When it comes to cars, there are varying definitions of what comprises a “Survivor”. It can be based on exact original condition preservation or a mostly original orientation with perhaps a repaint in the born-with color. It could also be a term bestowed upon a car that still exists today and was probably never expected to. Enter this 1972 Dodge Coronet Custom four-door sedan. No R/T or Super Bee here – there wasn’t even a two-door Coronet offered in ’72. This is one that was probably not anticipated to last, but it has and it’s worthy of review. This Coronet sedan is located in Emeigh, Pennsylvania and is available, here on craigslist for $10,500. Thanks to Mike for this tip!
Things had changed for Dodge by ’72, just as they had for every other auto manufacturer too. Performance was on the way out and Dodge’s go-fast focus was on the Charger and the “days-are-numbered” Challenger. Workmanship and material quality, in general, had started to noticeably slip too. Body styles for the ’72 Coronet were reduced to two, a four-door sedan and a station wagon, and those two were spread across either the base or “Custom” trim levels. Cars like these tended to serve as either basic, family transportation or as members of a fleet. Their propensity to corrode severely under the right climatic conditions has not been helpful in promoting model longevity either.
Regarding this Coronet, the seller claims, “59,000 original miles, never sees rain or snow“. It definitely shows well – no doubt about it. The Light Green Metallic finish is deep and shiny and combined with the vinyl top covering, it just shouts 1972. The amber fog lamps look a bit out of place but they definitely don’t look tacked on and the rally wheels are a very nice inclusion on this four-door sedan.
As expected, there is a 150 net HP, 318 CI V8 engine under the hood, and it is stated that it, “Runs and drives like new“. The image is a bit blurry but it appears to be standard fare with A/C and power brakes. A new fuel pump and muffler have been recently installed. Power to the rear wheels is via a TorqueFlite, three-speed automatic transmission.
The matching cloth and vinyl interior does in fact, as the seller suggests, look like new. The carpet is faded to a sort of straw shade but the rest of the interior components, including the door panels, dash pad, and instrument panel are in remarkable condition. This Dodge has clearly been gently used and well stored indoors.
The seller states, “This is a PURE SHINE AND RIDE CAR you can drive this car to car shows or work.” While daily driving would probably work from a reliability perspective, it will take its toll on this beauty aesthetically, and mechanically, with all alacrity. It’s more a show machine and it will attract eyeballs because it’s not a Charger, Challenger, Super Bee, or R/T. That said, it would seem the appeal will certainly be more limited than it would if it were one of those more desirable models with two fewer doors. And the cause probably won’t be helped by the price. At least that’s my guess, what’s yours?
It being green and uncommon, If I had garage space this would be mine. If it doesn’t need anything and is truly ready to drive, the price may not be ridiculous.
Beautiful car.. I love the green and the price is decent
So what if it’s a sedan? I always thought this body style was pretty sharp. Ten grand sounds reasonable if the car is what they say it is.
This one brings back memories of my 3rd car. It was my winterbeater for my 79 Mustang Cobra I bought in 79. It was a 1969 Coronet 2 door had been repainted a nice shade of blue, but you could see it originally was green. The engine was the same 318 with the 3-spd auto. It did not have a lot of get-up-and-go, but served its purpose. I still miss it to this day. I would be tempted on this 72, if I had any spare cash. GLWTS.
I bet it had more oomph than the 79. The 318 was a great engine, esp a 1969. Of course, might have been held back by a 2.42 rear axle. The 3.23 was the way to go. Though I must say, really liked the 79 Mustangs at the time.
It was just barely this side of safe to drive. If I floored it, the engine or transmission may have failed. I treated it with kid gloves, or I would have had to drive the Cobra in the winter.
This is one of the most bland cars of ’72.
And those wheels just don’t look right on it.All
of these I’ve seen had full wheel covers.
I disagree, (IMO) the wheels are helping to relieve the “blandness” of which you speak. Those alleged “deer repellers” on the front, however, are hilarious! GLWTS!! :-)
My moms aunt had a 73 Coronet 4 door. By 1983, Iowa’s winters had taken its toll. The body was rusted through in many places. She hated to see it go. The car had soul, but no body.
I saw many of this body style destroyed on TV in the 1980’s. Hunter, A-Team, Dukes Of Hazzard, CHiPs, TJ Hooker….flipped, rolled, blown up.
Most of those were old police/fleet cars that were never going to survive long term. The local pick your part wrecking yards were littered with cop cars and taxis, the only parts people wanted were the power steering coolers and wider wheels.
Steve R
My mother bought this one new after her “helpful” brother convinced her to trade in that impractical 1969 Dodge Charger with less than 40K on it.
