1977 LeBaron Base owner questions

77 LeBaron

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Just of the truck arrived my 1977 LeBaron the drivers side rear quarter panel plastic chrome trim piece was broken off does anyone know where to find one and what is the going rate for one, Also looking for a door lock mine just spins around. One other problem I have noticed is the courtesy lights do not work , one under the dash by the hood release was continuously on which drained the battery. The Chronomatic clock works but goes of when the ignition is off . The wipers do not lay flush but a quarter way up the window and do return to the down position when turned off. One other problem is the plastic trim pieces have the chrome peeling are there new ones out there ?
 

Justwondering

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So glad you are saving that LeBaron.
Keep all your bits and pieces of plastic trim. I know that replacements are generally from another donor car. (I have a fifth avenue, but after a year or so on this forum I know that any plastic bit especially if it has been chromed is difficult to recreate... so keep your originals/original bits and pieces).

Do you have a service manual for the car?
If not, I'd recommend spending the cash to get one. To fix the door lock, you'll need to remove the door panel on the inside. Locations of the fasteners would be in the manual. I can tell you for my car, but someone will chime in on the LeBaron's locations.

You've probably already done so, but check all your fuses to be sure they are the correct load and are in good shape. Some simple things fix bigger issues.

Its a good idea to check all your hoses since you don't know how long ago they've been replaced. Those little vacuum hoses (1/4 diameter) caused me quite a few headaches until I found the one in the back near the firewall that was worn on the end.

Wipers ... you can get to the linkage by going through the cowl opening. Check all the plastic bushings to see if they need to be replaced. There are a couple of threads on here about the specific parts to get and how to best replace them. I believe your LeBaron is similar to most Chryslers built in the 70s

I know they others will chime in to help answer your questions, but I really do think a great place to start is to get a service manual from ebay or other online sites.

I have an 87 Fifth Avenue, so I'm not sure what applies to your vehicle from a decade earlier. But for trim and fastener locations, I found the service manual was worth every penny paid.
 

77 LeBaron

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I like those Fifth Avenues the interiors were top of the line . Is the headlight switch housing plate plastic chrome or metal . the same question for the radio and temperature housing ? I really want to swap out my radio and trim pieces from the 82-87 Fifth Avenues . Thankyou for the info if it gets to complicated I will hire someone to fix those minor electrical problems. Going to continue my shakeout driving this month put 50 miles on her last night had it up to 85 MPH there was some noise in the dash area when I went to 65 to 75 mpg cant figure that out . All electrical works except what I noted. Thankyou for you response !
 

Justwondering

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everything on my dash is plastic and it has chromed edges.
Ditto problem with the rear light lenses.

My solution on the rear light lenses was to get a silver paint pen from hobby lobby.
Then I spent an hour one afternoon painting the highlights back on.

I had two colors of silver - one was a little brighter (metallic silver).

I painted the left lens with one silver pen, the right lens with the other and left the center section unpainted.

Its about time for me to take new pictures and see how well its held up over the last year.

Lens highlight experiment: Tail light Experiment
 

89.Fifth

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I found some fantastic looking Chrome Markers on another forum. If you're restoring chrome on plastic you should definitely check these out!


 

volareandgtcat

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Hi ..... for the door lock cylinder .. I'll bet when you take the inside panel off you'll find the piece that secures the cylinder to the handle at the bottom of the door ... I think they could of used a U shaped spring .. maybe .. or it might be toast?? won't know till you look.
You could remove you wiper arms and re-adjust the placement of the wiper (they should pop off,but age of the car will make it a delicate process) .. but that might affect the sweep at the high end .. my "80 Volare blades sit a bit high .. yeah about 1/4 way up .. just on the passenger side tho, but not enough to bother me.
Sounds like the light has a short in it .. you gotta trace some wires if you're like me and don't know how to read those wiring scematics.
Yes a manual help imensley as JW said.
anyways .. good luck and keep us posted
 

BudW

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The Chromomatic clock might be designed to turn off display when power is off, maybe. I can’t recall in ’77.

