That Lancer is one unusual design but I like it. I'm in Homer Glen, Il, I hope I get to see it in person.
Bought this new in 1966 in high school. The old man said no V8's so had the 225 Leaning Tower of Power and three on the tree which got converted to a floor shift right away. Within six months the drivetrain from a wrecked '65 Barracuda S got swapped in including the exhaust. The old man says, "what the hell did you do to your car, it sounds different". Me, "oh I put glasspack on it" .
Last year of HS, I had a '57 Coronet 2-dr hdtp like this one 325 + Torqueflite. Made a floor shift for it by re-routing the shift cable down alongside the transmission. Didn't have white walls, but caps were all there. Got in a minor head-on accident and it was relegated to the grove. Should have rescued it later , but.... you know how the story goes.