The Coronet was sedate and predictable. Until I eventually commandeered it as a bar-car and we renamed it “The Undercover Car”.
A friend had an all black ’68 Ford Custom 4 door, with the matching painted wheels, and dog dish hub caps. It had a 302, with a 3 on-the-tree. We called it “The FBI Mobile.”
Just what I need! A turn key car I could
drive anywhere. For my brood, a 4-door
is a must. And here in Florida, insurance
companies will charge you 2 to 3 times
the going rate if you own a 2-door car
or SUV. And if the car is red, be prepared to pay 4 times as much.
I have a 1973 version of this in Yellow with 45k miles on it. Non A/C but otherwise identical equipment and nearly as clean as this one. Mine has some custom tweaks to it but none that are irreversible or take away from the car. I may be selling it soon so hopefully Barn Finds finders find it once I list it but for anyone who wants to know what it’s like to own one, ill tell you it borders on mundane until you show it and park next to a nice Cuda or Camaro. These cars are relatable and everyone knows someone who had one like it and they’ll always tell you all about it too, and all you’re trying to do is pump gas and get it off the road and away from teenagers and crossover suvs and distracted whislt texting drivers. I won’t try to sell mine for this much however, interested parties will let me know I suppose.
Awesome car!!!! Much better than any you have to do work on!!! Groovie green is a cool color too, manual windows and that aftermarket FM radio under the dash (which no one mentioned yet), yuuup, I’m buying a lottery ticket for tomorrow and if I win I’m buying it and having a garage built to store it in the winter!
I have one in yellow and no aftermarket radio that’s nearly as clean as this one that wouldn’t take a lottery ticket to buy. Just saying..
Rob Z you should contact me!
Put BigYellaStella into Google and you’ll be able to see photos of it. Even has a vanity front plate that is period correct, on 15″ steel wheels, no caps, chrome lugs and solid white letters are out like God intended
Let me know how and I shall, Mark
Don’t see the flip down armrest. Might be a base model. Not a Custom.
While the amber lights in the grill are not stock, the rest of the car is, and it’s a tidy survivor. Perfect to show, or daily-drive.
A lovely example of AARP’s 1972 Car of the Year!
Perhaps a disc upgrade, new shocks and a true dual exhaust. And we’re done. The wheels suit it, way better than dog dishes or full covers.
Chris, this ’72 Coronet has Factory front Power Discs and rear drums. Stops like a champ, and no brake fade on those long mountain descents….
I would like to know if this car has the optional electronic ignition that was offered for $35.00 on 1972 V8 engines.
The amber fog/driving lights ARE tacked-on, along with the deer whistles (which were so big in the ’80s and ’90s, until they proved not to work that well.
The factory rallye wheels are an owner addition, too.
’72s still ran well, better than the ’73s would.
LOVE this perfect green machine!
I guess I’m old but I just don’t get the 4 doors being so popular now days, to each his own I suppose.
You miss out on a lot of interesting cars being part of the “too many doors” crowd.
Plus those are priced at ridiculous levels as well.
Now these are the kind of cars I grew up with in the 70’s. Affordable, family orientated, domesticated, roomy sedan and simple. I wish I could find a 73 Plymouth Fury III sedan I grew up with, unfortunately that particular 4-door model year was a victim of attrition and extremely hard to find and believe me I’ve been searching like crazy.
This reminds me of the ’70 Coronet 4 door that he bought in the early 90’s Same color, 318 auto, in great shape for its age. I think he paid $500 for it. It must have been a little old lady’s car or something.
We had a lot of fun cruising around in a car that was an oddball even back then.
He lent it to me one time and somehow I busted the timing chain or something, so off to the junkyard it went.
Super easy car to maintain, no stupid sensors or 30,000 mile camshaft failure like new $60,000 Dodge junk Hemi trucks. It’s ugly, but cool. Biggest problem is if you use it to commute, expect to be run over by idiots in Hondas and other cookie cutter Jap junk.
I guy a raced snowmobiles with I help take the 383 out of their 67 Newport and fit it in a 73 Coronet, that engine really woke the car up! It was faster in the Coronet than the Newport.
Nice car. Only draw back to me . Is the vinlyn top. These are good cars and will keep up with the hondas and Hyndas all day long. They are comfortable to ride in to. Not like the cramped up little throw away cars they make now days.
