In the 1954 Dodge lineup, the Royal was the cream of the crop. And the convertible was the rarest model with just 2,000 copies built. But 700 of those were replicas of the Royal drop-top that was chosen to pace the field at the Indianapolis 500 that year. Which means just 1,300 were not Indy pace cars, like this likely barn find. The car runs but needs detailing, which should improve its appearance greatly. Located on the back of a trailer in Vinita, Oklahoma, this rare Dodge is available here on Facebook Marketplace for $12,500.
We understand the Dodge slogan for the Royal in 1954 was “Elegance in Action”. And this automobile looks to have once lived up to that motto. It was likely the most lavish of any Chrysler product you could buy short of the New Yorker or Imperial. Under the hood was a 241 cubic inch “Red Ram” Hemi V8 paired with a 2-speed PowerFlite automatic transmission. This was a big deal in the mid-1950s as Chevrolet was a year away from putting V8 engines in their cars.
The Royal carried a higher level of exterior brightwork than the lower-level Coronet, and this example has the remnants of a Continental spare tire kit and wire wheels (like the Indy pace cars). Dodge-badged convertibles were scarce in 1954, as only three percent of total production had that body style. This one may have as few as 19,000 miles, but its history doesn’t seem to come with any documentation.
We’re told the car needs a “minor restoration,” but that depends on what level of quality you will want to present. The automobile does run, but the gas tank is gunked up and needs to be cleaned out after sitting for what may be many years. It’s a shame the photos don’t show the car in its as-found condition, but when washed, it might look pretty good. As a restored automobile, it could be an awesome example of how cars were made 70-75 years ago. And a bravo goes to “Terry” for this nifty tip!
Looks like a worthwhile project to take on. An early Dodge with a baby Hemi is worth taking on. The Powerflite transmission is no screaming hell but it’s pretty hard to break; Chrysler had building automatic transmissions nailed down pretty well by that stage in the game.
I came close to picking up a ’54 station wagon powered with a Hemi but my wife has an acute aversion to station wagons. She doesn’t have a problem with a panel delivery for some reason. Of course I’d probably get shot just the same if I showed up with this, while I’ve got other unfinished projects to work on. But you can always dream…
That doesn’t look like a 19,000 mi. steering wheel.
But it does look like an unrestored 72-year-old steering wheel on a convertible, regardless of the odometer reading!
Yep…..it’s been for sale for awhile now. 1954 D500 converts come up for sale as well at about the same price – BF has listed two I’m sure.
I would like to buy this car
And where’s the rest of the chrome trim that ran along the body sides? My father had one and there was a photo of him standing next to the car– which had all the trim of a regular ’54 Dodge on it. Looks like someone’s trying to pull a fast one to me. Nice car though and
something you don’t see all that
often. Last one I saw was in a YouTube video several years ago
So wait a minute while I check this out..
I’m also surprised by the side trims; those in advertising brochures and on other convertibles run the entire length.
But there are Dodge Royal Sport coupes that have these trims! A spring variant?
Are those turn signals under the trunk??
Yep. An aftermarket “upgrade”. Probably somebody’s idea of a simple fix.
Towing helpers I’m betting….
They are back-up lights, Laguna Mike, which were an accessory and not standard yet in 1954. My 1946 Ford had one. But by around 1949-1950, they came in a matched pair somewhere on the skirt that ran underneath the bottom of the trunk-lid. Many cars had them, and many did not. Some were sold as accessories by Western Auto and others; however, most were factory-installed by manufacturers of the cars.
Kind of looks like a small Checker Marathon from the rear.
Could you imagine a Checker 2 door convertible?
Checker Marathons were often called “The best 1953 car ever made”.
Did they say if paint is original? Nice car.Good price. I just hope they don’t keep trying to run it with fuel lines all gunked up.
When are people going to learn NOT to put ethanol gas in older vehicles????? Especially if they are going to sit any length of time!!!! This looks like a excellent entry level car into the hobby for a reasonable price and the amount of labor needed to show it off at a local show, cruise in, or cars and coffee.
Itching to just detail this car to see it clean. Bet it gets asking price .
In my 71 years, I have never seen a Dodge quite like this one. Where did all those trim pieces come from? The side trim that makes the pseudo false wing and the hood trim, and the two-tone painting on a 1954 dodge along with the Dagmar bumpers are just incredible. What’s this some type of custom job? I could be wrong about it being factory, but I’ve never seen this before.
Here is this car before someone got it running: https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/1954-dodge-custom-royal-convertible-241-hemi.1326029/
That post refers to the two-tone as the “Spring Special” trim.
Below are examples of the coupe variant of that trim. The first one lacks the rear wheel opening molding that this convertible has, but the second has it.
https://www.hemmings.com/stories/dodge-royalty-1954-dodge-royal-sport-coupe/
https://www.raleighclassic.com/vehicles/2443/1954-dodge-royal
No mention in the Hemmings article of there being convertibles available that way though.
So factory, or all the trim was transplanted from a coupe? If factory, has to be a rare bird.
Looks like a very solid car and would be a real eye catcher if redone, unfortunately the cost of a good paint job alone is more than the completed car would ever be worth. If a person were content to just clean it up and drive it pretty much as is, it might be a fair deal.
Never cared for the 1954 Dodge all that much: the 1953 was far better-looking, with it’s 1951-derived grille.
