(first posted 2/20/2014) In Part 3 of our CC Colt Chronicles, we covered the fragmentation of the Colt name, as it was applied to both the Lancer and Galant-based Colts starting in 1977. By 1978, the little Corolla-fighter Colts were the mainstay of the Colt line, as Chrysler’s Omni and Horizon took up that battle in the heart of the small-car market. That meant the end of the Galant-Colt, except for one body style that the Omnirizon cars didn’t offer: a station wagon. And although not exactly called a Colt, there was also a Galant sporty coupe to be had.
This 3rd generation of Galant was an all-new car; the 1974-1977 model was just a re-styled version of the first Galant-Colt. It was larger in every dimension, and even got a new designation: the Galant Sigma. After the buyout of Chrysler’s Australian ops by Mitsubishi, it was also built there locally as the Chrysler Sigma, and with considerable local content.
With Chrysler’s Omni and Horizon now in full production, it’s understandable why the Galant not invited over by Chrysler, except for the station wagon. It filled a hole in their line up for a compact wagon, although it was hardly bargain-priced.
image: smogera.com
The inflation of the latter seventies hit everyone hard, but the jump in price for the Colt wagon was pretty marked. In 1978, this Colt wagon was priced at $4,680; a Dodge Aspen wagon started at $4,253.
Of course, those prices don’t tell the whole story. The Colt, like almost all Japanese cars except the very cheapest ones, were very well equipped at the base price, usually with the only options available being an automatic and air conditioning. A stripper Aspen wagon was…just that, and by the time one optioned it to be comparably equipped, it was well more than the Colt. Still, the Colt wagon was undoubtedly not an easy sell.
I don’t have sales numbers broken out by body style available, but this was a pretty rare car from the get-go. Extrapolating from some numbers from Ward’s for 1978 suggest maybe some 5,000 wagons were sold that year; probably the overwhelming percentage in California, where folks were willing to pay more for a smaller Japanese wagon. Finding one on the street a couple of years ago was one of my more satisfying finds so far. Unfortunately, I didn’t shoot the interior.
Under the hood, Mitsubishi’s 2.6 L Astron four had both the “Silent-Shaft” (balance shaft) technology, as well as the MCA-Jet system, which incorporated a small additional intake valve to increase charge swirl for improved combustion and reduced emissions. The 2.6 L four was the first mass-production engine to use balance shafts, and it dramatically reduced the vibrations inherent in larger displacement fours.
Up to this time, European and Japanese fours rarely exceeded 2000cc, because vibrations rapidly increased above that threshold to a generally unacceptable. American fours (Vega, Pinto four, Tempo four, Iron Duke, etc) often did exceed that displacement limit in search of more torque, but the results were universally painful, in terms of noise, vibration and harshness. Balance shafts opened up a whole new chapter in larger displacement fours, and resulted in the demise in small-displacement sixes, which were once quite common.
The Astron 2.6 L four would go on to have a long and full life, powering not only Mitsubishis imported from Japan, but a raft of American Chrysler products (as the upgrade engine in early K-cars and minivans) as well as a handful of Mazda trucks. Except for a known weakness with the chain tensioner, it was fundamentally a robust engine.
Another variant of the Galant, the Lambda coupe, was also imported, but not under the Colt nameplate. In Dodge dealerships, the rather fussy-looking, disco-inspired coupe was bestowed the vaunted Challenger name. How quickly times change.
The essentially identical car was also sold by Plymouth sporting the Sapporo name. This fine example was one of my fist CC finds, and is still running around town, in the hands of its loving owners (CC here).
Their blobby, fussy styling didn’t go over very well, and they were refreshed for 1980 with a cleaner, chiseled look more suitable for the times and their roles. This is a Challenger version, now looking more like the Celica that it competed against (CC here). The role of these coupes in Dodge and Chrysler’s line up is a bit hazy, since there were also coupe variants of the Omnirizon too, the Plymouth TC-3 and Dodge 024 (CC here). Something on tap for the RWD fans. Or Japanese disco-era styling fans. Or desperate hemi fans.
Not surprisingly, the big Colt wagon was a short-lived affair; after 1981, it was history. And a pretty obscure little piece of history at that. And with a year or two, the Challenger and Sapporo slipped away too. But by then, the Colt name had acquired two completely new and innovative cars to carry the name into a new decade.
