i know this is a ford site, but i don't wanna go lookin around for a dodge site right now to post at. anyway. i was wondering if anyone knows how rare or not rare my car is. i bought it about a year ago for $700 from some extremely old guy who must have been in his 80's and was shakin' as he signed the title.. i was just thinkin' please god let him finish first. it's a 4 door but it actually looks ok. most 4 doors i see look bad. what the hey, i better say what it is. it's a 1965 Dodge Coronet 440. most people around here don't know cars and think it actually has a 440 just because it says.. 440. from what i can tell the car has been painted at least once in it's lifetime because you can see where someone did a not so perfect job taping off the weatherstripping in the doorjams (i used to work at a bodyshop so my eyes kinda look at this stuff whether or not i want them to). the paint isn't all that great but it covers the car and there's very little rust and it's surface rust that's along the rockers. it has a few dings in it and the biggest "dent" is about a circle as big as a baseball and maybe a 1/4 inch deep that could be pushed out had i really felt like working on this thing. it's pretty much all there minus the right hand side mirror that has apparently been snapped off. it has a 361 big block in it. 3 speed auto. the interior is very nice considering it's 40 years old, it's all there and has only a couple tears that are maybe a few inches long. all the chrome molding is straight except for one piece that goes along the front of the hood, that one is smashed flat through most of it. it's got the original wheels and hub caps. it has a/c but it's unplugged under the hood and when i plugged it in i now know why it was unplugged. the belts started screaming and smoking when you turned on the a/c from inside the car. i think the compressor pulley is shot or something like that. so no a/c but the heater works great.. all the guages work and the radio works as well.. even though i'm not a huge fan of AM. i don't know. i'm just amazed at what i got for $700. i really knew nothing about the car when i bought it, i just liked how it looked and how old it was. i didn't know the engine size until some Mopar nut at a gas station was all over it and started pointing out things to me. not that i want to sell the thing, but i'm just curious if this is something i should hold onto and perhaps restore.... some day cause i'm 23 and have no dough for that. if anyone wants a picture to actually see what it is i'm talking about, let me know. i wish it woulda been a 2 door, but i'm sure even an 80 year old guy woulda known that was worth somethin more than $700. i've looked online for other 4 doors and most if not all i see have 318's in them. all the big block muscle i see are in the 2 doors. any input would be appreciated, i'm curious to know what i have here. thanks.

 

Hey 75, I have a 68 coronet 440 i have owned for fifteen years or more. the 440 refers to trim style they were either a base coronet , a 440, or an 880. Mine is a four door also, actually I always prefered a four door vehicle myself stiffer frame due to the B post and looked like a family car to the boys with the bubblegum machines on top of their cars. Mine is retired now but it sure used to be fun on a midnite run .

 

i don't know about liking 4 doors better. i've seen a 67 4 door and i just about puked. and then later on that month i saw the same car, same color, but it was a 2 door r/t and it was sweet. i'm actually amazed at how much car "gold" is lying around in idaho (where i moved from) i saw a 69 charger R/T! sitting in someone's back yard rotting away. god only knows if it has the hemi and the 4 speed. i've seen a 67-68 shelby gt 350 sitting in a field. 64 impala 2 door hard top... 70 chevelle ss396.. all sorts of stuff.. it's crazy. and of course the one i get is a family car, lol. it's in WAY better shape than those other ones though. me being a truck guy, i know where my next project is. i know where a 55-56 ford f-100 is just lyin around waiting for MEEE. lol. some farmer up there has it along with a 65 stang, 67 cougar, 66 corvair, late 60's lincoln continnentals, a 20's(i'm guessin') 2 door car with the doors suicide of course. and that f-100. he has some other things but i'm not too interested in 50's flatbed tow trucks and that kind of stuff. they're just sitting up there rotting away. i spotted them when i was working for a fencing company and we were putting up a fence for him. if only i had a fist full of cash and a trailer. i can dream can't i.

 

I'd flip the 4 door Coronet and jump on the F100. Don't wait too long.

 

oh i'm not too worried about it going anywhere. it's out in the middle of nowhere and has been sitting there.. according to the tags.. for at least 30 years

 

Does it still have the fender tag or maybe the broadcast sheet?

 

A '65 Coronet 4-door sedan, in the condition you described, is worth just about what you paid for it, maybe a little more ($1500?). You asked how rare? Not very; Dodge made quite a few. In the world of collector cars, convertibles are worth the most, then 2-door hardtops well behind that. 4-door hardtops come next (Dodge didn't make a 4-door hardtop Coronet 440 in '65), then wagons (with some exceptions). 2-door sedans next, then (unfortunately) 4-door sedans are at the bottom. It's all about supply and demand; everybody wants a convertible, nobody collects sedans. A rough, restorable convertible will ALWAYS be worth more than a perfectly-preserved sedan in the same series.

The good news is that you didn't pay too much, it sounds like a sound car, and mid-60s Mopar sedans are nearly indestructible, easy to work on and parts are available. Just don't forget about the reverse-threaded studs on the passenger-side wheels!

 

As for collectability, the 4-door sedan in mid-level trim isnt the best, as that was probably the least rare as far as production numbers go. Having said that, I find old Mopars much more interesting at car shows, etc. because they are rare compared to Mustangs, Impalas, etc.

Some historical notes of interest. Your Coronet is known as a Mopar "B" body car, that is, midsize, like a 1962-on Ford Fairlaine. The difference is that your 1965 Coronet is virtually the same as a 1964 Polara. Chrylsler had made the huge mistake "downsizing" the full-size Dodges and Plymouths in 1962, rather than introducing a separate midsize, like Ford, and sales tumbled. That was corrected in 1965 with the return of the "C" body Fury and Polara. The old cars were renamed and Chrysler was semi-sort-of competitive again. Unfortunately for them, GM introduced a whole new line of mid-sized cars in 1964. My grandfather bought the 1965 Belvedere, and was thrilled that he got what was the same as a 1964 Fury at a lower price.

BTW, your automatic transmission is the Torqueflite A-727, the strongest automatic ever used in a passenger car. Yes, even compared to the C-6 or TH-400, but all are close.

Jim

 

Now, if you had a '65 Dodge Monaco 2-door hardtop with the full-length console, 4 bucket seats and woven-cane dash/ door trim- NOW you'd have something valuable!

 

Can you post some pics?

 

I couldn't post a picture if my life depended on it!

Go to Google Images, type in "1965 Dodge Monaco-" there are several original ads that show the interior.

 

Here's a link to a '65 Dodge Brochure. It's in French- there'll be a test next week on what it says.

 

See my post on the acromyns thread

 

You probably need to use leaded gas.

 

Also the 361 isn't the worst motor to have, unfortunately they only made the Higher Output 361 for a couple years like 61-62. Yours is the lesser version rated at 265hp 380tq (the ho was 305/395). Still much more desirable than a 318. Here is a link to Horsepower charts:
http://www.fortunecity.com/silversto...r/45/horse.htm

Here is a 62-65 Mopar site:
http://www.1962to1965mopar.ornocar.com/welcome.html