Factory Turbo Car? 1984 Dodge Colt GTS Turbo
The 1970s and 80s brought a slew of rebadged Japanese vehicles to the US market, and to other markets outside of the motherland. Mitsubishi’s hookup with Chrysler gave us some fun little vehicles, one of which is this 1984 Dodge Colt GTS Turbo. You can see that this one has been repainted, rebadged, and otherwise boy-racer’d up, unfortunately. But, it still looks like a solid example. I’m a staunch original-spec person but I know that I’m in the minority on that. This pocket-rocket is on craigslist in Riverside, California with a $3,499 asking price. I would have trouble staying away from this one if it were in original condition.
It really looks like a generic commuter car with everything factory-cool stripped off of it, even the grille. 1984 was the last year of the fourth-generation Dodge Colt and Plymouth also had a similar version, big shocker. The turbo model was a one-year only car in this body style; introduced in late-1983 for the 1984 model year and by 1985 there was a new body style. The GTS also came without a turbo, but why would you want that? And, those wheels, I know that most people like those, but give me original-spec any day. The seller says that these wheels were a dealer upgrade.
It’s really unfortunate that this car has been stripped and modified, but these types of little turbo cars usually are. I’ve been looking for an original 1988-89 Mazda 323 GTX for years but they are literally not out there anymore in unmodified condition. I never want what someone else thinks is cool, life is too short for that nonsense. I’m not sure what’s going on with the rear bumper, it looks like it may have been painted white? Or, is that overspray? I’m starting to wonder if this was actually a factory turbo model, the bumpers should have been black, if I’m not mistaken, not chrome. Hmm..
The interior, on the other hand, seems to be fairly stock, other than some unfortunate huge speakers in the doors, but overall it looks really nice inside. Yes, this is the famous twin-stick, basically an 8-speed transmission with a 2-speed transfer case to give it 8 forward and 2 reverse speeds; cool. The seats appear to be in fantastic condition, and who doesn’t love a red interior, especially when the seats have a big TURBO embroidered on them?! It has to be a factory turbo car with those seats? Here is a fantastic MotorWeek review of a 1984 Colt GTS Turbo on YouTube! If this car looked like the one in the video I’d be in trouble, again!
This is Mitsubishi’s 1.6L G32B inline-four turbo that would have had around 102 hp. That doesn’t seem like a lot, but this car weighs less than a ton. This is, according to the seller, a “fresh turbo from 3000gt Vr4.” This car also has a “new Cat (yes passes smog no problems), brakes, tires, axles and inner tire rods” and it looks great, even in it’s slightly-modified current condition. Have any of you owned an ’84 Dodge Colt GTS Turbo? What do you think of the modifications on this one? Is this really a factory-made Dodge Colt GTS Turbo or a regular Colt that has been turned into a turbo car?
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Comments
Had a gold Plymouth Champ with twin stick. Not the best cars ever built, but a lot better than the Escorts and Omnis of the era.
it’s a nice nifty car. that’s for sure.
I am totally intrigued by this twin stick transfer case idea! I’m used to seeing them on scouts and trucks, but never in a car like this. How was the shifting configured for higher-speed shifts? Isn’t it really a four-speed trans with 2-speed transfer for 8 forward gears?
Yup, a 4-speed manual with a 2-speed transfer case, effectively an overdrive that was available in all gears (including reverse!). The transfer lever was labeled Power vs. Economy, so in practice you’d typically leave that in one position or the other most of the time, though if you used the Power mode around town (as most aside from real misers would), you’d probably switch to Econ on the freeway.
4 speed trans with a 2 speed transfer case.
P&E
Power and Economy. kinda cool how they worked!
I had a black/gold from 1984, it was peppy and very enjoyable to drive, anyone who drove it came out smiling, yes fun.
It came with black trim everywhere, bumpers, door handles etc. even had a black aluminum rear window louvers. Gold strips and a gold “TURBO” on center in back above rear bumper. Black lower front spoiler that was black with gold strip as well as top of liftgate spoiler with strip. I replaced wheels and tires to ENKI 14″ and Pirelli performace tires. this was needed to drive hard or even in rain. After that it was a much better in performance and handling. It was 1632 lbs without people or gas. the twin stick was great but very unreliable which broke 2 times (first time 40,000 miles), so second time I didn’t fix it too costly. I wish I had kept it. The first pocket rocket, which you got a window decal to attach across the top of windshield inside, which was cool.
My ’83 GTS 1400 weighed more than that.
Specs I can find put your car just under 1900#, so I think you are off by a couple of hundred pounds.
But they were fun cars, great memories for me too.
