Vehicle Description
This 1965 Dodge Coronet 500 holds a unique place in automotive
history. While the Coronet nameplate had been around since the late
'40s, it had been attached to a long succession of
substantially-sized, though often awesomely designed cars until
undergoing a complete rebranding the very year this car came out.
Trimmed down to a mid-sized wheelbase with a lot of its previous
heft removed, the model met with an enthusiastic response, with
500s like this available only with V8s as an indication of their
intended purpose.
Decked out in a vibrant red paint job that replaces its original
gold metallic, this car is a very cool looking representative of
its era. With a very sleek muscular vibe, you can easily picture it
cruising down the asphalt leaving a huge smile on your face! It's a
unique looking car as well - the way the roof tapers inward as it
reaches down to the rear quarter panel makes for an expansive,
triangular-shaped rear window you don't often see on a coupe and
the rear windshield has a great wrap-around curvature to it. The
rocker panels feature an undercoat to guard against rock chips
that's been painted to match the rest of the exterior and it was
clearly an effective move, as you'd have to look long and hard to
find any real blemishes. Everything lines up well here - including
that aggressive-looking front grille and the long stretches of
chrome trim on the sides.
The interior has been thoroughly refurbished, with very
era-appropriate tuck and roll black vinyl covering the front
buckets, rear bench seat and door panels and showing only minimal
wear. The dash area has been brought back to life in its original
configuration, with a new instrument cluster sporting stock-looking
gauges that are joined by a trio of aftermarket counterparts
sitting just a little lower and right in front of that unmistakably
stout B&M shifter. Just above, a fresh-looking dash pad sits
impressively straight, crowned with an aftermarket tach to monitor
revs. The spacious trunk area is in good order, with a clean plaid
liner on the bottom. The battery has been relocated from up front
and sits here securely fastened and shielded to the side and
there's plenty of luggage room to spare.
Leaving no doubt that this car was built to be enjoyed, a 440-cubic
inch V8 sits in the engine bay in place of the original 426 Wedge.
With an eye toward highway cruising and dependability, the 440
certainly fits the part and is ready to go wherever your heart
desires. Sporting a pair of Edelbrock 4-barrel carbs and breathing
out of a pair of long tube headers, it starts right up with a nice
rumble from the exhaust. The much-heralded big block is paired with
an A727 Torqueflite transmission that's known for its ability to
handle high output engines dependably. Take a look underneath and
you'll see that, despite more than 50 years of faithful service,
everything looks impressively straight, making it very unlikely
this Dodge ventured into unplanned territory. This potent early
entry into the muscle car arena sits nicely balanced and level on a
set of 15" stock rims with outer perimeters painted to match this
Dodge's exterior, and wrapped in BF Goodrich Touring T/As.
If you're looking for an old school muscle car with undeniable curb
appeal that's built for highway enjoyment making a whopping 12mpg's
on regular pump gas (not a typo), you should definitely consider
this Mopar! Call today!
