Rabbit Beater: 1976 Dodge Colt GT
The Dodge Colt era in America represented an interesting phase when rebadged Mitsubishi products made their way to our shores in multiple flavors. Although we’ve documented the Colt here previously, this GT-spec trim is less frequently seen. You can find this example here on craigslist in Washington State for $1,200.
Certainly not a fast car with under 100 b.h.p., it did give long-time economy car standbys like the Rabbit from VW a run for its money. Dare I say, the Colt was the better package overall, with more attractive styling inside and out? This Colt shows a messy but intact interior, with what looks like a crack-free dash and original three-spoke steering wheel. Check out the schoolbus-grade shifter!
The engine bay looks quite clean, and hopefully it remains as quiet as its Silent Shaft technology promised. The seller says the car does run, but it will need a new gas tank and fuel pump. A tank cleanout is an inconvenient and messy job, so we’re not surprised he’s letting someone else take that on. Lots of spare parts are included, including an extra dash, bumpers and carburetor.
The seller clearly has lots of projects in his backyard, and the Colt looks sharp with its GT-specific decal stripe still attached. The non-original wheels out back look out of place, but aside from that visual distraction, the Colt GT presents very well for its age. The seller will consider offers, but sounds as if he doesn’t want to stray too far from the current asking price. Would you bolt for this Colt?
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Comments
Crack free?? What’s that in the center?? Yellow foam showing big crack to me
If I was the seller I would unload the van, probably get more money and take on the Colt project.
Yes the right and the left halves of the dash appear crack free…. these were fun cars. A friend’s dad bought a base model brand new in a spiffy metallic green color and we, um, helped break it in. Those shifters were stout! :-)
Was jus’ wunderun’ shoulda that headline read “Rabid Beater??”
$1200.00? No way, no how.
I’d say there’s ample crack being smoked here. Love the styling of this one though and RWD is FTW.
My partner-in-crime and I turned one of these into a stage rally car in the late ’70s. We ran in the Under-2-Liter class and did reasonably well for a couple of newbies. He ran a foreign car repair shop and the business paid the bills… otherwise, we couldn’t have afforded this madness. Pic of the little Colt just back from the 1979 Sunriser Rally:
https://imgur.com/a/WKjQa
Great shot!
Factory Chrysler engineer Scott Harvey ran one very similar to that in numerous 70s rally’s and he was very successful with that car.
few repairs and you have a cheap beater that should drag the socks off the Smart cars and Cars to go
Here’s the saved ad http://www.craigslistadsaver.com/view.php?name=1976DodgeColtGT
I had the exact same car I bought from a guy who used it for a paper route. It had 400,000 miles on it. he had replaced 80 sets of brake pads and 20 sets of rotors. I put 50,000 miles on it and the nsold it to someone else . If this was closer I would buy it for 1000. In a minute.
Had one of these in the late seventies. It was fun and looked good but the motor didn’t hold up. The a/c was also very poor.
My 76 Colt barn find
I think I like it…
That is literally my old car! Would love to have it back again if anybody knows where it is! Or one of the same year