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Mister Grinch: 1953 Dodge Coronet

Wearing festive Christmas like colors, this gorgeous 1953 Dodge Coronet sedan is ready to make your holiday season one to remember. Needing nothing other than a new home, this Dodge has been lightly modified. With a stunning appearance, and a great deal of maintenance, this Dodge is offered at $7,300. Find it here on craigslist out of Wichita, Kansas.

You’re a mean one, Mister Grinch, powered by a 241 Hemi, with a 3×2 Stromberg Carb set up, and some wicked side pipes, Mister Grinch! There are powder coated items in the engine bay, although we are unsure what is specifically coated. The core support, fire wall, and inner fenders are all beautiful with no evidence of dust or dirt, and you can forget about any corrosion anywhere in this engine bay.

Inside of this Dodge is nice as well. The front seat is covered, but we are unsure if the bench seat is damaged. The rest of the interior looks very nice, so we hope the front seat is merely covered for protection. The door panels look fantastic, as does the dash and steering wheel. There looks to be some dust on the steering column, and a little dirt on the driver floor area, but if that’s the worst of it, then that is great news.

Rear seating in this Dodge is just as nice, and there are some lovely added seat belts. You can see the front belts are mounted firmly to the floor with high grade hardware. The only thing to really nitpick about the rear seating area, is the door trim around the door opening that is lightly frayed.

The exterior is beautiful, and we always get excited to see cars that have been given the love they need. The owner splurged to get the bumpers re-chromed on this Dodge. All of the trim is present and shiny, and there is not a dull spot in sight. There is no evidence of any rust, and this Coronet is a beautiful ready to roll driver. You would be hard pressed to replicate this car, for the asking price. We think “Grinch” would be a great custom plate for this one, though we would opt to bring the joy of Christmas with this old Dodge, versus taking it away like the Grinch initially did. Would you bring the roast beast to Whoville in this 1953 Dodge Coronet?

 

Comments

  1. Avatar Woodie Man

    If you gotta have a 4 door…and a lowly Dodge Coronet at that, perhaps one of the homliest cars ever outside of the Kaiser it resembles, this would be the one. I love an owner who does right by any car. I’m guessing the front seat looks as good as the back seat.

    So hats off to the seller! Though to drive this I would need a fedora.

    Like 0
  2. Avatar jeff6599

    Ahhhh, real proof that the Red Ram was available in 1953!

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  3. Avatar David F Member

    This seems like a lot of car for the money if you don’t mind not looking like everyone else and driving something truly unique. Lowly? I think not!

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  4. Avatar Vince Habel

    These were called lake pipes.

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  5. Avatar RicK

    Wouldn’t the Hemi be a Super Red Ram (as opposed to the poly Red Ram)

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    • Avatar Ed P

      In 1953 Dodge only offered the 241 v8 and it was a hemi also called “double rocker”. The six was still available.

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  6. Avatar G 1

    Hemi = 1951 Chrysler Firepower – 1952 Desoto Firedome – 1953 Dodge Red Ram.

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    • Avatar Fred

      learned to drive in a 52 DeSoto firedome 8.It was a hemi with a semi auto trans called a Fluid Drive,an automatic with a clutch pedal.

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  7. Avatar Rustytech Member

    This thing rocks. Nice car at a very good price. IMHO while not a flashy as the new Fords in 1953, the Dodge was no more stodgy than the 1953 Chevy, and would run circles around it. I would convert this to 12 volt with a alternator, install a vintage a/c system and enjoy hauling the family around in style.

    Like 1
  8. HoA Howard A Member

    Whoa, that’s pretty creepy. This is exactly what I thought should have been done to that 2 door Dodge a while back. I don’t think, and someone may correct me, that the 3×2 ‘s were from the factory. From what I read, the Red Ram hemi came with a 2 barrel, and the “Super” Red Ram had the 4 barrel. Just an outstanding car here. Got a little of everything. Classic original looks, plenty of “pedal” for the on ramp, and a decent price.( wouldn’t it be fun to give a new Mustang a run for their money in this?) Someone did an outstanding job here, and I have news for ya’, got a LOT more than $7,300 in this car.

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    • Avatar Ed P

      I agree, the three deuce setup is probably aftermarket.

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  9. Avatar Rich G

    Looks like a lot of car for the money. I think I would repaint the radiator support in black, but the rest of the car looks pretty darn good as is. Really like the 3×2 setup and lake pipes. Not sure if custom wheels of some sort would improve the looks or not.

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  10. Avatar Lion

    I am sure, Rich, NO custom wheels. Nothing detracts more from a beautiful old bomb than some ugly spoked (and I mean 5 to a dozen or so) or modern alloy wheels. And NO low profile tires either, please!

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  11. Avatar Loco Mikado

    The frayed trim around the back door you referred to is called windlace. Nice car and a deal at the price. Too bad I have no place to put it.

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  12. Avatar Jerrold berg

    Great looking car. I dream of having like this in my garage. If timing were different I’d try to get it.

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  13. Avatar jeff6599

    Come on guys; you all know that the first tripower offered by the factory was the 1957 Poncho and Olds. No Fords,No Mopars, No Studes….

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  14. Avatar That Guy

    I actually quite like the styling of this car. Back in the day it probably looked pretty stodgy, but I think it’s aged very well. The two-tone paint revs things up just enough.

    It seems like a heck of a nice car for the money. I’d change a few details over time, like the red wheel rims (make ’em green) and the radiator support (not sure, just something other than red), but nothing’s urgent. I like this a lot. Nice find!

    Like 0

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