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Don't Have a Conquest--Yet


nc_beagle
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The Conquest (I think it was built as a Dodge at the time) first came onto my radar in college in the late 80s/early 90s. It was the best looking car I'd ever seen. There was a woman in our apartments in Raleigh, NC that had one--in red, of course--that tempted me (the car, not the woman) every time I saw it. At the time, I had a LeBaron GTS that probably only those of you who are longtime MOPAR enthusiasts might remember. I loved my car, but the Conquest was just drop-dead gorgeous. The woman eventually moved, I eventually graduated, and a Conquest would never find my driveway. In fact, I never even sat or rode in one. But it's stuck with me ever since.

Now I'm at the age where you get nostalgic for the cars you loved but never had in your younger days. This one remains at the top of my list. The "Bring a Trailer" website really brought it back into the forefront of my mind because there I discovered people were selling these cars in, sometimes, pretty good condition and relatively low miles.

So, now I'm here to lurk and learn, and keep watching for an opportunity to find a late-model Conquest to recapture a little of my youth. Thanks to all of you who keep these cars on the road and keep the community alive. 

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Welcome!  I remember the LeBaron GTS very well.  I had a close friend with one in highschool.  I'm not sure I'd compare a CQ with a GTS in any way except that they are both turbo fours.  They drive very differently.  I did like the quick lag free acceleration of the old 2.2T chryslers though and the shfiter of the GTS going straight down into the floor.  It had a fun feel to it.  

Best of luck with your search.   The price of these cars is starting to go up quick.    I will warn you in that these cars are a bit of a PIA.   Reliability has never been their strong point and there aren't many mechanics out there that know these things...at least not the electronics aspects.  So you learn to work on them quick.   Also, keep in mind, that with the increase in value of these cars comes the increase in price of parts.   

Kevin

 

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Welcome to the club, good luck on the search and your future with your Quest. 

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Thanks all. Didn't mean to compare my LeBaron GTS, that was just the car I had at the time. I did like it though, especially that it was a hatchback.

I think I'm looking to have something I'd drive around the area and on the nearby Blue Ridge Parkway. I wouldn't want one more than lightly modified. I'm definitely not looking for a major project car.

They are extremely rare in our area. I can't think of the last time I saw one. There was a nice one that sold for about $15K in an auction a couple hours from me. Probably should have taken a shot on that one. 

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3 hours ago, nc_beagle said:

Thanks all. Didn't mean to compare my LeBaron GTS, that was just the car I had at the time. I did like it though, especially that it was a hatchback.

I think I'm looking to have something I'd drive around the area and on the nearby Blue Ridge Parkway. I wouldn't want one more than lightly modified. I'm definitely not looking for a major project car.

They are extremely rare in our area. I can't think of the last time I saw one. There was a nice one that sold for about $15K in an auction a couple hours from me. Probably should have taken a shot on that one. 

They weren't common when i bought mine in 99.  Took a while to find one that wasn't in a junkyard.

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  • 2 months later...

I got it from a member of these forums--ssblast20. He had three he's selling and this one was the Goldilocks version. I really liked his red one but wasn't sure if I wanted to go through an automatic-manual swap. He also has a rare Valencia gold one.

The outside was recently repainted. THe interior is in good shape, but I've gotten motivated to try to take it as close as I can to the original look (while remaining reasonably financially responsible.) So, I'm going to look for replacement odds and ends, putting the original radio (which I got from the seller) back in, and just freshening it up. Oh, and getting new window tint.

It's had a lot of work done under the hood (improvements) and is currently lowered into go-kart mode, but I have the OEM suspension should I (or my wife) decide something a little more compliant is in order.

We emailed/texted back and forth for a couple months and I finally made the 6 hour drive to go get it last Friday. Now I have to get a tag and title and I'll get it out on the road. I haven't gotten to really drive it (he gave me a test ride while I was there) except around my house.

The biggest problem is I am out of garage space and I'm not sure which vehicle has to sleep outside.

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Lol ... I know the feeling.  My 3 car garage is now full and the dailies now sit outside.  But I don't like that either.  I need to move to a bigger property with more garages. I'd love to build a pole-barn for all the vehicles, but don't have enough land for it.  My wife and I have been looking for the right place for 3 years now, but of course the market and interest rates have been terrible robbing some of our buying power.

Anyway, tangent there .... congrats on the car.  It looks beautiful.  Silver is my absolute favorite color on these and I considered painting mine silver but in the end didn't think the tan leather would look right with it - so blue it is!   Are rear wheels SHP's?  They look like it in the picture.   I'm heading to Outer Banks in July.  Where's Foothills in relation?

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I'm the king of tangents. We've got a travel trailer and I've thought about putting in a detached garage for it and the tow vehicle, which would free up space for this car. But my wife isn't keen on a metal building and I'm not keen on the price of anything else.

Silver was its original color but they did do a good job on the paint. I think I got a nick in the front fender when I towed it home, but it's only noticeable close up. I'm embarrassed to say I don't know about the wheels being SHP. Is there something I can look for to find out? There wasn't a window sticker, though the original bill of sale was still in the glove box.

The NC Foothills are at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It's about six hours from here to the Outer Banks.

I'm really glad this site exists. Not only would I have not have found this car, I would have been hesitant to get into owning a vehicle 30+ years old without a community of knowledge and support out there.

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So, if the wheels are SHP, they wouldn't be original.  SHP wheels were only found on 88 and 89.  SHP stood for Special Handling Package.  SHP cars had wider wheels 9's in rear and 8's up front, while "standard" cars had 8's in the rear and 7's in the front.  They also had adjustable struts and supposedly larger dia sway bars.  SHP wheels are difficult to come by these days and bring a good amount of $$.  The most obvious way to tell is the "JWL" will be recessed in box above the valve stem.  On regular wheels it's stamped on top.  I'm sure ssblast20 could tell if they were or not too.

6wJm6M.jpg

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I just looked and they have that JWL stamp. Like I said, it's sort of a 1987/88/89 hybrid. It's a 1987 but the seats are 88/89 and some parts of the engine are too. Then, some parts of the engine are much more modern. There may be a few other 88/89 pieces that I'm forgetting.

I made the "mistake" of putting my wife's name on the title we transferred and now I can't find a time when we can both go to the tag office together. So, it's still tagless and parked at the house. ☹️

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