Hi Angel 😇! Check your email as I came across a YouTube video about Checkers that had a couple
photos of what I think was a prototype for a Marathon coupe
So yes dear, I could see that Checker drop top you speak of. And oh yeah! It could be a Checkillac with a bit of work! Now lessee, a Road Rage smash & Crash front bumper kit? Check ✔️. 472 big block Cadillac V-8,
Turbo 400 tranny and a Dana 44
rear axle? Check ✔️. EFI or turbo
for the 472? Maybe, depends on
which one is more efficient. 4-wheel disc brakes with vented rotors and 4 piston calipers? Check ✔️. Vintage.heat and air?
Check ✔️. Kick-ass AM/FM stereo system with Syrius XM?
Check ✔️. You behind the wheel
when the car is finished? Double
Check ✔️ Me beside you holding
your hand ✋? Triple check ✔️
Yeah, I know it’s all a dream, but oh my God what a dream that would be! Found some more Cadillac station wagons for you too!
Hey Ken,
Yeah, I think a Checker 2 door would kind of defeat the purpose but it’s a thought.
I just came across a video about the Cadillac Castillian. The video actually went back to 1941 when that hotel, the Biltmoore i think, in Colorado had quite a few specially built Cadillac wagons for their guests. Ive seen their 1956 Cadillacs. I think they had two or three of them. Movie stars and celebs had them specially made through coachworks in the 60s and 70s. Most were Fleetwoods but some were Sedan de Villes.a lot of them had liftgates which I despise. Very few were made with the clamshell tailgate but thats my preference.
There were even a few with Oldsmobiles Vista Cruiser with the windows in the roof.
Anyway, thanks for sharing
But a convertible? You have two ways you could go with this one.
You could do it as a 2-door drop top or a convertible sedan with either fixed window frames like a
’50s Rambler or in the style of the
GM convertible sedans of the ’30s and ’40s that chrome edge
side window glass with a B pillar
that retracted into the center post
behind the front seat. Any way you do it, it would truly stand out
wherever you drove it. You would
also have to have some extra bracing at the bulkhead between
the rear seat and the trunk and below the windshield posts for extra strength and to compensate for the loss of the roof. And don’t forget the side door beams to help with rigidity of the body before bolting it to the frame. Too bad we can’t get
Scotty to Photoshop one for us.
That was a flex if I ever read one! 😆
Maybe after I get done with the ’53 Cadillac I have on my work table, I’ll lay one out. A Checker
ragtop sounds way too cool to leave alone. Now for the Cadillac
wagons. I have indeed seen some of them equipped with that
clamshell tailgate you like so much. And if you knew who to call, you could have yours built with 100% GM parts. I understand that the ’68-’70 cars
used roof sections from a Buick
Estate wagon to make these Cadillac wagons. And the ones I’ve seen are really sharp and the
Wagon back looks like it grew there. Boy, what I wouldn’t do to
get one of those 4-door hardtop
jobs from ’69 or ’70. I’d paint it
Champagne 🍾 Gold with a dark
red or Maroon leather and brocade interior. Then, I’d add a
kick ass stereo so that I could have all the classic rock, country,
and big band stuff my old ears could handle. Maybe 10 or 12
speakers, nothin’ fancy, just a
decent unit that makes you feel
that you’re right there playing along. And last, but certainly not
least, a proper set of wire rims
wrapped with 2″ whitewall tires.
Now THAT’S a wagon for you!
I’ll bet that if you looked hard enough, you could find a ’71-’76
conversion with a 4-door hardtop
body with that clamshell tailgate you like so much too. Uh oh! My
brain is telling my hands to lay out one of those Cadillac wagons
just for grins and giggles. Hmmm. The Checker ragtop or the Cadillac wagon: Which one will win?….
Ken, If you enjoy older music, Do a You Tube search for Slim Dusty. He was born in 1927 and was Australia’s top country star from 1945 to 2003.. Recorded 104 albums in his lifetime, performed at the closing ceremonies of the Sydney Olympics in 2000., had the Aussie Prime Minister speak at his funeral.
If you like trucking music he recorded a 4 disc box set of just truck music.
Yeah Brocky, I have heard of him
but didn’t know that he was such
a prolific artist. Sounds like he had a really good run.. Also liked
The Singing Kettles too. And do you folks have a Grand Ole Opry
type show there? Used to listen to ours all the time on Saturday
nights on WSM out of Nashville.
Tennessee while traveling town to town on tours. Used to open
for a lot of those folks when I was in my teens. Some of them were jerks, but most of them were really nice people. I almost
got to play a show with Carl Perkins once. He came to our Fall Festival 🎎 in ’79. His rhythm
guitar player wasn’t feeling well so they asked if there was any guitar players out there to take the man’s place. My neighbor boy raised his hand and pointed at me so I went up to the stage
area and got ready to play with
him. His rhythm player showed
back up even though he looked like hell, he still played that show.
Disappointed? You bet I was. It’s
not every day you get to share the
stage with the man who wrote
Blue Suede Shoes.
I took my daughter to a Grand Ole Oprey show back in about 1995(??) and only listen to Willies Roadhouse on Sirrus-XM in the truck. I have a 3 disc set of Slim Dusty’s top recordings and gave my 4 disc set of trucking songs to the ATCA Vintage Trucks of Florida chapter to play at their shows. Every year he put about 12k miles on his car performing at everything from large concert halls to small Aboriginal villages. If you find his video of “Pub with no Beer” it was recorded at an open air concert in Broken Hill QLD AU with trucks in the audience.