1957 Dodge Coronet Hardtop
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. 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.
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 that wraps 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 and highlighting 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 chip offs 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!