I had an ’84 and ran the piss out of that car (i was 16) we used to take out the rear pop out widows so we could hand out of the car and go fruiting (think mailbox baseball with grapefruit)…..what a blast. Mine was a single stick 4 or 5 speed I dont remember.
My recollections of our Champs with the twin stick seem to be you were in one mode or the other through the gears, not mixing the two levers up back and forth. I wish this car had that factory decal in the rear window that said DON’T STEP ON THE GAS UNLESS YOU REALLY MEAN IT!
The sticker was only on the Colt Turbo. Obnoxious interior color but fun. I had one till it got wrecked. Not my fault…
I had a silver (with red stripe package) 1981 Plymouth Champ from when my folks bought it for me used in September 1985 for $3,000 with 56K on it. I drove it for my Senior Year of HS plus two and half more years until the mid point of my Junior year of college in April 1989 when the transmission died again. I put 12 to 17K a year on it as my commute to Marist from my house in LaGrangeville was 13.8 miles one way. When I met my girlfriend and transported her to and fro twice a day from her house which was 15 miles south of me, I picked up an extra couple of thousand miles topping me at 17K. I took everyone everywhere in that two door from Albany down to the central Maryland area.
She was a good little car. Survived two incidents where I rear ended other motorists while in college and the weekend before I began college. The auto transmission was the weak point of the car causing us to rebuild it once before it died again a couple of years later. Used to run over sized studded snows on the front end allowing me to traverse many snowed in hilly driveways including my girlfriends house, the driveway for which rendered her 1985 Pontiac Fiero SE totally useless.
She had a lot pep due to having the larger 1.6 L inline four cylinder due to the automatic transmission and the A/C didn’t cause any drop in power when engaged.
The car pictured here was when the folks in Japan made it look ugly in the front end. The four door hatch version also looked out of place too.
As for the bumpers, mine were chrome as it was the Plymouth version, so these could be legit or the black finish they painted them could have rubbed off after thirty plus years.
Right now with gas costing what it does, I wouldn’t mind finding another one of these and driving it into the ground. Mine is sitting behind my house sunken into the ground and probably is a total basket case and not able to be restored like the many other cars that grace my family’s 8.7 acres.
Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
My sister had a GTS Turbo and I had the Mazda GTX.
Been a while. This looks different in enough ways that I would not be interested. My sister’s was a lot of fun and liked the looks. This one….
I had two of the four door GTS’s. They came from the factory with Yokohama A008 tires and were a great GT car for the time. The seats and overall setup were great. With two tone paint. I haven’t seen one for 20 years.
I’ve got one. White like this one but had an interior swap to black. The bumpers should be black, missing the tape stripes, turbo grille, rocker extensions and rear graphics between the taillights. Wheels should be standard Colt wheels painted black with trim rings. I’d guess a low quality repaint.
I bought a brand new base colt in 1983 for $4,995 out the door. No discount as these were hot little mileage champs at the time. Dealer threw in some red side stripes which set the white off nicely.
The base model had black steel bumpers which within a year turned brown with rust. The rest of the car didn’t fare much better, after 5 years of NY winters it was pretty much rusted out. It was a pretty good little commuter, not many problems with it and it got around 35mpg, which at the time was good.
I also bought a used 82 Colt with the twin stick, it was actually kind of useless, almost like the paddle shifters they put on family cars now. You could play with it, but even in “Power” mode, it really didn’t have alot of power. More of a conversation piece than anything else.
I just want to know why gawd why truly the end of an era as true muscle cars this is a box with wheels!
I raced against a couple of these in the late 80’s, my Peugeot 505 Turbo against these in SSB competition with SCCA. It wasn’t a fair fight, except at short tracks like Blackhawk Farms or Hallett.
Neat little cars IMHO.
Likely you raced against the next (5th) generation, as the SCCA limited how many years a car was eligible for Showroom Stock. A 6th generation car won SSB in Atlanta one year, I think it was 1991?
I had an 84 I raced in SSB in the late 80s. I ran at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Road Atlanta, Sebring, Rockingham, and the Chimney Rocks Hillclimb. It was a great car and was quick at the time. I sold it to a guy in Atlanta. I wish I had kept it a little longer. Great Memories!!!
Almost thought this was an 85 Toyota Tercel. Those were great little cars with a 1.6 and curb weight of a feather, and great handling to go with it.
35mpg in the city, 43mpg on the highway.
Wish I could find another!
Bought a ’84 Dodge Colt Turbo new. It was sort of the mini Cooper I never had. It was definitely a quick little beast, but in “low range”, first gear, the torque steer was something to behold, Almost instant right hand turn…or maybe left, I can’t remember…
And for some real fun, find a slightly snowy and empty parking lot. I think it took me two hours to stop having that fun. Metallic grey with the flat black trim, it was a sharp looking little car.
