What chassis fits a 1957 Coronet?

[BreakItTapeItRepeat]

I’m starting the project of restoring a 1957 Dodge Coronet that has been parked since 1971. The  chassis has sunken and rotted out, but the body is in near perfect condition. What cars chassis would fit this body?

[58L-Y8]

1957-'59 Dodges.  Post on this Dodge Forum as well if you haven't already.  

Dodge & Dodge Brothers - Antique Automobile Club of America - Discussion Forums (aaca.org)

Good luck with your project.

 

There are 'Forward Look' sites on-line that you should utilize as well. 

Edited August 11, 2021 by 58L-Y8
Changed "join" to "post". (see edit history)

[John_S_in_Penna]

I'm sure you'll be satisfied with your project.

 

And just to clarify:  The Dodge forum is a part of the 

AACA forum--just a different category.  So you don't

need to "join" it in any manner of registering.  You've

already joined the AACA forum.  So go ahead and

post questions in any relevant category.

 

Some categories don't get nearly the number of

participants as the General Discussion or Our Cars

and Restoration Projects.  So if you're not getting

answers in the Dodge category, feel free to post

questions in General Discussion.

 

All the best to you.

[SC38dls]

Are you sure a 57 Chrysler product has a near perfect body!  My 57 DeSoto  was a rust bucket back in 1963 when I bought it for $200 from Mr Norm’s Grand Spaulding Dodge in Chicago as the only really junky old car in the back row of his used lot. 

Edited August 11, 2021 by SC38DLS (see edit history)

[BreakItTapeItRepeat]

1 minute ago, SC38DLS said:

Are you sure a 57 Chrysler product has a near perfect body!  My 57 Desito was a rust bucket back in 1963 when I bought it from Mr Norm’s Grand Spaulding Dodge in Chicago as the only really junky old car in the back row of his used lot. 

Yes, the body panels, corners, doors and everything are surprisingly clean. Even has the original paint. The floor pans are gone, but otherwise the body is in good shape. 

[auburnseeker]

With the floors gone,  I'll bet all the body mounts are gone.  Not to discourage you,  but you might want to start with a better car and maybe use this one for a parts car for it.  You are looking at a serious rebuild of the underneath,  that just a chassis swap isn't going to get you very far.   Much of what you need you may have to fabricate as I'm not sure how much is available reproduction for these in the sheetmetal / floor dept,  and how good is the stuff made/ will fit is a whole other issue. 

[BreakItTapeItRepeat]

1 minute ago, auburnseeker said:

With the floors gone,  I'll bet all the body mounts are gone.  Not to discourage you,  but you might want to start with a better car and maybe use this one for a parts car for it.  You are looking at a serious rebuild of the underneath,  that just a chassis swap isn't going to get you very far.   Much of what you need you may have to fabricate as I'm not sure how much is available reproduction for these in the sheetmetal / floor dept,  and how good is the stuff made/ will fit is a whole other issue. 

I’m prepared for as much. I don’t actually have the car yet so I will decide how much work it’s worth when it’s out of the ground. If nothing else I’ll use the engine for a different project. 

[keiser31]

Get in touch with these folks....Big M Automotive in Williams, California....they work on those cars and may have a frame....

http://www.bigmauto.com/

Edited August 11, 2021 by keiser31 (see edit history)

[Rusty_OToole]

I agree that this is a parts car. You could look for a rust free example in Colorado, California, the southwest etc or just buy a good one. A good original or restored example would cost less, in money and time, than restoring a bad one even a rust free example.

[The 55er]

The car pictured is a 1958 Coronet.

[BreakItTapeItRepeat]

6 minutes ago, Rusty_OToole said:

I agree that this is a parts car. You could look for a rust free example in Colorado, California, the southwest etc or just buy a good one. A good original or restored example would cost less, in money and time, than restoring a bad one even a rust free example.

I’m not really worried about time, and I’m not looking to buy one restored because I am honestly looking for something to turn wrenches on for fun. I will probably look for another car. I’m in central Oregon and don’t really want to go out of state for a project. 

