Vehicle Description
This Gorgeous 1962 Dodge Polara 500 Convertible stands as a rare
gem in automotive history. In the year 2000, the previous owner
acquired the car, which was powered by a 361 but had a Max Wedge
Clone big block in it. Having originally been an Alabama car, the
body was remarkably rust free and straight. A new paint job was
recently completed at the time, black with red accents. However,
the decision was made to strip the old paint and start all over
again. This operation confirmed that the Polara was indeed
originally black with a white stripe. A new base coat/clear coat
black paint scheme was then sprayed. All bright work and
essentially every part of the car that shines has been stripped,
smoothed, and re-chromed/polished by a local chrome shop to high
standards.
The drivetrain underwent a dramatic change as well. He decided the
440 that had come with the car wasn't suitable for a major buildup,
so another 440 was located. The goal was to build a potent but
dependable powerplant. Knowing by this time he wanted to keep the
black beauty a Max Wedge clone (just for the record, there are no
Max Wedge '62 Polara 500 convertibles known to exist), he set out
to create the perfect mill. At the bottom of everything is a 440
block bored .030 over and fitted with forged TRW pistons. The
compression ratio was kept to 10:1 to enable the Dodge to live in
the world of pump gas. The heads were reworked, ported, and fitted
with hardened steel 2.14 intake valves. A Crane roller cam bumps
around the valves. The cross ram is an original 1963 casting Max
Wedge piece and supports a pair of original 3447 625 fm Max Wedge
carbs. The original Max Wedge cast iron manifolds were Jet Hot
coated to keep them young looking. You'll also notice the correct
Max Wedge wiring harness, which pins the wires against the inner
fenders to keep them away from the hot manifolds.
Backing up the potent crossed up big block is a rebuilt TorqueFlite
with a B&M
shiftkit still controlled via the original dash mounted push
buttons. Out back is an 8-3/4" rear suspended by Super Stock
springs and holding a set of 3.91 Sure Grip gears. The heavy
springs are largely responsible for the Dodge's forward rake and
help the Cooper Cobra radials mounted on American Racing wheels get
a little better bite when it comes crunch time.
One of the most striking features of this Polara is the drop dead
gorgeous two-tone black and white interior. When originally
acquired, the seats had just been re-covered in the black and white
pattern, but the rest of the interior was still largely original.
Naturally, he loved the Oreo color combination of the seating and
the remaining door panels also exhibited a two-tone black and white
theme. So, he embarked on finishing up the convertible's innards.
He turned to SMS Auto Fabrics to make the classy door panels and
then placed new black rugs on the floor. The dash was repainted,
all the dash chrome refinished, and the original deluxe
"Astrophonic" AM radio was reworked and converted to an AM/FM
stereo job with modern internals while retaining its stone stock
look. Since radio stations are few and far between in rural
Wisconsin, he installed a vintage 8 track tape player to provide
tunes when none other are available and keep the car somewhat
period looking at the same time.
When the summer of 2001 came around, the reborn Polara hit the
streets and immediately proved itself to be perhaps the best
all-around car the meticulous Mopar collector ever had. Fast
forward to today, the current owner has owned the car for many
years, and the car is still looking incredible. Being a meticulous
Mopar collector himself, he has taken extreme care for this car.
The undercarriage of the car is extremely clean and an excellent
shape as well. The chrome and bright work are in excellent
condition, and overall enjoyability and drivability of this Vintage
Dodge Polara is exceptional. An original '62 service manual, Dodge
Polara brochures, extensive collection of receipts from work done
during the restoration, a 2002 issue of Mopar Magazine featuring
this specific car, and other documentation is included with the
sale of this car. Don't miss this opportunity to own an extremely
rare piece of Mopar history!
