Dodge Colt Vista

            

    

This is one of my fiercest, most loyal, least logical automotive loves--and I'm sure this will be the Car Lust for which I take the most abuse.

It's hard to think of a vehicle more unpretentiously useful than the Dodge Colt Vista. With its mini-minivan profile, copious passenger space, massive cargo capacity, and optional all-wheel drive, the Vista was the leading member of the burgeoning "tall wagon" class in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

People pay big money today for crossover SUV/wagons such as the Chrysler Pacifica and Toyota Highlander, or for small SUVs like the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4; the Vista did everything those vehicles do, but well ahead of their time. It was a do-everything Swiss Army knife of a car that could handle virtually any task dished out to it. It drove nicely, coped easily with uneasy traction, and could haul everything necessary for a week-long expedition into the mountains.

Plus, and I'm wincing slightly as I write this, the clincher is that I think the Vista is a very attractive vehicle, with an open and honest "face" and a smooth, well-proportioned body. There are those who find the Vista ugly, and they will likely mark my opinion as worthless from here on (if they hadn't already come to that conclusion after reading Car Lust in the past).

Still, I can't understand that viewpoint. What vehicle at the time, with anything close to similar capabilities, had a line anything like as pure?

The clincher, for me, is that legendary automotive journalist and former race car driver Denise McCluggage owned and loved her Vista. That's enough for me. These are available for a song nowadays, and to be completely honest I can't think of a better beater.

Good photos of these are hard to find, so this photo is of a thoroughly knackered example I saw up for auction last year.

--Chris H.

Comments

[sue on April 09, 2010 at 10:18 AM]

We just "retired" our 1992 Colt Vista--almost 230,000 miles on it and still had the original clutch (even with a teenager learning how to drive on it!). The northeast salt finally got to the frame-but everything else continues to run fine. Best car ever made!
Sue

[smitty on April 26, 2010 at 02:12 PM]

SUE!! Where are you? I hope you don't give the car to the wreckers without posting it on Craigslist as a parts-car. The wrecking yards know nothing about Vistas, care less, and crush them about as soon as they tow them in.

[smitty on April 26, 2010 at 02:18 PM]

To all: A new website, specifically for these machines, has been established by a former host of the site, www.mitsubishiclubaustralia.com
which I referred to earlier (and which still has much useful info). That site never did take off as hoped, but maybe the new one will if Colt Vista owners here support it:
www.CompleteRVR.com

[Emma on July 19, 2010 at 10:56 AM]

My mom drove one when I was a kid, and I got one for free off of Craigslist this year. I absolutely LOVE her. She's roomy and reliable, and gets really good mileage even though she's 22.

[Mark on August 11, 2010 at 11:00 PM]

I have had three Colt Vistas - all 4wheel drive, five speeds. They are, as many attest to in the previous comments, great automobiles. My present one has 214k and needs a new engine. Any leads on where to get one? I live in Northern Minnesota. Thanks.
Mark

[Canadian Colt Vista Lover on August 17, 2010 at 09:27 AM]

The 1987 Dodge Colt Vista was my first vehicle. My dad bought me a (less than 1 year old) pre-owned manual transmission model and I think he drove it as often as I did. He'd make regular trips to the States to visit friends, so he'd take this vehicle and leave me his Ford F-150, as it was a much more comfortable vehicle for long-distance driving.

We loved, loved, loved our Colt Vista. We could fit in several people, and with two sets of fold-down seats, it had tons of space available. We had Yokoyama tires on it, and those, combined with the 4-wheel drive, ploughed us through everything, including a few winter blizzards. We had relatively few problems with it until the 5th-gear issue arose.

We finally sold it before we moved West, but we both missed it dearly.

[Charles Falco on September 03, 2010 at 05:40 PM]

Still driving my 1990 Colt Vista 4WD-5 speed.
Car has 180,000 miles on it. I bought it in 1995 for $5000 with 57,000 miles on it.
This vehicle is practical as far as seating and cargo capacity and still gets 25 mpg.
I am in the process of replacing the fuel pump and looking forward to next 180,000 miles!

