Here’s my chance to relieve my misspent youth! A ’65 Coronet wagon exactly like the Niedermeyer family truckster, except for the color scheme, and the period-correct mag wheels, which of course I would have died to have on ours. I could tear up my driver’s license and take it out for illicit drives just like back then. My very first (and very illicit) drive ever was in the Coronet, although one can never recreate the adrenaline of heading out on that adventure.
Thanks to a link to a Hemmings ad sent to me by Matt Spencer, this will likely be my only chance ever, as these are now exceedingly rare.
Here’s the ad copy:
This is a real untouched, unmolested 1965 Dodge Coronet Station Wagon, 440 with 37k original miles on it. Original white on red interior. Yes we have the original wheels and hub caps but had to put Torque Thrust 15″ on it. 318 Wide block motor runs perfect; I have never seen a cleaner under hood original Mopar like this. Original everything under the hood, great mileage and looks like crazy, you do not see these.
There is absolutely no rust and everything works. Am radio, adjustable drivers mirror were the options in the day. The car still has the original factory paint runs in the door jams, and the red paint that was first sprayed at the factory for the rear quarter panel stripe.
Electric rear window for the tailgate. The front fenders, and headlight trim has its little dings from grandma left it alone. The originality cannot be beat. the original red interior, seats carpets headliner are as new, rear does not even look like it has been sat in. Fold down rear seat huge rear bay area. no tears or rips anywhere.
Original jack system in the truck and behind the rear seat, original spare tire still in its place. all glass and trim, chrome perfect.
Too much info to list, you will not find another like this. I have many more pictures of the vehicle but you get the key points. Save thousands on a project build if you want to take to the next level like a new Hemi, never a better platform like this. The bottom of the car has never been touched wrecked or altered, seriously drives straight one finger on the wheel.
Drives as it is basically new. Would drive this cross country today and this has 100’s of thousands of miles left, you will not see another like this.
Please email your number for a call back, showing and or to discuss purchase. I will call you back asap. 206-409-7400 call or text
Could be a great pusher for your drag car or crackle fest!!!! Drop a new Hemi in it and a driver like no other. Pictures do not do it justice.
What!?! Drop a hemi in it!?! Come on; a Coronet 440 just screams for a…440 big block. Like I used to imagine ours had, when my imagination was in overdrive.
A most familiar sight. I could more readily recreate that legal long three-day drive in 1970 when I drove my family most of the way back from the Rockies in Colorado to Baltimore because my dad was sick. The high point was keeping the speedometer needle right at 80, as that was the limit on the Kansas turnpike back then. My dad kept leaning over and peering at the speedometer to make sure I wasn’t going any faster.
And here’s the proof, in terms of the mileage. This wagon must have lived a very sheltered life.
Ours was upholstered in a tan textured vinyl. And I don’t remember any seat belts in back, because there weren’t any. I’m guessing this is a six-passenger version; ours had the rear-facing third seat.
Here’s our Coronet, the only picture of it I can readily find, from probably 1967. That’s me by the back door, and my younger brother on the tailgate. And that’s my grandmother next to my mom, on her one and only visit to us in the states. She was in her 80s then, and had never traveled more than some 100km or so from her hometown of Innsbruck. Needless to say, it was her first plane ride. She was very desperate to go to the bathroom after she got off the plane in New York; she didn’t realize there were toilets on the plane! Tough woman; lived to be 98.
Looks like this Coronet has some august company.
Wow; is this a familiar sight. The 318 polysphere A Block engine was of course a staple in so many Mopars up through 1966, after which it was replaced by the lighter and somewhat peppier 318 LA. Basically the same block, but with modern wedge combustion chambers that were much more compact and weighed some 60 lbs less, IIRC.
A reliable lump of an engine, except for a nasty tendency to stall on moist/rainy mornings before the heat of the engine dried out the distributor. I couldn’t get it to peel rubber except under great duress. The wagons had a lot more weight on their rear ends, which of course made them popular as drag cars.
