There are barn finds and then there are real barn finds such as this 1955 Dodge Royal two-door hardtop. Parked in 1994, this mid-level Dodge has resurfaced and is now looking for its next automotive adventure. As already noted, it has cleaned up pretty well and I’d suggest that there is some definite upside for this automotive citizen of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We have T.J. to thank for this tip and those interested will find the listing for this almost 70-year-old Dodge here on Facebook Marketplace where it’s available for $6,500.

Coming in eighth place in the 1955 U.S. production race, Dodge offered three trim levels that year, starting with the “Coronet”, moving up to the “Royal” (such as our subject car), and topping out with the “Custom Royal”.  Royal body styles covered two-door hard tops (known as Lancers) as well as four-door sedans and station wagons. Our barn find is one of 25K to leave Dodge’s assembly line that year.

The seller tells us, “Body has surface patina. The frame is solid but the floorboards have some rust.” The before-and-after images are helpful as one can see what’s hiding under all of that barn mung. And what you have is a solid, straight-looking body, fair chrome and stainless trim, and non-delaminated/cracked glass. Yup, this one’s complete.

A Polyshere 183 gross HP, 270 CI V8 provides Royal power, or at least it did 30 years ago. With out a specific statement to the contrary, this one’s considered a non-runner. The engine looks complete and the inner fender appears to be sporting a newish starter solenoid – maybe an attempt to get it running? A PowerFlite automatic transmission makes the rear wheel hookup.

The interior still shows pretty well though the fabric and vinyl driver’s side of the front bench seat is showing some wear – no surprise considering someone’s bottom was planted there for a 124K miles of use. The interior upholstery and door panels are two-tone in a way that was so typical, and attractive, for 1950’s models – wish that were the case today. It looks like someone has added a trio of auxillary gauges under the center portion of the dash.

As stated earlier, we feature all sorts of cars that possess a myriad of back stories – many claiming to be barn finds that really aren’t. I’d say this one is ‘da real ting and is a nice alternative to a tri-five Chevy, which seems to dominate this era in car collection, hot rodding, and restoration. Here’s to hoping this Dodge Royal gets a new lease on life, wouldn’t you agree?