Tag Archives: Chrysler TC by Maserati

Maserati – Chrysler TC Club

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So not unlike many restoration projects I’ve worked on, something often pops up that makes you have to set some part of the work aside and tackle some unexpected.  That’s about the same with writing as frequently as I do, multiple articles all nicely lined up and a couple fillers nearly ready to go.  Then BAM!!!   Up pops a car show or a I read something I want to react too.  As it is with this piece.

I wish I could just write all day, every day, but I have a “paying” IT job which is a 7 days a week job and manage to squeeze out all the normal life stuff including ‘honey do’ list as long as I am tall.

So while tackling one of those tasks this past weekend, I happened upon a small cluster of cars at end of the a very large parking lot that normally adjacent to a COSTCO.  At first glance it looked like a group of a flock of Chrysler Lebarons.   But I was wrong, well sort of.

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These cars are the offspring of a collaboration between Chrysler and Maserati.  I wrote a piece a while back on the Maserati/Chrysler TC (http://wp.me/p2YxYx-14x).  Check that out.

Mindful that I have frozen seafood and burgers sitting in back of my wife’s Lexus (it has a bit more cargo room than my C6), I planned on just saying hi a grabbing a couple of shots, but you know how car people are!!!

I asked if I could take a few shots with my Android phone and a couple of the guys said sure.  Then a guy approached me and I said “Hi.”  I told him I had thought it was a local LeBaron club when I first saw the cars.  Well the gentleman was  Mr. Hemi Anderson,  TC America Tech expert in all things TC.  Hemi let me know that although they were similar in appearance the underpinnings  were different –   different wheel base and all.  He assured me that the TC was the original design and that Chrysler came up with the Lebaron as cheap alternative.   His TC had about 11K miles and he drives it only on long drives – like this one (he hales from just outside of Vegas) or his annual Florida drive.   He was a wealth of knowledge and I wished I didn’t have a car full of groceries to get home or I could have spend a few hours going over every car with him.

Here’s a few shots:

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Those Wheels are similar to the ‘plastic hub caps” that are on my son’s Lebaron.

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There were a total of 8 cars and waiting for more to show up.

 

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I do like the wheels…I think they’d look good on my son’s Lebaron.

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Removable Hardtop with ‘Opera’ window.

You can find this car club at http://www.chryslertcbymaseraticlub.com/.

 

Thanks for reading

Tim

chrysler tc by maseratichrysler tc by maserati

TOTD: Will More Models and Sales Water Down the Maserati Brand?

In my opinion the real watering down of the brand occurred in the 80’s under the ownership of de Tomaso, with the launch of Biturbo (and all the models based off of it) and the Chrysler TC by Maserati. TrollHater 5pts. Its possible. Look at how watered …

The Chrysler TC

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I find the interaction between automakers an interesting topic to investigate. Either out of just pure collaboration, strategic partnership or partial complete ownership the results of these relationship produce some cars that were awe-inspiring and some that were “what the ‘H’ were they thinking??!!! This car falls somewhere in between. The U.S., U.K., Japan and Italy intermix I found very interesting.

The Chrysler TC as jointly developed with Maserati and became available in late-1989 with only some 7,300 units manufactured in Milan, Italy when production ended in 1991. Lee Iacocca‘s friendship with the late Alejandro De Tomaso whilst at Ford, which had led to the development of the De Tomaso Pantera. With Iacocca in the 1980’s now heading Chrysler and De Tomaso now the owner of the legendary Maserati brand, the two men decided to create a sports car between the two companies which became the TC by Maserati with Chrysler having become an investor in Maserati at that time. The engine was assembled by Maserati and has a Maserati-branded cast valve cover with the 200HP 16-valve 2.2 L ‘Maserati’ engine’s cylinder head being cast in the UK at the iconic Cosworth plant and then finished in Milan by Maserati. The ‘Maserati’ engine used a specially-made 2.2 block, upgraded crankshaft and rods. A Japanese turbo-charger was used. The rest of the engine used common Turbo II parts manufactured in the USA. The special wheels were made in Italy by Formula One supplier Fondmetal.

The TC featured a removable hardtop with port holes or opera windows as they were referred to and a manually operated cloth lined soft top that was available in either tan or black. For the 1989 model year, interior leather colors were either ginger or bordeaux. Exterior colors were only available in yellow, red or cabinet. The TC’s dash, door panels, seats, armrest, and rear facia panels were all covered in hand-stitched Italian leather. Inside door jambs were finished with stainless steel panels and sill plates. The convertible boot over which the hardtop rests is a body color keyed metal panel. A special interior storage compartment came with an umbrella, tool kit, and small spare tire that allowed the use of the full-sized trunk even with the top down. Standard equipment included a 10-speaker AM/FM cassette stereo, power windows, 6-way power seats, power door and trunk locks, map lights, puddle lamps, cruise control, and tilt steering wheel. Total production for each model year was 7,300 cars with only 3,764 built-in 1989 and with extraordinary base prices starting at $33,000 in 1989 and rising to $37,000 in the last year of production only three years later in 1991. The TC was sold by only 300 selected Chrysler dealers.

The TC

89 TC – look familiar? Take a look at the LeBaron below.

The LeBaron – same shape and front end. Even the honeycomb wheels.

The question is – the TC a Maserati design or Chrysler design?

Thanks for reading.

Tim

TOTD: Will More Models and Sales Water Down the Maserati Brand?

In my opinion the real watering down of the brand occurred in the 80’s under the ownership of de Tomaso, with the launch of Biturbo (and all the models based off of it) and the Chrysler TC by Maserati. TrollHater 5pts. Its possible. Look at how watered …
OLD PARKED CARS.: 1989 Chrysler TC By Maserati.

Anonymous said… I’ve only seen these in grandma yellow. Wikipedia sez it was available in yellow, red or cabernet. Which means…yellow, red or red. Go figure. February 2, 2014 at 6:44 PM · Tony Piff said… bah. i know ben …
A Chrysler TC By Maserati Is Only Worth A Couple iPhones These …

Long before Fiat took the reins at Chrysler, the Chrysler TC by Maserati was a shining example of Italo-American industrial cooperation. Easily the finest luxury car of its time — perhaps even the entire 20th century — it is now …