I just got home from driving my new to me 73 Colt wagon home.

has a 77 2 liter with a 5 speed in it. What a drive! here's a couple pictures from along the way, I'll post more once I pull them from my camera.

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"This is where mechanical excellence and one-thousand, four-hundred horsepower pays off."
76 Colt sedan, 73 Colt Wagon, 92 Galant VR4, 77 XS400

ah the mystery wagon! tell us what the build date is?
because it's got a '74 front end on it...

and hi-res pics of course

Title says 73... So I guess it's a 73

has a lot of things that it didn't originally have...

like a non working speedo, non working tach, CD player crammed into the dash, silver paint (originally a cool pea green) high flow shit exhaust, bondo, BMW front seats, removal of the choke linkages, a header, the list goes on and on....

stay tuned for things as the project gets ugly.

I put the ebay headlights in tonight, man they ROCK compared to stock.

_________________
"This is where mechanical excellence and one-thousand, four-hundred horsepower pays off."
76 Colt sedan, 73 Colt Wagon, 92 Galant VR4, 77 XS400

So it is a '73 after all, it's all still weird with the amount of 2nd gen parts it has on the front...because who in their right mind would get rid of the quad headlight setup, plus the instrument cluster is '74-76.

Here's how a '73 should look


I wonder if it was in a crash at one point and had a '74 front clip welded on?

The 1st gens had a shorter nose than the 2nd gens.

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91 Galant VR4 1350/2000
76 Colt Galant Coupe
75 Colt Galant Wagon
77 Colt Galant Wagon

i would wager to bet the front fenders are not the original ones, however it doesnt appear to have any subframe welding going on.

the title is salvaged so it could be any number of crazy shit. the unibody rails are straight, the front end is all good structurally but the passenger side fender has a plug where the antenna would be for a sedan/coupe and the antenna is on the A pillar as it should be...

the interior wiring in the dash is a mess.

_________________
"This is where mechanical excellence and one-thousand, four-hundred horsepower pays off."
76 Colt sedan, 73 Colt Wagon, 92 Galant VR4, 77 XS400

also, what about a very late 73/ early 74? it could wind up with mix matched shit on it. People did drink back then too

_________________
"This is where mechanical excellence and one-thousand, four-hundred horsepower pays off."
76 Colt sedan, 73 Colt Wagon, 92 Galant VR4, 77 XS400

The '74 Coupe/Hardtops you could see the transition. However even on the 2nd gen wagons, only the front clip is a 2nd gen and the windshield to the hatch is 1st gen. My antenna is located on the Right fender, the Coupe has it on the A Pillar.

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91 Galant VR4 1350/2000
76 Colt Galant Coupe
75 Colt Galant Wagon
77 Colt Galant Wagon

I was thinking about that wagon, but having a hard enough time getting mine squared away, trying to focus on one car at a time for once lol. Looks pretty decent! How far are you driving it?

He drove it from CA to Indiana.

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91 Galant VR4 1350/2000
76 Colt Galant Coupe
75 Colt Galant Wagon
77 Colt Galant Wagon

thats dedication! i wish i can do that but the time i broke down in the middle of LA and Vegas in my old 80 corolla made me think twice of driving an old car across the US.

This is interesting, my antenna is the boot/trunk lid.

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http://www.70scoltgalant.com/

same goes for my 76.

_________________
"This is where mechanical excellence and one-thousand, four-hundred horsepower pays off."
76 Colt sedan, 73 Colt Wagon, 92 Galant VR4, 77 XS400

Just for reference, my '72 Wagon(USDM) - currently in the middle of a 6G72 NA swap:





Though I made a similar trip a couple years ago(CA to NC), mine was on a tow dolly !

'bræd

since we're talking about styling differences, after looking at a lot of pictures side by side, I think I like the slightly longer front vs. the shorter first gen.

How is the silver wagon doing?

made it home just fine. I parked it in front of the garage and went back to driving my Galant VR4, since it's been snowing. Right now I'm sick as hell, but I'm hoping to bring the wagon into the garage in the next week to start on some shit. These wheels will probably go on my sedan and I'll get some 15x9 or 10's for the back of the wagon and 15x8's for the front. Bumpers from this car will also go on my sedan, I'll be using DOM tubing with a bit of forming.

_________________
"This is where mechanical excellence and one-thousand, four-hundred horsepower pays off."
76 Colt sedan, 73 Colt Wagon, 92 Galant VR4, 77 XS400

Started work on it over the weekend. Tackling the wiring harness right now. Just finished up trimming out most of the not needed pieces.

Soon:

_________________
"This is where mechanical excellence and one-thousand, four-hundred horsepower pays off."
76 Colt sedan, 73 Colt Wagon, 92 Galant VR4, 77 XS400

Oooooooooooo... I like the way you think .


Sure we're not related?


-'bræd

Nice! I have one of those sitting in the garage too along with a transmission for it.. Considered it, but I lacked the wiring harness and didn't want to go through the trouble finding one and an ECU, then definitely being forced to swap the rear diff haha.

Who knows what the future holds though. I've been wanting to build a single turbo 6G72 RWD car for a loooong time.

_________________
"This is where mechanical excellence and one-thousand, four-hundred horsepower pays off."
76 Colt sedan, 73 Colt Wagon, 92 Galant VR4, 77 XS400

A little spirited driving won't hurt it. Unless you plan to race/turbo the wagon, the diff's shouldn't be an issue. But since you would like a turbo, it seems you'd have to do that anyway.
Besides, my plans are mainly for a DD, cruising and road trips - with power to spare .




I say, GO FOR IT!. If you're gonna go thru the paces turbo'ing it, the rest is just par for the course. Why put off 'til tomorrow...


-'bræd

Because this will do for now and i've got about 90% of what I need.

If i go the other route, i need to source bits and pieces, i'd rather not when I'm so close to the 4G63.

_________________
"This is where mechanical excellence and one-thousand, four-hundred horsepower pays off."
76 Colt sedan, 73 Colt Wagon, 92 Galant VR4, 77 XS400