Missed It: You Could've Been King with this 1961 Dodge Coronet

Tim Odell

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413 Hemi Cross-ram Dodge Coronet Seneca for sale
Our campaign to Hooniversize the world is well underway, as evidenced by the actions of our own Mr Schmo. Alas, sometimes we come upon a great potential hoonmobile too late. If nothing else, we can used these Ones That Got Away as examples of what you could’ve bought for the price of a used Camry. So begins the series titled after what we did: Missed It.
413ci V8, Dual Quad Cross-Ram intake, 4-speed, 3.91:1 posi rearend. It’s hard to think of a vehicle you could wrap around that drivetrain that wouldn’t put us at risk for a priapism, but his Coronet Seneca…well, let’s just say we need a cold shower.

413 Hemi Cross-ram Dodge Coronet Seneca for sale
The teal paint and swoopy rocket-age styling makes us want to don a sharp suit, fedora hat and use incredible power under the hood to outrun an alien invasion after a night at the drive-in. We could stash the Top Secret government-lab-designed ray gun in the humongous trunk.

413 Hemi Cross-ram Dodge Coronet Seneca for sale

Googie-era zeitgeist aside, the craziest thing about this ride is the price it sold for: $14900. No, that’s not the sub-$5,000 “too cheap to pass up”, but that’s crazy-cheap for a monster like this. Seriously, try to find another 4-speed powered super-clean-cross-ram anything for that kind of scratch (and if you do, drop us a line). If that’s not a reason to read Bring A Trailer, I don’t know what is.
413 Hemi Cross-ram Dodge Coronet Seneca for sale413 Hemi Cross-ram Dodge Coronet Seneca for sale
The original completed listing can still be found on eBay Motors

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Tim Odell

Tim Odell

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  1. Stumack Avatar
    Stumack

    It's not a "Coronet Seneca", it's a Dart Seneca. The Coronet name was dormant from 1960-64,

    Reply
  2. Novaload Avatar
    Novaload

    I've seen some nice oldies come creeping onto the market with low and lower prices. Hard times.
    What's so great about this old monster is the design is so unpredictable; your eyes go down the rear flank, expecting a fin, but then, WTF is that? It has no taillight, it's some kind of…appendage, and then the taillights themselves are almost invisible. And the front is all humps and lumps –why are the grille and headlights recessed under the hood? Whoever heard of that?
    MoPar. Exercising your brain since the 1950s.

    Reply
  3. Stumack Avatar
    Stumack

    The taillights as shown on this example didn't meet minimum lighting requirements in a number of states (the bulk of the lens faces to the side rather than the rear). The solution was a very clumsily tacked on additional round light in a chrome bezel up in the "fin" area.
    I somehow think this one began life as a slant-six 3-speed. "RADIO AND HEATER DELETE CAR, DOG DISH HUBCAPS" is no big deal, and they never say it's an original 413 car in the ad.

    Reply
    1. Tim Odell Avatar
      Tim Odell

      Originality wouldn't make a car like this any more fun, just more expensive.

      Reply
    2. Goingincirclez Avatar
      Goingincirclez

      You'd think they'd have learned from the earlier Imperials. I know those lights are iconic, but they always scream "Oh Shit Afterthought" to me.
      <img src="http://www.goingincirclez.com/Kaleid/Albums/BON/Implight.jpg"&gt;

      Reply
      1. AteUpWithMotor Avatar
        AteUpWithMotor

        Or just, "Jesus, I'm going to have to replace the damn things every time I go through a car wash."

        Reply
    3. AteUpWithMotor Avatar
      AteUpWithMotor

      Also, if memory serves, Chrysler products didn't have a four-speed as a regular option until '63. (The 1960 300F could be ordered with a four-speed, but it was a weird imported Pont-a-Mousson box, and less than a dozen cars actually had it.)

      Reply
  4. CptSevere Avatar
    CptSevere

    I absolutely love these weirdass old Mopars. Ugly? Yes. Awesome? Definitely. That cross-ram induction is just plain mutant. I'm guessing that it has some kind of jungle howl when all eight barrels are opened up. I'm almost wishing that it had the pushbutton slushbox for an even bigger freak factor. I don't even care if it's an original 413 car, it just works for me.

