Although they shared the same B-Body platform in 1970, the Dodge Coronet doesn’t seem to get nearly as much love as the Charger, that is unless it happens to be a Super Bee model. But the Coronet got a facelift for ’70, and I’ve always thought that front-end looked entirely menacing, with the split grilles and those large wraparound chrome bumpers that surround them. This 1970 Dodge Coronet 500 for sale here on eBay seems to be a fairly basic model, but there have been some performance improvements already made, so if you’re a metal man and looking for a project this one may be worth checking out. The car is in Rapid City, South Dakota, with bidding having reached $11,200 so far.
The Coronet began life as a 318-equipped car, but that’s now gone and under the hood presently is a 440. We don’t get any specifics on the big block, such as what it came out of or if it’s ever had an overhaul, but the seller does claim that it runs well. Everything appears to be in good working order in the engine compartment, plus there’s also a 727 TorqueFlite automatic transmission. Immediate needs will include a new gas tank, as the motor is only running with a jug of gas, and we don’t get any information about the rear end at all.
Little is stated about the body either, other than the quarters are in need of replacement, but the seller says patch panels for these will be included in the sale. It looks like the hood and driver’s side door have been changed out at some point, and it’s kind of hard to tell about the rocker panel condition, but both front fenders appear to be decent. The areas around the windshield and back glass look OK too, and the Coronet seems to be pretty much complete on the outside.
The seats are looking structurally better than I was expecting, although at a minimum they’re going to need a thorough cleaning if a driver is all the next owner is going for. As for the rest of the interior, the dash and steering wheel are both cracked, and the headliner is falling. The radio has also been removed plus the seller says the driver’s side front floor is compromised, although the rest of the flooring seems to be OK. We don’t get to see the underside, however, the frame rails are stated to be good, but the trunk is thin. How would you proceed with this 1970 Dodge Coronet 500?
In my fantasy world of 30 years younger, I’d go full tilt on making this a Super Bee clone…source the right dash cluster, and while replacing the quarters, get a S.B. tail panel as well! Oh, well, one cam dream! Good luck to the new owner, as this looks a worthwile project! :-)
This looks twice as good as the listing for the Edsel above. It has two Edsel grills mounted horizontally. The grill is Fu King Ug-ly!
Me and my daughter have always had a feud over the 68 and 70 Coronet’s. I love the 68 and I think the 70 is so ugly if you owned one you would want to drive it in reverse everywhere. She on the other hand says she loves it because it’s so ugly, and she admits that. I don’t know who’s right I just know I wouldn’t own a 70 unless it was given to me, and then I wouldn’t own it long. I don’t know who’s right but we have fun with it and I love her!
I had a ’69 B5 Super Bee and I’ve always liked the ’70’s. My imagination convinced me that the style of the headlights/grill were “Bumble Bee” eyes.
Love the 70 best of the Bee’s, always looks pissed off.
Thanks to Greg Gustafson I’ll never be able to look at another 70 Coronet without seeing double Edsel grills. You ruined it for me Gustafson! It’s all good though. I’ve always been partial to the 68-69 coronet body. I grew up in a suburb of Chicago and my next door neighbor had a Hemi Orange 69.5 A-12, 4 speed that he bought from, where else but Mr. Norm’s Grand Spaulding Dodge. I got to drive the Bee 3 times when I was 17 yrs old. PS he also had a silver blue 67 coronet with a 426 street HEMI automatic, those really were the good ole days