Hello -
Where has this list been all my life! Thanks to Dave Stragand
for crossing paths w/ me at eBay and taking the time to steer me
in your direction.
I bought my first MOPAR for $300 when I was 16 years young; a
'62 Lancer that saw about 11 years of tough duty. We still have
this car in storage in VA, although is has been retired "with
extreme prejudice" due to the ravages of time. Since
contracting MOPAR fever, I've owned three other Lancers:
1961 2-door 170 (now gone)
1962 2-door 170 (ditto)
1961 4-door 770 (our daily driver)
I bought our current 770 in '89 from a fellow Slant-6 Club
member from Indiana. It's black with a red and white interior.
We've kept it as stock as possible and it has about 113K on it.
The biggest concession to originality has been the replacement
of the original aluminum block 225 with a re-manufactured cast
iron 225. After some initial problems with valve seats (a story
for another day), it is running well now. On its last major
outing down to VA and back, it averaged about 22 mpg and kept up
with the most of the big dawgs on 95.
Mechanically, the 'Black Dahlia' is very sound but we are
currently trying to find a new idler arm (the link end is worn
out) and we have a few wiring bugs that need fixing. This
spring, when the new motor went in, we tried to convert from
points to a MOPAR electronic ignition but wound up with an
over-heated coil we could not cure, so (for now) we are pack to
points. Body-wise, we need the typical rear fender body work, a
good paint job and some rechroming (sp?).
We drive her daily and counter to all you may have heard about
life in Brooklyn, NY, we can park it in reasonable safety on the
street outside our Apt. There are at least three other
Lancer/Valiants that I know of in our area, including a
"younger" twin to our car from '62.
I'm looking forward (pardon the pun) to getting to know you
folks. My favorite period in automotive history is the late
50's, early 60's and I'm a big Exner fan. Also enjoy the
history of all the early compacts (of which, Lancers and
Valiants were/are arguably the best).
Hope everyone is enjoying a safe and happy holiday. Our
thoughts go out to our friends around the nation who are
grappling with mother nature's floods and fires this summer,
especially the folks in Florida this weekend.
Be seeing you -
Charles and Cathy Gaertner
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