It’s very tempting, until one gets to the asking price: $25,000. My memories are precious, but even they have a dollar value.
I keep scratching my head – it seems that absolutely nobody is able to resist the urge to modify a 1962-65 Plymouth or Dodge on this body, if even only a wheel swap. I think it must be Federal law. The lightweight sleeper drag cars must have made quite an impression because everyone who gets his hands on even the lowliest sedan feels the need to recreate it.
If one of these turns up with original style wheels and tires, it needs to go right into the Henry Ford or the Smithsonian.
So, were you envious of the next door neighbor’s 64 Fairlane wagon? 🙂
Agree, J P !
For the longest time I looked and looked and looked, trying to find a close copy of my Dad’s beloved ’62 Plymouth, equipped with the 318 Poly V8 engine and stock cloth & vinyl bench seat.
All I could find were quarter mile clones with transplanted big block V8 engines.
Umm; kinda’, because it had full wheel covers, and ours only had dog dishes. 🙂
The interior trim panel of the tailgate is missing…. maybe you could get a discount.
Nice. I love the wheels which look correctly sized to me. The price is steep, I must say but not outrageous. It really does seem in great condition.
Drop a Hemi in it? Yawn, I’d rather have the Poly 318. Now that’s something different these days.
Although I was grousing a bit, I have to admit that the wheels look good on this. These final Exner designs seem to have the feel of motion even at rest. The wagons in particular have a little attitude in that kind-of-fastback shape. Although I am probably more of a Dodge 880/Chrysler T&C guy myself.
Without the hot engines and drag racing image, stock or otherwise, the plucked chickens and their successors til 1965 are about as appealing as Ramblers.
Exactly, they are very appealing
If a new car came out that was exactly like this one, and it cost only $25K, would you buy it? That’s $3200 in 1965 dollars. Looks like this car’s almost new…. Does it have more cargo space than your xBox?
$3200 is about what this cost when new, so that seems fair enough, I suppose.
As far as buying a new 1965 Coronet; no thanks. Modern cars are vastly better drivers. I remember all too well how this handled (not), how dead the power steering was, how modest the drum brakes were, how modest the power was, and how much gas it slurped.
I like the idea of taking this out once in a while, but not as a daily driver.
Of course. I remember a C&D road test of one of the MoPar fuselage cars; they said it “handles like a waterbed” and “the steering has as much road feel as the radio knobs.”
Not to mention the huge gap in safety. I just looked, fatalities per mile are now 1/5 what they were in 1965. Powertrain, suspension, brakes and tires can all be upgraded, given enough money and/or time, but there’s not much you can do about those old bodies and frames.
I’ve had such ideas myself, usually involving a Nash “Electrolyte”, so I had to tug at your chain a bit.
Traffic then wasn’t really any different than it is now. These were considered to be good handling among American cars at the time. I didn’t mind the numb power steering at all on my same platform ’63 Plymouth. And Chrysler always had 3.5 turns lock to lock when most others didn’t want to shock anyone used to manual steering with faster steering, although it was beginning to catch on by then.
It is true that the all-drum brakes were not all that predictable in a panic stop from speed – stopping in a straight line not guaranteed – would fade if used a lot, and stopping distances were longer. And then there’s crash non-protection with both no air bags and the whole car being the crush zone. No question – modern cars are far better and safer, and much more economical too.
But I drove a 1962 Continental – 5000 pounds of drum braked missile – for ten years as a DD in the 90’s, and other than hoping that no one would ever stop short in front of me with a 4 wheel disc braked ABS equipped car it was fine. In fact mostly it was great. And they didn’t handle as well as any Chrysler product, but it wasn’t anything like say a ’53 Buick.
Traffic is much heavier and faster in close order now than in 1965. Divided state and federal highways were the exception, not the rule. On top of increase in vehicles and population, miles per adult, miles per driver and miles per vehicle are up.
Re: Fatalities
Let’s not forget that today, the roads themselves are much better.
A lot more traffic goes on divided highways, which has really reduced head-on collisions.
