It’s been 70 years since the first Hemi powered Dodges hit the street. This Coronet four door is where it all began. For information on buying this vehicle, send email to: paulcrosiervt@gmail.com
I remember when I was 16 years old working at a service station ( not gas station ) , I’m 73 years old now. Anyway I was assigned to change the earl and filter on the company pickup . For giggles I filled the oil bath air cleaner to the very very top. Later my boss had to go on a service call. Either way the pickup was smoking a lot all the way down the very busy street we were located on. We were all ( about 5 of us employees ) laughing our aspirins off. The boss was not happy. Regardless I didn’t get fired. When he was reading me my rights I couldn’t keep from laughing. Thanks for the memories.
That Dodge brochure was amazing. I paused the video to read the text. It mentions, "the engine's ability to convert heat energy into useful work". I couldn't believe they would discuss thermodynamics in a brochure written for the average person. There is no way a modern car brochure would include information like that. What a great example of how society has changed.
NO,mass Hemi was pionereed by belive it or not Citroen and all Citroen engines were exclusively Hemi engines,2cv had Hemi some three of four years before any US producer. Fun fact is that Chrysler had a very close relations with Citroen back in the day beacuse Citroen was a monster of company and real innovator.They pionereed Hemi,Crumple zones,disc brakes,power steering,self collapse engines and steering,radial tyres,Hatchbacks,front wheel drive,adaptive lights,active suspension(which even Tesla uses today in variation),rain sensing wipers,aerodynamics for fuel effiencyand many more!!
... Two weeks ago, I bought a running and driving 1953 Dodge Regent four door... 230-6, three speed manual... Nearly flawless interior and exterior, no rust, no holes anywhere, and no body filler... A complete set of Firestone glass belted wide whitewalls ... Best regards...
Extra value is what you get when you buy a Coronet. LOL. This is either a model "D44" or "D48" and records show they were all US built, likely at Dodge Main, aka Hamtramck, MI assembly or "Factory Zero". That facility operated from 1911 to 1980 and today GM's Hamtramck, MI assembly plant sits on part of that site. Factory Zero was a city within a city and made to operate on its own, including having its own fire protection (hooked into the Hamtramck, MI fire department), several medical wards and cafeterias. The best part was "The Playpen" where employees could work on their own projects after hours. Likely code "505" Bimini Blue exterior paint.
Another fun/fact filled crawl! Around 1978 a local man was liquidating his collection of about 20 junkers in similar condition. One of the cars was a '53 Dodge 4 door with the hemi. "Just think, son, for $50 you can own a real hemi!" Uh, no thanks! To most 23 year- olds, like myself, we only knew of the late, great 426!!
Dodge sure had the “upright and dowdy” look down to a “T” in 1953! It’s hard to believe that in just 10 short years they would already be on the other side of Virgil Exner’s reign as head designer and all of the “unique” (or feel free to add the adjective of your choice) styling cues that he could come up with! How cool it must have been to be a car guy during that time period and watch as the designs from your favorite manufacturer radically evolved from 1953 to 1963……..😮
That's cool the hemi is still in there. Day 1 of Barrett-Jackson. You and Mike Joy do a great job. I'm home sick so I got to watch the coverage all day. That worked out good. Thanks for all the info, I geek out on it all.
More accurate spark timing and longer coil saturation for a better (hotter) spark. This was the only way to achieve more coil saturation prior to the electronic ignition system. When properly set the first set of points would close to start the coil building back up for the next spark discharge almost immediately after the break set had opened disrupting the electricity to the coil and creating the coul discharge (spark). Had a Mallory duel point distributor back in the day in all my Mopars till the aftermarket electronics came out. Even though this isn't the 392 or 426 it's cool as hell seeing a true HEMI under the hood. Wonder if it's salvageable? Probably someone somewhere in need of one for a restoration.
Another great video, Steve. That Hemi brochure is too cool. I'm sure you know this, but some of your viewers might not: between 1951 and 1958, MoPar built the Hemi in 12 different displacements between Chrysler, DeSoto and Dodge. It's a miracle they didn't go broke just doing the tooling far all those mills!