[Dana on October 07, 2010 at 04:05 PM]

I've got an 87 for sale! It's a great running little car. Anybody interested? $1200 OBO

Danahill13@aol.com
Make sure you put Colt Vista in the title of the email or it won't get opened!

[T Man on October 09, 2010 at 11:24 PM]

I was driving in a wild snowstorm from The Dalles, Oregon to south of Bend. My young pre-teen son had to look out the side window to spot the snow stake poles so I could stay on the road. I followed an 18 wheeler for many miles, barely seeing his tail lights through the thick "smokescreen" his tires were churning up. All of a sudden, I saw his brake light go on, and I had to do some interesting maneuvering to pass to the right of his rear end. Apparently his turn signals were on, but I couldn't see them blinking. My '86 Colt Vista handled superbly, as my continued existence testifies. My son later said that was the most scared he had ever been. He is now a Big Mountain ski competitor, skiing down very fast down extremely steep and gnarly terrain and hucking cliffs....

[DON on November 06, 2010 at 05:22 AM]

we have a 1986 colt vista 4wd bought it about a year ago drive it to work every day it belong to a older man it was parked in his yard with weeds growing around it said it ran when he parked it so i gave him $500 and towed it home gave it a tuneup' oil change'and filters and started it up drove it and then changed all gear oils to synthetic what a difference had 147k miles have put 10k miles on it and still going strong and fits all 6 in my family and 4WD to boot this is our 2nd one we had a 89 that trany went out on so we scraped it. darn if we only knew i found a 1991 that doesent run but is clean im going to offer $100 on it what a great car they are wish theywould make them again with todays technology inexpensive allaround SUV great 4 pacific northwest

[DON on November 10, 2010 at 04:09 AM]

so mutch 4 $100 he wants $350 is that a good price?

[abe nasher on February 21, 2011 at 05:46 PM]

Mark on August 11, 2010 at 11:00 PM

I have had three Colt Vistas - all 4wheel drive, five speeds. They are, as many attest to in the previous comments, great automobiles. My present one has 214k and needs a new engine. Any leads on where to get one? I live in Northern Minnesota. Thanks.
Mark [qoute]

yes I have a lead for you, or rather a tip the 1989-92 mitsubishi galants, also ran the same motor as the fuel injected vista's some did not have the jet valves, and have the engine code 4g63 [same as the vista g63b]

if you have a carb.equiped vista, the early mitsu trucks have the same engine

[fuel injected vistas]
or if you want to try something more peppy [I did this] you could try getting your hands on the 4g64 [they are also known as g64b] sohc engine [a 2.4 liter block] used in the early '86-88 galants or 90-92 mitsubishi pickups, also some hyundai sonatas from 88-92 had a 2.4 motor [same as 4g64]its code is g4cs
which ever block you chose make sure the head is a sohc. also these engine swaps, are for the fuel injected vistas if your carb. then you could swap the heads of the fuel injected block with the carb. head or you could find an early mitsu truck motor 85-87

[this can be done and works, because they are both mitsubishi sirus engines, and all sirus motors heads are interchangeable]

the swap was easy [if your fuel injected]just use your stock intake and everything else just bolts on.this swap is worth around 116 hp and 135 ft.lbs of torque and this can be felt when driving the car its a good swap and works well with the stock fuel system.and still gets decent mpg.
these motors are easy to find on the west coast,most pick-n-pulls have them where I live.
my family was from minnesota hope it's not to cold up north this winter.

[Rob B on April 27, 2011 at 12:27 PM]

I've had several of these. My present one has the two rear bench seats removed and you won't believe the space it has now! In addition to the other features mentioned above, as others have mentioned on the net, it's invisible to police, probably because it's so dorky. R

[Dale Skrobot on May 19, 2011 at 09:15 PM]

Mine was also my grandmother's who left it to me when she passed. However, I could never get rid of Rosie (the name my grandmother gave it). In fact, I'm starting a rebuild when I return from Afghanistan in a couple of months. She's gonna roam the streets again!