I simply cannot hear of a Galant, without thinking of ‘Goofus and Galant’, a good boy, bad boy allegorical tale that ran in a nauseatingly earnest kiddy magazine of the 1950’s. Could never understand why anybody would name a car that.
Ah yes, Highlights Magazine, where Goofus and Gallant were a mandatory read in the waiting room before each dentist appointment.
one thing worth pointing out about the Silent Shaft setup is that it is actually the optimum configuration for balancing out a 4-banger. most engines typically hang a pair of balance shafts below the crankshaft which cancels out the 2nd-order vibration along the axes of the cylinders. Mitsubishi placing them in those locations means they also cancel out the rocking moment around the crankshaft axis.
I have had a very high view of Mitsu Galants, starting from this generation. My mom’s cousin had a sedan version of it, and I found the BMW-junior front end to be very appealing. It’s a styling trend that would return on the 6th, 7th and 8th generation cars, each of which was quite appealing. I also appreciate the tailgate’s styling similarities with Chariot/Space Wagon/Vista.
You’re right in calling this one of your more satisfying finds; very rare car.
A vintage car nut friend drives an 81 as his daily drive has done for years not hard to find at all here many are still in regular use.
Well I’m glad they’re still plentiful there.
They used to be quite plentiful here in Australia too, but I can’t think when was the last time I saw one.
Agreed I’d estimate to see one a month or so, not surprising when all 1985 and earlier pre-ULP cars have disappeared rapidly since lead-replacement gas was withdrawn several years ago.
Paul a minor wording issue, these were built in Australia before Chryslers sale to Mitsubishi, Galants had been built/assembled since 1971.
I drove a 2L auto sedan that was about 15 yeats old at the time, I described it as having a volume pedal not an accelerator.
Mitsubishis ULP modification for the Sigma amounted to new carby float chamber venting only, no engine mods whatsoever.
Perhaps most were the Lonsdale, local built and imported into the UK in mid 80s to get around the qouter on Japanese imports?.
The Lonsdale name was only used for export. Lonsdale was the suburb of Adelaide where Mitsubishi made them. Here they were the Chrysler Sigma until the Mitsubishi takeover, then badged Mitsubishi. Interestingly the Galant name was used for the base trim 1600 version; Uncle Tony had the only one I ever saw.
When gas prices got high in 1974, I remember going to a Dodge store to look at their small cars. Dad had already decided the Vega and Pinto were crap (since they were) and still bitter about Japan and WW2, he went to see the Colt, not knowing its origin.
When we arrived at the stealership, we went toward the Colt line-up. The sales-leech then grabbed dad by the arm and dragged him to the sleds. There was zero interest in the Colts inside the store. He went and bought a Corolla.
These were really well engineered cars, a level of engineering only made possible by the Y360 exchange rates. I recall a lot of teachers driving the wagons and they lasted for years.
Buddy of mine had a Sapporo in college. He loaned it to me often. I thoroughly enjoyed driving that car. It was well optioned, quick enough in town, comfortable, quirky in a cute way, and very good on gas. It was a real winner, despite that silly basket-handle brushed-aluminum roof panel.
This Galant/Colt wagon looks a lot like the first generation Mitsu Mighty Max compact pickups. Branded as Dodge D-50 and Plymouth Arrow trucks for 1979 MY.
Front sheet metal is shared with the L200 ute you saw with Dodge/Plymouth badging.
Those Sigma originally only had a 2L here the 2.6 arrived later, I bought a very used example in Bunbury West OZ for $500 and drove it to Sydney the long way via the Northern territory, full of rust and an oil burner it never missed a beat the whole way and it was comfortable to drive and with a 5speed not too bad on gas I carried 2 20L drums in the back and with a full tank could get 1000 kms to a fill handy when gas stations can be over 600 kms apart, though actual towns have cheaper gas than truck stops on the highway the oil consumption abated to 2L every fill after a while I guess it carbonned up some but replacing brake pad became a pain mostly due t6o needing to find the right ones Mitsu used 3 different suppliers on these cars, I still have the modified 17mm spanner reground to remove calipers from one of these, Good reliable car actually massive wear and tear saw it go to a junkyard later in the year and I bought a $200 Torana to replace it.
