Vehicle Description
1957 Dodge Coronet Hardtop
When the Dodge Coronet entered the scene in 1949, it served as the
division's highest trim level. A restyling in 1955 brought a
shuffling within the Dodge ranks with the Coronet emerging as the
lowest trim line. Newly hired Virgil Exner restyled the bodies to
be longer, lower, and wider resulting in an increase in sales over
1954. The Chrysler Flathead straight-6 engine displaced 230ci and
now delivered 123hp. Two V8 engines were available, including a
270ci with Polyspheric heads and delivering 175hp and a 315ci
'Hemi'. Virgil Exner endowed the 1957 Dodges with styling similar
to the 'Forward Look' Chrysler models. The wheelbase was stretched
to 122 inches and a length of 212.2-inches and the station wagons
were 214.4-inches long. They were lower, longer, and wider than
previous Dodge models and rode on 14-inch wheels. In the front were
deeply recessed headlights located below large headlight 'brows,'
and chrome trim surrounded the headlights and grille opening. A
single horizontal chrome strip traversed the body side and along
the base of the rear fender fins. The grille had a gullwing-shaped
horizontal bar that lowered in the center and included a prominent
Dodge crest. The Dodge name, in block letters, could be found along
the grille, below the chrome jet-style hood ornament.
Let's travel back to the days of Dad rolling off to the office and
mom staying at home, playing bridge and preparing a hearty, (heart
attack inducing), dinner. Cruise up and down Main Street Anytown,
USA in 1957 and you would be hard pressed not to see tail fins
cutting past you like a shark in shallow waters. From the Mopar
camp tail fins were abundant and Dodge surely didn't skimp on
design when they grew serious fins as seen on this 1957 Dodge
Coronet we present to you. This car comes to us with a
non-verifiable 72,286 miles on the odometer after spending time in
a private indoor collection since 1968. It's overall solid, runs
and drives, and is begging for someone to take it to the next
level.
Exterior
Presenting in non original maroon, this 2-door hardtop, (this
writer's personal favorite body style), is elegance and excess of
the late 50's in all forms. The Virgil Exner Forward Look is
prevalent here, lower, longer, wider! Starting up front we are
greeted with a massive chrome bumper showing some age tarnish, but
still shining brightly. Dual sunken in headlights and marker lights
grace the forward protruding fenders and float like eyes peering
into the darkness. A chrome split jet tops the hood as its
ornament, the area below is shaded by a chrome surround thatwraps
around to meet the 3 tiered bumper and has a slightly faded Dodge
crest hovering in the darkness. The huge maroon steel slab sides
display with stainless trim spears that runs the length of the
body, slightly dipping to meet the tail lights and above is a
second spear starting behind the front door andhighlighting the
base of the fin. And for good measure a small spear races rearward
from the gas filler door. The paint has seen better days but is
still presentable with some cracking, fading and chipoffs and the
gaps are well maintained throughout the car. The rear end of this
car is where the magic truly is... triple tail lights floating at
the back of the fins and a long mean tarnished and surface rusted
bumper hangs below. A cavernous trunk out back has rubber material
covering the floors and holds the spare tire still leaving ample
room for camping equipment, groceries, and even a console color tv.
Lest we forget the curving roof that is highlighted by the
stainless trimmed wrap-around glass and all encompassing black
vinyl top. We note areas of the original aqua paint color peeking
through on the bottom side of the trunk and under the front filler
panel. 14-inch black painted steel wheels come our way with
standard polished wheel covers and are wrapped in older thin
whitewalls all around.
Interior
Two tone is the theme inside, black and gold to be exact. With a
swing of the driver's door we are greeted by said hues on the door
panel with chrome separation spears defining the transition between
the two colors and a groovy chrome wide spear just below the black
painted upper sill. As we peer at the front split back bench seat
we are blessed to see a mixture of black cloth and gold vinyl
stretching from door to door on the uppers and replacement smooth
gold vinyl on the front lower with nary a rip or tear and only
minor soiling. The rear bench mimics the front but with factory
original materials and condition, does it get any better? Our two
toned theme carries to the dash which is fronted by a massive black
steering wheel and has a nicely preserved chrome horn ring holding
the Dodge crest within. Looking past the steering wheel we are met
with more black steel for the dash topper and a cream steel face
with an abundance of chrome bezels that surround gauges whose job
it is to monitor engine functions, and gear selectors on the push
button shifter pad. A black panel is above and holds the long
sweeping speedometer and works with the bump up in the dash to
create a small eyebrow. A quick glance across the cream sea of
steel we spy a black oval in front of the passenger for the
glovebox, a chrome bezel for the AM radio, and down below the
heater temperature control slider. Down below the floor is flooded
with black rubber vinyl that shows some stains and fading. A crane
of the neck up and we see a tight perforated cream headliner with
cream separation bows, totally fab!
Drivetrain
361ci of B-series big block power greeted us when we opened the
hood. Topped by a 2-barrel carburetor and producing a healthy and
respectable 245 horses, this 2-door is a wolf in sheep's clothing
on the power front. Sporting smudged and patinaed valve covers and
years of dust and dir,t this engine is still a thing of beauty. A
2-speed Powerflite automatic backs up the big block and sends power
back to a 3.54 geared rear axle. We note power steering is on board
along with a monstrous blower motor assembly for the heater.
Undercarriage
A solid frame, body hangers, and floors show with a heavy black
undercoating, no worries to speak of here. The rockers have some
small areas of invasive rust that should be remedied before they
become major, but that is the worst of the undercarriage. We note
an independent torsion bar, (Torsionaire), front suspension and
leaf springs on the rear. Drum brakes on all for corners bring this
boulevard cruiser to a halt. We note a surface rusted single
exhaust system with a glasspack muffler being in charge of the
exhale.
Drivability
After a warmup, it was push the button and go! Good acceleration, a
slight miss at idle, and a decent cruiser, with only the horn not
functioning. A few other minor issues crept up during our drive,
those being a multitude of exterior bulbs being out, but overall
our drive was nice with good acceleration, bias free braking and
well heeled handling for a car this large.
A great example of the late 1950's with some TLC required but not
enough to merit years of work simply so it can be enjoyed. Finish
up the wife's "killer" bacon topped meatloaf and head on down to
the Classic Auto Mall, become the proud caretaker of this piece of
Americana and you won't need a time machine to relive the 50's!
Classic Auto Mall is a 336,000-square foot classic and special
interest automobile showroom, featuring over 850 vehicles for sale
with showroom space for up to 1,000 vehicles. Also, a 400 vehicle
barn find collection is on display. This vehicle is located in our
showroom in Morgantown, Pennsylvania, conveni...for more
information please contact the seller.
