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Thread: Dodge Lancer 1960-1962

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    Dodge Lancer 1960-1962

    The Dodge Lancer is an automobile which was built by Dodge. Initially introduced as a hardtop version of the full-sized 1955 Dodge, the original version was produced until 1959. In 1961, Dodge revived the Lancer nameplate on the compact Chrysler A platform, but this only remained in production for two model years before it was replaced by the Dodge Dart. For 1985, Dodge used the Lancer nameplate on a car based on the mid-sized Chrysler H platform, and this model remained in production until it was replaced by the Dodge Spirit in 1989.

    1960-1961 Lancer
    For the 1961 model year, Dodge applied the Lancer nameplate to its higher-priced, upmarket badge-engineered clone of Chrysler's very popular Valiant compact. The model was introduced when Chrysler officially assigned the Valiant to the Plymouth division for 1961, leaving Dodge dealers without a compact to sell. All the same body variants available on the Valiant were also available on the Lancer: two- and four-door sedans, two-door hardtop and four-door wagons. At the end of 1962, it was renamed the Dodge Dart.

    Styling and trim
    The Lancer wheelbase and body shell were identical to those of the Valiant, but interior and exterior trim were more upscale for the Lancer. Lancers featured round taillights and a full-width grille, instead of the Valiant's cat's-eye taillights and central grille. For 1961, trim levels were the basic "170" and the premium "770". In 1961, the two-door hardtop was marketed only as the "Lancer 770 2-Door Hardtop". For 1962, the hardtop model was marketed as the "GT 2-Door Hardtop" and carried premium trim. Two-tone paint was available and instead of the front bench seat, there were two bucket seats. Also for the 1962 model, "Lancer GT" medallions were mounted on the doors' interior trim panels below the vent window and on the sides of the front fenders just aft of the headlamps. "GT" emblems were placed on the hood, the deck lid and on the vinyl dash pad. The headlamp bezels and the grille's horizontal slats were blacked-out. The GT also lacked certain ornamentation found on the 170s and 770s such as the "Lancer" door scripts, the slanted chrome hash marks on the lower quarter panel, and the hook-ended stainless steel door-to-fender spears.

    Powertrains
    The Lancer used the slant-6 engine. The base engine was the 170 cu in (2.8 l) unit, rated at 101 bhp (75 kW). The optional power package consisted of the larger 225 cu in (3.7 l) engine, rated at 145 bhp (108 kW). After the start of the 1961 model year, a die-cast aluminum version of the 225 engine block was made available. The aluminum 225 weighed 45 pounds (20 kg) less than the iron 170 and 80 pounds (36 kg) less than the iron 225. Any of the available engines could be equipped at the dealer with Chrysler's Hyper Pak parts kit for a significant power upgrade: the 170 Hyper Pak's published output was 148 bhp (110 kW), while the 225 Hyper Pak's was 196 bhp (146 kW). The Hyper-Pak shaved more than four seconds off the 0 to 60 mph (97 km/h) time versus the standard 225, and was over a second quicker and seven miles per hour faster in the quarter mile. With the Hyper Pak, a 225 Lancer could go from 0 to 60 mph (97 km/h) in 8.6 seconds and turn in a standing quarter mile time of 16.4 seconds.[3] 1962 cars had the engine and transmission moved for a flatter front floor.

    Transmission options were a Chrysler-built A903 three-speed manual with the shifter on the floor in 1961 and on the steering column in 1962, or a pushbutton-operated A904 Torqueflite three-speed automatic.

    Drag strip & sales competition
    In the 1962 NHRA Winternatonals, Wayne Weihe took home the win in the C/FX (Factory Experimental) class with his Hyper-Pak-equipped Lancer, clocking a 15.67 E.T. Although the bigger Dodges were beginning to appear at drag strips around the country, the "Golden Lancer" of Dode Martin and Jim Nelson was just about the fastest compact on the strips in 1962. Stuffed into the engine compartment was a 413 cu in (6.77 liters) Chrysler RB V8 engine modified by the Chrysler engineers' "Ramchargers" racing team. The Golden Lancer raced successfully in A/FX class and could do the quarter mile in 12.68 seconds at 113 mph.

    Lancer sales did not meet expectations and sold about half as well as the Valiant. As a late part of the total redesign of Dodge's compact car for 1963, the Lancer name was discontinued. Dodge compacts for 1963 through 1976 were named Dart, a name that had previously been assigned to a larger car produced by Dodge from 1960 to 1962.

    South African market
    In South Africa, a right hand drive version of the Lancer was sold from 1961 through 1963, badged as the DeSoto Rebel not long after the DeSoto name was discontinued in the U.S. All Rebels were equipped with the 170 cu in (2.8 l) Slant 6 engine, and most were equipped with the three-speed manual transmission. As with the Australian RV1 and SV1 Valiants, the Rebel used the instrument cluster from the U.S. 1961 Plymouth Valiant. White reflectors were mounted to the front bumper, in compliance with South African vehicle equipment regulations. The Rebel name was re-introduced by Chrysler South Africa in 1967 as the economy-priced "Valiant Rebel".

    Source: Wikipedia

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