In Australia they first came with a choice of 1600 Saturn (the old Galant motor), or 1850 or 2000 Astrons. Everyone got the 2 litre option of course, and at the first facelift the smaller engines were dropped and the 2.6 became available.
Another oddity – in Japan the range was called Galant Sigma. In Oz the Galant name was used only on the bottom-of-the-range trim level – maybe to “position” the new car in buyers’ minds as being so much better than the old Galant? The only Sigma Galant I ever saw was one my elderly uncle bought – and it had the 1600 too. Mind you, after driving a Morris 1100 for 13 years that Sigma Galant 1600 probably seemed quite powerful enough to him!
These were sold as the Mitsi Sigma in NZ and were popular, especially in station wagon form. I have a soft spot for them because my Uncle and Aunt bought an ’83 Sigma wagon in 1984; 30 years and 400,000ish kilometres later my cousin still owns it. I really should do a CC on it!
The Sigma wagon remained available new here until 1987. The ’85-’87 wagons were Australian-built and looked pretty much the same as the one you’ve posted Paul, except for an updated front clip and a much higher rood with integral rear spoiler. Compared with the top-selling wagon here, the Ford Sierra, the Sigma looked very old hat in 1987. The high roof, spoiler and unusual wheel trims did their best to disguise the 1970s origins though. Best ’87 high roof pic I could find, but you get the idea:
Nope, I was wrong, I did find a better pic, of an ’86 Aussie-built high roof:
Saludos !! Desde Guatemala Aqui ya es raro verlas yo tengo una con motor 4g32
Only 400,000 the wreck I drove around OZ had 430,000 on it when I bought it barely run in, The 87 2.6 high roof I had in NZ in 2000 ran perfectly only needing a carb kit when I bought it and could easily do Warkworth to Hastings in 4 and a half hours at well above the speed limit and still get reasonable gas mileage, True the Sierra looked more modern but that was really only a 70s Cortina in disguise and unless you lucked onto the German twincam edition the Sigma is a better car.
Yep, these were all over the place in oz after the Centura failed to gain a foothold. It’s like all of a sudden a few years ago, these just disappeared off the roads. Scott’s examples are still around, though.
I believe KiwiBryce’s claims on the high mileage clunker. The 2.6 was touted as ‘Australia’s Biggest 4’ and some of these comments answer how such a ‘big’ engine was balanced.
This wagon is really appealing, but you are right – I hardly remember seeing any. As Canucklehead says, I never saw these featured in showrooms in any prominent way.
A high school friend bought a 78 Challenger brand new after high school. It was actually a nice car, and I always liked the looks of them. After the OmniRizon coupes came in 1979, I had some trouble trying to understand the Challenger/Sapporo’s place in the hierarchy. I still do, though I liked the cars.
My grandfather purchased a brand-new 1980 Dodge Challenger, taking delivery for Christmas of 1979 as a replacement for his very orange VW Scirocco that was totalled by a drunk one night while it was parked. The Challenger was in the same silver-over-black livery as shown in the brochure above, and had every option including the autobox – my grandmother was going to be the main driver of the car, and, to quote her at the approximate age of 55: “I haven’t shifted my own gears since I was 19 years old and I’m not about to start again now.”
Bear in mind that this is very much a ’70s design – but compared to much of what else was on the roads at the time it’s fairly restrained, both inside and out. The styling admittedly isn’t to everyone’s taste but I always liked it, and as a kid was fascinated with both the overhead console (the eyeball map light, row of buttons for controlling lighting, and digital clock were all very futuristic at the time); the twin joysticks below the radio for adjusting the power mirrors were completely irresistible to me as playthings, much to my grandparents’ annoyance.
Getting to drive the car much later on in its life, I was struck by both how comfortable and solid it still was after 15 years in service. On the freeway, it was a good 70mph cruiser but above that the 3-speed automatic’s limits became very apparent. Handling was surprisingly decent for a car of the era on twisty backroads, but the automatic (again) hampered its underlying capabilities. That said, it was good on dirt for doughnuts or a solid handbrake turn if you had enough run-up to pull it off.
