Making The Cross State Trip In The Lancer

[Powershiftmatt]

I’ve gotten some questions about the Lancer and I’m quite surprised about the interest shown in this vehicle; I certainly appreciate the enthusiasm as I love the car as well.

This weekend we knocked out front brakes, cooling system, fluid services, ignition services and all that Jazz. The cost was laughably low, and this is a nice benefit of an old Dodge.

Being a turbocharged and manual transmission vehicle never hurts either, and this was the reason I came to a crossroad. I stay at the house of my closest friend every weekend as my daughter is just the next town over, and I live 120 miles away. This is a commute I do every weekend and the Mirage has handled itself well. However, I’ve been enjoying driving the old Lancer and my friend kind of “dared” me to take the Lancer on the journey.

So that’s exactly what I decided to do, and I went on about my way. The first 30 miles I was a nervous wreck; constantly checking the coolant temperature gauge, oil pressure and everything in between. At the 50 mile mark, I pulled into a gas station and checked my oil and coolant levels. Nothing had changed and everything was completely normal.

By the 70 mile point I’d stopped worrying. The cruise was set at 74 miles per hour and before I knew it, I was at Kroger to do my grocery shopping. Home is 1 mile from here.

The old turbo Dodge did amazing and even ended up averaging 29.7 miles per gallon! It does need new shocks and struts, no question about that. Beyond that though, everything works and I’m not seeing anything leaking from the car.

Daring as this adventure may have been, it reminded me why I became a car enthusiast in the first place. Just enjoy the damn cars and don’t stress. That’s what I did and I can’t wait to spend the week with it as my only car.

[Stef Schrader]

OOOOOOOH, this isn't like my Lancer! That's pretty awesome. Nice buy.

[Powershiftmatt]

@stef-schrader
It’s definitely an oddball car but it suits me well haha

[pip bip]

@powershiftmatt my old 2004 Lancer finally dies with 728k km on the clock

[Powershiftmatt]

@pip-bip

[pip bip]

@powershiftmatt it had a good innings

[RallyDarkstrike]

SSSSeeeeee everyone???!!! Proof that old Chrysler K-car-related products weren't all bad!

[Powershiftmatt]

@rallydarkstrike
Yeah I’ve always had a soft spot for the old shadows and the Shelby variants. Always wanted to own a Spirit R/T but they’re unobtanium now.
So far so good with this old Lancer. Don’t want to jinx it but everything works and it’s not even leaking oil yet

[Powershiftmatt]

Updated with pictures since I figured out how to add them