The door lock will need to have the door trim panel removed, to look at the inside of door lock area. Be careful on removing the clips. Getting a set of plastic trim tool set from parts store, might be recommended, first. Just take your time with the panel removal/reinstall. If not sure what is wrong, then take pictures and post here, once there.


The courtesy lights are controlled by pin switches on door jamb (by dash). They are bare metal in color.

The light by the hood release – might be controlled by a timer, which has failed.
77 HN wiring diag pg 21.PNG

77 HN wiring diag pg 22.PNG

My '77 FSM doesn't show M-bodies in it. You might have to get a '78 FSM.
 

77 LeBaron

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I am trying a 20AMP fuse first to see if the problem can be solved. The tinkering with that bulb turned it off . Will diagnose today and update.
 

77 LeBaron

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The Chromomatic clock might be designed to turn off display when power is off, maybe. I can’t recall in ’77.

The door lock will need to have the door trim panel removed, to look at the inside of door lock area. Be careful on removing the clips. Getting a set of plastic trim tool set from parts store, might be recommended, first. Just take your time with the panel removal/reinstall. If not sure what is wrong, then take pictures and post here, once there.


The courtesy lights are controlled by pin switches on door jamb (by dash). They are bare metal in color.

The light by the hood release – might be controlled by a timer, which has failed.
View attachment 18927
View attachment 18928
My '77 FSM doesn't show M-bodies in it. You might have to get a '78 FSM.

Bud It was the 20 Amp fuse all lights work except the drivers side light under the dash which I probably blew the fuse messing with it. It is on a timer as are the Headlight and wiper switches . I will get to that bulb later. I took the LeBaron on a 2 day shake down cruise . One full tank of gas one bottle of fuel injector/carb cleaner in the tank to help slightly rough idling(it seemed to help) and a good mix of Highway/city driving. The MPG's were not to good I averaged 13.75 MPG. Maybe a tuneup is needed.
 

77 LeBaron

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Hello 77-81 LeBaron people I took the LeBaron on a shake down cruise .I averaged 13.75 MPG on my first tank full . The A/C blows ice cold, the heater core or some part in that group is emitting an anti freeze smell with the heater on. When the A/C was on the cool setting I moved it to a warmer setting and visible gaseous fumes appeared with a strong anti freeze odor. So I know it is the heater core area. Other observations the car now has an oil leak not to bad , and a transmission leak. I will be changing the oil and filter tomorrow and pinpoint the location of the leaks. Everything else works fine . I hope a tune up will improve my MPG's though.
 

BudW

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If you smell coolant/antifreeze inside the car, the only possibility is a leaking heater core.
The only heater cores to fit, will be ’76-79 F & M body heater cores with A/C. ’80 and up are completely different (size, shape, tube routing and tube sizes).

I would recommend taking old core to a radiator shop to get original one fixed, than trying to find new one – for the aftermarket heater cores do not always fit very well (my last two aftermarket heater cores – one broke the case (it was that far off) and other one took three hours of modifications to make it fit).

You have to remove the heater/evaporator case as an assembly, which will require removal of the R-12 refrigerant. Sense R-12 is not easy to come by, you may need to take car to a shop to get them to perform an evacuation of the system. You complete the repairs (or pay them to), then get them to reinstall the R-12 back into the system once repairs are completed. If system is ice cold now – then there should be no charge for additional R-12 (well maybe an ounce or two, but no more).

The Evacuation and recharge is the hard part.
The rest is not hard at all (in my opinion) with basic hand tools and a couple of evenings.

I would highly recommend changing out the old heater hoses while there, they have to come off and if they are 10 years or older, then you are also eliminating a potential hazard (blown hose). Most hoses will be stamped/printed as to month/year of manufacture (example 09/97).
Driving with old hoses is a potential leak (or blowout) just waiting to happen!
BudW
 

BudW

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Before jumping to conclusions on fuel mileage, I would recommend testing your odometer for calibration, first.

