One Family Owned: 1959 Dodge Coronet
The decision to part with a car that has been in the same family for 60-years must be a difficult one, but that is precisely the story behind this 1959 Dodge Coronet. This immaculate car has spent the vast majority of its life in California, but the time has come for it to head to greener pastures. The Coronet is currently located in Boxford, Massachusetts, and is listed for sale here on eBay. With bidding sitting at $20,200, the reserve on the Coronet has not been reached.
The Turquoise and Pearl paint that graces the Coronet’s panels is said to be largely original, and it does look really good. Likewise, the chrome and trim are close to faultless. This car hails from the height of the era when fins were king, and while these ones might not be as large as those on the Cadillacs of the era, they aren’t far off it. The tail-lights on the Coronet are just as flamboyant as those on the Cadillac, with the chrome housings creating a strong sense of style. The owner provides a good array of photos of most aspects of the Dodge, and it appears that the Californian climate has allowed the car to remain solid and free of rust.
The spotless presentation continues inside the Coronet, with little that can be faulted. It might just be me, but the black and white interior trim looks a bit harsh when compared to the external color combination, but it is still in very nice condition. As with the growth in fins, the interior trim of cars from this era reflected a boldness and brashness that we will never see again in an automobile. Lashings of chrome and gloss paint can be seen everywhere, while wheel rims with multiple finishes were a sign of luxury and prestige.
There are no engine photos supplied by the owner, but we know that the Coronet features the 326ci V8 engine, which sends its power to the rear wheels via a 3-speed automatic transmission. The owner says that the entire drive-train is original and that it has been carefully and meticulously maintained. With 255hp to play with, the Coronet was a pretty reasonable performer, and for a car weighing in excess of 3,700lbs to cover the ¼ mile in under 17 seconds was not a bad effort. The Dodge is fitted with a dual exhaust, but the owner says that this is very quiet. He also says that the car runs and drives perfectly and that it comes with a significant quantity of service and maintenance records.
Looking this Dodge Coronet over, it really does appear that it has been one family’s prized possession for the past 60-years. The condition is nothing short of immaculate, and for the person who is looking for a classic that they can simply drive and enjoy, this looks like a good alternative. I don’t know what the reserve is on this listing, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it is somewhere around the $35,000 mark. If it is lower than that, then this could represent a very good buy.
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Comments
My grandson looked at it. Since he is six, he pointed out to me that under the 4 taillights, there are actually 4 rocket motors. He further testified, he saw this same car on TV and it flew into space. He thought we should buy it, because we can get to the moon on one tank of gas. I told him to check with his mother. I am convinced her entire family came from outer space.
Why, oh why, do we not have present day vehicles that have character and presence like this Dodge? An absolutely beautiful motor car and somebody is going to enjoy it for many years yet. Good luck to the new owner. As for your wife Dirty Harry, she must be related to my wife’s family!
Careful guys, you are treading on dangerous territory!
I agree totally–what a dash!! absolutely gorgeous!
OMG, 1959 is my favorite year. Josh, I am in the process of thinning the collection down, but seeing this car is starting to make my mouth water. Wow is all I can say, but I am with you on the interior color. It just does not seem to go with the exterior color. I think that I better get off the net and stay away from EBay on this car or it might end up in my stable as a keeper.
Owned by one family, and in six decades of descendants and associations, nobody in the family circle wanted it? Probably unloaded to the current seller by somebody who didn’t bother asking anyone else. Nice ride though. I’ll bet that 255HP includes a fair amount of torque.
$20,200., and the reserve not met yet? Considering this is a Coronet and not the Custom Royal Lancer, I think the seller will miss his mark. This is a nice, clean `59 alright, but unfortunately priced a bit high. I wish the seller good luck.
Reserve must have been 25K. It’s at 25,100.00 reserve met.
Nice car, likely will end up in a collection.
There is a ’57 Custom Royal Lancer in red and white here in Mexico Hemi equipped.
It looks really nice and I would like to see it if I can ever get over there.
My folks had a ’58 Coronet Royal Lancer
4-door HT and I loved it. Man did that car
have character! Gotta agree with Dirty Harry’s grandson, these late ’50’s Dodges
certainly look as though they could blast
off anytime anywhere they wanted to. Our car had a 325 Red Ram hemi backed
by a Torqueflite tranny. It was Coral and White with a black and white interior. And here, chrome trimming was everywhere too. Had to wear shades on a sunny day just to sit in it. Other than the rust issues these cars had were the
weak rear springs that sagged and eventually broke. Dad wound up trading
ours for a ’59 Cadillac 62 2-door HT in ’65
because he believed a Caddy was the best used car to put Mom into as they were safe and more reliable than anything else out there. By it fast though,
if it’s in Massachusetts, it’ll be a total rust
bucket within a year!
Regarding the seats: I would believe they have been changed from the original as they usually reflected the color of the car. In those days, the seats were flamboyant with buttons, tucks, ridges, colorful inserts, etc…..
There was no turq. int for 59 Dodges, only blue, green, tan or blk/white.
All these nice comments about this car..very nice, indeed. But, I have a few questions: why no engine bay, under carriage and trunk inside pics? .Gives me reason to pause and think. I also think the price is too high. Sure, she is 60 years old, and I honestly think we should be nice to the lady, but…
What I see looks good but I’d still like to see a few more shots including the engine and rear end. The money seems a little stiff to me, I’d need to see it in person. Overall I like it.
I remember cars like this when they came out, plus they were used in programs like “Highway Patrol” in the day.
Not the original seat covers. 59 Coronet used a black cloth with a silver “snowflake pattern” and the white vinyl had heat seam. The original upholstery may still be under those covers.
Two Coronet interiors, std. and Custom. This is correct for the car.
What a car!! It looks like it’s smiling at you coming down the road!! It’s got class and style!! I would want to take the family on a long journey in it!! The biggest problem would be which one of the 5 of us get to drive it first!!!
It’s amazing how perceptions change. When I was a teenager, the ’59 Dodge and Plymouth were not viewed as especially large, and with their front torsion bar suspensions, were considered to be pretty good handlers. I surprised the photos don’t show the push button transmission control.
I don’t know about the rest of you but I’d say this is reasonably priced, $25k would not even touch a restoration at this level. Up here in Canada the way these antique cars are kept looking good is they all disappear at the end of September into garages where they remain until May after the street sweepers have cleaned the gravel off the road. I’m sure it’s the in the rust belt states too.The one thing l saw that could be done to help preserve this car would be to use some rust mort on the surface rust that is starting to appear on the undercarriage, followed by a coat of paint in the correct colour. I agree that it’s a shame we don’t see styling in our cars anymore it’s these crappie plastic safety bumpers and wind tunnel designs that have killed styling. The other thing I miss on cars today is there are almost no two tone designs nowadays you can’t tell who made it unless you can see a badge. Well I guess that’s why we need to save cars like this so we can show the future what the past was like.
Per the interior comments, there were TWO different interiors for the Coronet, std. and the optional Custom. This is a correct Coronet interior, the vertical heatseams seem to be present on the upper s/b white section. As for color, the interiors were offered in several color choices, but there was no turquoise interior for 59 Dodges. If your car wasn’t blue, green or tan, it got a black and white interior–PERIOD.