Junkyard Find: 1986 Dodge Lancer ES Turbo
The branches of the Chrysler K-Car Family Tree are far too numerous to describe here, since so many different K-derived cars and minivans were built from the 1981 through 1995 model years for the North American market. One of the rarest types is the 1985-1989 Dodge Lancer, and I've found an example in a Silicon Valley self-service wrecking yard.
The Lancer was the Dodge-badged version of the Chrysler LeBaron GTS hatchback sedan, priced between the Aries and 600 sedans.
The Lancer name has plenty of Chrysler history. For 1961 and 1962, the Lancer name was used on Dodge-badged twins of the Plymouth Valiant (because the Dart name was being used on big Plymouth Fury siblings at the time).
Mitsubishi began using the Lancer name in 1973, and Lancers with Dodge Colt badges appeared in the United States for the 1977 model year. Prior to that, the Colt had been Galant-based. For the 2002 model year, Mitsubishi Lancers finally arrived on this side of the Pacific.
Though Mitsubishi engines were available in plenty of K-Cars and their relatives, all of the 1985-1989 Dodge Lancers came with Chrysler 2.2- or 2.5-liter straight-four power.
This car is a top-trim-level ES with the optional 2.2-liter turbocharged engine, rated at 146 horsepower and 170 pound-feet.
A lot of 1980s cars had phony hood vents, but this one really does deliver cold air to the engine.
You see?
A five-speed manual was base equipment, but this car has the optional three-speed automatic (of course).
The final odometer reading is impressive, getting close to the 300,000-mile mark.
The MSRP for this fine Sterling Heights machine?
The base price was $10,322, which is about $29,015 in 2023 dollars. The turbocharged engine cost $628 ($1,764 today) while the automatic transmission added $504 ($1,415 now).
The Lancers just can't be kept in the showroom, so strong is their sense of 1980s rebellion.
It is the performance sedan that will thrill you all the way to the redline, hold you to the dotted line, cover you down the line, and impress you with its bottom line.
8.6 percent financing or $500 cash back!
1986 Dodge Lancer ES Turbo in California junkyard.
1986 Dodge Lancer ES Turbo in California junkyard.
1986 Dodge Lancer ES Turbo in California junkyard.
1986 Dodge Lancer ES Turbo in California junkyard.
1986 Dodge Lancer ES Turbo in California junkyard.
1986 Dodge Lancer ES Turbo in California junkyard.
1986 Dodge Lancer ES Turbo in California junkyard.
1986 Dodge Lancer ES Turbo in California junkyard.
1986 Dodge Lancer ES Turbo in California junkyard.
1986 Dodge Lancer ES Turbo in California junkyard.
1986 Dodge Lancer ES Turbo in California junkyard.
1986 Dodge Lancer ES Turbo in California junkyard.
1986 Dodge Lancer ES Turbo in California junkyard.
1986 Dodge Lancer ES Turbo in California junkyard.
[Images: The Author]
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Writer d'Elegance Brougham Landau.
More by Murilee Martin
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A K-car that lasted almost as long as a Camry. Chrysler was stepping it up!
Surprised that the K-car that made it this long was a turbo. The most reliable engine in these was also the least powerful - the NA 2.2. (But the turbo 2.2 was still better than the Mitsu 2.6, an awful engine in every way.)