Eventually I noticed some oil pressure fluctuation, [to the low side] and figured I better get while the getting was good. Traded it to a dealer so it might be sold with a warranty.
I will always have a soft spot for these little cars.
We bought a GTS new in ’83, and autocrossed the heck out of it for half a dozen years. In ’85, I won somewhere on the order of 30 events with it, running HS in the SCCA’s SoloII competition. Yep, every one entered, including Divisional and National championships.
So, why the 1.4L GTS “without the turbo”? Well, it was nearly as fast in the twisty parking lot layouts, lighter, easier to drive, and classed better. At most venues, I could best the ES class RS models with the 1.6. And at many, could run with the DS classed Turbo. At one event, very tight layout with the added challenge of light rain, the Colt posted the best time of ALL stock class cars.
Yes, I drove both the RS and the Turbo during the same time-frame, and liked mine the best. With 70 hp, it was no tire burner, but seriously nimble and very quick if you knew how to take advantage of the 8-speed. Doubters would become believers if they had the occasion to watch my hands and feet from the start to the finish line. View an interior video of Pro Rallye drivers from a similar time, and you’ll get an idea of how I worked the controls. Always 3 gears (Low Range 1st, Low Range 2nd, High Range 2nd), and at faster locations added a 4th (Low Range 3rd). There were cars in the class with nearly twice the power; the Colt could beat them all.
While I wax nostalgic about the GTS, readers have to understand that they were built very light, and that these were the days before serious attention was paid to crush zones, super-stiff passenger compartments, airbags, and other safety devices. For competition I used a 4-point harness. The street belt was just ok. A friend nearly lost his life in one of the black and gold (think JPS Lotus livery) Turbos when a van turned left in front of him.
Part of me thinks that I’d like to have one, and that this car just misses the mark due to the mods. I see the bumpers, and recall how badly mine rusted. I thought for a minute that these may have been the very rare aluminum ones, but no it looks like very faded paint (likely on the 5th or 6th redo). Then I wonder if the transmission has had the fix applied for a weakness which only seemed to crop up in the turbo cars. Eh, I think I’ll stick with the ’89 Colt Turbo (4G61, 1.6L DOHC) that I have, a much more substantial car, if not nearly as good in competition. I have something much faster to race now anyway.
Alan, I’m in the process of restoring an ’84 turbo. What is this transmission fix that you speak of? It took me 16 years to finally find one of these in original condition. I’d hate to grenade a hard to find transmission. It’s down right impossible to find parts for these things. Maybe you know of a cross over vehicle for fuel injectors too?
I am the original owner of an 84 turbo twin-stick, which now sits in my barn. It’s mostly original (was silver; I had it repainted black). Tranny was rebuilt before I parked it. Hasn’t run in years, as it was in dire need of a new cat–it’s third one since new–as it’s very hard to find someone in Montana who knew how to adjust the funky 3 valves per cylinder on them. Still have paperwork and decals, etc. If you’re interested, I can give you more detail. Need the room in the barn. Thanks.
I’ll be picking up another colt gts turbo for parts since it’s rotted. Is there anything you need?
Chris,
BF stopped sending me notices for posts to listings I was interested in a while back, one of the reasons I recently upgraded to Member status and changed to DDB. Likely that you have found out the information that you are looking for, otherwise I’ll be happy to help if I can
Alan (Michigan)
Knew as soon as I looked at this that we in Europe got a different vehicle, a 1.4 Turbo with the Twinstick Transmission, it was the lack of a Hood/Bonnet Vent that threw me! Found this about the European version, which unfortunately died out in the UK in 2003!
http://www.aronline.co.uk/facts-and-figures/essays/in-memoriam/in-memoriam-mitsubishi-colt-1400-turbo/
It gives me so much joy to know that i wasnt the only one that fell in love with them… I bought a new (1984 Black and gold, black interior with the stiker on the windsheel that said, “POKET ROCKET”).. I some how could not stay away from them and now i have two, A white one and one of the 200 Black GTS built.
It was my first new car.. Faster than my 8 cil cordova and i abused it so much, that i even put a hitch and towed my 14′ bayliner boat, I could do 75 mph up hill with it…
I restored it its the real deal
Dave, I’m restoring one of these as well. The body on mine is in great shape. Unfortunately the previous owner macco painted over the turbo pin stripes and the turbo between the lights. He didn’t even scrape them off, just painted right overt them… Where did you find your decals? I’m also in need of a new grill and fuel injectors. Any suggestions? Nice find on your car. I would have bought that in a heartbeat.
