AHD presents:
1966 was an interesting year for collectible Dodges. It was a transistion year of sorts, and it was the final year of any residual style ques left over from the Vigil Exner days. The Dart was in its final year of the 1963-1966 styling run, and though its redesigned front clip was a big change, it wasn't really an exciting change, and left the car looking a little bit of a styling mismatch front to rear. For the Dart, excitement would come in 1967 which a whole new look plus the introduction of the GTS and the 383cid B-engine. As for the Coronet, the new styling was exciting and very well recieved at the time. It was, perhaps, the first B-body that 100% Elwood Engle, as the last vestiages of the Exner styling cues disappeared.
Despite the new styling however, the 1966 Coronet models are somewhat overshadowed by the 1967 Coronets because, it was with that model year that the 440cid RB-engine was available and it was with that model year that the performance R/T model was available. Except for 1966 Hemi Coronets, the 1966 model Coronets are somewhat overlooked in today's collector market.
The 1966 Coronet was competing head to head in the mid-size market with the American Motors Ambassador, the Oldsmobile Cutlass, the Buick Skylark, the Pontiac LeMans, the Chevrolet Chevelle, and the two Ford Motor company entries, the Fairlane and the Mercury Comet. The Dodge, despite some tough competition, did well in sales this year. The car was handsomely styled and it was all new. The lionshare of Coronets built in 1966 were fitted with 273-2bbl and Poly 318-2bbl engines, but 361's and 383's were also available. The biggest news in the performance arena for 1966 Coronets was the availablity of a 425hp Street Hemi 426cid V8. It certainly garnered the most press attention, but the production figure of 740 units wasn't staggering by any means. It was, afterall a two 4bbl solid lifter detuned NASCAR engine and most American car buyers needed something a little more verastile. In Hemi Muscle, author Robert Genat claims that with the Street Hemi, "Dodge now had a full-fledged musclecar". I would have to respectfully disagree with Mr. Genat, because, Dodge, in order to make room for the Street Hemi, dropped the 426 Street Wedge from its line up. For Dodge to compete head to head with Pontiac and Oldsmobile, Dodge needed an engine like the 426S in 1966. At 365hp, it was an even HP/weight match for any of GM's entries. The Street Hemi was an amazing engine to have on the option list and its track record of performance is unmatched, but the price and complexity was too much for most buyers. By 1967, Dodge figured it out with the release of the 375hp 440cid Magnum V8 for the Coronet R/T, but it was the 1966 hopeful Dodge buyers that suffered the oversight.
It fact, it was plainly obvious that Dodge was missing the mark on the growing youth market, the same mark they missed in 1964 and 1965. The 426 Street Hemi, while its mark on history is tremendous, the engine option garnered the Coronet with no more flash that 2 fender mounted emblems. Of course, Ford was somewhat missing the mark as well with the Fairlaine, giving it 427cid V8 versions no special model name, but at least Ford gave the 427 models a hood scoop.
General Motors, on the other hand, was way out in front in the performance market. The GTO was in its third year as was the 4-4-2. Though Chevrolet quickly adopted the Super Sport moniker to Chevelle models as a performance car entry in the youth market, it wasn't until 1966 that small blocks were no longer available on Super Sport Chevelles, and that "SS" meant a 396cid V8 rat motor was under the hood (or at least, one of three 325hp, 360hp, or 375-hp versions). Even Buick, with its refined image, only availed a 401cid V8 to Gran Sport (GS) buyers for 1966.
To illustrate the success of the GM entries in 1965, consider that in that year, Dodge sold 7579 325hp 383 Coronets and 2117 365hp 426S Coronets. Pontiac sold 75,352 GTOs in 1965, 20,547 of which were 360hp tri-carb 389's. Oldsmobile sold 25,003 4-4-2s in 1965.
So what about the Coronet? what was available to performance minded buyers that needed practical performance (like what GM offered)? The Coronet actually had a strong competitive answer with the 325hp 4bbl 383. It did come with some fender displacement badges (like the Street Hemi), but there was no special model designation. The 4bbl 383 was available on anything from a 4dr Coronet Deluxe (WL41) to a 2dr Coronet 500. Unfortunately, these models were also available, and more often than not, came with 273 V8s.
