The Last St. Louis Chrysler LeBaron Convertible
Photos and text by Richard L. Benner, Jr. Used by permission.
Here are some pics of the last Chrysler Lebaron Convertible built in the St. Louis plant. Some of the pictures were taken on the last days before the plant's closing.
This is me behind the wheel (below). It is being driven off of the final line and out to the yard for shipping. I was the final inspector. I would check the vehicle over, check the paper work and then put the final sticker on the door jamb ( the silver sticker with the VIN and the MDH (MONTH DAY HOUR) on it.
(These photos were taken in
1991 in the St. Louis assembly plant. Some have been retouched by
Allpar to remove the green tint from the fluorescent lights. We
recently updated this page with new enlargements. Some will take a long time to load so if you have a modem, please be patient!)
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This is the final line, all final inspections and paperwork was done here:
| Me (Richard Benner) and my work station. This is were the final sticker and inspections were done. Note flag, we didn't need anything special to fly it. | Inspectors who did the final interior and exterior inspections. |
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| Inspectors and the supervisors. |
More inspectors, including the under body inspector. |
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This is the empty dolly area. The vehicles are transported on these dollies before they have any wheels and suspension. The over head area has empty cradles. These "carry" the unit thru the plant when it is suspended overhead.
This car plant was closed in 1991, right after these pictures were taken. It opened again as the van plant in 1995 I believe. It now builds the 2003 minivans. The plant situated behind it builds the Full size Dodge Ram Pickup. Today they are receiving the Motor Trend award for the Truck Of The Year.