The interstates were in their relative infancy in the 1960s. With their graded, gentle (albeit pockmarked and worn now) turns, less likely for even today’s less competent, more distracted drivers to lose control.
Paul, here’s an update on the Dodge Coronet wagon.
It was sold to a guy in Washington state and I bought it from him in September ’20.
It’s here in the UK and I’m keeping it in it’s original unrestored condition.
I swapped the American Racing wheels for some new period steels with whitewalls and a set of original Dodge dog dish hubcaps.
It’s just turned 40K miles and starts and drives like a new car.
The photo was taken on the banking of the old Brooklands pre-war race circuit
Thanks
Alan
Thanks for the update, and congratulations, Alan. It looks great, and even more like ours with the steel wheels and dog dishes.
Take good care of it! I’m sure you will. It’s good to know there’s an original ’65 Coronet wagon out there, even if it is across the pond.
Hey guys Las Vegas Jack here. I have a 1965 dodge coronet 440 station wagon myself. It looks very similar to yours it has a luggage rack, with a 383 big block with a 727 automatic torque flight transmission. Very clean car she’s been in the family since day 1. It’s good to know there’s other wagon guys out there. Ok dudes you be cool.
Nice!
“Exactly” as it is, no…and for all the reasons Paul just mentioned. As a hobby car or the basis of your dream wagon, its worth every penny. Now, lets have some fun with that question…
Theoretically, if $35K would buy this bodystyle with a thorough modernization where its necessary, but free of the shackles of regulation and trendy tech…lets talk. At that point, if it had the 345 Hemi and TF-8, drop the LX cars’ front and rear suspension in with the best 4 wheel discs that’ll still fit 15″ wheels, beefing up of the chassis where any known rust/crash weak points might be and some updating of seating and electronics…you might have a winner. What I wouldn’t want is dash mounted TV screens, catalytic converters, airbags, keyless start or any of that. What youd have is a factory restomod….but for $25-$35K I’m not sure that could happen.
Brings a tear to my eye with how awesome that is! The mags really bring it all together, you just cant go wrong with Torq Thrusts. I wouldn’t touch that 318 if its still a good runner. If it blows up, then an upgrade is in order.
She’s pretty sweet!
I was wondering… are there any modern warm-up options for a Poly 318?
Carb, intake, cam, heads? Dual exhaust, but not necessarily headers. (Would want to keep it as original-looking as possible.)
If such modifications were done, what kind of HP & torque improvement might one expect?
If building a hot smallblock Mopar, the Poly isn’t what you want. Theres some stuff out there and enough money/determination can hop up anything. Theyre good motors, and if you have a good one itd make sense to keep things pretty well stock. A LA based 318 or better yet 360 is what you want if youre wanting to build a smallblock. But then, the 3-gen Hemi is a LOT more attainable these days and its finding its way into a lot of builds. Gonna take a lot of love to get even a 360 to the level of a stock 345 Hemi but its all in what you want.
I am ashamed to say that if I got my paws on this, I would certainly make it a restomod. I’d put a 340 or 383 with a Torqueflight in a console, and modern A/C in it, and I would redo the interior using the theme of a period correct Imperial et al with big bucket seats and matching re upholstered rear Bench. I would leave the exterior stock, and try to do my mods so as to be reversible (prep the 318 for storage and put it in a nice crate).
Not a drag car, just a modernized version of the original with better AC, seats, and sounds.
A Wildwood disk brake conversation would be essential in modern traffic. They even make rear sets. Also cool would be a GearVendors splitter, which makes the Torqueflite into a six speed.
Nothing to be ashamed of. My 1964 Mercury Comet will be getting the dual circuit/servo/Wilwood brakes treatment this winter. Unassisted, single circuit 4 drums become old real quick on today’s roads. Maybe if I were living in some small US Mid-Western town but not here in Austria (not even the countryside).