By the time it had been passed down to a relative who finally had it towed and impounded (where it went unclaimed, and presumably subsequently-auctioned or -crushed) for unpaid parking tickets circa 1999, it had around 480,000 miles on the original drivetrain. Service had simply consisted of routine maintenance – it never really had any mechanical maladies to speak of, though the A/C was non-operational by then.
A rather ignominious end for a vehicle that had provided solid and reliable transportation over two decades of service, unfortunately, and had I known about it being towed I would have snapped it up for the cost of the impound and ticket fees. That said, its unintentional replacement was a Peugeot 505, so at least something else that wasn’t run-of-the-mill took its place.
My 85 reliant had the 2.6 and yes what did it in was the timing chain tensioner guides. It wasn’t worth fixing a 18 year old motor when it was on its way out in 03. Very good motor except it was a gas hog.
Yes the New Dodge Challenger of late 70’s
I REALLY wanted one badly back in the day.
I had brochures from the Dodge dealer, that I pretty much had memorized.
I poured over a grey Challenger in the showroom,sitting in it numerous times opening and closing the doors,trunk and ,hood .
I remember being very impressed with the fit and finish of the car
I was more or less broke at the time and tried to figure how to get a high trade in value of my then current ride a beat up Datsun 510 wagon,
In retrospect I must have oozed brokenness, because at no time did a ambitious Dodge salesman corner me in the showroom while browsing the Challenger
A good looking car then ,and I think a good looking car 34 years later.
Mmmmmm….. 510 wagon.
I see a lot of early Mazda 626 in that 1980 Challenger (or vice versa, perhaps?).
Ah yes the Chrysler Sigma, not long after it was released it became the Mitsubishi Sigma and then it became the Stigma.
I always thought the ’78-81 Colt station wagon had the cleanest, best-looking front end of the model series, much better than the Challenger/Sapporo of the same era, and was very disappointed that the latter didn’t have the former’s doghouse.
I think a big part of the Colt’s price escalation here was not just inflation (although that was certainly part of it), but also the weakness of the dollar. That hit a lot of imports, not just the Japanese.
I haven’t studied the background of the 2.6-liter engine in any detail, but my guess is something like this: Excepting their license-built Jeeps, Mitsubishi had previously had mostly four-cylinder engines under 2 liters because in Japan, sales and road taxes go up sharply once you cross that threshold. However, there was some market for bigger engines, if only as a prestige thing; the Nissan Cedric/Gloria and Toyota Crown offered 2.6- or 2.8-liter sixes while the similarly sized Mitsubishi Debonair had only a four. The 2.6-liter six looks like a stopgap; “We don’t yet have a six, and while we can punch out the big four as far as it’ll go, that will make it too rough for luxury car buyers — what can we do?”
The Twin Stick gearbox was the same kind of improvisation. It came about because they wanted to use the same engine in the transverse-engine/FWD Mirage as the longitudinal RWD cars; they used the transfer case instead of having to add an extra set of spur gears to drive the transmission or reverse the engine rotation.
The Twin Stick was bodged up to make a 5 speed manual for the Au market Mitsubishi Magna in the mid 80s. Not much of a transmission in this application, but still better than the disposable automatic. It had a normal shifter and was coupled to the 2.6 four, which had a few issues in transverse fwd guise.
We had a manual ’89 Magna, and the gearshift mechanism gave way after about 5 years. You’d put the lever in first, but whatever moved the selectors across the gate didn’t work, and the tranny only went into third. Third gear starts in the Dandenong Ranges are a bit rough on the clutch! The garage in Healesville had seen a few of these (no surprise!) and came up with a very good fix that was still working when we traded the car six years later.
Well, none of that surprises me, the Magna was always bit dodgy in the gearbox.
I haven’t seen these Dodge Colt station wagons since they were in production. And I’ve never seen a sedan version at all. I don’t know why, for I found them more attractive than what was offered throughout the 80s. I’d buy one if I could find one in decent condition.
In comparison to their US built counterparts, these were extremely well assembled automobiles – all the ones I drove had a very good quality, solid feel to them. In comparison, the Omni/Horizon and other versions of the L platform (Dodge 024/Charger) I test drove all felt “loose” and cheap.
Mitsubishi was doing well during this period – quite a comparison to the dearth of good products they offer in the US now.
