Many people forget that Dodge offered a full size model alongside the compact Dart and mid-size 330 / 440 / Polara in 1963. Here, Steve examines a one-of-2,804-built Custom 880 two-door hardtop with a refreshing surprise in the trunk.
I make my 3 and 2 year olds watch every morning so they can learn about the hot wheels they play with and they normally say "thank you Steve " after the show.
Hello Sam Craig, that's GREAT that your kids watch and enjoy the Junkyard Crawl! Today's children are tomorrows aerospace engineers! Please tell them "Thank YOU" for me! -Steve Magnante
Oof! The term “pot metal” is a common misnomer for die cast parts and was a dirty word growing up in my house as Dad was in the die casting business. Most die cast parts are made with the alloy, ZAMAC - Zinc, Aluminum Magnesium And Copper. Yes, die cast parts can become brittle with age and can indeed become pitted. A technique employed by my Dad when restoring die cast parts on his Lincoln Zephyrs was to first, have the part stripped. Triple chrome plating involves plating the part in copper, nickel, and chrome, in that order. After stripping the parts, Dad would have them copper plated. He would then, very patiently wet sand the part to bare metal again. He would repeat this process as often as necessary to gradually fill the pits with layers of copper until they were level with the original surface and then have them triple plated and polished.
If you look closely, it looks as if your looking at a car from the rear. The way the dash kind of angles up and out looks like a car with fins and the housing on the speedo looks like the roof from the tops of the doors on up..
STEVE LOVE YOUR SHOW, YOU ARE THE BACKBONE OF THE BARRETT JACKSON BROADCASTS... ONE THING, IN 1963 THE ENGINE WOULD HAVE BEEN A 413 NOT THE 425 STREET WEDGE... THE 365HP, STREET WEDGE WAS INTRODUCED IN 1964...
I close my eyes and imagine seeing cars like this parked at the local drive in theater, all vacuumed and waxed and with that great new car smell. This one had a nice, flashy red-and-white two tone paint scheme. I love it.
Great video Steve, I just bought, last night a 1964 dodge 880 4door . Love it, its pretty much rust free, was stored on a airplane hanger. Have a great day everyone
Man what a beautiful car that must have been in it’s hay day’s! Beautiful styling inside and out! It’s a shame seeing it in such dilapidated condition! Great video Steve! As always love learning more about them old classic’s!👌👍😎
I truly enjoy this program. I grew up in the 60’s and love to learn about cars of that era. Motor Trend really needs to reevaluate airing this program. I suspect there are a lot of 70 something’s that would watch and make use of their advertisers products. Steve is a automotive treasure.
My parents owned a new 1964 Dodge Polara 880 four door and I learned to drive on it. In High School I purchased a used 1965 Dodge 440. I believe both had 318 Cubic Inch engines. The 64 880 was a red body with white roof and a very stylish car.
After watching your videos I had to go to this salvage yard for myself . Took my day off after thanksgiving and trucked down there from Haverhill Mass and was able to walk around even in the rain , this place is amazing !!!! Wish it was my backyard ! I talked to the owner for a bit and he seems to be a great guy . Hope to go back again on a better day weather wise and buy something .
Never herd of av 880. Great stuff Steve!! The Fratzog - a made up word by a designer - was initially used by Dodge from 1962 through 1976. It features a split deltoid made of three arrowhead shapes that form a three-pointed star
It would be a good parts car, but I guarantee the bottom is completely gone out of that thing, sitting on the ground, floors and the bottom 6 inches is gone. Sub-frames probably not even attached to the floor anymore.
I had a 64 Custom 880 four door hardtop and in 64 the ornaments moved to each fender instead of the center of the hood and that was one of the best vehicles I had That 361 was an excellent engine and not bad on fuel consumption. Thanks Steve for showing one my favorite Chrysler products.
In 1965 my dad came home with a 1963 Dodge 880 ex California Highway Patrol car, came stock with a 426 c.i. Wedge. Fast and Fun. BTW I was 7 years old, and still a Mopar fan.
My uncle used to have a junkyard, all fossils. I have one of those dash mounted rearview mirrors with a peach tint to the mirror. Definitely an oddity, I love the old Chrysler cars and trucks, no other brand had style and class like that stuff. Used to have a 73 Gold Duster, 73 Dart Sport and a 67 Plymouth Belvedere II four door with the silver anniversary interior and a slant six with some extra work done to it. Loved that car.
Back before Budweiser became the "King of Beers", the "beer that made Milwaukee famous" was numero uno in the beer wars. "When you're out of Schlitz, you're out of beer".