From the new owner:
For the record, I purchased this car while attending the 2021 Hershey AACA Fall meet. I had to drive 3 hours west from Hershey to western PA. After an inspection and test drive I purchased it. For the record, I paid well below than the posted selling price. I made the 7 hur 390 mile drive back home with zero issues. Even the vacuum-actuated cruise control works. I am the current owner with no plans to sell it. Some things I have done since I purchased it include the following:
-Replaced the AC Compressor with a working rebuilt unit along with a new AC accumulator and regulator. The system was previously converted to 134. It now blows ice cold!
-Added a new dual exhaust system from the headers back with Flowmaster 40’s to give a nice throaty but not obnoxious tone.
-Currently the Coronet is having some paint work completed to fix some pitting on the trunk lid; painting both quarter panels to correct the wrong color match on the previously re-painted passenger side quarter, and to fix some excessive paint wear on the driver’s rear quarter panel. Also installing a brand new Steel Rubber Trunk seal to replace the worn out one in there now.
-Installed a new OEM designed Carter BBD 2-barrel to replace the worn out Holley aftermarket that was in the car and was hampering engine startups, idling and performance.
-I left the aftermarket, but period correct fog lights on the car and had them re-wired to work with a separate toggle switch, but only when the parking lights are on.
-I removed the hideous deer whistles.
-Cleaned up the engine compartment and removed some aftermarket items to put it back to factory spec.
And some things yet to be done:
-I plan to strip and repaint the Mopar Rally Wheels to make them look new again.
-I am going to remove the aftermarket FM converter you can see under the driver’s side dash.
I will have the car on display for the 50th Anniversary of 1972 model year Mopars at this year’s Chrysler Nationals in Carlisle. This is a real time capsule that the original owner really check the option list when ordering this ’72 Coronet Custom Sedan.
I drove it home 390 miles / 7-hours one way from Emeigh, PA I plan to own this for many years to come now. It currently has 61K original miles on it. It’s a great driver and gets as much attention at the shows and cruise-ins than most anything else out there! If you find one, buy it! You won’t be disapponted!
Omg well under asking!!!!! I hope you paid more than 5G he said would could not go that low!!!!!! Keep posting about it, I love it❤️❤️❤️
Too bad you can’t post pictures of it with what you’ve done.
Hey Mark, thanks for the note. After I inspected and test drove this Coronet, the seller obviously realized I was a very serious buyer who drove 3-hours one-way from the Fall Hershey show to see and inspect the car. Standing in front of him with the purchase cash-in-hand and following an extremely brief purchase negotiation we agreed to price level you mentioned as he understood I was offering a very fair & realistic amount pointing out some $$ that had to go into several items in need of repair and correcting and I was ready to take the car. Once we shook on that deal, we headed over to the local Penn DOT agent in town to do the purchase Title-Transfer & Notary paperwork and issuance of a 60-day temporary PA tag that allowed me to drive the Coronet back to Hershey where we had still another day there. In all, I cruised the PA highways and country roads home some 400 miles home in this gem. Pure bliss, even the factory cruise control works like new.
I will link a YouTube video of it’s attendance at the 2022 Chrysler Nationals coming up in just over a week and I’ll post the video link here in this thread so you and others can see the very small amount of refreshening and detailing it needed to bring it back to even closer factory originality. This year at the Chrysler Nationals is the 50th Anniversary celebration for the 1972 model year Mopars like this one. These Mopar sedans just keep climbing the desirability ladder. “More doors” as some call them have finally found their place in the sun as other body style values have ascended to the outer atmosphere almost forcing people to consider these very worthy alternatives. I think I found this one just in time last year and was lucky to buy it for the low amount I did. I see demand prices for “More-Door Mopars” just keep going up since, and I have even turned down some offers at a few car shows and cruise-ins. For 4-door lovers like me, this one’s a keeper!
Mopar Den: Thanks for the great update! Keep them coming because it is great to read about what happens to the cars that are featured here.
Here’s a YouTube Video Short (15 Sec.) of my ’72 Coronet on Saturday July 30, 2022 at a local car cruise-in. You can see how well the car’s paint came to life with a buff out wax and polish, and the quarters and deck lid’s recent repaint with a perfect color match. This ’72 Coronet looks nearly new again:
https://youtube.com/shorts/lm26ljvDnXI?feature=share
Powder Coated the Mopar Rallye Wheels looking better than new! Also removed the old dry-rotted white walls for a nice new set of black ways that gives a much more sporty/aggressive look to the car.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAwKIxBOxeE
Another video of the car after putting on new tires and having the older peeling Chrysler Rallye Wheels powdered coated to look better than new:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAwKIxBOxeE
With the dual Flowmaster 40’s installed getting ready to head home from an evening cruise-in:
https://youtube.com/shorts/6kRKle1iNjg