Dodge marketing finally got the idea in 1967 and then doubled it 1968. In 1967, Dodge introduced the "R/T" performance option for Coronets and Chargers, that came with either a 440cid V8 or the Street Hemi. In 1968, to make up for being four years late to the GTO game, Dodge and Plymouth made up for it by beating everyone else to the punch and introduced a new game, the Roadrunner game. Of course, Dodge's entry was a Super Bee. The remarkable twist of the Roadrunner and the Super Bee would prove to be an Econo-supercar. Basically an R/T or GTX, or even a GTO or 4-4-2 for that matter, as they were all very similar in approach, what stripped of its luxurious appointments, like bucket seats, consoles, carpeting, and chrome trim but left with its performance characteristics.
Of course, Dodge was slightly late in 1968. Plymouth introduced the Roadrunner first, and actually had stolen the name roadrunner from some 1967 Dodge marketing material. Certainly not to be left out again after missing the GTO game, Dodge quickly answered with the Super Bee. and while the Street Hemi was an option for the Super Bee, 7717 of the 7842 Super Bee's purchased in 1968, were equipped with a 335hp 383 4bbl. The same engine that two years before, in 1966, was somewhat lost in the shadow of the Street Hemi as far as the press was concerned and really had no specific model (Deluxe, 440, or 500) to which it could give a performance indentification.
So history has left the 1966 Dodge Coronets in somewhat of a lurch as far as collectors go. A 383-4bbl Coronet offered as much in the performance department as the 1968 Super Bee would, but in today's collector market, its little more than a footnote. In 1966, it was the real deal. Droves of buyers no doubt showed up in dodge showrooms hoping to catch a glance of the new Street Hemi and were bait-n-switched over to a 383-4bbl Coronet or Charger. Lets face it.
Late in the model year, Dodge decided to add a luxury four door to the Coronet line for those buyers than found the 440 four door too plain. While among the two doors variants, bucket seats and a console were the chief differentiators between a 500 and a 440, Dodge didn't go that far with the Coronet 500 SE. A Bench seat was installed but instead of all vinyl, a nice fabric over vinyl material was used. The same exterior trim used on the two doors was applied to the SE with the wider rocker panel moldings and the four quarter panel spears where installed on the rear doors. Also, an "SE" emblem was affixed to the C-pillar. In 1966, 9,545 500 SE's were produced.
All B-engine manual shift cars were four speeds and all four speeds were B-engine cars. There were no W*41 four speed cars built but there were 15 four speed station wagons built, all equipped with the 325hp 383 V8 (none with the 265hp 361 V8).
Though the Street Hemi was announced early, before production, as a 1966 option. It wasn't available day one and came some three? months into the model year.
Furthermore, the 1966 Coronet, despite its new styling, which was praised by the press, had to complete with its new stablemate, the Charger within the youth market. The Charger, though sold well, suffered from somewhat of an identity crisis as well. It was launched and marketed to complete in what the industry was calling a specialty sedan market, and as a subset of that, the personal luxury market. Dodge positioned the Charger to take on cars likes of the Buick Riveria and the new Oldsmobile Toronado, and somehow, at the same time take on the Ford Mustang.
Performance was component in the Charger's marketing plan, but it was certainly not its main focus. To this end, Dodge decided to not to offer the Charger with the meager 225cid six or the 180hp 273 V8, but settled on the 230hp Poly 318cid V8 the base engine option. It ensured that no out and out slouch Chargers would be on the road, but little more. Dodge wanted to sell lots of Chargers and it appeared, by all their actions, that luxury appointments and sporty flare would be the building blocks of the Charger marketing strategy.
With only 37,344 Chargers produced in 1966, it wasn't exactly a striking success, but at least it wasn't as ugly as the American Motors Marlin.
So once again, where did this leave the performance 383-4bbl Coronet? Well, a rose is a rose and the Plymouth Satellite and the Dodge Coronet were cut cut from the same bush.
How different can Coronets be from one another? How could they be optioned? The main difference is of course the various trim level models: The Coronet, the Coronet Deluxe, the Coronet 440, and the Coronet 500. Unfortunately, the difference between any of these various series Coronets is fairly minor. Though nostalgia likes to revisit the long option sheets of mixing and matching odd ball options, the basic questions for a Dodge salesman to ask a customer really boiled down to: What amount of trim, garnish or plain, do you want on your taxicab? What kind of top, hardtop, softtop, sedan, or wagon? And if its a two door do you want bucket seats? How big of an engine and do you want to change gears?
