posted at the Cohort by Canadiancatgreen
This ’66 Coronet looks familiar, as I used to drive a taxicab just like it. It even had a V8 in it, the last year for the “poly” 318. And they also had a new ’67, with the new LA 318 with wedge heads. It gave me a chance to compare them.
Of course this was on the sly, as I was only fifteen.
My first job was at that age, opening and running a little two-pump Sunoco station on York Road in Towson. The guy that owned the station also owned the cab company, Adams Cab, which had white cars in comparison to Jimmy’s cab, whose were all blue. Jimmy’s is still going, Adams not.
Anyway, it was a small outfit, with about 7 or 8 ’65 Coronet sedans, all with slant sixes, the one ’66 V8 and the one ’67 V8. I was to open the station at eight in the morning on Saturday, meaning it was dead in town back then. I’d get up extra early, walk over and get there at about 7:30, and exercise one of the cabs a bit. Yes, I’m a risk taker.
The ’65’s were all-too familiar to me, given their resemblance to our ’65 wagon. But the ’66 was of course significantly restyled, in the new boxy, scalloped style of the times at Chrysler, thanks to Elwood Engel. Worked pretty nicely on the coupes and convertibles and the Charger, but it still didn’t exactly elevate the Coronet sedan from terminal dullness.
Anyway, after the ’67 showed up, I was curious as to how it ran compared to the ’66, since both were 318s and advertised to have 230hp. I assumed the ’67 318 was a totally new engine. It was actually the same block but with new wedge combustion chamber heads, a la Chevy small block. It made the engine look a lot more compact and modern.
And yes, it really did run stronger. The 318 poly ran out of breath sooner; I doubt it revved barely past 4,000 in actual operation. The LA pulled harder and longer before the Torqueflite shifted. That stripped ’67 was a pretty strong running car, for the times. As in the fastest car I’d driven yet.
Paul, I assume that you discovered all of this by virtue of poetic license?
Is that what fifteen year old kids have before they get their driver’s license? “Yes, officer, I have my poetic license right here…” I used my poetic license a lot, although I did get caught once:
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/auto-biography/drugs-of-choice-auto-biography-part-10/
I’d buy that ’66 in a heartbeat!
The Coronet was the number 2 best seller for the Chrysler Corp in 1966 at 250,832 vehicles. The Fury was number 1 at 290,832.
Also the Coronet outsold the C-body Polara/Monaco during that time.
Once again, something different at the “Little Lot” in Edmonton’s west-end.
I like plain, basic cars and the Coronet would get my attention at a car show. Popular as a taxi, Edmonton Police didn’t invest in Coronets until 1968. As I recall the Coronets were durable and many remained in the fleet until the city began buying Fairlanes in 1970.
In high school my mate had one of these, he was from Arizona where they were extremely well regarded .
His wasn’t very old but was well worn .
I *think* the window sticker says ‘60,000 miles’ (?) .
-Nate
I think my experience with those engines was the same. I owned two of the older versions, and they drove in a way I considered to be decent but ordinary small V8s. Every 1967+ version I experienced (up through the late 70s, anyway) felt much stronger.
I always loved the way that no matter what Chrysler did with the 2 bbl 318 over a 20 year span, the advertised horsepower never varied from 230. Just like the 225 slant six was always 145.
I had this exact car, down to the copper color, in the mid ’70’s (318 auto).
Used as a daily commuter, it served me well: reliable and easy to maintain.
I traded a fellow student a ’62 Cadillac that I had bought and repaired for his well beaten ’66 Coronet.
The Dodge had been a taxi before he owned it. It was originally white, but had a cheapo green respray at some point after it was retired from taxi service. The car was 8 model years old, but probably had seen about 25 years worth of use and abuse in that time.
It had the 318 poly. Somewhat surprisingly, the running gear was pretty good as was the suspension. What prompted the trade for the Cadillac was a leaky radiator, heater core and brake system. The car was also quite rusty. One of the passenger side rear door hinges was completely broken loose such that anyone opening that door risked it falling off.
I didn’t have the car long. The radiator was too far gone. I replaced it with a repairable junk yard unit. Heater cores were cheap enough that I didn’t think it worth the trouble to pull one from a junker, so I replaced it with a new one. Brakes were a similar cheap fix if you could rebuild the wheel cylinders yourself and were willing to install relined brake shoes.
I thought about keeping the Dodge, but better judgement combined with a college student’s constant for cash had me sell it. Can’t remember what I got, but pretty typically I could double my money flipping old cars that didn’t need too much in the way of repairs.
My one outstanding memory of that Dodge was what a great suspension it had for such a well used car – or any car for that matter. Most of the beaters I recycled were pretty loose. That Dodge amazed me at how solid it seemed despite all the rot. That suspension handled Wisconsin’s ever present winter potholes with control that put much newer cars to shame.
I always thought the 1967 LA 318 had more in common with the 273 than the 1966 poly 318.
Besides the different heads, didn’t the LA 318 use the thin-wall casting technique of the 273, making it lighter?
You are so right
You are correct, sir. The LA engine was mechanically based on the polysphere A engine but thinwall casting made it 50 lbs. lighter, hence “LA” for “Light A.”
Good looking ride. The red, “Pontiac”, and “Karmann G” are getting my attention though!
Nice, I’d be happy to drive that Coronet as is. Particularly at that price, that Little Lot in Edmonton sure does get some nice stock.
I have never experienced a poly engine, but I must say they have more interesting looking valve covers.
Yes, I was looking at the Karmann (of course!) – looks to be a ’70 or ’71 to me….
The Coronet is pretty sweet and lloks unmolested – like it!
My Dad had a 1966 Coronet 440 hardtop. It had the LA 273 V8, which we didn’t learn until years after he’d given the car to his nephew. We always thought it was a 318, and somehow the fact that it was an LA instead of a Poly never caused any issues when service was requested or parts were purchased.
This was a reminder for me that mid-size (mostly) Mopars of that time were particularly common in fleet use. The civilian Coronets and Satellites I remember were mostly wagons. Taxis were often full-size, but by the late Sixties, police and other government fleet vehicles always seemed to be Dodge or Plymouth. The only outlier I remember in California was the Highway Patrol’s brief use of full size Oldsmobiles in 1967 or so. Then in the mid/late Seventies my town PD “downsized” from Satellites to Nova’s but it wasn’t till the late Eighties that the CHP started migrating from M Body Dodge to the CV, with only a few full-size Chevies.
Poly was much torqier.
Paul, three indicia of the inherent superiority of the poetic license: 1. it needs neither rhyme nor reason; 2. no learner’s permit required; 3. however unartfully employed, it nevertheless remains irrevocable!
I’ve always loved how mopar’s engine compartments were so clean looking, wiring and hoses routed in a good manner.
Painted firewall and inner fenders. Unlike GM that used black firewalls or plastic fender liners. The Mopar engine compartment just sets off the engine so well