TheDirtyGoatee
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So to give you a quick background of this car.
It began it's life in Japan being built in November 1986. Dodge, in their infinite wisdom, decided to import the Mitsubishi Chariot for the American market and rebranded Dodge. Enter, the Dodge/Plymouth/Eagle Colt Vista. It made it's way to Lawrenceville, GA Hayes Chrysler/Dodge/Plymouth/Jeep dealership.
The story from here goes like this: My grandmother owned a 2 door Caddy. In late 86 she started watching a 2 year old me. The Caddy was paid off but a little older and at the time her husband had passed (my grandpa) so she didn't have a lot to spend. Enter... Rosie the Colt Vista (or just Rosie). Early 1987 a Dodge Colt Vista with 5 miles on the odo was purchased and picked up by my grandmother. A three row compact car. This car essentially is the first crossover/SUV. It's the size of a Chevy Cruze length wise but seating capacity is 7. These cars did come with option 4WD and 5 speed MT but my grandmother couldn't drive stick so she paid money to have the luxury of a 3 speed AT. (oh dear Lord)
So... fast forward to 2006. My grandmother had just passed. She still owned the Colt Vista and drove it daily. It was then given to my father for safe keeping. I went to my father to request that it be sold to myself. My father being a proud parent of this moment tells me that he couldn't see it any other way and sold me the Vista for $1 in 2008. I subsequently drove it for a year but the problem was that it had a very bad issue of not starting randomly. The starter was brand new, brand new battery... not too sure. We moved into our new house. The Vista huffed and puffed it's way there where for the next 3 years, it would sit in the garage collecting no miles and lots of dust.
Fast forward to January this year. The IRS finally got it's head out of it's ass and my IRS check from 2010... (not a typo... they are dumbasses) for the amount of $5,500 finally got approved. My wife had told me when we realized it was finally coming in that this money was solely for the purpose of getting Rosie roadworthy and to have fun with her. The ideas started flowing. So, to this day, she is now running full steam again (took her to a mechanic who used to work as a Mitsu tech for Mitsubishi in the 80's). I've got a little left on the budget but I'm trying to get her back to pristine shape before I go throwing crazy shit on her. She'll never be a sleeper like I wanted (mostly because even at 80 mph it's a scary feeling ride). So, she'll be a show car. I'm currently in the process of getting lowering springs made because the aftermarket support for this car is terrible. I think there might be 25-30 of these in the states in known running condition. There's maybe a handful in Australia running. Everywhere else... God only knows.
So, without further hesitation... here come the pics!
This is 3rd quarter last year before I knew the check was coming.
Here's the original window sticker (I still have this, all maintenance documents, and even the original sales ticket).
Here's me driving her for the first time in over 3 years from the mech to my house. She is running now better than ever.
A little dirty but now she's got her swagger on.
26 years old? Old enough for antique plates!
2.0l of 4G63 SOHC goodness. A crazy 98 hp!
The C-Pillar needed some TLC.
So I showed it some TLC with fresh paint.
It rained the day for so the dirt was washed away. Still needs a bath though. Yes, this is Struggleville, USA. Actually, Struggleville, GA really exists and I'm really parked in the town at this sign. It's unincorporated but really exists.
Just visiting some of my favorite photo spots.
Who is John Galt anyway?
Lastly, a YouTube video. Apologies for the wind but it was pretty windy yesterday.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hupyYgX-_Zw&list=UU4BnbUfOjbVJZj-Z57gq8WA&index=1
Hope you enjoyed reading about my little project car. Purchased to tote me around when I was 2. Now, I'm 28 and the proud owner of a very good condition low mileage Colt Vista.
It began it's life in Japan being built in November 1986. Dodge, in their infinite wisdom, decided to import the Mitsubishi Chariot for the American market and rebranded Dodge. Enter, the Dodge/Plymouth/Eagle Colt Vista. It made it's way to Lawrenceville, GA Hayes Chrysler/Dodge/Plymouth/Jeep dealership.
The story from here goes like this: My grandmother owned a 2 door Caddy. In late 86 she started watching a 2 year old me. The Caddy was paid off but a little older and at the time her husband had passed (my grandpa) so she didn't have a lot to spend. Enter... Rosie the Colt Vista (or just Rosie). Early 1987 a Dodge Colt Vista with 5 miles on the odo was purchased and picked up by my grandmother. A three row compact car. This car essentially is the first crossover/SUV. It's the size of a Chevy Cruze length wise but seating capacity is 7. These cars did come with option 4WD and 5 speed MT but my grandmother couldn't drive stick so she paid money to have the luxury of a 3 speed AT. (oh dear Lord)
So... fast forward to 2006. My grandmother had just passed. She still owned the Colt Vista and drove it daily. It was then given to my father for safe keeping. I went to my father to request that it be sold to myself. My father being a proud parent of this moment tells me that he couldn't see it any other way and sold me the Vista for $1 in 2008. I subsequently drove it for a year but the problem was that it had a very bad issue of not starting randomly. The starter was brand new, brand new battery... not too sure. We moved into our new house. The Vista huffed and puffed it's way there where for the next 3 years, it would sit in the garage collecting no miles and lots of dust.
Fast forward to January this year. The IRS finally got it's head out of it's ass and my IRS check from 2010... (not a typo... they are dumbasses) for the amount of $5,500 finally got approved. My wife had told me when we realized it was finally coming in that this money was solely for the purpose of getting Rosie roadworthy and to have fun with her. The ideas started flowing. So, to this day, she is now running full steam again (took her to a mechanic who used to work as a Mitsu tech for Mitsubishi in the 80's). I've got a little left on the budget but I'm trying to get her back to pristine shape before I go throwing crazy shit on her. She'll never be a sleeper like I wanted (mostly because even at 80 mph it's a scary feeling ride). So, she'll be a show car. I'm currently in the process of getting lowering springs made because the aftermarket support for this car is terrible. I think there might be 25-30 of these in the states in known running condition. There's maybe a handful in Australia running. Everywhere else... God only knows.
So, without further hesitation... here come the pics!
This is 3rd quarter last year before I knew the check was coming.
Here's the original window sticker (I still have this, all maintenance documents, and even the original sales ticket).
Here's me driving her for the first time in over 3 years from the mech to my house. She is running now better than ever.
A little dirty but now she's got her swagger on.
26 years old? Old enough for antique plates!
2.0l of 4G63 SOHC goodness. A crazy 98 hp!
The C-Pillar needed some TLC.
So I showed it some TLC with fresh paint.
It rained the day for so the dirt was washed away. Still needs a bath though. Yes, this is Struggleville, USA. Actually, Struggleville, GA really exists and I'm really parked in the town at this sign. It's unincorporated but really exists.
Just visiting some of my favorite photo spots.
Who is John Galt anyway?
Lastly, a YouTube video. Apologies for the wind but it was pretty windy yesterday.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hupyYgX-_Zw&list=UU4BnbUfOjbVJZj-Z57gq8WA&index=1
Hope you enjoyed reading about my little project car. Purchased to tote me around when I was 2. Now, I'm 28 and the proud owner of a very good condition low mileage Colt Vista.
. 