The differences between the Coronet (WE designation) and the Coronet Deluxe (WL designation) seem negiligible. Though the WE model was considered to be the economy model and even more barebones than the WL Coronet Deluxe, both were basically low trim cars in either a two door "post" sedan or a four door sedan. The two door sedan was a two door placed a B-pillar between the door and the "1/4" side window. It also shared its roof, and front and rear window with the four door sedan models. The only line up difference was that the Coronet Deluxe line included a six passenger station wagon (WL45) that the base Coronet did not. WE and WL designated Coronets came with 225cid six cylinder engines and a A-903 three speed column shift manual transmission. From an exterior stand point, both had small hubcaps, and the same general lack of brightwork, however perhaps to distinguish the Coronet Deluxe, a mid-waist 1" tall trim started just after the front wheel opening and continued down to the tail light extension. Offering nothing more than spartan appointments, both WE and WL were equipped with a front bench seat and rubber floor covering. The WE came with a black rubber floor covering, whereas the WL came with a color-keyed black rubber floor covering. These two models were so similar in configuration, appearance, and price that Dodge began rationalizing the two models together in 1967 into a WL line and only offered the WE series in a six passenger station wagon, and the WE series completely dissappeared for the 1968 Coronet lineup.
The next Coronet in the 1966 lineup was the 440 model. It added some fancier trim to the exterior, carpet to the interior, and finer upholstery appointments. While a WH41 four door sedan was available, the two door 440 variant was not a sedan like the WL21 cars, it was instead, a hardtop, with a WH23 designation. The WH27 two door 440 convertible was also available as was the WH41 four door 440 sedan, and the WH45 and WH46 six and nine passenger 440 station wagons.
The 1966 Coronet 500 was the premium trim level Coronet model. It was available as the WP23 two door hardtop, the WP27 two door convertible, and even the WP41 four door sedan, and a station wagon version (either a WP45 or a WP46). With two door Coronet 500's, a bucket seat and console replaced the bench arrangement on the WH and WL cars. And other than this seat arrangement and some trim changes, the Coronet 500 was about the same as the Coronet 440.
In Mexico, Chrysler's affiliate, Automex S.A. built Coronets at the Lago Alberto manufacturing facility in 1966. Beginning in September 1964, Federal Industry Regulations required that a vehicle to be sold in Mexico must satisfy a 60% local content requirement, where the major components, such as the engine, transmission, and rearend be a compulsory part of the local content. Prior to this regulation, Chrysler products were either imported, or were manufactured in the USA, and assembled in Mexico. Furthermore, there were regulations and permits issued for which markets an automaker could compete in, as well as which type of engines and rearends could be used.
Because of these restrictions, Automex only offered a few models in 1966. The Coronet was Automex's entry in the fullsize market. All were powered by a 225 six cylinder, as this was the only engine Automex built for the 1965 and 1966 model years. The four door had exterior trim similar to the US model Coronet 500. The rear finish panel treatment was borrowed from the Coronet 500 as were the wheel lip moldings and painted grille. The four quarter panel spears and the Coronet 500 name, however, were not used. Instead, the Automex Coronet was called a "Coronet 440". Like many automobiles built in Mexico in 1960s, heater delete was quite common, and air conditioning, if purchased, was only available as an under dash dealer installed unit.
Production figures in Mexico are dwarfed by the production in the USA. Automex produced about 26,000 vehicles in 1966, many of them being trucks and the more economical Valiants and Darts. It is estimated the Coronet production for 1966 was probably no more than 4000 units.
Elsewhere in South America, the Coronet was not available in Argentina or Brazil. It may have been imported to Peru, and possibly assembled at the Chrysler plant in Peru, however numbers would have been quite small as only about 2000 cars and trucks were assembled by Chrysler Peru in 1966. Chrysler also had facilities in Venezuela and Colombia and Coronets may been assembled or imported to these countries. In 1966, local content restrictions were about 25% in Venezuela and 30% in Colombia and total Chrysler production figures were about 9000 and 2500 respectively. These are estimates so if Coronets were produced, they would, no doubt, be a small percentage of those totals.