One-Owner 1973 Dodge Coronet Wagon
It’s a nice day for a white wagon… I don’t know if Billy Idol ever owned a 1973 Dodge Coronet Custom wagon but I’m guessing that’s a big fat no. He doesn’t know what he’s missing. This 9-passenger human hauler can be found here on eBay in Winchester, California. The current bid price is just over $4,400.
This wagon looks great from the overall photos but there are a fair amount of dings and scratches on the white paint. Speaking of that, this car was originally blue so the next owner will have to decide to either keep it white or repaint it the original color. The great thing is that they say it’s a 100% rust-free car, it’s hard to beat that good news. I’m not a huge fan of giving a car a color change just on the outside so I’d probably go back to the original color. What would you do?
You can see that this baby is big, really big. Actually, it’s not really that long, my ’66 Lincoln was longer which is deceiving, I never would have guessed that. But, my car wouldn’t have hauled 9 passengers. It could have but it may not have been too comfortable. Whereas, the cargo area in the back of this one is big enough for a Brady Bunch load of luggage or you can flip the rear seat up and haul a couple of your own little shavers back there.
This is a sixth-generation Dodge Coronet and it is a Custom wagon, not a Crestwood which would have been a bit fancier and most likely would have been seen with woodgrain Di-Noc on it like a woody wagon. The seats are as crispy as the back row of a Grateful Dead concert. Or actually, any row. The backseat looks a little better but this long roof needs some seat covers, stat!
Yeah, I’d go back to blue again. This engine is Dodge’s 318 cubic-inch V8 which would have had 150 hp and 265 ft-lb of torque. The seller says that it works great and you can’t even hear it running and the AC even works! They have done a lot of maintenance so it sounds like it’s ready to go. Any thoughts on this one-owner Coronet wagon?
Auctions Ending Soon
2002 Subaru Impreza WRXBid Now1 days$333
1975 Chevrolet Corvette ConvertibleBid Now1 days$4,000
1964 Ford F-100 Camper CustomBid Now1 days$2,000
2006 Jeep Wrangler SportBid Now3 days$11,000
1974 Datsun 260ZBid Now5 days$750
Comments
Ha! That Billy Idol reference had me in stitches, “nice day for a white wagon”,,,as that music fades into oblivion, I wonder if younger folks caught that. Ok, I like the wagon, yes they are getting hard to find, because most were driven until the wheels fell off, or were demo derby entries. The seller claims low mileage, (136K?) and with the speedo stuck at 40 mph standing still, you see why I don’t always believe mileage claims. In this case, many times, the needle will stick, but the miles continue to accrue, and it looks like 136K. I think the bidders are spot on here, and as more and more cars are discontinued in favor of SUV’s and trucks, families are reverting back to these wagons, and I don’t blame them. Watch, in the near future” Newsflash,,Dodge reintroduces the 9 passenger station wagon for 2025″,,,
Guilty ! I once derbied a 1973 Satellite Regent wagon, the same body style as this. The main reason I picked the car up was that it came with a factory Tuff steering wheel and a 150 mph speedo. I saved the wheel , but didn’t think about the speedo and after the demo it went to the crusher – it was much later I found out the Regent cluster was the same as the Road Runner !
Now that song is stuck in my head.
Yeah, I wish somebody would make a new station wagon that could haul a 4’x8′ sheet of plywood or dry wall. I don’t like mini vans. And SUV’s can’t do it. Closest thing is a Chevy Suburban but they are monsters.
I would love to see this car after a Graveyard cars restoration. Perhaps some rally type wheels from a Dodge Challenger with Goodyear Polyglas tires. In it’s original Blue. Anybody here see the color code for the blue ? Would you keep the original 318 or go new school Hemi crate engine ?
It looks like it was originally painted B-2 light blue . If the engine runs as good as the seller states ,I’d leave it alone , if it wasn’t I’d put a 360 4 bbl in it
Think of it as Charger station wagon !!
Wait a minute thats Mark Wormans nick name the Iceman or Icetray or Icecube as he’s referred to calling himself many times on his show lol.
We had one of these in bright yellow with plastic wood grain on the sides, black interior. The first owner was the local commander of the Highway Patrol and under the hood it was total Highway Patrol Cruiser. It was great and one of the fastest cars my father ever owned. We kept on having to increase the spring loads of the throttle to keep my mother from getting tickets. LOL.
Got better milage then you might expect but I have no idea why. I loved that land barge as a high school student. Total sleeper. Karl I agree with you. I suspect we had a large Hemi but I was never able to figure out what the engine size was and the family sold it before the internet era when I could find out. This is most certainly a saver and worth restoration.
Hi Bruce thanks for your post, but I think the reason your car got better mileage than you might expect is because you might expect it to get 8 miles per gallon :)
Its a nice day for a white wedding. Thanks for the ear worm.
BTW in the day, this was considered intermediate size wagon. The Monaco or Polara would be the full size.
I love station wagons, have since I was a kid. I have always had a special attraction to Mopars. However, in the late 70’s, when I was a cop, we had squad cars that were either this model Dodge or its Plymouth twin. Not the best squad cars we had, suspensions were terrible. I did, however, once hit a tree with one of these and did not get too seriously injured even though I was not wearing a seatbelt. I can still see the front end wrapping around the tree and then flying backward to the seatback.
My aunt drove a yellow one of these back in the 70’s fully decked out as a school bus. She must of got to know those 8 kids very well!
Nice sweet car.
Grab it.
It’s so good to see a car like this in a state of preservation the way it is!! It’s almost to nice to drive!!! It would be the most awesome long haul rig with family or friends!! I’m just saying this cause it doesn’t seem like the kind of car someone would take care of with kids getting in wet after soccer practice!! Or the ice cream that falls on the seat!! Well you get the point!!!
Those 318 s still had plenty of oomph in 1973, don’t let the net horsepower numbers fool you.
Hey Scotty, that’s MY line!
I used to be in a band where two of us drove white wagons. I always had the song stuck in my head during sound check. :^)
I’d go back to the original blue. Looks like it needs a lot of work.
In its prime, the Chrysler/Dodge/Plymouth “318” was one of the better engines produced by the manufacturer. I’m not saying it was the best coming from someone who owned Oldsmobile, Buick, Oldsmobile, Pontiac as my first 4 cars from High School into college and my adult life. I had driven the 1977 Plymouth Fury 4 door, 1978 Dodge Monaco 4 door, and 1976 Chrysler Cordoba. They all were good for power to move the fairly large cars down the road and the gas mileage was maybe a touch better than some of GM and Ford’s that were considered comparable during the 1970’s. I also don’t recall the 318 needing the mechanic very often! I would give it a grade of B which for that time period for Chrysler/Dodge is saying a lot!