Here in Japan, Mitsubishi’s market share has significantly decreased also – though they still do quite well with large trucks and busses.
From about 1984-1991, Dodge and Plymouth dealers sold the Mitsubishi built Colt Vista wagon. A vehicle I consider to be the first crossover utility vehicle. A forerunner to the Mitsubishi Endeavor/Outlander.
Had a 1979 Colt Wagon that I bought new in North Carolina in the spring of ’79. Drove it until summer of 1985. Had over 120,000 miles on it when I sold it. Was the same burnt orange color shown. Had the 2.6 with a 5 speed and was one of the sweetest little wagons to drive. Handling was exceptionally well for a wagon and the 2.6 allowed it to get up and go. Was in the service at the time and if I wouldn’t have been going overseas at the time, probably would have kept hold of it.
I used to know a neighbour who had a Colt wagon. For some reason they seem to be as rare as hen’s teeth.
My best friend from high-school had one in the mid ’80s, and my brother had two (the second one was a parts-car with no title and a bad motor) through the ’90s.
The Chryser Torqueflite in my friends wasn’t a happy combination with the 2.6 and made his car a thirsty slug. My brother’s, with the 5-speed was a much better car.
The Solex-Mikuni carb’s choke used a water-heated wax pellet (like in a coolant thermostat) which would become lazy, and replacements weren’t availible, short of buying a new carb. Often, the choke pull-off diaphragm would fail, making the cars run way too rich. Then, severe oil dilution would eventually cause camshaft seizure, unless the oil was changed often.
So I got my brother in the habit of more frequent oil-changes, and installed a new pull-off, adjusted to the widest choke opening possible, which mitigated the lazy choke somewhat. With that, my brother managed to get well over 250 K-miles on it, by which time, two of the five gears no longer worked. His parts-car was an automatic, so it was time to say goodbye to the Colts.
Happy Motoring, Mark
My mother came by for a visit and found some pictures, including this one from 1979…what do I see nect to little cute me…the 1978 colt wagon
Saludos !! Desde Guatemala Aqui ya es raro verlas yo tengo una Galant Sigma estate van 1980 con motor 4g32 1600cc
Tough cars indeed. I bought a ‘78 colt wagon for $300 as my first car in 1983 Had 70K miles and I don’t think the original owner ever changed the oil. It guzzled oil and smoked like a freight train I figured I’d drive it until the engine gave up the ghost and then swap it. I drove it for 3 years and it never failed to get me from A to B. I would love to find another some day.
When his Triumph 2500TC finally gave up (too much rust and running on 5 cylinders) my father bought a 4 year old 1600 Mitsubishi Galant Sigma. Apart from the front (I still think it looks good) I hated that car. Because Japanese, because too much plastic, and because too reliable. For all its faults I loved the big Triumph saloon.
So it was great to see various rust spots appearing as well on the 5 year old Galant. My father got a Toyota as its replacement and had similar cars like that ever after (which to me means not interesting).
Have to say though that that Mitsubishi did its job well. I pulled a double decker trailer with 10 canoes on it for a week trip. And some months later I picked up a Herald 1200 which I had bought unseen 500 kilometers away, on a trailer. No problems.
I would have never made the connection between the Colt wagon and the Galant and later Sigma that Mitsubishi sold through their own dealerships starting in 1985.
As easy as it is to laugh at it today, the 1978 Challenger seemed competitive at the time, and a better car than what Ford was calling a Mustang that year. I’m not sure the Challenger name was all that “vaunted” in 1978 – the original Challenger had only arrived 8 years earlier, with newer ones as little as 4 years old. The original Challenger was a poor seller for all but the first of its five years, and there were plenty of used Challengers selling for not much money in 1978. Even the later Fox Mustangs with the not-balance-shafted four cylinder engine wasn’t really better than the Mitsu Challenger.
This looks like the exact Colt wagon I used to see parked on Madison in Eugene, just north of 6th. Always saw it coming off the freeway there.
That’s because it is the same one. So sorry to see it go.
Bought a new 79 Colt wagon in spring of 79 in NC.. 5 spd with that 2.6L. Was a joy to drive. Good power and gas mileage and handle fairly well too. Was in military at the time. Had it until summer of 85 when I got sent overseas. Hated to give it up but started my love of small wagons with big 4 cylinders.