Correct, with the VIN, you win: 5 for Dodge V8 (4 are for six-cylinder Dodge models, 7 are for Dart models), 1 for Custom 880 (1 was also used for 170 and 330 models), 3 for 1963 model year, 3 for Jefferson Ave, Detroit, MI assembly and the rest is the production sequence. The Jefferson plant that assembled this car opened in 1925 and closed in 1990. The "new" Jefferson plant opened adjacent to the old one in 1991 and still operates today under Stellantis. No tag, can't brag, but easy to figure out, no doubt: 512 for Custom 880 two door hardtop, 575 for Red interior trim, and P for Vermillion exterior paint. My parents had a 1963 Sport Fury that my dad bought new and then had the payments frozen when he went into the service. When he came out, the payments resumed and he paid off the car and by that time, he and my mom were married. They kept the car for a while longer and then sold it around the time I was born because they wanted a larger car. As I recall, it was traded in on a Plymouth Fury. We didn't have that car long, as my mom accidentally chipped the flywheel by trying to start it with the engine running (the car was a notorious staller). We had "modern" Chrysler products until 1979, but by 1977, we started buying GM products. The only Chrysler we had was a 1941 Plymouth Deluxe from 1978 to 1988 when my father passed away. We gave it to my uncle, my dad's older brother in 1988 and then he kept it for a number of years, giving it to his son. It got sold to the owners of a local newspaper who at last call still have it. We called the car "The General" because it was from 1941, right in the beginning of WWII. It was a simple simon car and always started right up. It was built like a Sherman tank.
Say what you want about the reverse fin rear quarters of the old Dodge, I just loved the front fender sculpting of that same 1961 Dodge. Ever since I was a kid I thought those fenders were gorgeous.
My dad was a died in the wool Dodge guy. I remember many of them back to dim memories of the '52 or 53 with BIG ram on the hood. ALL TIME favorite was the '64 Custom 880 4 dr hardtop. An absolutely great road car many trips from White Plains NY to Cape Cod. We put 214000 miles on that thing and it was going strong several years later in the second owners hands. That thing had monster drum brakes.
Yes 1964 Dodge custom 880 super great car .My folks and one bought in 1965 as a demo car from dealer .p.s we were told later the CAL state patrol also used the Dodge custom 880.
@@casedoumasr656 CAL Highway Patrol used 880 4 door sedans (non-"custom") Seems there was a lot of spill over of bits and pieces. I know ours had "police "brakes. During the same period NJ was buying Chrysler Newport sedans (basically same car under the skin
in the early 80s my dad had a 1964 Dodge 880 custom wagon with the 383 4brl automatic. The car was white with a red interior. sadly we moved out of state and sent the 880 along with a 65 Impala 283 auto and 66 Thunderbird 390 auto to the salvage. I would love to have any one of them today.
I'm glad these cars are in Massachusetts so you can show them to us. But it's also a shame they aren't in Arizona/Texas/California or somewhere they might still be worth building. I'm from Southern Ohio and I know all about rust. I dream of old cars that aren't rotten
Without Steve and his amazing knowledge through researching, Automobiles are " History of America" . Because only in America we once ruled the world in production of them.... Best.
Thank you for showing us these amazing parts of our history. I’m wondering why this car being so rare is there and no one is saving it? Sometimes you point out why it is too far gone but you didn’t in this case.
@@remylopez2408 The door didn't have the bolts in, they had been removed. Overall compared to many of the bodies he's looked over that one looked really sound, all the roof gutters were fine and the slam panel for the trunk wasn't rotted either. ok the floors and quarter bottoms were probably bad thou even when we got a glimpse of the leaf spring you could see some of the wheel well was still there with the spot welds showing...usually that is just fresh air...this car looks really saveable. Not for the faint hearted tho the fact that the roof is still attached to the body and isn't net curtains is amazing.
It appeared to be salvageable to my eye from a cameras perspective. However I did see a fair amount of daylight when he opened the trunk. It appeared to have been rusted out quite a bit.
@@remylopez2408 The door falling off tells you that it's "too far gone"? Not a car guy I assume. You reckon that might be because there were no bolts in it? That the door wasn't on there before, but Steve attached it for the video. Any car, whether it be 60 years old or made a month ago.... Any car that is neglected will end up in a junkyard after maintenance issues pile up to the point of it being parked. Cars didn't used to be designed to be disposable. People's attitudes, ineptitude, ignorance and outright laziness has caused the automotive industry to now design cars that WILL NOT be salvageable. Or even in a junkyard. They'll go directly to the crusher. When it's all said and done and all the chips are down, it will be these old beaters that Steve usually features that will still be able to be placed back into service. The downward spiral started with the EPA and insurance restrictions imposed on our cars back in the mid 70's.
