The 1969 to 1973 Chrysler “C” Body includes at least three personal favorites: the hidden-headlight Plymouth Sport Fury and Chrysler 300 coupes, and the Chrysler Imperial sedans. However this 1970 Dodge Polara makes a sharp contender as well, with its smooth front and rear design containing the chrome bumpers within the lines of its nicely sculpted body. Thanks to Matt W. for spotting this remarkable 47,289 mile survivor from Sutter, California, listed here on eBay, where biding exceeds $9000.
Chrysler called this generation of “C” body “fuselage styling,” and this angle clearly imparts a sense of aerodynamic and powerful forward motion. The seller describes the car as being largely clean and original – down to the original exhaust! This full-size Dodge re-joined the California roadways last year after a lengthy storage and is described as “a great driving car.”
In 1970 my grandparents had a 1969 Dodge Coronet, gold inside and out, and I’m sure they would have appreciated this one… slightly larger and upscale with its fancy air-conditioning and (apparently) enough seat belts for five-across (!?!?).
This is not a restored car, folks, but it could pass for one. The two-barrel 383 cid V8 makes 290 HP (gross). The trunk, undercarriage, and rockers show just as well. There are fancier and more muscular cars from 1970, but here’s one that needs nothing but some polish to win a “Survivor Class” trophy. Where do you predict the bidding will end on this time-capsule beauty?
Wow! I mean Wow! This is a clean and beautiful automobile. Not a car. This hear’s an automobile!
I always had a special feeling about these C bodies. I’d probably sneak in a Carter 4 bbl. And let that 383 cruise!
This one could be blamed for making a drooler look lusty.
Admittedly I was not a C body fan in the past, but more recently I’ve begun to really appreciate their lines…that 3/4 rear view is amazing. Beautiful car…a far cry from today’s generic styling and me-too blandness. Thank you for the continued enrichment Barn Finds!
She’s a beauty and the price is good.
The big 2-door hardtop cars from this era are under appreciated. Great driving designed for long distance. Most of the big 2-door hardtops were used up and crushed. The “extra” seat belts are for the shoulder belts which were folded/ clipped at the headliner. I think ’70 may have been the first year for shoulder belts.
I agree. Although not my favorite in the past, I’m warming up to them. The 70 Pontiac Grand Prix, Olds Toronado, and the boattail Rivieras come to my mind. This is a fantastically clean survivor of a bygone era !
Actually my ’69 Grand Prix had them, so I believe that was the first year for the shoulder seat belts. Not 100% certain though. The picture is from the cover of the September 2011 issue of Muscle Car Review.
Wowsa and me twenty from retirement and no Bermuda shorts and pension check to fill
the big tank of the boat!
The good news my future memory loss will be aided by12 mpg on interstate system smart board alerts of lost senior predicted to be out of gas in large boat car !
Possible grandkids and poney in trunk too! 😎😜
Very nice. If you take care of something, then…..
It was all set, Chrysler promised an even stronger car for the California highway patrol, a special cam with a part number to go with it, ultimately the hottest interceptor, even better than the ’69 which in a big car like this here Polara was not only fast but crazy quick. It never happened thanks to governor Ronald Reagan who more or less forced government agencies to buy from different manufacturers that year. CHP got Ford’s instead, while not shabby, were not in the same league as the 440 pursuit Fury’s and Polara’s , especially when it came to stopping the massive cars. This car here reminds me of a cop car, these always have for me. Very nice.
These were fantastic cars and great road cars. My dad had 69 Polara brand new it was awesome. Police Department’s favored Chrysler police interceptors as they knew how bulletproof they were. Just check out the chase scene from Bullitt and watch that Charger corner some of those turns at 70-plus miles per hour and the torsion bar suspension didn’t even flinch. The straightaways in bullet they were going between 90 and 120 miles an hour. The Mustang was modified but with headers carburation and other mods while the charger was completely stock taken out of a Dodge dealer in Glendale California. One of the Chargers Still Remains and was fully restored.
Such a nice design. The entire rear end reminds me of a 1969 Impala 2 door sport coupe for some reason. Must be the long trunk lines.
They should of waited tell spring to list this. Just think, fly in to Scarmento and pick all the Blue Highways between there and home. And If less than a thousand miles, make bigger detours.