[Roger That on June 12, 2011 at 09:05 PM]

Where is the current replacement?
Is there any vehicle in production that does what this one did?
7 passengers in a pinch; fold down seats that sufficed for a padded sleeping surface, 28 mpg, AWD.
The utmost in practicality. Even Homer Simpson would be proud to own this--if it only came in a convertible!

[Dave on October 02, 2011 at 11:27 AM]

Loved these cars. Always considered them the most efficient use of space on 4 wheels. They should have sold a lot better than they did, but they were sold through Chrysler/Dodge dealers who always tried to up sell people to their minivans. (I had this happen to me several times.)

I wish they would bring these back into production. Of course they would have to dress them up to look like SUVs, because people seem to have some irrational aversion to wagons these days (a few years ago Mazda had a great wagon version of their Mazda6 that they couldn't give away), even though wagons have most of the functionality of SUVs, but handle a lot better. The closest thing on the market currently is the Mazda5 (no, I don't spell Mazdas).

[Ken on October 22, 2011 at 10:43 AM]

Parting out Colt Vista, call 434-996-4185

[C on October 29, 2011 at 03:38 PM]

Hi All! I was given a 1986 Dodge Colt Vista that had been sitting for 10 years. Clogged catalytic converter and a crummy carb and the guy parked it. Anyway, I love this vehicle - 5sp, 4WD - straight body, perfect interior, nice ride, super clutch and 4WD is great for work sites. I am considering a WEBER carb and/or new engine set up. Any ideas? Mine has a 26 year old computer under the driver's seat. A waste... in attempting to control the carb, it idles at 2300 rpm and wastes fuel. The engine burns oil, but otherwise performs fine (why ???). I disconnected the carb's oxygen sensor and the wire to the cc. Runs better. I am at 1500ft elevation. Comments welcome! Glad to hear your stories. -- C

[smitty on November 01, 2011 at 11:43 PM]

Anyone who wants information on Vistas should waste no time in getting over to mitsubishiclubaustralia.com and then to the Technical sub-forum for the Nimbus (their name for the Vista). Save or print anything you'll need because the site is closing soon. CompleteRVR.com, which was intended to specialize in these vehicles is also closing; it never really took off, and recently the founder of the site lost his wagon to a thief.

Colt Vista owners and rebuilders need a place to gather and exchange information, trade parts, and so forth. I am an old man and while I know mechanics I have very limited computer skills, and could not host a site. MCA, above, was the best gathering place I could find, but very few Americans ever showed up there.

Any ideas?

(BTW, anyone wanting to buy a Vista should do a Google search now; I just saw an ad for a primo, low-miles, 5-speed 4WD Vista in Chicago. It sounds so good I am tempted, and I already have one!)

[smitty on November 03, 2011 at 10:32 PM]

As to your comments, "C", first, most old Vistas have plugged "cats", particularly the upper one, which sits in a little cast iron canister at the bottom of the exhaust manifold. Get rid of the element and don't replace it. The main cat might also be plugged up and need replacing. Oxygen sensors in any car go bad and need replacing periodically. The Hitachi computer-controlled "feedback carburetor" worked well when new; information from various sensors on the engine went to the simple computer under the driver's seat and the computer sent back voltages to several solenoids on the carburetor which controlled various functions mostly relating to emissions control. This carb is, however, very difficult to rebuild successfully, and is best replaced by a simpler and better performing Weber 32/36 DGEV. Alternatively, the later fuel injection system and computer and sensors might be fitted to an earlier car. I went with the Weber, and removed the computer and all associated wires, vacuum hoses, sensors, and solenoids, greatly cleaning up the engine compartment. This is not a job for anyone who does not have a fair amount of experience working on engines, however. But if you want to try it, I can give you some preliminary jetting suggestions for the Weber.

Again, we need a more tech-oriented place to meet than this.

