Dodge Royal Classic Cars for Sale

The Dodge line was the saviour of the Chrysler factory, sales had been very low and a change was needed.

History of the Dodge Royal

Long before the Dodge brand was owned by Chrysler, two brothers, John and Horace Dodge, had bought ten per cent of the Ford factory from Henry Ford, Ford had filed for bankruptcy twice, making it hard to get credit to continue his business. The Dodge range was designed by Maury Baldwin. The Dodge Royal was made from 1955 to 1959, all models were the top trim models of the Dodge range. There were ten body styles, including the Custom Royal V8. Dodge Royals followed the Coronet into production. The Dodge Royal needed a larger engine as it was a larger car than its predecessors. There were many variations on the Dodge design, the Dodge Royal range was available as a four door sedan, a two door hard-top,a four door hard-top and a two door convertible. The Dodge Royals had the script Royal on either the front or rear fender. The hard-top two door version would have had either Royal or Royal Lancer on the fender. The four door sedan model of the Dodge Custom Royal was the flagship of the dodge range. The Dodge Custom Royal range has tail-light bezels, which were unique to the Dodge Royal, also having backup light bezels.

Australian production of the Dodge Royal

Kits for the Custom Royal were exported to Australia to be assembled at Chrysler's Mile End plant in South Australia. The Australian assembled model of the Dodge Royal was only available as a four door sedan.

Dodge Royals on the road

Dodge cars are rarely seen on British roads as a lot of roads in Britain were, as described by G.K.Chesterton, 'The rolling English drunkard made the rolling English road. A reeling road, a rolling road, that rambles through the shire.' Narrow, winding roads are not the type of road the Dodge Royal was intended for. The American and Australian buyers were the main targets for all Dodge vehicles, as these countries have long, wide highways where the Dodge can achieve full performance.