White Knight: 1956 Dodge Lancer

dodge lancer 4

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Being a fairly rare model, this Dodge Lancer is a clean and well-kept preservation, having only been repainted and reupholstered. The rest of the car is listed as untouched, and having been garaged most of its life. Clean and simple with its white paint scheme, this lovely Lancer is listed for $21,500. Find it here on eBay out of Lakeland, Florida.

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The bay has a nice shine considering it has been untouched. 314 cubic inches, and a push button automatic transmission motivate this Dodge, all while enjoying the comforts of air conditioning from the cockpit. The mileage isn’t clearly listed on this Dodge, but is noted as being a nice operating, and well kept runner.

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Refreshing and inviting, the interior of this Dodge is in superb condition. The dashboard and steering wheel are breathtaking.  Upon inspecting the rest of the interior, it is very nice, to mint condition. The seats have been reupholstered at some point according to the seller, but with a high attention to detail and quality, the seats appear as original. The exterior looks as if new, having only gained one more layer of white since new. The chrome is marvelous, and the window glass looks perfect. This Lancer appears more as a time capsule than a privately owned car.

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Although this Lancer is a 4 door, it is still quite sleek and appealing. The condition is very nice, and this is a rather uncommon model of Dodge to see making it a rare opportunity to see and own. Have you ever seen one in person? Tell us what you think of this Lancer.

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Comments

  1. Mark S

    This is one stylish car, this is a great example of why patina ( rustina ) doesn’t cut it. IMHO this is the last year for dodge before the fin thing got out of hand. If I had the means to buy, this car would be heading to western Canada.

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    • Brad

      Patina may not cut it for you, but there are FAR fewer of these time capsules lying around than people wanting to enjoy an old car on a budget. This is quite a deal at $21K, when it would surely cost $50K if hiring it out to be restored from a rough example.

      So as long as there are people who want to enjoy older cars – and don’t have lots of cash while doing so… patina will continue to cut it for them.

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      • rockribbedrushy

        That 21K is an asking price. They said so in the copy.

        I’m sure they’ll take a reasonable offer, non?

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  2. Ed P

    Such a well preserved example of Exner styling. This car must have been somebody’s baby. If I had the cash, it would be seriously tempted.

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  3. Dave Wright

    My grandfather had this car in a 2 door hardtop with a Hemi. He loved road racing it all over Idaho. It was very fast in the day. My brother put it in the ditch when he was about 6 years old when grandpa let him drive. Little damage but he was pretty embarrassed…………………..the dash photos bring back memories.

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  4. Walt

    A Beauty ! At 21,500 a rare deal from what I see hear .

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  5. David Frank DavidMember

    For those of us who love old cars, this car is wonderful. It certainly brings back memories of another time. Some may say the price is too high and it has too many doors, but hopefully there is a buyer who sees the value here and will enjoy the car for what it is. Here’s a youtube link to Greg Brown’s song about a newer Dodge, but it’s the same thing, remembering growing up with these great old cars.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSHNHZtZLHs

    Like 0
  6. Lee

    are you guys drunk —this is a 4dr not very desireable car that in restored condition would be valued less than 10G and besides 1957 was the first Lancer 2dr Its real nice but with to much Florida magic dust

    Like 0
    • MeepMeep

      Ya know Lee….I think I’d love to have this in my garage knowing that when I sobered up, I’m gonna have a fun cruise on Sunday.

      Like 1
  7. Tom Driscoll

    Nice cars, I drive mine all summer when weather is nice. That’s a 315 Poly engine, same block as hemi with different heads. I prefer the hardtop with no B-pillar for a sleeker look. That’s an after market a/c unit, the factory version was located in the rear trunk and takes up a considerable amount of real estate.Unfortunately, by the time the cooled air makes it to the front, it’s not so cool anymore! Bought mine at a garage sale many years ago, ’56 Custom Royal Lancer, pwr steering, brakes, windows, and seats…one of the coolest things is the way the two piece rear door windows lower and fold into each other…not sure if that was a hardtop thing, or a power window spec.

    Like 1
    • Tom Driscoll

      Side view, you can just make out the a/c air intakes located just behind the rear window…

      Like 1
      • Tom Driscoll

        Rear shot

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      • Charles

        Tom again, SWEET! Had an uncle who bought a new Dodge very 2-3 years. He always bought a 2 door sedan or 2 door hardtop. Nice ride, great lines, love the dash!

        Like 0
    • Charles

      Tom, sweet!

      Like 0
    • Pfk1106

      Tom, wow beautiful

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    • leiniedude leiniedudeMember

      Great looking ride Tom! Do you have a photo of the folding window setup or some place I could get some more info? Sounds interesting, thanks, Mike.

      Like 0
      • Tom Driscoll

        Thanks Mike! The window mechanism is a real piece of engineering…maybe the moderator can let me know if I can upload a short video?