As for the stickers I just remade them. The grill is going to be really hard to find. Fuel injectors look on a Facebook group called Mitsubishi Colt I’m in that group and there is a person that just posted one as of February 28th a 84 through 88 ECI engine
hey dave if your near ephrata pa you should take the colt to the maple grove dodge/Plymouth event they hold every year. Both my dad and I take our colts out there almost every year. Would love a picture of all of them
Bought one of these new. Mine came with a peel odd sticker on back window that said “Only step on gas unless you really mean it”, lol. I drove it as an 8 speed some times and it was getting over 40mpg during commutes. I believe it had like a 0-60 in 7 flat spec. Had it over 130 several times (put on an adjustable waste gate and pushed it to 9-s1 boost) It went 160 miles when I sold it, and still running strong. Several years later (mid 90’s), I bought a used one (only gray) replaced timing belt and it rain strong, too. But was talked out of it. My inlaw had a 67 vette (350 hp 4 speed) and he said it was faster in town than the vette. I could LITERALLY light up the tire in the 1st five gears, and on a hot pavement, just pushing accelerator partially down would spin tire (yes, front wheel drive). in 1st five.
In transition
New grill
I have 3 colts 1 1981 colt custom, a 1984 gts turbo and a project 1982 colt. My dad told me stories about them so I ended up finding an all original gts turbo and he bought an 81 with 27,000 miles
Wow, beautiful turbo. i bought one in 84 for about $7k. I loved that car. What a sleeper. I used to race a guy with a porsche 944 on a backroad couple times a week. Often passing him. Got nearly 50 mpg on long highway trips. Top end just short of 120mph, 0-60 about 6 secs. It could smoke tires in all 4 gears in low stick. Pretty much could obliterate a prking lot with tire ssmoke screen. Don’t try this got a ticket for it 😱. Anyway got about 125 miles on it and traded it in for $600 off a 90 Turbo Laser. I kick my self for not just keeping it. Only mechanical failure over 6 yrs was synchronizer for differential to high range. It happened twice. Getting parts would be near impossible now i bet. I want mine back 😖 waaa.
Hey Edgardo,
any chance you know of another 84 turbo….I’m always looking.
Mark
Portland, Or
I do not, I had picked up up a parts car and was a hard find. If I find one for sale I will be putting it on here for anyone who may be interested
Corrections, i put 125k miles on it. Problems with sychronizers might have had something to do with my driving habits. The white car the original poster was asking about was missing turbo rear panel, black bumbers, original stock rims, rocker panels and front air dam. Also the boost guage in front of the gear shift is probably an add on for the mentioned 3000gt turbo swap. Wonder how much more fun it would be with a larger turbo. Hmmm guess the items missing could be from a strip and paint. But the honey comb grill is also changed out and why the bumpers?
I had an ’84 black/gold stripe twin stick gts turbo. I ran it till it died. I think it came with 7.5 psi boost. I added an intercooler and an adjustable boost knob, and could go to 9 psi, and computer kept shutting things down. I cannot remember, but there was a wire connection going to one of the vacuum solenoids on the firewall which I disconnected. I was then to go to 15 psi! Super fast car.
I owned a an 84/GTS turbo in White with red interior… this example is missing all exterior trim (badging) and honeycomb grill.. the boost gauge is a 3rd party add on as are the blue ignition wires but it looks pretty close to stock otherwise… miss mine…
Would love to find a nice 84 turbo for sale. Sold mine a few years back in Michigan…let me know…
Bought a GTS Turbo new in ’84, Blue exterior/blue interior, A/C, Twin Stick, power mirriors and a dealer installed cassette radio with the 4 speaker stereo..and promptly got orders to Europe in ’85..and took the little pocket rocket with me to the UK for 3 years..
They had their Colt Turbos as well but didn’t have the 5 MPH bumpers or the recessed headlights nor the 1.6 just a 1.4 if I remember right..with the US spec gearing I had em 0-60 easy.. took it all over British country roads, French roads and German Autobhans,,(darn thing topped out at about 110..but it got there quick for the time)…
Been looking for one ever since I was convinced to sell it back in 1990.. and have been wishing I still had it..
I bought a 1984 red GTS Turbo new for $7500 from Dickenson Buick in Fayetteville NC. It was a good car for me; it was quick and looked sharp compared to the stock models. I put 80k on it without any problems. After the Army, I took it to college in Vermont, and it started to go downhill after that. A number of electrical problems made it too expensive to keep. I gave it to the landlord of my summer apartment for the last month’s rent in 1990. The pic is with my Dad in 1984 the first time I went home on leave.