I got another longroof

It's a bit before Christine's time. I think, if it's solid underneath, you could really have a show winner.

 

I’ve only spent a total of 20-30 minutes with it. We stopped to visit and look at his collection inside. It’s all virtual till I go pick it up. Glad I went back the second day for more pictures.
He wasn’t sure what cars he had back at home (15 min. away) except for the 57 Nomad, the world class 67 Camaro and another Mustang or two…

 

Thanks. Christine was 3 years younger so this may be her bitchy older sister or cousin…

 

My intention is to bring it home, give it a good cleaning, flush everything and replace the fluids. Strictly survivor mode, no harsh cleaners.
I was out looking for 58 Chevy parts or an early 60’s car.

 

This could turn into a flip, for cash or for parts. Or you may fall head over heels for it. But in either case, long as there's no big surprises, I think you have a winner.

 

Thank you! I expect surprises. I’m trying to not fall in love with it but…

 

Here's a white one. I was unable to find any static pics of the green one caught in the video, but I actually think it looks BETTER than the white one.......

 

Nice. Thanks for sharing that Marshall. Definitely got a kick out of that.

 

@JackWagon Your 1955 Coronet Sierra is a base model wagon. There was also a lower 2-door Coronet Suburban wagon, but yours was the base 4-door model for 1955. You can see how plain the seat upholstery is, which is also indicative of a base model Coronet. Which is fine because other than that, pretty much all Dodges were fancy looking in '55. Most Coronet trims looked more expensive than a typical base model, and they also had optional two tone paint schemes that defied their base model status as well.

The engine in yours is also a polyspherical-headed 270ci engine, which was the only V8 displacement offered in the Coronet Sierra trim that year.

However, there were two variants of the 270 in 1955: one was the 270ci poly engine and the other was a higher performance 270ci "Super Red Ram" Hemi engine. Yours is the poly variant, which is easy to spot because the valve covers in your car have scalloped contours at the bottom where the spark plugs are located. Poly-headed engines are always easy to spot because of those scallops at the bottom...



Whereas the Hemi valve covers are straight-sided, very wide and the plugs were located in the middle of the cover, which was covered by a raised strip running down the middle...



Regardless, the A-series poly engine is still a super cool engine that was well-engineered and it also shares some of the same components as the later LA-series small block wedge engines (273, 318, 340, 360) that was found in every Mopar with a small block engine from 1967 onward (the smaller 273 LA wedge engine debuted in 1964). So, finding parts for them is typically easier and cheaper than finding parts for a Hemi. Especially a Red Ram variant which was a first gen. Hemi, and parts are more expensive and generally not as easy to find as poly parts. Also, as a side note: when hopped up, poly engines have an awesome distinctive rumble to them. Not saying that's what you'll do with yours, but they can sound really cool.

Anyway, your engine is rated at 175 HP and 240 lb./ft. of torque. Whereas the Red Ram Hemi was rated at 193 HP and 245 lb./ft. There was also a 4-speed overdrive manual trans offered in 1955, so you'll have to see if your car has it. But given it's a Coronet model it'll likely be a 3-speed.

Also, as I mentioned in a previous thread, I believe the colour name for your wagon is Canyon Coral. Such a 50s colour combination. Regardless, that wagon is one sweet ride that I'd be glad to own if I ever had one.

I hope this helps!

Cheers.

 

Wow! You have confirmed the little research that I’ve been able to do so far.
Our plans right now are to bring her home and clean her up with mild soap and water. We will change the fluids and see what happens. It ran when they parked it…
I do believe it’s a 3 spd. I didn’t see anything for the overdrive so I doubt it has that.
It’s about 6 hours drive from here so I’m going off pictures that I took while there. Planning to go get it in a couple weeks.
I really appreciate all that info and the pics.

 

You're welcome!

 

Any idea on value judging from the pictures? It was a split second purchase and I don’t regret it. She needs to be saved. I’ve started with less in the past…

 

Jeez, I am so out of touch with the value of these that I couldn't even begin to give you an estimate. But well, you said it needs to be saved (totally agree), so if you're going into it with that mindset I wouldn't worry about the value. Especially if you decide to keep it. Sometimes a car can grow on you, so you never know. Once you get it cleaned up and looking dapper again you might have a change of heart. But I guess it also depends on what you paid for it (not asking though). But I have no idea what the going rate is for one of these right now. I wish I could be of better help, price-wise.

With that said, was this car in a save situation? Was it headed for the scrapper or something?

Also, big time respect for treating her as a survivor and not going too crazy with things.

 

I’m saving it from being yard art. It has every piece on it or in the garage.
The gentleman that I’m getting it from knows that he will never get to it. He has cars that most of us will never be able to afford or find.
I prefer survivor mode over restoration or resto-mod anymore. Our family has already adopted her and I think they’re calling her Lilly (Munster) this week.

 

Nice. That's one of the worst situations is when a good car sits around outside or in a field and rots away while the owner never does anything with it. "One day...", but that day never comes. Sometimes changes happen or reality sets in, but that's the best case scenario where the owner realizes they'll never get around to fixing it up, so instead of it rotting away they have enough respect and care for the car to sell it to someone who will take care of it. Those are always the best owners in my opinion. It's always a tragedy when perfectly good cars rot away, simply because someone is unwilling to let go of it. That's been the death of way too many cars over the years, so at least he was able to give it a new home and a new lease on life. The way I look at it is that these cars are precious pieces of history and we're all just custodians to take care of it for the next guy.

But hmmmmm, sounds like you may be warming to her! Once the family starts loving it and giving it nicknames it can be hard to escape its charms at that point. But again, tons of respect for wanting to keep it a survivor and to preserve it. As long as a car isn't rotting away that's probably my favourite kind of car. Sounds like she's in good hands.