A big problem can be the lack of availability of parts. If you have to do a lot of work and things like trim pieces or body panels etc are unavailable, you might have to invest $70,000 in parts and labor to have a car worth $30,000. For a lot of cars like this, someone has to make the absolutely horrible financial decision to get emotionally involved with a car. ;)
Hi Steve a great video. This 880 must of been a beautiful car when new. Never owned an 880 but I did own a 1960 Dodge Matador 2dr hard top 383 AT. It was a mint green. An absolutely beautiful car. The dash on this car (880) was very similar. I was told the Matador was a Canadian car but I'm not 100%. I kept that car for few yrs. The car was mint condition. I bought off a fellow in the Mts of NC. He only sold it because it wasn't a DeSoto. The old 4bl 383 in the Matador would definitely burn the tires off the back. I was also told by the gentleman that the car was an original 2-4s car but was replaced with a single because of the gas shortage in the 70s and unfortunately the factory intake was long gone by the time I bought the car. I had no reason not to believe the man but i also had no way to prove it. Man that junkyard is massive. I keep looking in the background and see stuff I can't wait to here you educate us on Steve. Namaste 🙏🏼
I was lucky enough to own a four door custom 880. 383 bored .040, Mopar purple shaft cam, Carter 750 AFB. Very fast, but dangerous. Single master cylinder and drums don't slow down a behemoth like this. Really miss the pushbutton torqueflites.
I owned the same ‘64 880 2dr hdtp three separate times. Full power, 383, push button TF. I put the 15” slotted steel wheels and vented dog dish caps. Love C bodies and this was my favorite. I’d love to own in a 4th and final time. Thanks for the content!
@@kbias1 I would have loved to do a disc brake upgrade but I installed the 15” wheels simply because I thought they looked better and so many more options for 15” tires.
The '60 Dart was not full-size, but an intermediate (I know as my family of six had one and I frequently had to sit in the rear middle). The full-size Dodge in '60 was the Matador/Polara which was followed by the 880.
I have owned one of these since 2007. Same 2door hard top but in green with white roof. Fascinating if heartbreaking to see a tour of one in such poor condition. I’d sure like the glass for spares! The front bumper is off a ‘63 Chrysler and formed the basis for the front design. It the first Chrysler Corp car to feature the Pentastar badge. Placed on the front quarters just behind the wheel arch. Oh and it was in fact the 413 not the 426 available for the cops. Despite the mongrel parts bin mashup these were well engineered and a clean looking coupe.
In the late 60's a family friend had a '63 880 wagon in black with a white roof. I asked them to please let me know whenever they decided to sell it. In 1972 I found the car lying on its side in a local junkyard, the tranny was torched out of it. I asked the junkyard owner about the car, he said the owner wanted it gone because there was a 'tick' in the engine. The yard paid $10 for the car and it got crushed a few months later. My only consolation was that the visible undercarriage was so totally obliterated with rust that it was not savable. There were no other 880s known on the street by that time either. I only knew of 880s from pics of them in '60s "Motor's Auto Repair " manuals before the friends got the black one.
My first car was a 1965 custom 880 2 door hardtop, i liked that car, but shortly after I bought it, I also found a1965 dodge Monaco 2 door hardtop. Both the same car just the Monaco had bucket seats and a beautiful chrome and aluminum center console. I love to see an episode where Steve talks about this car.
I own a '62, and a parts car '62, they are the only '62 880s I have ever seen in person. I have only seen 2 '63s and one '64, all out at the Carlisle Chrysler Nationals! Rare cars that not many people know about.
Also they were not actually classified as "c-bodies" until '65 when they shared the body with the Monaco/Polara. '62-'64 are just simply listed as "full-sized".
Steve this looked not too bad compared to the usual baskets you show us? Overall compared to many of the bodies you've looked over this one looked really sound, all the roof gutters were fine and the slam panel for the trunk wasn't rotted out either. Ok the floors and quarter bottoms were probably bad thou even when we got a glimpse of the leaf spring you could see some of the wheel well was still there with the spot welds showing...usually that is just fresh air...this car looks really saveable. Not for the faint hearted tho the fact that the roof is still attached to the body and isn't net curtains is amazing.
Have the 64' year, it's a blast to drive around. I have it as my daily driver, so far for 9 years going to college and home, Most of the people i run into ask if it's a galaxie other times a charger. love these 60's C bodies, strange, peculiar models will keep people scratching their heads guessing on what car it is! I honestly like to call these cars Plodges, as it resembles early plymouth Fury roof lining and using Dodge parts. (Front end clip was a Dodge Polara, the rear clip was off of a Chrysler Newport) so, Dodge + Plymouth = Plodge.