We had a 1953 Dodge. It was a 6 cyl w/3 on the tree. By 1966 it was rusted out really bad. What I remember was that although the car was rusted out the Ram's head hood ornament shone like it was a new car.
Steve that yard is chock full of unicorns!! What a find there!! One of the very first Hemi's, that's gotta be super rare!!! Another great video Steve!! Thank you too Shane for great videography!!!
Hi , John , this channel reminds me of a rowdy shop class . I was in several in the 60's high school years complete with skirt chasing and fist fights . It was awesome !
If Steve is bucking for TV screen time he should keep the hair BLACK (suddenly the scene from Young Frankenstein came crashing through my picture window. "Now, listen to me very closely. Put the candle BACK.)
A rare car now days. Even with that rust I think it should be saved. I had a hubcap like that. Didn't know what it was from so I used it as a raincap on my chimney.
Ol Steve has really been cranking em out. Thanks ,Steve. Hair looks better too now. We've all had a bad hairdo a few times in our lives, so I just wish I had some... I was bald by 40. Neat to see one of the old very heavy hemis. Wasn't the bellhousing cast as part of the block on those? Thanks again for all your time and effort. Awesome looking intake and dual points way back when, wow
With all of the electric vehicles coming out and worrying about the life of the legendary Hemi, I got very concerned. Hearing about the Hemi engine plant in Mexico took some weight off my shoulders. Long Live the Hemi.
Fun to see that old sales brosure. focused on the technical aspects of each model (engines, ignition, and transmission). Today the online brosure is all about the interconnectivity, screens, and quality of music. Vehicles today for most of the latest generations is focused on just
There's hope for the V8. The manufacturers are seeing that EVs may not be the future. GM is developing the Gen VI small block. I bet Stalantis will continue with the Hemi long into the future as well.
Hi Steve, great video on this 53 Dodge hemi. I'll have to admit you got me a little choked up this morning. I wrote about Mr. Zimmerman in another video. Mr. Z was the guy in our area who knew everything about the hemi and Chrysler products of the 50s and 60s I worked with him as a teenager, and he drove a 54 Dodge Coronet with the Red Ram hemi and automatic. It had a green top and a cream coloured body. Absolutely in showroom condition in the 70s and 80s. He would come pick me up in that car before I had my license. It was his daily. I can still hear folks talk about getting the "Z man" to fix their cars. He was a tall, skinny man with round glasses and bright red hair. I nicknamed the 54 "the little Dodge." Because at his place sat big 50s 60s Chrysler, DeSoto, and Imperials, but he chose the Little Dodge. I remember we took a 200-mile trip to the Mts of NC to check out a Mopar hoard he was thinking of buying up. That little car rode as smooth as any luxury car, and that Red Ram, you never felt it running and could hardly hear it. I've always wore a hat, and yes, there's LOTS of head room in the Little Dodge(s). At about 12 or 13yrs old, my grandfather had an old Dodge. I believe it was a 47 sedan. It was pretty rusty, at least the drivers side floor was. Well, to keep me 'busy', my grandpa gave me that car so I could pretend I was driving, etc. With help with a friend, I managed to break the engine loose, and over the summer I got it running. I 'borrowed' a battery from one of my granddad's tractors. Well, the floor was rusty, and the gas pedal was dangling under the floorboard. I had the genius idea to take off the hood and sit on the fender and hand throttle it. So my friend and I would take turns sitting on the fender and drive through the tobacco fields. When I finally got it "right" ,with my friend on the fender, I drove that Dodge down the long dirt road to the main house that my grandfather lived. Well, he met us with a crazy look on his face and said "What's next you gonna tear off the hinges on the gates of hell?" My grandma was not happy at all either. Well later on the next summer something happened to the transmission and the car sat until someone told me about Mr Z. So I hiked down to Mr. Z's shop, and he took the time to listen to a couple of kids trying to describe what was wrong with "their" car. Well, in trade for another transmission and a used clutch, I worked with him for cleaning and whatnot. He also gave me a manual to show how to replace the trans and that summer I almost had it complete before school started back up in Sept..I figured out if we cut a hole though the firewall and wired up the throttle leakage so now we had a hand throttle and no more sitting on the fender. Mr.Z is still alive the little Dodge is gone, tho. He's probably pushing 100 now. He never had any kids, and at some point, people began to think I was his back then. I'll have to make my way down today and check up on him. Thanks Steve hopefully some of those cars will be sold and used to help keep another one on the road. Have a blessed day, everyone, Namaste 🙏🏼
Morning , Chris , you got the best stories ! We all had an old timer or two as influence as we grew up . I certainly did and luckily I listened to them . Now I'm the old timer but it seems kids don't want to listen much any more . They have too much in their lives and are distracted by that . I was telling G P when I was a kid we used our imaginations a lot to occupy our time . These were called THE GOOD OLD DAYS . This is why I like this channel so much , as it takes me back in time . Have a great day Chris !