[Rusty_OToole]

You should know that Mopars of that era are prone to rusting out, and were known for developing rust holes when they were only a year or two old. So good rust free examples are not too common.

If you want some idea what you might be up against, have a look at this restoration of a 1960 Plymouth Fury. From floorless to flawless in just 2 years.

 

 

[46 woodie]

Far be it for me to discourage anyone from a project, but I don't think you have any idea what you are in for and how much it is going to cost. I don't think anyone is reproducing any sheet metal for this car and everything will need to be fabricated. Do you have welding skills? The roof looks like it has been walked on and repairing a roof is a bear. As other have suggested I would look for a better example to start with. 

[SC38dls]

It’s a great 50’s body style and I hope you can save or use it in another project. Unless you have gone over that car very well looking for rust I would have to agree it looks like a parts car. The leaves and stuff on the side of the fin and roof are moisture traps. The fin area is prone to rust, above the headlights may look ok but that small surface rust area on my 57 ( when it was 7 years old, not 54 years old) was paper thin and the headlights just about fell out. It would be a great project or parts car. Good luck, keep us up to date on your progress, just be ready for a very long, expensive (in my book) project. 
Have fun

dave s 

[BreakItTapeItRepeat]

9 minutes ago, 46 woodie said:

Far be it for me to discourage anyone from a project, but I don't think you have any idea what you are in for and how much it is going to cost. I don't think anyone is reproducing any sheet metal for this car and everything will need to be fabricated. Do you have welding skills? The roof looks like it has been walked on and repairing a roof is a bear. As other have suggested I would look for a better example to start with. 

I wouldn’t really call them skills, I can make metal stick to metal. I’ll stick to my old Fords for now. I wasn’t excited to deal with that goofy push button transmission anyways. 

[BreakItTapeItRepeat]

2 minutes ago, SC38DLS said:

It’s a great 50’s body style and I hope you can save or use it in another project. Unless you have gone over that car very well looking for rust I would have to agree it looks like a parts car. The leaves and stuff on the side of the fin and roof are moisture traps. The fin area is prone to rust, above the headlights may look ok but that small surface rust area on my 57 ( when it was 7 years old, not 54 years old) was paper thin and the headlights just about fell out. It would be a great project or parts car. Good luck, keep us up to date on your progress, just be ready for a very long, expensive (in my book) project. 
Have fun

dave s 

I have given a walk around and it is rust free on the outside. Here in the pnw, we don’t use salt on our roads so older cars typically look better than they would somewhere else. That doesn’t mean that the frame and floorpan are good because they’ve been in the ground trapping in moisture for at least 50 years. Upon further consideration, I’ve decided to spend the time on something else (hopefully something that is easier find parts for). If I come across another Coronet or classic someday, this may be a good candidate for body parts. 

[Rusty_OToole]

The pushbutton trans is the least of your worries. They use a simple cable linkage that is very reliable. Some other makes used electric pushbuttons that can be a headache when they get old but don't recall any problems with Chrysler products. Other than needing to adjust the cable but this is very rare.

[Bloo]

Zero issues with those Chrysler pushbuttons. It's mechanical. They only stopped doing it because of some shifter standardization push in the mid 60s. 1965 Chrysler products have a column shifter, or occasionally a floor shifter, but it is just pulling on the same cables the pushbuttons did. Those work fine too.

 

The only sort of annoying thing about them, back in 57 anyway, is the lack of "park". There is a parking brake on the back of the transmission tailshaft that you use in lieu of park. You have to keep that adjusted and working.

 

Some other makes used electric pushbuttons. Those are reputed to be problematic.

 

 

[8E45E]

20 hours ago, BreakItTapeItRepeat said:

I have given a walk around and it is rust free on the outside. Here in the pnw, we don’t use salt on our roads so older cars typically look better than they would somewhere else. That doesn’t mean that the frame and floorpan are good because they’ve been in the ground trapping in moisture for at least 50 years. Upon further consideration, I’ve decided to spend the time on something else (hopefully something that is easier find parts for). If I come across another Coronet or classic someday, this may be a good candidate for body parts. 

