Dodge joined the hot U.S. compact car movement in 1961. While Ford, Chevrolet, and Plymouth all had fresh designs in 1960, Dodge had a quicker solution. Their entry was a badge-engineered version of Plymouth’s Valiant called the Lancer with minimal cosmetic changes and a higher level of trim. The seller’s first-year example is a 770 2-door sedan, the fanciest Lancer except for the sporty GT. With only 50.000 miles, this baby blue beauty can be found in Newark, Ohio, and is offered here on Facebook Marketplace for $14,950. Barn Finder “Ted” brought this tip to our attention.
In the 1950s, the Lancer name was part of Dodge’s full-size portfolio. They reused the moniker for the 1961 and 1962 A-body Valiant duplicates. But when the cars were redesigned in 1963, Dodge decided to replace the Lancer name with the Dart, another bit of brand repositioning. For reasons unclear – perhaps a marketing issue – the Valiant outsold the Lancer by a wide margin in both its years (143,000 vs. 74,000 in ’61 and 157,000 compared to 35,000 in ’62). The cars shared the same quirky looks, so that couldn’t have been it.
The seller’s small sedan has either the base 170 or the optional 225 cubic-inch Slant-Six engine, which would have populated what must have been millions of Chrysler products over the years. We’re not told which one is here, and the stock horsepower ratings were 101 vs 145. Since the Dodge has a factory floor-mounted 3-speed manual transmission, we’re leaning toward the 225. Whatever the case, the seller says the machine runs and drives quite well.
Rust seems non-existent, and the paint and interior look quite good. So, a prior cosmetic restoration is possible, but not confirmed. We’re not sure of the status of the tires – one photo shows black walls while another has the car sporting raised white letters. According to the seller, the only thing that is amiss is a non-working radio (AM?). If you’re in the market for a vintage vehicle that’s bound to garner attention, is this Mopar for you?
There was an NYPD sting operation in Queens years ago where they parked one of these on a street with the keys in it. After 3 weeks they gave up and towed it to a Staten Island junk yard. Look it up!
Must’ve been a 4 door, we only grabbed 2 doors back in the day… Lol But that is a funny story.
For that kind of money, I’d expect a 225 with Hyper Pak at the very least. The Dart appears to be solid — I’d still look very carefully underneath for rust, which was a common feature of plenty of Chrysler products then — but otherwise, seems to be a good driver.
On the upside, Slanties will basically run ’til the end of time, if not longer. They will take much abuse and keep on going.
In the early 1960s, I thought these were about as ugly as Surface Transportation could get. Now, they’re kind of charming.
I had a similar thought as RayT. Quirky styling, yes; especially compared to something like a contemporary Falcon with its clean, simple styling. But today, I kind of like it for its quirky-ness. That floor shifter is cool. Looks to be in good shape.
In ’61 the Lancer 770 2-door was a hardtop.
The Lancer 170 was the 2-door sedan.
It appears someone put 770 door badges door on a 170.
Only the VIN number would tell us what happened here.
The GT did not appear til ’62, replacing the 770 2 door hardtop.
It’s so ugly, it’s beautiful…
Like some other cars of the past that had less than desirable styling, this grows on you. I would drive it. Was this described by Virgil Exner, Chryslers designer, as a plucked chicken? And not sure about the Dart but I think the first car with an alternator was the 61 valiant. Slant 6 was one of the most durable engines of all time
It seems that those stylists had a “thing” for two door cars that looked like a four door car missing the other two doors!!
The Valiant/Lancer/Dart used the mostly thesame side sheet metal for four doors and two doors to save costs. The door opening was obviously filled with a longer side panel at the rear.
Case in point the ’57 – ’59 Plymouth Savoy.
These seem to pop up frequently, probably because they were such good, reliable cars.
It was certainly unconventional in appearance, but it pioneered use of aluminum in the trim and suspension, shaving a lot of weight. The legendary slant six was also available in an aluminum version.
Its torsion bar suspension provided superior handling.
And in these days of beige/silver cookie cutter Camrys, I love Virgil Exner’s craziness
I like it because it’s different and some might say quirky. The dashboard alone speaks to me in memory of Mopar styling being much more flamboyant than the GM and FoMoco products of the day. And what other compact came with a factory three speed with a floor mounted shifter? I don’t remember another one but I could be mistaken. This little Lancer is a very worthy entrant into my fantasy collection of eclectic vehicles. GLWTS.
I agree Carbob. These have really grown on me. The factory floor shift is cool too. I always thought that if the top was chopped about 2 inches, it would have increased the body style. Anyone want to photo shop that? If cheaper and closer I would be a player on this car.
My older cousins had one these. They used it as a winter beater. Then? Took it to Watkins Glen for that infamous Allman Bros and Grateful Dead concert, did some “off roading” with it, while there, and it never made it back.
Carbob,
The 1961 thru 1963 Pontiac Tempest/Lemans came standard with a 3-speed manual floor shift. Both the slant 4 and V-8 used the standard 3-speed manual — floor shifted because of their rear-mounted transaxle.
I had a 1963 Tempest 326 ci V-8 sports coupe with factory, floor mounted 3-speed. Great little car.