You could play Johnny Cash and the song of burning dinosaurs 👍
wow!!!!!
Omg, this made me laugh so hard!
Laughing my butt off! What a nice car!
Looks like it does 0-60 in 2.5 gallons.
I had the same car in the Monaco version. It was a great car.
So do I except it was a four door hardtop version,bought it off a small car lot for $1000 in 1990,one of the sweetest riding cars I ever owned,like a fool I sold it and the guy I sold it to ended up leaving it sitting along a Columbus street with the engine out and it was hauled off to the scrap yard.
I,m a ford guy but that body is pure sex.
The 383 2bbl is good for about 16-18 mpg if you keep your foot out of the gas pedal. My ’65 Chrysler which was basically the body as this got that. My ’70 Sport Fury 318 V8 which is the same body as the Polara got about the same. Put the same 383 or 318 engine in a 3\4 ton pick up of which I had both engines in the same truck and gas mileage goes down to 1\2 of that of a car. The 383 actually got better mileage in the truck than the 318.
KS farmer agreed , as sexy as a non gm can be .
Those seemingly extra seat belt buckles where for the shoulder harnesses that no one ever used. My 1971 Plymouth Duster had them like that. There is one thing I liked better on 1977 Plymouth Volare’, integrated lap and shoulder belts. The rest of the car, not so much.
You should not get me started on C-Bodies Todd. To start with, I am already watching this beauty. Man, have you ever seen one more minty? It looks like it just got prepped for the lot after delivery! I have always had a love for the 69-72 years. Back in the early 90’s, I owned a Paisley Top 70 Gran Coupe. I had no idea how special the car was. I also had a opportunity to purchase a 300 Hurst and foolishly passed on it. At present I have my 69 G-code Coronet 440. It has the same engine as this jewel. I would gladly give it up to be the lucky owner of this special Mopar. Even if it sells for 15K, in my opinion, it is worth every cent. Great write up. :)
Thanks Gunner! I love the Gran Coupes — Plymouth really went all out with the Paisley Power. I wrote one up in August. https://barnfinds.com/dig-paisleys-1971-plymouth-fury-gran-coupe/
This another great car. I’m sure younger people look at this and think ,”why did they make cars so big”? It looks so out of place today. In our youth, these cars were all around us, and they didn’t look like this too often. They were everyday cars, rusty, hubcaps missing, usually a dent or 2, but they chugged on relentlessly, until someone ran it out of oil. I think this era Chrysler products were the best cars made. A “left lane” car, for sure. Very nice.
This must be the best MODERN classic American automobile that I can remember seeing. (If only in a photograph!) Beautiful!
This one seems to have the rare “pencil tension ” option holding the drivers vent in position. My classic GM has the highly sought after “quarter holder” vent tensioner. Another testament to American build quality of the seventies. We sure could build some beautiful sleds but details were , bah, details.
I’d slap on a set of torque thrust mags. Raise the bum a little. Killer looks! Thanks barn finds!
wow.
The parents of a buddy in High school had a brand new one- same color.(minus the vinyl top)at Christmas.
They proudly drove it to a New Years party and partied hard.
His Dad cracked the front window about 2″ to get cold fresh air on the way home from the party (around 2am). The cold blast kept him awake.They arrived safely and quietly came into the house.
Later that night we had about 6″ of snow and about 12″ had drifted across the big front bench seat!
I’m with Nova Scotian on this one.
2 of the seat belt buckles are for the shoulder straps. My 68 Ltd has the same set up. The lap and shoulder belts had not been joined together during this time period. In fact my 68 Galaxie has only lap belts. I think the shoulder belts were part of either the LTD or Brogham package
Love the car
Love the condition, but one of the ugliest cars built…I’ve owned them. I call it a tin machine.
Alan, I love the 68-72 Buick Skylarks, and all GM A-bodies from that period. Your 72 looks to be in excellent condition, and I’m sure you’ll be really happy with it. Congratulations!
Probably my favorite big car. Best looking of the Fuselages. So fluid without being drippy. No unnecessary decoration. It’d be even better if it was a racier color with a white or black top and interior and a Super Lite!