Don't write it off until you are able to physically get under it and look at it closely.  IF by change it was parked on a patch of gravel or sand, and the ground has a low water table, the chassis could be in relatively good shape.

 

Craig

[BreakItTapeItRepeat]

3 hours ago, 8E45E said:

Don't write it off until you are able to physically get under it and look at it closely.  IF by change it was parked on a patch of gravel or sand, and the ground has a low water table, the chassis could be in relatively good shape.

 

Craig

I have been able to look at. Opening the door and engine bay, I saw that the car had been completely sunken by gophers and moles. The water table is damn near ground level, so it’s long gone. 

[60FlatTop]

On 8/12/2021 at 10:31 AM, 46 woodie said:

I don't think you have any idea what you are in for and how much it is going to cost.

 

That gave me a big smile  I am sure will last all day.

 

An easy one consists of 300 $100 jobs. Some day I am going to sit down and list them........ when I get my projects caught up.

[BreakItTapeItRepeat]

I’m not trying to start a balls to the wall restoration, just a project to put around town every once in a while. That being said, I don’t think this is a very cost effective or safe option after talking to you guys and looking at the car more. 

[Rusty_OToole]

On 8/11/2021 at 3:57 PM, BreakItTapeItRepeat said:

I’m starting the project of restoring a 1957 Dodge Coronet that has been parked since 1971. The  chassis has sunken and rotted out, but the body is in near perfect condition. What cars chassis would fit this body?

To get back to the original question.... if you wanted to make a major hot rod type project out of it, you could find a later model full size, front engine rear drive car like a Ford Crown Victoria, Chevrolet Impala or Olds 88 cut away everything but the chassis firewall and floor and weld the 2 together. By later model I mean from the 80s 90s or early 2000s depending what you can find, that is a match for wheelbase and tread width. It would be a lot of work but not necessarily cost a lot of money. One thing sure, if you didn't know how to weld when you started you would by the time you finished.

Edited August 14, 2021 by Rusty_OToole (see edit history)

[60FlatTop]

If you can buy that car for $500-$600 you could spend a couple of days cleaning it, putting headlights in, and making it roll. It looks like a 2 door, probably a $2000 to $2500 project to sell. Take the money and stash it away. There is a whole lot of money in poorly presented project cars to be made by just doing the simple things the current owner doesn't want to be bothered with.

 

Don't let it slip away without first asking yourself "Do I want to make a little money or spend a lot?" Some guys spend a lot and say you can't make money on those old cars.

[BreakItTapeItRepeat]

2 minutes ago, 60FlatTop said:

If you can buy that car for $500-$600 you could spend a couple of days cleaning it, putting headlights in, and making it roll. It looks like a 2 door, probably a $2000 to $2500 project to sell. Take the money and stash it away. There is a whole lot of money in poorly presented project cars to be made by just doing the simple things the current owner doesn't want to be bothered with.

 

Don't let it slip away without first asking yourself "Do I want to make a little money or spend a lot?" Some guys spend a lot and say you can't make money on those old cars.

I agree. I am getting it for next to free, so I may work on it yet. I am not putting a ton of money into it. A real decision would have to be made once it’s out of the ground so I can get a better look at it. 

[The 55er]

If it were me and I could get this 1958 Dodge for NEXT TO FREE, I would drag it home and part it out at my leisure. I've heard people say parts for 1957-1958 Dodges are hard to find but I have no personal experience with these. I'd remove every little item that's good and tag it. Trim, wheels, bumpers, grille, dashboard, knobs, handles, gee-gaws, window regulators & glass, mechanicals, whatever was still useable. Market the stuff on Ebay and be prepared to ship it or at least take it out to a swap meet. There might be some folks overseas in real need of these unusual parts. Where I come from any car that has been sitting outside for 50 years is far past the point of restoration. I wouldn't try selling it whole as very few people will want to buy a huge project with no floors & a bad frame (they'll want it for next to free too!) Craigslist & especially Facebook Marketplace is already full of old rusty neglected overpriced projects that nobody wants. I wish you well in whatever you decide to do. I'm sure somebody somewhere is in need of 58 Dodge parts.