a few swap projects and have to make complete Turbo motors from spare parts..

[@peteg4978]

They were easy to repair and actually drove down the road pretty smoothly

[@johnnicpon5783]

Back in the day my dad purchased a brand new 1982 Plymouth Reliant. He used for many years as his commuting car, about 70 miles a day. It had a good ride and was very reliable.

[@michaelatkins9780]

Good morning Steve! Isn't ironic that Chrysler went from K members to K cars? I think, with essentially the same amount of metal in each.

[@nastybastardatlive]

K cars also have k members. They renamed them "cradles", but it's still a K shaped brace to hold in the engine.

[@michaelatkins9780]

@@kurtlamprecht93 that's what it's made off, you fish eyed fool.

[@michaelatkins9780]

@@kurtlamprecht93 wept.

[@petervitti9]

We had two K cars. A 1981 reliant last 10 years and our 1989 reliant lasted 14 years.

[@stegomon]

My mother had an 88 white one. Loved that car as a kid

[@21Piloteer]

My first car was an 84 Aries wagon. I loved it. I'd like to find another but they just aren't around anymore. I saw a Reliant sedan the other day and was amazed. lol

[@Shishizurui]

My grandma enherited a grey 1988 one from her sister back in the 90s in 95 we were going down a residential street hit in the front passenger side by a Chevy Scottsdale pickup that flew out of an alley hit the car so hard it went across the street and landed on a bush, i was like 8 when this happened in the car the fact that my Grandma was able to get it fixed was amazing and it ran up until 2001 my grandfather traded it in on a Neon because he wanted a 5 speed again.

[@peters8758]

I had a bunch for work vehicles. Plain 2.2's, plus 3 turbo's and a Chrysler Executive 7-passenger K-Limo (great for visiting rich clients). There was a K-Car for almost every market segment. The redesigned but same Dodge Spirit 2.5 litre 5-speed was way more solid-feeling, easily my favorite. My 1984 Dodge 600ES Turbo was the fastest, but was constantly breaking down.

[@willpatscully]

I learned how to drive in the family station wagon. It was a 1983 Plymouth Reliant with a 5 speed manual. That thing was a hoot to drive.

[@justinmccowan2543]

The Reliant K was my first car and what I learned to drive!

[@stevethomas760]

The Spirit R/T was certainly a shot at K performance. Hoping for a review of the Cuda in the background at 4 min. As usual, great auto history nugget. Thanks

[@vincemistretta8999]

My 1988 Aries LE in very good condition still running strong! Very dependable too.

[@traderdan85]

The 2.2 engine was bulletproof , the k cars were the basis for the mini van and most other Chrysler cars of the time ... Iacocca was a genius

[@joshsmith210]

That's because we re both from the Brookfield's..Steve from west and I'm from north..gotta love that area of Massachusetts!

[@bobblowhard8823]

And that particular model was adorned with leaves and pine needles aplenty.

[@Punisher_the_bot]

Seats and paint still look good for its age on this one. That shows how this model was important for them back then.

[@ddellwo]

I would be VERY interested to see a pristine, low-mileage Aries/Reliant at my next car show! I love ALL American cars, regardless of whether they were performance vehicles or not! Each one played a role in their company’s development and as such, deserve to have at least a few examples lovingly preserved for automotive history! I remember when I was a kid and first started going to car races back in the early 70’s, pretty much every car on the track was a Tri-Five Chevy! Believe it or not, circa 1973, a ‘57 Chevy was just an old car suitable for knocking the windows out of, welding in a makeshift roll cage, and taking out to the local asphalt oval on a summer Saturday night……🏁

[@JDWorkshop-wn9tt]

I left my ‘74 Valiant at home and drove my Dad’s K car LeBaron to the senior prom in high school.

[@trillrifaxegrindor4411]

sacrilege ,but hey i guess you wanted to get there

[@JDWorkshop-wn9tt]

@@trillrifaxegrindor4411 haha! The K Car was new. The ‘74 was a little clapped out by 1988. Our everyday family car since new previously! I did use the ‘74 for the sophomore prom.

[@deanstevenson6527]

I love this video! The whole reason Chrysler Corp stopped at the Plymouth Horizon and Dodge Omni ( the Anglo French Horizon) and didn't have a proliferation of Notch back 4 door sedans and bigger 5 door hatches based on the Sims 1306 and 1507 (Solara) or Rear drive Talbot Targets was Mr Mustang Lee Iococa insistence that just one US platform with MacPherson struts and its own tranaxle do the job of revitalization of Chrysler. The Que?, me no understand Mr Faulty..is the result. All the other front drive Chrysler based front drivers in 1978 were torsion bar suspension cars. The US Horizon/Omni used a totally new IFS not shared with the European Chrysler and Simcas, and that 96 mm bore spacing Trans 4 2.2 engine not shared with any other Chrysler engine. ( Although the Dodge Cricket 1300/1500/1600/1800 and the Chrysler Avenger Tiger DOHC 16 valve 2 liter BRM four cylinder block had the same bore spacings and so too did the Ford Kent and Nissan L16/18/20/22 and Z18/20/22/20/24 series four cylinders were 95.5 mm).

[@williamdesmarais4931]

I loved all the 2.2 and 2.5s of that era. I used to buy them for $200 with blown head gaskets, swap in a new $15 felpro gasket and resell for $800 to $900.

[@chasefell1268]

My mom had an 86 Town and Country wagon with the Mark Cross interior and the 2.2 Turbo. Build quality was iffy but a distinctive and dependable car. I think l the transmissions were akin to the TorqueFlite 727

[@138152930]

I bought a brand new 81 Reliant about as soon as they hit the dealer lot. Base model, 4spd manual, steel wheels, no carpet, no padded dash, and it left me stranded 120 miles from home only 2 months into ownership due to burnt out ECM. Dealer was great though and towed it at their expense the entire 120 miles and fixed it promptly. Never had a problem after that until I sold it four years later to a coworker.

[@The_Plump]

My first car was '84 Dodge Aries. Ice Blue with matching interior and vinyl bench seats. It had the acceleration of golf cart but it was a great first car. I miss bench seats.

[@KC4RAE]

I had one of those in 2005/2006. It was slow, but not a bad car. I got it for free and I soon realized why. It was a true rust bucket. No front floors and the window cranks were rusted to nothing. Fuel pump seized and I couldn't get the tank out because the bolts holding the straps were rusted out bad.