Cdn17Sport6MT
New Member
Hello All. I'm from Vancouver - and I'm a bit of a "motorhead". I don't currently have a Mopar but I DID for some 28 years, ending in 2014. Sorry, it was not "conventional", old-school Mopar Iron... it was an '87 Plymouth Reliant LE 4 dr. Actually, the full name was "Plymouth Reliant Canada K". The car gave me no reason to hate it... and I put about 200,000 km / 120,000 miles on it in those 28 years. The only options it had were: 3 speed with lockup A/T, A/C, and HD Suspension. It had cloth upholstery, a split front bench (with armrest), and it had the spacesaver spare (mounted upright). The trunk capacity was cavernous, the A/C could freeze the nuts off a brass monkey, and it was SUPER reliable. Oh, and the engine was a non-interference design (it could lose its timing belt with punity... no engine damage on spin-down).
By 1986 the stroked 2.2 (now being 2.5 litres) gained single Bosch throttle body fuel injection, and on stroking the 2.2, Chrysler Corp added twin balance shafts under the crankshaft... in a balance shaft "module", chain-driven. They HAD offered the Mitubishi Silent Shaft engine with balance shafts - one high, one low - but Chrysler got 'round the patent infringement issue with adding two LOW balance shafts. Not quite as effective, but certainly smooth enough. Its 4.09" stroke 4 cylinder was not bad at all, and it did not suffer from a lack of bottom end torque with that 4.09" stroke!
What I liked about the car was i) its excellent power rack and pinion steering; ii) its beam axle rear suspension (which had a panhard rod for lateral axle location); iii) its decent damping and ride... no doubt helped by the factory-option "Heavy Duty Suspension", iv) the six passengers-in-a-pinch interior accommodation; and v) the gigantic trunk.
I bought the car in Calgary Alberta in Oct. of 1987... and it was a six month old vehicle with 12,000 km / oh, about 7500 miles... and it was an ex-rental. Almost no one would go out of their way to buy an ex-rental.... but it had the balance of a 7 year / 115,000 km powertrain warranty... I figured that if I found it to be a dud, well, I WAS covered under the warranty. Some 28 years later, when it was finally scrapped - I was sad to see it go.
That's my story, and I'm sticking to it!
Once upon a time I believe that Chrysler engineers and automotive design folks knew what they were doing, and were a talented bunch... Currently, I'm not so sure that ANYONE amongst the big three, or beyond, make high quality and simple products, as they mostly-all did back then... Arguable... but thats been my experience.
By 1986 the stroked 2.2 (now being 2.5 litres) gained single Bosch throttle body fuel injection, and on stroking the 2.2, Chrysler Corp added twin balance shafts under the crankshaft... in a balance shaft "module", chain-driven. They HAD offered the Mitubishi Silent Shaft engine with balance shafts - one high, one low - but Chrysler got 'round the patent infringement issue with adding two LOW balance shafts. Not quite as effective, but certainly smooth enough. Its 4.09" stroke 4 cylinder was not bad at all, and it did not suffer from a lack of bottom end torque with that 4.09" stroke!
What I liked about the car was i) its excellent power rack and pinion steering; ii) its beam axle rear suspension (which had a panhard rod for lateral axle location); iii) its decent damping and ride... no doubt helped by the factory-option "Heavy Duty Suspension", iv) the six passengers-in-a-pinch interior accommodation; and v) the gigantic trunk.
I bought the car in Calgary Alberta in Oct. of 1987... and it was a six month old vehicle with 12,000 km / oh, about 7500 miles... and it was an ex-rental. Almost no one would go out of their way to buy an ex-rental.... but it had the balance of a 7 year / 115,000 km powertrain warranty... I figured that if I found it to be a dud, well, I WAS covered under the warranty. Some 28 years later, when it was finally scrapped - I was sad to see it go.
That's my story, and I'm sticking to it!
Once upon a time I believe that Chrysler engineers and automotive design folks knew what they were doing, and were a talented bunch... Currently, I'm not so sure that ANYONE amongst the big three, or beyond, make high quality and simple products, as they mostly-all did back then... Arguable... but thats been my experience.
Last edited:
