It is time to part ways with my wagon so I can pursue other automotive interests. The car is a 1955 Dodge Coronet Suburban wagon. It was featured in Old Skool Rodz Magazine in the January 2010 issue.
About the car: It has a 360 Dodge motor with an Edelbrock Air Gap manifold and Holley 570 Street Avenger carb and Odyssey battery. I just replaced the front motor mounts. It has an A904 3-speed auto trans, and a non-posi, Ford 9" rear end with 3.00 gears and drum brakes. The front suspension is Heidt's Mustang II IFS with KYB shocks and 11" disc brakes. Just rebuilt with new bushings on the control arms and steering rack. The rear suspension features Posies Super Slide leaf springs with 2" Speedway Motors lowering blocks. Wheels are steel painted, 14X6 front and 15X6 rear with thin whitewall radial tires, 195-75-14 front and 215-75-15 rear. It is painted in DuPont Chroma Base Dover White and purple. Colors were mixed to match Krylon Dover White and Rustoleum Painter’s Touch Grape. The custom pinstriping was done by a local pinstriper known as Sketch.
Many custom body mods were made including 3" extended front fenders with '55 Olds headlight rings, filled and molded grill with '55 Chrysler New Yorker lower grill bar, shaved tailgate and door handles and frenched radio antenna and the firewall has been smoothed. The taillights are from a '61 Corvette. The stock wind wings were removed and the front door glass is custom one piece and is power controlled. Entry to the car is via a remote that lowers the passenger window. Kinda funky but it works. I would probably switch to door poppers if I were to keep it.
The interior is matching Allante Bisque and Ultra Leather Grape and Aluminum and features custom teardrop knobs, a '63 Caddy steering column and '61 Caddy steering wheel Mooneyes gauges and Classic Auto Air "Street Rod Cooler II" air conditioning system. The front seat is a '61 Plymouth 60/40 bench while the rear seat is stock. All switch handles are custom teardrops to match interior colors. Sounds are by a Sony AM/FM/CD with 1200 watt amp and 5 speakers with custom subwoofer enclosure in rear. The air conditioner works fine, but with all the windows and interior volume of this car, it struggles when the temperature gets above 90. It won't make you reach for a sweater, that's for sure.
The car is a head turner and you are sure to be the only one at the car show with a '55 Dodge 2 door wagon. No matter where you go. In fact, only around 4,800 Dodge 2 door wagons were produced in 1955, compared to over 55,000 Chevy 2 door wagons. There were over 8,300 Nomads alone.
Car is always garaged. It is old school and that never gets old. I will include a copy of the magazine with the article on the car. It starts up, idles and runs and drives great.
It is an older build and it isn't a perfect show queen, but it is still in great shape. It could use a new passenger side sill plate, but I can't find one anywhere. It has some small scratches on the back tailgate glass, but nothing to warrant replacement in my opinion. It also needs a driver’s door limit strap, but I can’t find one of them anywhere. Door works fine but it could open too far if you aren’t careful.
If you are truly interested, please come take a look at the car and see what you think of it. Thanks! More pictures available upon request. May consider trading for another hot rod or early muscle car of equal or similar value. Car is located in Queen Creek, Arizona (Phoenix east valley).
