My third car was an '87 Plymouth Sundance! I loved that little car. Sure, the 2.2L engine wasn't terribly exciting, but with the 5-speed manual trans, it could be pushed to nearly-fun levels. It was a maroon-on-maroon four-door hatch that screamed I AM FROM THE 80S.

My father-in-law bought it new and drove it until he ran over a metal crate, which knocked the radiator off its mounts and bent up some of the front subframe. I bought it from him for $500 around 1995, fixed it up with my dad, and drove it for a couple of years. Then I gave it to my brother, who drove it for a couple more. He gave it back, and it became the family beater. I sold it with 187,000 miles on the odometer for $600 - a Benjamin more than I paid for it!

While in college, I got rear-ended at slow speed. The rear bumper mounts were so rusty that they simply buckled, bending the cover up at a jaunty angle. I stood on it to straighten it out, but it snapped right off onto the ground. I just threw it in the back and was off on my merry way. Insurance paid out $500, which paid for the car. I essentially made money driving that thing.

Every once in a while I'll surf eBay for old Sundances out of nostalgia. The 1997 Chrysler Cirrus I bought new wasn't half the car that old Sundance was.

K cars were the 1st car and beater of choice at my high school. Not for me, but a lot of my friends had em. They beat the snot out of em and they kept going. The cool part was that a couple guys who had K-variants would buy 1 beater parts car and share all the spare parts they needed. they could keep em running for peanuts!

K-car subculture still fascinates me.

It seems as if Kcars are like fat chicks. You love them, and you've had one (or two), you just don't want anyone to know about it.

I personally love these cars, and my immediate collection that has been started will be of as many mint condition K cars as possible. Penultimate goal: black on black turbo new yorker k car with velour interior and infinity sound (oh yeah wire wheels too)

PS i just got out of a mental hospital (is what everyone thinks)

Frumpiest car evar.

@HeeeeyJake:

I know a few guys who are enfatuated with K-based cars. Of course in their mind the cars are way better than they actually are.

Some of their cars are actually pretty cool tho. One guy has a '88 Daytona IROC with 360 whp. Very quick for a "K" car.

Another guy i know has an '86 Shelby Charger, not quite as fast, but a blast to drive.

So there were some 'cool' K cars you know, besides the Aries.

Weird, I DD an 87 Plymouth Sundance Turbo and I own an 87 Shelby CSX (one of the three model lines that Shelby produced in 87) The Sundance has been refreshed with some nice aftermarket parts and some parts bin upgrades.

Much like many cars from the eighties, a little work here and there to correct some of the factory oversites and overzealous bean-counterisms and they aren't bad cars.

Lighter and more stout than comparable VW's with more potential HP out of the box. Sorry dub-dorks turbo>valves any day.

Oh and a bit of trivia, the Sundance/Shadow were to be the successor to the Omni/Charger which is why Shelby produced the CSX variants instead of pumping out more GLH-S.

Of course the Omni continued selling well until they used up the sheet metal stamping dies and stopped producing the Omni in 1990. By then the options were limited as the turbo's were dropped in 87 when the Charger went away.

'80s Amerigasm generators for the win!

Isn't there a K-Car support group y'all can take this?
Maybe if you get together with the Cavalier & Tempo fans, with some time & medication, you can work through this..

@bd_juju: Tempo! Ha! Now there's a car with zero performance potential and just as many fans.

@bd_juju: 10 seconds!

@TurboBrick:

Sure, but there is the http://www.tempo-topaz-performance.com/topazsho/>SHOpaz

My first car was an '87 Sundance 2.2 Turbo, but the previous owner had disconnected the turbo after he bought it new. After a few weeks of wondering why there was no power I found the problem, reconnected and spun the tires like any 16 year old would.

In my preppy Detroit suburb, the cool kids in their new SUVs would chuckle at the 'Dance, but at least I could beat them off the line!

@bd_juju:

Tempo and Cavalier < Turbo Dodges.

They are a performance bargain, way better than a Civic of the same era, or the current for that matter.

danio, is that like being the thinnest guy at Fat Camp?

Hopeless, the lot of you..

I love my 94 Shadow. Not really sure why though. I just do.

That brought a tear to my eye with flowing memories of the not one, not two, but THREE Plymouth Sundances (OK, so one was a Dodge Shadow...) that graced my family.

SUNDANCE! YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

Too bad I didn't think about posting my mom's 86 NY'er turbo here before I sold it for $500. It was actually in great shape, especially the interior. It just needed a CV boot and an intercooler to keep those rings together...

@bd_juju:

Yes i suppose it would.

I dont own a K-car, but I'm just curious, what do you drive?

@danio3834: Chrysler should just bring back the K car. It saved them the first time. TURBOS FOR EVERYONE!!!

@danio3834: Miata daily driver, Porsche 928 when it's not broken, Ducati Monster when the weather isn't completely ridiculous, Locost in the works..

And for some reason I still miss my '72 Vega 350/TH350 - sick, isn't it? Where's the Vega/Pinto support group..down the hall from you guys?