Go see Mr. Z. I worked with an older man in the '80's that would tell me stories of plowing sidewalks in Rochester, NY with a horse drawn plow, him and his dad digging basements with a horse drawn shovel, stories of Africa and Italy in WW2, getting his teeth knocked out while hand cranking a tractor when he was 12 and many others. When I got a Harley in '98 I thought I would visit him with it as he had one in the '30's. I never did. He's gone now and regret is not a good feeling. Take care!
@daynadiggle8169 Hi, thanks, and yes, some of their biggest problems are right here in my hands, a handheld computer. "Let me Google that..." has become too familiar. This has taken away most of the imagination given to human beings. Don't get me wrong, we are currently living in our future. Things today are the things they told us as kids are coming in the future, and it's a beautiful thing. But there's a trade-off, life lessons. Now, most have become followers and want to be like what's on the internet, and for those that can't well they seem to think "I'm no good" or "not good enough." Ego probably the most dangerous word to a human. Most humans are only scared of the unknown, so now we have social anxiety because most don't interact with other humans regularly. So they just do what everyone else is doing so they feel excepted. They have forgotten they are here for a reason and very unique in their own way and have a purpose here on earth. Who wants a box of cayrons with the same colour? So who's right and who's leading? It reminds me of a story about a jewelry shop owner who had this huge clock in the front window, and every day, a man would stop and adjust his watch. So one day, while out sweeping off the sidewalk, the same guy came by and set his watch to the clock in the window. The shop owner asked why did he do that every morning? I can surely sell you a watch that works correctly. The fellow said I'm the foreman at the mill, and I need the exact time to blow the shift whistle. Confused, the shop keep said that's funny I set my clock by that very whistle. Who's right and what are the consequences of their actions that have affected others? As a young boy, I almost always ignored other people’s ideas about what I should be thinking or doing. I simply was indifferent to their opinions regarding what I could imagine for myself. I have carried this kind of inner discipline regarding my own imagination, refusing to allow external opinions to cancel or diminish what I considered hallowed ground. Often we use the word problem only because we have not learned that imagination and creativity can handle the situation. Teach this very thing to kids. As you can tell by my comments here if they had ADD and ADHD pills as a kid I am sure some teacher or maybe my own guardians would have had them prescribed. Another problem 🙄 take away their ambition "because we can't deal with him" I apologize for being so long-winded here. 😴 thanks again for commenting. Have a blessed day Namaste 🙏🏼
@594bolt Hi thanks for commenting Mr Zimmerman lives about an hr away so it's not to far and on occasion when I pass by he's in the yard moving around. I'll blow my horn and he knows who it is because I've always been one that had "the only one in the parking lot" if you get what I mean. Yes today it's a warm in the 60s and I'll be stopping this time not just a toot on the horn. Namaste 🙏🏼
Wow Mr. Scearce, I read the entirety of this thread and your story about Mr. Red and also the jewelry shop clock indicate that you are a VERY WELL ADJUSTED INDIVIDUAL. Really. I'm here at Barrett-Jackson / Scottsdale "slumming" but look forward to getting back to the Junkyard when I get home next week. Have a GREAT day. -Steve Magnante
