34 Cars 5 – Mazda, Lancer and the Like

Cars 5 – Mazda, Lancer and the like

Ginny needed a car besides the one I drove to work, so while the Lebaron engine was to be cleaned out in the shop, one evening I bought her a car from a dealer on Ten Rod Road in our town. This car was a 1981 Mazda “626”, blue 4-door sedan. It served well, but finally failed her with a loud “bang” driving back from New Bedford MA, where she had gone for an early MRI. I drove to where she was broken down, bought a towing strap, and towed the car back to our house; later I learned that she was terrified to be in that situation, steering her car while being towed at highway speed. Ever since, I lamented having done such a thing to her. I later figured out that the car’s engine had thrown a connecting rod, breaking through the crankcase and was terminal; it was towed away.

After the Mazda debacle, we bought for Ginny a Dodge “Lancer” from a dealer on the Rte 146 “Auto Mile” in northern RI. It was a 1987 model, grey, and had many options – aluminum wheels, cruise control, rear wiper, leather seats, power door locks, and power passenger seat. It was a 4-door hatchback with a four cylinder 2.2 liter turbocharged engine and had standard another nice feature, power windows. Ginny liked it a lot, but was badly hit on the right side by a just-out-of-repair car driven by the young son of a pizza maker, and our car was a total wreck. After some negotiation with our insurer (USAA) we were paid for the car and allowed to keep it in our yard, for salvage.

Our son Jodo had the same engine in his “Shelby Charger” – also a 1987 model – and had a Mopar book and price list for performance options from Chrysler, which he gave to me (I never used any of these, being smart enough by now not to “hot rod” our cars).

I next bought in Richmond (southern RI) a 1988 Chrysler “Lebaron GTS” from a private party, a woman lawyer who drove it to Providence daily. Black but substantially the same car as the Lancer, it had all the same features, plus a power sunroof, hood-locking security system and a “spoiler” package (the fin on the rear deck looked cool), but minus the rear wiper. Another difference: the 2.2 liter engine had roller lifters on its overhead camshaft. Driving a paper route Ginny backed this car into a utility pole, denting the trunk. The brakes failed in our town while driving a friend; the steel tubing was rusted through, so I replaced it at home, along with the gas tank and fill pipe. Ultimately we gave both Lancer-type cars to the junk-yard.