Ahhhhhh, if only I could find a very clean example of my Mother’s “Suburban Status Symbol”, her ’66 Ford Country Sedan station wagon, equipped with the bountiful bottom end snorter 390 “Thunderbird Special” engine that was so useful when she taught me how to “Power Brake” a car (“Don’t tell your Father about this”)….
Beautiful wagon and colour ??
Sorry Paul, much prefer this…
Thanks, Antisuv. Mom still occasionally talks about “her” station wagon.
It was quite cold in early September, in New Orleans (in my parent’s bedroom), when my Father traded off Mom’s station wagon without telling her about it.
Dad paid for that stupidity-in-action dearly.
I do believe that this was the start of the “Woman’s Liberation Movement” in our family.
That’s a great period suburban family pic. I especially love the Cushman Mailster across the street.
I couldn’t help but notice the wind deflectors on your own family car, Paul. I was always trying to talk my Dad into getting those for one of our wagons, though I don’t think the Fords had the built-in handles (useful when loading roof rack?).
BTW, what’s that 3-wheel (?) delivery vehicle in your 1967 photo?
It looks like a Westcoaster Mailster, George. There were several manufacturers so it could have been one of the others, but this one looks close to me. One of those used to deliver to my home when I was a kid.
The grab handles were for entering the third seat.
What a gorgeous wagon! I recall seeing the ad for this one in HMN.
When I lived in NW Ohio in the 70’s, someone in the neighborhood of my dad’s store in Lima, OH had a wagon that looked very similar, with Torque-Thrust wheels and RWL tires. That one had a contrasting darker tan stripe and MIGHT have been a full-size station wagon; I don’t recall now.
My first driving was done in a Coronet ! A 1951 Dodge Coronet Diplomat 2 door hardtop with Gryomatic. My Father was a Dodge/Mopar man until 1962. He ordered a 1962 Dodge 880 convertible; which arrived in the wrong color combination. The dealer said too bad, what you ordered isn’t available.
I took him by the elbow down the street to the Pontiac dealer.He ordered a Catailina convertible in Bamboo cream with a tan top and interior. In 5 weeks it was there; just as ordered. He bought a new car every two years, and never had another Dodge.
What an awesome old Dodge wagon! It may very well be the the lowest mile and best condition of any of that year. So, the price is really not that outrageous. And, I agree that the mag wheels, while not factory original, do add something to the looks. Like the theme song to All In The Family, “…those were the days.”
Paul, I’m so glad you got a kick out of the link!
No AC. Pretty much every one of these would have had factory air in southern Arizona where I was, and I expect pretty much all across the southern third of the US at least.
I’d leave it alone and drive it occasionally on Sundays or cruise nights. Besides it comes with the original wheel covers. Let it have the dignity of being an unmolested original 50 plus yr. old car. You want to restomod a car start with one that’s been run down at least once already,with a tired or dead engine. Then at least your saving it from neglect or the scrapper.
I met a guy this spring at a car cruise crowing about scoring a deal on a unmolested( his words) 63 Nova SS original 6 cyl. convertible. Then he says he is going to have a 500 horse small block put in it. I said it would be worth more with the original six. He looked at me and furrowed his brow’ “Ya think”?
Like the ad above. Now’s your chance to become a molester.
Our family’s 65 Coronet had a 3rd seat but no luggage rack. Nor did it have the grab rails on back . l seem to recall a couple of small rubber padded steps on the rear bumper to clamber in through the rear window.
At age nine l don’t recall the performance of the 318. In ’69 it was enough to pull a family of seven with a big box on the roof with hundreds of pounds camp gear and luggage to the top of Pike’s Peak and back alright.?Good car. Good memories.
We had the same wagon. My parents had 8 kids. 4 boys and 4 girls. Lots of road trips and the corresponding memories. I typically was always in the back. My 2 youngest sisters usually would get car sick so mama’s babies they got to ride up front. My brothers and I got to play with the electric window on the back. Hi tech for then!! We stopped at roadside picnic areas. Popped open the cooler had fried chicken and soda pops with Mom’s homemade potato salad or cole slaw. We never saw the inside of a restaurant. Those were the best of times.