My first car I bought after learning to drive on a 69 VW bug was a Seashore Green 1953 Dodge Coronet 2 door sedan with the 241 Hemi and the GyroTorque seemi-automatic transmission for $250 in 1974. It proved to be a good lesson about due diligence when buying a car. I knew next to nothing about it except that it was an old Dodge with a Hemi. The Gyro-Torque was a vestigial relic from the losing side in the race to be the first with a fully automatic transmission. Still used a clutch to shift into any gear. The only thing automatic was the upshift from 1st to 2nd. You used the clutch to engage 1st and acelerate. To upshift you would momentarily let up on the accelerator long enough to allow the transmission enough time to make an unhurried shift into 2nd with a nice crisp mechanical clunk allowing you to speed away in 2nd gear at a leisurely pace. It was funky. Tex Colbert got his marching orders from Chrysler Chairman of the Board K.T. Keller who famously defended the dumpy styling of the 1950 Plymouth saying "We build cars to sit in not piss over." At that time just about every man and woman wore a hat of some kind and would expect to wear it while riding in a car.
I really hope that car will be saved and restored. Its got a lot of history behind it, from the gyromatic transmission to the still complete hemi under the hood, it’s a miracle that hemi hasn’t been taken out yet. Can it be restored, yes, will it happen, probably not, but you never can tell…. Great video as always!!
It's fun to dream, but did you not see the whole side of the car move when he tried to open the door on that rusted out old crew cab (4 door) I bet that Hemi would start up & could be transplanted into a hot rod ... that's what needs to be saved, Mr. FRANKFRITTER
Gotta love that intake! They were clearly just as concerned about getting something into the cylinders for the spark to ignite as they were the spark itself.
A friend of mine is currently working on a 1953 F-100 hot rod project. The engine he's using is a Red Ram Hemi with an old Mooneyham blower. He's already done the mockup several times and is doing the final fab work now. It's going to be a cool truck when finished.
I normally get discouraged when I see that much rot, bit that is such a magnificent specimen of a ling gone time, i would almost trying a restoration if i had anywhere near the wherewithal
Best daily educational history of old and classic cars and trucks and my favorite hub caps of all makes and models presented here on this great channal.
My Grandpa had a Desoto with a Fire flite Hemi and the gyro-matic. I have a Hemi on my Ram 1500. Far as I know my Dad never had a Hemi, Heck far as I know he had an straight 8 Packard and his next 8 cylinder engine was in a 1972 Ford F-350 with 1 Corvair, one 4 cylinder Tempest a couple of VWs and a lot of six cylinder Ramblers in between.
1953 , first year Red ram 🐏 ♥ Hemi Shocked that one is still there Functional air scoop. Semi auto , gyro matic transmission too Funny how Chrysler , Dodge , Desoto had their own Hemis . That particular car , looks mostly complete I was always impressed with the early engineering of Chrysler motors . Good to know , the Hemi gasoline ⛽ engine is sticking around , thank Steve
This was really cool to see, all the slight differences and many similarities between this poor dodge and my 53 Plymouth Belvedere with Hy-Drive. It’s cool to know that Dodge called it GyroMatic and Chrysler called it Fluid Drive.
Had an old friend that told me they evolved to calling them "clutch-flites"? I suppose as an evolutionary description to the eventual fully automatic "torque-flite"? Idk?
Yeah during the Korean War strategic medals were in short supply and restricted in use so instead of the normal copper nickel and then chromium plating on a bumper they used thinner layers and resolted in a lot of corrosion. My 51 Packard manual talked about a special coating to put on your bright work to extend its life which I'm sure most people didn't do and the corrosion got down to the pot metal and there goes your bright work.! The EPA is made metal plating so incredibly expensive now that you can spend more on the bright work on a car then it's value...