Cool Dodge Steve thanks for sharing... The story i always heard about the pull top cans was the danger of choking by pulling the tab and putting it in the can and possibly choking on it guzzling the contents..
The reason the 880 exists is at the start of the 1962 model run Dodge and Plymouth's biggest cars were only mid-sized. It was an error on Chrysler's part, they believed the other carmakers were downsizing their cars too. End result, Dodge dealers wanted a full size sedan to sell to brand-loyal customers who were asking for one. So Chrysler made them a parts-bin car - re-using the 1961 Dodge full size nose on the 1962 Chrysler body, with the 1960-61 Dodge/DeSoto dash. In the back, those pot metal caps fill the hole made originally for the 1962 Chrysler tail light. That might be the only new tooling on the car save the badges and I wouldn't be shocked if the lens is the same as the 1961 Dodge upper round light, too. The greenhouse on this body dates back to the 1960 cars. But it still works even without the fins. It sold well enough to continue for 1963 (as seen here) with a new nose, and in 1964 they got a new tail as well. But it used that dash right to the end. 1965 they brought back full size Dodge and Plymouth cars with the new body design and made these moot. But they served their purpose. I pulled the entire dash out of one when it showed up in our you pull yard. I couldn't find much demand for the other parts, and grabbing the pushbutton valve body 727 was too much work. I think it's still on a pallet up to the warehouse somewhere, I figured sure somebody would want to put it in their hot rod. Interestingly GM would make this same mistake in 1982 with Pontiac, but there dealers responded by importing the Canadian Parisienne which was a very lightly rebadged Caprice, and it sold so well that by 1984 they brought back a US edition complete with recycled 1980 quarter panels.
I love how the great expanses of glass, the backlight in particular, are a major part of the overall design, more than just a necessary void to be filled with a piece of glass
Another great video Steve, I always liked the space age dashes in these old mopars, especially the 60 to 62 "Astradome" those looks awesome at night. I see you got yourself a new mascot. 😉
Nice video, thanks for the info. I'd like to respectfully correct you on a couple of minor details... Excluding the Lancer that was introduced in '61, Dodge did have two sized cars in '60 and '61. The Dart series was slightly smaller (Plymouth size) than the Polara series. These cars erroneously get referred to as C-bodies, but they were not officially labeled as such until 1965, which ironically was the last year of the 880. I loce the '62-'64 880's. They are rare, misunderstood, and awesome.
Yes, the 880’s were not C bodies until the 1965. There seems to be a lot of misinformation about this but when you try to buy parts for an 880 you find out. I have a 64 custom 880 2 door hardtop and always find it hard to get the correct parts.
The 63 and 64 Custom 880's are seldom seen. I had a 63 convertible back in 1967. It was black with white top and red interior. I bought it at Melene Motors in Clinton Mass
Love your channel. So far you haven't brought up that the 880 was rushed into production because of their over downsized full sized cars starting in 1962.
I had a buddy who had a '63 880 4 door when we were kids. I don't remember much about it- I can't even remember the color now-, but I know it had the 383 and the push-button transmission selector like this one. Another friend and I went over to his place and helped him work on it just a day or two before/after Thanksgiving one year. This probably would have been 2001 or 2002. To be honest, I didn't get the appeal of the car back then and couldn't understand what my friend saw in the car, but I would never tell him that and it was always fun working on it. That being said, the design has grown on me over the years- I think part of "maturing" as a car guy is you begin to see more of the good in cars you previously dismissed and you see potential in things that you overlooked before. We all had our project cars back then- mine was a 1972 Lincoln Continental Mark IV, and I still consider those to be beautiful automobiles, inside and out- and there are plenty of people out there who don't see the appeal and would say I'm tasteless, which is perfectly fine. We're all entitled to our different opinions, and all those unique tastes and unique ideas is what keeps our car culture moving forward. I haven't seen an 880 in YEARS, and it was nice to see this one showcased here. I think I finally do see why my friend liked his so much, but I think I'd have to have a two door like the one shown here, preferably
My uncle had a four door Dodge with the mirror on the dashboard. When riding with 6 people I had to slide over towards the right passenger so he could see around my head through the mirror.
My dad bought this car about 10ish years ago and still sits in our driveway now that I'm working I'll try to work on her bit by bit body is solid and engine was running good not too long ago
Steve, make sure you come up to Detroit for WOODWARD DREAM CRUISE. every year in August. Worlds largest. 3 million people event. Going from downtown Detroit to Pontiac. On America's first paved road woodward ave. M1
