'77 Dodge Royal Monaco, Van Nuys, CA $12,000

Not exactly - there was the Monaco/Fury (a "B"-body Mopar), and the Royal Monaco/Gran Fury (a "C"-body Mopar). The "B" was an intermediate-sized car, where the "C"-body was a full-sized car.

BTW, the 440 absolutely was available in the Royal Monaco in all body styles, regardless of what the dealer brochure says. The reality will be on the emissions sticker on the radiator support, as well as the fifth character of the VIN. The VIN will show a "T" for a 440, and an "N" for a 400 engine for 1977.

DH or DP - first two characters, meaning Dodge Royal Monaco (D) and High or Premium price class (H or P)
46 - nine-passenger wagon
N - 400 4-bbl engine, or T - 440 std perf engine
7 - 1977

So, the first six of the VIN would read, assuming this is a nine-passenger, 440-powered Royal Monaco, would read:
DP46T7xxxxxxx. If it's a 400: DP46N7xxxxxxx.

 

Thanks for clarifying the engine issue, Patrick. The Dodge brochure I was looking at on-line obviously was incomplete, to say the least. It would make no sense to have the Chrysler standard with the 440 and the Dodge available only with the 400, when they are the same basic vehicle underneath. Here's the brochure I was looking at. Never trust info in a 'full-line' brochure - they're too abbreviated.
http://www.lov2xlr8.no/brochures/mopar/dodge77/dodge77.html

As to your choice, Professor - I think I would take the Chrysler.

Marshall

 

Opinions, advice? Good, bad or ugly, let's have it.

They are both beautiful. My preference would be the Royal Monaco as I like the styling better and it is a rarer wagon. That said, there is a huge price differential.

 

For the money, the Chrysler would be the better buy. But, for styling, overall condition, rarity, and the additional seat, I'd go with the Dodge if it could be bought for less than $10K.

Honestly, if I could sell the van, I'd be a VERY serious buyer on the Dodge.

 

You're right about the 440. I couldn't find it in the wagon brochure, but I found it later in the Monaco brochure.

To elaborate on the full-sized/mid-sized names, Dodge and Plymouth played the name game as several other makes had before and would again. For a number of years the full-sized "C-body" Mopars were the Plymouth Fury and Dodge Monaco, while the mid-sized "B-body" cars were the Plymouth Satellite and Dodge Coronet. About 1975, the B-bodies were renamed Fury and Monaco, and to distinguish the C-bodies, they were renamed Gran Fury and Royal Monaco.

As for the wagons, the Dodge wasn't too confusing as the top line mid-sized Monaco retained its "Crestwood" designation from its previous Coronet Crestwood name. The Plymouth however, discarded it Satellite Regent monicker and called the fanciest B-body wagon the Fury Sport Suburban, which had been the name of the top full-sized wagon. The top C-body wagon became the Gran Fury Sport Suburban. Can't tell the players with a scorecard.

 

Agreed, money advantage votes for the Chrysler - rarity and options favor the Dodge Royal Monaco! Either is an exceptionally nice 40 year old MOPAR full size station wagon! :2_thumbs_up_-_anima Really can't lose either way!
Enjoy!

JWD