    Reply
  5. Kogashiwa Avatar
    Kogashiwa

    That's the biggest robin's egg I've ever seen.

    Reply
  6. Jeremy Wilson Avatar
    Jeremy Wilson

    That's not a Hemi.

    Reply
    1. Tim Odell Avatar
      Tim Odell

      Crap. You're right.
      Fixed.

      Reply
  7. engineerd Avatar
    engineerd

    I believe the Air Force and Boeing are considering using these for the ground-based version of the Airborne Laser. Maybe instead of a YAL-1 designation, this would have a WTF-69 designation.

    Reply
  8. Froggmann_ Avatar
    Froggmann_

    Looks like one hell of a sleeper to me.

    Reply
  9. TurboBrick Avatar
    TurboBrick

    Seafoam green, one of my favorite colors for cars made before 1970.

    Reply
  10. Goingincirclez Avatar
    Goingincirclez

    WANT. That is all.

    Reply
  11. joshuman Avatar
    joshuman

    Thanks for introducing me to a new and fantastic engine. Hooniverse, educating people since October 2009.

    Reply
    1. highmileage_v1 Avatar
      highmileage_v1

      That cross-ram intake is art.

      Reply
  12. dustin_driver Avatar
    dustin_driver

    My eyes!

    Reply
  13. Charles_Barrett Avatar
    Charles_Barrett

    Don Draper would approve…

    Reply
    1. AteUpWithMotor Avatar
      AteUpWithMotor

      Nah, Draper would drive a Chrysler 300G. A Dodge would be too down-market.

      Reply
      1. Charles_Barrett Avatar
        Charles_Barrett

        You're right, of course, although I don't really know what Don was driving before he bought the Coupe deVille (any Mad Men trivia fans? What car did he wreck en route to Bobbie Barrett's beach house for a tryst?), it was probably something more grand than this car… 😉

        Reply
  14. AteUpWithMotor Avatar
    AteUpWithMotor

    This is not really set up to be a comfortable daily driver, but it's worth noting that the cross-ram manifold is a serious pain in the ass until it's properly warmed up. When it's cold, the fuel mixture likes to condense and puddle in the ram tubes, rather than actually going into the engine. If you live in Las Vegas, it's fine — Joe and Sean Machado, who owns the 1960 Polara D500 seen here (http://ateupwithmotor.com/luxury-and-personal-lux… says it's at its best on a long run through the desert — but if you live somewhere it actually gets cold, forget it.

    Reply
    1. dculberson Avatar
      dculberson

      Excellent point. I was salivating and thinking of a cross-ram daily driver, but it's been dashed for now. Maybe a block heater would help?
      But this car is so beautiful. I would never spend $15k on a Camry when there are beauties out there like this.

      Reply
      1. AteUpWithMotor Avatar
        AteUpWithMotor

        I don't know that a block heater would help that much. Someone who owns a cross-ram might be able to tell you, but I suspect the block heater wouldn't do a lot to warm the ram tubes themselves.

        Reply
        1. dplotkin Avatar
          dplotkin

          I own the 61 Plymouth savoy with the ram inducted (aka Sonoramic Commando) Chrysler RB in the pictures you will find in this link. The car has headers, so there is no carb base warm-up as in the stock setup. I have no chokes on the Edelbrock AFB's. So long as the car has been used within a few days she will light off immediately requiring feathering for roughly 45 seconds to a minute before she will hold an idle. That's with a Lunati Voodo cam & 20-50 in the sump, and a drilled out thermostat. Once she is warm, she is no problem. In real cold weather, it might be a different story. The stock setup gave no real warmup problems so much as the typical multiple carburetion foibles of adjustment & sync.
          Dan

          Reply
          1. dplotkin Avatar
            dplotkin

            I forgot the link:
            http://www.forwardlook.net/forums/forums/thread-v…

  15. Tripl3fast Avatar
    Tripl3fast

    What a color. What an engine. So will we look back at Mopar wierdness of the 2000's like we do of the 1960's?

    Reply
  16. Michele Bachmann Avatar
    Michele Bachmann

    This is really one of the most appealing websites I have seen. It is so easy to get jaded, but there’s honestly still some good things out there, and I think your place is certainly on the short list!

    Reply