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Old Gold Sled: 1973 Dodge Coronet Crestwood

The first word that comes to mind here is “dinosaur”. Perhaps it’s because this wagon is so old, huge and obsolete or because it took a lot of dinosaurs to fuel this beast. Whatever the case, this big Dodge is a nice old survivor in a classic 1970s color. Thanks go out to reader Matt Williams for spotting this interesting wagon listed on craigslist in West Tacoma, Washington. The $6,000 asking has been reduced from $6,850 and doesn’t seem too unreasonable for a well-maintained car that runs and drives well. It is said to have only about 55,000 miles. This wagon looks pretty straight in the pictures with one dent pictured on the right front.

There is a bit of rust pictured on the right side ahead of the wheel well. It is said to have always been in Tacoma, so there shouldn’t be much rust but a thorough inspection would be a good idea. Was the sill actually built that way, or have there been repairs do you think?

The driver’s seat needs repair, but this is all that is shown of the front seats. The view from the rear looks really nice except the front seatbacks are missing.  Perhaps the interior is in good condition overall but much of it is not shown. That is a two-way tailgate, but they don’t say if there is a third-row seat.

There is a thirsty 170 horsepower 400 V8 engine somewhere under all those hoses and wiring. A gallon of expensive gas might get you seven or eight miles of city driving and perhaps 11 or 12 on the open road. Dodge didn’t sell many of these given the scarcity and the rising price of gas in 1973.

It’s really popular to stop along Interstate 5 and take a picture with the signs for Weed, CA. (There city motto is “Weed like to welcome you”) Now that weed is legal in California, the signs just might mean exactly what they say. It must have been a comfortable trip down to California. As long as the roads aren’t too windy and the gas is not too expensive this old wagon would be a great cruiser. It’s got a few dings, the vinyl siding is a bit faded and at has least one area of rust damage. It’s easy to make the vinyl look better and it’s already been lowered a bit to give it a nice stance. I wouldn’t do anything to the old wagon except fix the AC and possibly repair the rusty bits. The price is low enough that it’s almost the price of a much newer car used in a similar condition. Do you think this big Dodge is as nice as it appears in the ad?

Comments

  1. Avatar Steve R

    The ad has been deleted by the author, did have a chance to archive it?

    Does it look like the lower portion of the door jamb in front of the rusty wheel well look like it has a layer of bondo? It seems like it might be sculpted.

    It’s a nice wagon if the pictures are representative of it’s condition.

    Steve R

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  2. Avatar Kman

    The first thing that comes to mind is Brady Bunch. Marsha, Marsha, Marsha!!!

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    • Avatar '59fordfan

      @ Kman: At least, these owners sprung, for ‘wood-grain’-a feature neither of Carol’s similarly coloured Plymouth station wagons possessed. Nice car!

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  3. Avatar Fred w.

    I like everything but the front bumper guards.

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    • Avatar Classic Steel

      take it off then 😎

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    • Avatar PRA4SNW

      They became mandated equipment in ’73. My Barracuda had them.

      This is a really sharp looking wagon.

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  4. Avatar Dick Johnson

    Duuuuuuude. Weed, California should have “Oh Wow”as a motto.

    I don’t remember my 400 getting that bad of fuel mileage. A 400 Mag would return low numbers if I “left my foot in it” for extended periods. Ok, even for very short periods. Had something to do with a pistol grip shifter and a four speed.

    Doctors, realtors, and CEO types driving H1 Hummers did more to national fuel consumption than these wagons ever did.

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  5. Avatar Jay E.

    Ironically I believe the City of Weed banned the sale of recreational marijuana. Missed opportunity don’t you think?

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  6. Avatar Alan

    I was Never fan of station wagons but nevertheless its a nice classic Dodge from 70s!

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  7. Avatar ccrvtt

    The first word that came to mind for me was “Elegant”. This is a very cleanly styled vehicle, so much more visually appealing than the current crop of deformed turtle mini-SUVs.

    California is by definition conflicted. The place was created when the country was lifted by the East Coast and everything that wasn’t anchored down rolled into the Golden State. Certainly a land of contrasts.

    Like 1
  8. HoA Rube Goldberg Member

    Ha, ha, I’m sure they weren’t the only person to stop here for a photo ( like Gay, Michigan in the UP) Got to be quick with these. As people get more and more pissed off with their modern car repairs, many are turning to the older wagons, and for good reason. Still stylish, useful( can still get plywood in the back) and run forever. I’d easily trade a few mpg for a dependable, useful car like this.

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  9. Avatar Beatnik Bedouin

    As long as there aren’t any serious surprises left by the tinworms, it would make for a nice, practical car, as Rube suggests.

    His comments are one of the reasons I’ve kept my Ford Sierra wagon for the past eight years, although the mpg the little Pinto mill delivers is closer to my ’05 Suzuki Swift Sport than a ’70s V8.

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  10. Avatar ROTAG999

    This one has been on a few other sites it’s local to me and has been for sale over a year or more.

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  11. Avatar bob o

    i wonder if a charger grille will fit?

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  12. Avatar Bud

    First word that comes to mind is classy. The big old American wagons were stylish and elegant. And as others said, this is the Dodge version of Carol Brady’s Plymouth Satallite wagon, same color too.

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  13. Avatar Suttree

    The front fender looks longer than a 1970s VW.

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  14. Avatar dweezilaz

    The Coronet Crestwood was considered an intermediate. The Dodge Monaco above is even larger

    Like 1
    • Avatar frank

      I thought it was funny that they said “Dinosaur” in relation to this car because this wasn’t even the biggest Wagon Dodge Sold, the Monaco and Polara wagons were even bigger! Thanks for posting the picture.

      Like 1
  15. Avatar Dovi65

    Old? Yes. Huge? Yes Dinosaur? Yes. Obsolete? NEVER! Wagons of this size will hold more cargo than any Suburban/Yukon XL and be more practical to drive

    Like 1
  16. Avatar JoeBazots

    I grew up in a wagon just like this, only in green. Even when gas was relatively cheap (sub .75/gal) I still remember dad moaning and groaning about the crappy mileage. He always said it would pass anything but a filling station. Good memories. When Vacation first came out and they left in the “family Truckster,” it alway made me think of our trip in summer 1976 from St. Louis to Niagra Falls – and camping on the way there and back.

    Like 1
  17. Avatar Patrick T Rogers

    Like some others have posted here , the Coronet / Satellite line was indeed the intermediate lines of Dodge and Plymouth . They were the B body platform cars while the Chrysler Town and Country, the Dodge Monoco / Polara and the Plymouth Fury l , ll and lll were on the C body platform and were considerably larger than their B body counterparts .

    Like 0

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