        Like 0
  8. 4-Doors-for-My-Tuba

    This is the first car I have a clear memory of driving in. My parents traded in an “old” Chrysler New Yorker for a one year old 1956 Dodge Royal Lancer that was a demonstrator. It was a tri-tone with a black top. HOT in the summer with no a-c. I got my 6 yo fingers smashed in the rear door. OUCH!

    Like 0
    • rockribbedrushy

      Ouch is right! I did that on my dad’s 56 Buick Special.

      Like 0
  9. Roselandpete

    Handsome car.

    Like 0
  10. James

    I’m surprised they are asking 21k and people are saying its a good deal. Not that it isn’t. Just that three years ago I discovered a ’55 one owner car with perfect paint and interior in my neighbours garage. It was her mothers car since new and garaged since the first year. The interior upholstery had been coverd in clear plastic to protect it from wear after the second year. So the interior was showroom quality. The paint was perfect. The engine was the super red ram option. And it had the dealer optioned foglights. She sold it to a frien of mine for 1800$ he put in about 1000$ in work cleaning up the engine and trans. And fixed a small bit of rust under the back of the trunk. (Salt in the Baltimore area is a vicious companion in winter.) He sold it at auction for about 5000$ and it wentto Holland. So its driving around fields of tulips I guess. Nice retirement if you ask me. But 5k to 21k as a good price in three years! He should have kept it longer.

    Like 0
    • jaygryph

      There was a time when 59 Cadillacs went for hundreds of dollars, not many thousands. The cars for sale sections in old yellowed newspapers are full of them.

      Prices for these things are all over the place.

      Like 0
  11. stillrunners

    Dang Tom nice car with factory air and twin antennas – I parted a mor door with those options back in the 90’s – still have them and pretty sure they won’t make it on my Fury. As a 56 D-500 coupe owner I just think this is priced a little high….just saying….

    Like 0
    • Tom Driscoll

      Agree, price seems high…I valued mine at about half that amount…

      Like 0
  12. Charles

    Nice car even if it is a four door! Love the color, dash and interior.

    Like 0
  13. Tom Driscoll

    No judgement here, but those guys in Lakeland, FL have a bit of a reputation…

    Like 0
  14. Roger Meisenbach

    FYI: The steering wheel is not original to this Custom Royal sedan. All Custom Royals came with tu-tone steering wheels and this one (judging from the all-white paint scheme) was probably black on the lower half with ivory on the top half originally. But UV rays and summer heat did tend to make the plastic material evaporate, shrink, crack, and disintegrate (in whatever the color combination). However, some of the black steering wheels from the Coronet models tended to survive better as they were made of a kind of rubberized plastic that held up to heat and sunlight better. Believe the Royal models might have had an all-black plastic steering wheel. The photo is not clear enough to determine which wheel this is. At least the pot metal horn ring is intact. They were prone to easy breakage.

    Like 0
  15. Tom Driscoll

    Not the best picture of my CRL, but does show a tu-tone color scheme…

    Like 0
  16. Roger Meisenbach

    Some one above mentioned that the Lancer did not appear until 1957.

    Truly, all hardtops in all three lines (Coronet, Royal, and Custom Royal two-door coupes and Custom Royal convertible) were classified as Lancers in 1955 Dodges but only the Custom Royal actually ever said so in its fender script. Early on, that CRL script read simply “Royal Lancer”. But it was confused with a Royal which was a Lancer but did not say “Lancer” in its fender script. The ’55 CRL script was modified with a “Custom” badge in the late half of production to read as “Custom Royal Lancer” None of the other ’55 Lancers ever declared themselves with any “Lancer” fender script.

    The 1956 year had 2drHT and 4drHT Lancers plus a convertible Lancer in all models. All of these hardtops and convertibles used the word “Lancer” in their front fender scripts. Then the Coronet or Royal or Custom Royal script appeared on the rear fenders. This featured car is a sedan. Not a hardtop. Thus, no Lancer script on the front fender. It is a Custom Royal only. But not a Lancer.

    Does this help, or just confuse things further?

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    • Tom Driscoll

      That helps! I have copied and pasted for my file, thanks for the education. I’m curious if you believe the door panel material on this car to be original (lower half black and silver, It appears to match the seat pattern), I’ve never seen doors like this on this model before ?

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  17. Roger Meisenbach

    I once had a ’56 CRL D500 2drHT. The seats had ivory vinyl with black fabric and a metallic silver pattern woven in (quite similar to the pattern shown or the same). My recollection is that the original B&W door panels came with no patterns. So, my guess is that the panels on this sedan have been refurbished with patterned fabric rather than original black vinyl. But far stranger things have come out of Dodge assembly lines from back in the day when custom new-car
    orders through dealerships were more common.

    Like 0
  18. Glen

    lee , i had a 1955 dodge royal lancer , my understanding of lancer meant it was either a 2 door or 4 door hardtop and they had a badge on the front fender saying lancer , that white 56 advertised is a custom royal not a lancer because its not a hardtop

    Like 0

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