When the urge strikes to invest a lot of time, energy, and especially funds into a project, it often makes sense to choose the most desirable style of that vehicle as a base for the recipient of such a commitment. That’s in no way suggesting that a late-sixties Dodge Coronet sedan isn’t a worthy candidate for such an endeavour, but when it comes time to sell, a 2-door example may have more potential to grab the attention of a pool of interested buyers. However, the owner says he never thought he’d consider letting go of this one, but the recent acquisition of a Super Bee has caused him to reconsider. This 1969 Dodge Coronet 440 here on eBay is a beauty, and comes with a $25,000 price tag or the chance to submit a lower offer. It’s located in Green Valley, Arizona, and we’d like to thank reader Curvette for the great tip here!
The fine array of photos provided and notebook of receipts is good evidence that no corners were cut here, but the real icing on the cake is the 24 videos available for viewing that show the stages of everything that was done here, and it’s a lot! Outside, the body has been taken down to bare metal, with one NOS passenger-side quarter panel and a replacement tail section sourced and installed. The rest of the exterior was found to be in overall excellent condition, and with a new coat of Light Blue Metallic paint sprayed on, this Mopar looks about as fresh as it would have when it rolled off the assembly line well over half a century ago.
A confusing issue that Dodge presented Coronet buyers with was how they designated the trim levels back in ’69. One was called the Coronet 440, but it’s important to note that this model has nothing to do with the engine size. Although a photo of the fender tag isn’t included in the listing, the seller shows it in one of his videos, and code E44 indicates that this one left the St. Louis plant with a 318 under the hood. It’s been rebuilt and slightly bored, plus the standard 2-barrel carb and manifold have been swapped to 4-barrel components. While the engine was out, the automatic transmission was also removed and rebuilt, so this one’s probably for some long-term, trouble-free operation.
Although fairly basic, the interior appears good all around, with the seller noting that the seats have been professionally redone. The headliner, door panels, and dash are all looking spiffy, and it’s a positive to see that the correct AM radio is present. I’m thinking this 1969 Dodge Coronet 440 is likely one of the nicest 4-doors around, and speculating it would probably have already sold if it had just half as many entrances. Considering all the work that’s been done here, is around $25k a reasonable amount to spend on this beautiful sedan?
Well, since the dual exhaust has already been done, I’d swap the steelies and dog dish caps for a set of Magnums (and maybe some OEM exhaust tips) and cruise this beauty!! Simply fabulous!! GLWTA!! :-)
Not take away from the restoration on this vehicle, as it’s a beautiful example and shows well but, it’s a 4dr grandma’s car with a 318, albeit with a 4bbl. The price is affordable for most people but when I think of old muscle cars, I think fondly of the cars I had as a young man, namely 2dr cars. As I’ve gotten older, I have learned to appreciate different cars, even this one. If I had the room and $25k burning a hole in my pocket and this was down the road from my house, would I buy it? Maybe and that’s a big maybe.
The number of potential buyers for a car like this, at that price is infinitesimally small. Cars like this get a lot of love on this site, but it would diminish rapidly if that expression of love needed to be backed up by their own money. This car was a labor of love, which is nice, but once the decision to move on is made it will likely turn into the type of loss you see at clearance sales or liquidations.
Steve R
Never too many doors in my book. Especially one as nice as this. It looks like they really put a lot of work into this one. I’d be very happy to own it.
My first car was a blue 69 coronet 440. 318 auto and even had an am radio. I got it in 1973 for 690.00!with 115k miles on it. It ran great and I loved that car.