While we all have the best of intentions when we embark upon a restoration project, sometimes life gets in the way. Days turn into weeks, weeks turn into years, and, before you know it, your enthusiasm has dimmed, and the project needs to find a new home. That seems to be what has happened for this 1955 Dodge Coronet two-door sedan(s) project for sale on Facebook Marketplace in Morley, Minnesota. If you want to take up the cause, you can fork over the cash for two different Coronets for the reasonable sum of $1,500 each. Or take your pick and walk away. One is a stored outside and the arguably better of the two is an indoor car. Is the low entry price an enticement to take on the seller’s unfinished project and make it your own? Thanks go to reader Ted for this two-for-one find!
The text of the ad is as follows: “We have two (2) 1955 Dodge Coronets. One has been stored indoors, one outside. Great chrome. Red Ram Motor. Rare two-door models. Solid body. Planned to restore it but never got to it. Located in Morley, MI If you are a Dodge nut you will love these. $1500 each Red Ram engines. Extra set of seats. Title to one of the cars. No keys.”
While the text of the ad is better than average nowadays, it is rather vague as to which car is being described in each part of the ad. To their credit, the seller has posted several pictures. Those reveal two cars that, on the surface, look to be in about the same condition. One would think that the Coronet that was stored indoors was the better one, and the one outside would be the parts car. However, they are being offered for $1,500 each.
To add to the facts we know, the Coronet was the lowest of Dodge’s three lines in 1955. Coronet, Royal, and Custom Royal were the three trim levels offered, and the two-door sedan was only available in Coronet trim. Conversely, you could get every other body style except for a convertible in this trim. Clear as mud yet? The only engine options available to Coronet buyers were the venerable 230 cubic inch inline-six or the 270 cubic inch Red Ram V-8. While we see that the seller has posted a picture of a Red Ram V-8 in what we assume is the indoor car, they do say Red Ram engines in the ad. Interestingly, turn signals were optional on Coronets, but standard on the higher-level versions.
While the seller’s price is likely market-correct, the issue here is what to do with each of these cars. Both seem to have solid bodies and good chrome but are far from a situation where you could just get them running and drive them. There is work to be done on each, from tires to upholstery on top of any mechanical issues. The harder you work on them, the more you have to weigh the pluses and minuses of fixing up a lower-level car with a two-door sedan body produced when two-door hardtops were the rage.
Still, someone on a budget could get these two cars cheap, or one even cheaper, and start doing the old Johnny Cash “One Piece at a Time” restoration. Mopars of this era are honest cars, and a Coronet would likely be a good driver once sorted out. What would you do with this deal? Would you be interested in adding a Coronet to your stable? Please share your thoughts in the comments.
Yep….that Red Ram was the single rocker engine with the Super Red Ram being the Hemi headed one. Thes both look pretty good for being in Michigan.
The Super Red Ram engine only produced another 10 or so horsepower over the Red Ram.
These are handsome cars, styled by Virgil Exner. I have a ’55 Royal sedan myself.
Yep….and I have a 1956 D500 base coupe.
When I was a kid back in the later 1960’s dad had a 55 dodge four door, don;t know what motor was in it but it did have a 3 speed with overdrive. Hadn’t thought of that car in years. After it quit running dad parked it up on the hill behind the house, one of our cats had her kittens in the car, we went up there one day after school to play with them and a tomcat had found them and killed them, some he ate the upper half and others just killed. Pretty traumatic thing for a 7 or 8 year old to find, life on the farm.
Big ol’ jug of nightmare fuel for cat lovers on this fine winter’s evening.
Sad story about the cats, just nature’s way I guess. I’ve always been a Mopar lover and seeing these two 55 Dodges makes me a little sad. Sad that they have been neglected like they have, and one even left to rust under a tree. Looks like they might have been in decent shape before the neglect started. Both might still be savable, especially the indoor one, and rare enough, IMO, to be worth restoring. The prices seem to be very reasonable so I would suggest buying them both if you were buying them to restore. They have the 1955 one-year-only shifter on the dash which most folks have never seen. I hope one or both of them gets saved so GLWTS.
I guess cats must love Mopars. A cat had kittens in my ’65 Barracuda,. Same cat did the same thing in my ’78 D-200 crew cab. Another cat had a litter in my ’73 Dart. That’s what I get for leaving the windows rolled down at night. We had a lot of feral cats in our neck of the woods. As far as these ’55’s go, sounds like something I would definitely do if I was looking for a project. Build one, and use the other for parts.
Well the classic car land scape has changed over the passed 10 years it cost so much to restore an old car like this even if you inhered its just not worth it
Perhaps not, if *money* is your only concern.
Yep…..a baby kitten was brought home to be with our other cat and we were eating dinner when we heard the fighting on the front porch. Older cat took a big bite out of the kitten’s neck….pretty bad stuff….
Did I read your post correctly?? 1,500.00 each and both for 3,000.00???