[C on November 08, 2011 at 06:00 PM]

Thank you, Smitty! I contacted www.webercarbsdirect.com (866-679-3237) about the carb. Their 32/36 DGEV carb ($199) with adapter is called the WK614 ($259). I consulted with "Mike the Vista King" (Mike's Auto Services in Sequim, WA) and will be purchasing the WK614 shortly. He suggested I might be able to dial back the throttle a bit, and I will try, but for the long term I would like the new carb. They also suggest the fuel filter be replaced at the same time since the Weber is lower pressure.

This car is 26 years old, the tires are 10 years old, but haven't popped any yet, the battery is not sealed (to add water) and I get funny looks, but still it is my car of choice. My Subaru is parked for now! There is a 1989 on a lot in Burien... I might go buy that one, too.... Thanks!

[smitty on November 12, 2011 at 12:29 PM]

One recommendation I got from the Weber enthusiasts when I was researching was to install a fuel pressure regulator and dial it down to about 2.5 to 3psi, max., which is pretty low by usual carb standards.

You know, once you get the Weber working, the computer (ECU) has nothing to do. I hate computers, and they know and enjoy this, and do everything they can to provoke me. So, one of my best days working on a car was the day I tore out the Vista's computer and all associated sensors, vacuum hoses, wiring, etc. (I even photographed the piles of stuff I removed). I want a SIMPLE car!!!

[smitty on November 12, 2011 at 12:31 PM]

Here's a big caveat for everybody, for any older car:

Today's fuel, "gasohol" with 10-15% ethyl alcohol added to gasolene, has some properties which call for some extra preventive maintenance. First, alcohols absorb water out of the air and out of the usually condensation that forms on the inside of any fuel tank that is less than full. Normally this is no bad thing, but if you let the vehicle sit, the steel tank and lines and the aluminum fuel pump and carb/injection could rust and corrode more than otherwise. Also, standard neoprene-rubber soft fuel lines deteriorate much more rapidly than otherwise when exposed to alcohol, with tiny chunks coming off the inside diameter which can hold a fuel pump check-valve open or plug a passage in carb/injection. The current advice is to replace all of your soft fuel lines every four or five years, or else get the very expensive Teflon-lined hose used by racers. Finally, gasohol has a much stronger solvent effect than straight gasolene with the usual additive package which includes detergents. The effect of this is that the gasohol will tend to strip any accumulated glop off of the walls of the fuel tank and send it down the long hard fuel lines toward the engine. I learned the hard way that an incredible amount of this glop will work its way right through a brand new Fram fuel filter and deposit itself all over the inside surfaces of the intake manifold, carb, ports, and upper cylinder walls. I had to take the manifold and head off an engine I had just rebuilt (G63B for my Vista)and hand-clean everything! My car had sat for years with a blown engine before I bought it, so I knew enough to drain any old fuel out of the tank, shoot carb cleaner down the hard lines, and pour some new fuel into the tank and drain THAT out, too, before I fueled the engine to run it. I thought I had done enough, but boy was I wrong! I have rebuilt engines for fifty years, and had I not seen this myself, I would have had a hard time believing it! After reassembling the engine, and before starting it again, I took the fuel tank entirely out of the car (not a big job) and got it "boiled-out" in a machine shop hot-tank. This is a step I am taking with every vehicle, boat, small engine, that I own. GET THE TANK CLEAN!! Even if it doesn't have the goop that mine had, you'll still eliminate one source of trouble. The gasohol will keep the tank pretty clean once you get the old stuff removed

[Alan Moore on December 07, 2011 at 07:47 AM]

Love them myself, haven't had one in 9 years, but I've been owner of the Yahoo coltvista Group for a decade now and finally decided to start a message board for the cars. coltvista.com and the board is live, so feel free to go post and hang out with other Vista owners!

[smitty on December 07, 2011 at 02:27 PM]

Did y'all get that??? Come on, Vista owners and rememberers and wannabes, the estimable Alan Moore has given us a last shot at a real Colt Vista website. The ones I cited above have gone away. We can do something good with this opportunity, but if we don't, wave goodbye to the Vista, because there won't be enough information around nor enough parts access to make it worth anyone's while to restore one of these orphan cars. Get over to the site and contribute something to make it a winner.

www.coltvista.com