Find a stretch of highway with mile markers. Either write down odometer reading (or use cell phone to take a picture of it as you cross the mile marker). Drive for 10 miles (50 or 100 is better, but not always possible) and record mileage again.

The reason I say that is speedometers can be off, as well as tire size being off.

When your car was made, they used tire sizes like for example FR70-14 – which doesn’t directly translate to metric sized tires (example 205/70R14). Tire size alone could be part of your problem (IE: odometer is accumulating more (or less) miles than car is actually traveling).

Example, my ’77 wagon odometer is 17% off, with the tires that came with car. That can be fixed with a correct sized speedometer gear (that fits inside of the transmission). I need to remove my old speedometer gear and get a replacement one (or two) tooth different, and I should be good. I just hadn’t gotten to it, yet.

So, check your odometer for accuracy first, then we can check fuel mileage.

Note: there is actually two different calibrations here, one is odometer reading (miles traveled) and other is speedometer reading (which won’t be correct if odometer is off).
Both are not necessarily tied to each other
BudW
 

77 LeBaron

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If you smell coolant/antifreeze inside the car, the only possibility is a leaking heater core.
The only heater cores to fit, will be ’76-79 F & M body heater cores with A/C. ’80 and up are completely different (size, shape, tube routing and tube sizes).

I would recommend taking old core to a radiator shop to get original one fixed, than trying to find new one – for the aftermarket heater cores do not always fit very well (my last two aftermarket heater cores – one broke the case (it was that far off) and other one took three hours of modifications to make it fit).

You have to remove the heater/evaporator case as an assembly, which will require removal of the R-12 refrigerant. Sense R-12 is not easy to come by, you may need to take car to a shop to get them to perform an evacuation of the system. You complete the repairs (or pay them to), then get them to reinstall the R-12 back into the system once repairs are completed. If system is ice cold now – then there should be no charge for additional R-12 (well maybe an ounce or two, but no more).

The Evacuation and recharge is the hard part.
The rest is not hard at all (in my opinion) with basic hand tools and a couple of evenings.

I would highly recommend changing out the old heater hoses while there, they have to come off and if they are 10 years or older, then you are also eliminating a potential hazard (blown hose). Most hoses will be stamped/printed as to month/year of manufacture (example 09/97).
Driving with old hoses is a potential leak (or blowout) just waiting to happen!
BudW
Bud do radiator shops do these kind of repair? Also I notice the vents to the outside air inlet stay open when in the off position , is that a problem or a vacuum hose ? Today was the day indeed 60 miles from the house the HEATER CORE GAVE OUT ! I thought if the heater was not on I would exempt from that . Great chance of fate , God, or dumb luck happened I took the wrong turn to a Walmart when the temp gauge started towards the red . I pulled into this rural of the road home I thought abandoned, and a nice elderly gentleman came out and started to admire the car and said his dad worked the Chrysler dealership as a mechanic and knew those cars well he had a 1966 Charger in the back . He immediately cooled down the engine by hosing down the radiator and quickly bypassed the heater ! I was back on the road in 5 minutes ! I will try to find a qualified person to do this work the A/C part I was unaware of. Thankyou again M body fanatics !
 

Justwondering

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When I got mine, the a/c was no longer cooling.
I converted it off the R12 since the cost of it is soooo high and most of the shops around here won't touch it anymore.
Replaced the hoses, evap unit/dryer, and a/c compressor and had it recharged. Its runs cool now.

My only issue was low coolant level after I first did the conversion. It was cooling fine last summer.
 

Dr Lebaron

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Get the original heater core re-cored at a rad shop.
New ones say they fit and don't-and even if you make it work, the Chinese will just leak way too soon.
 

77 LeBaron

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Get the original heater core re-cored at a rad shop.
New ones say they fit and don't-and even if you make it work, the Chinese will just leak way too soon.
I will guess that is the route I will have to take . Imperial and Bud were right about the heater core imminent disaster . I in my mechanical ignorance thought the problem would not occur with the Heat off , boy was I wrong !
 
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