Projects AWAKENING A 57 DODGE CUSTOM ROYAL LANCER D-500

So, as a serious gear head, and lover of all things vintage MOPAR, there is a serious itch that needs to be scratched, so now a journey will begin.

I have had a bunch of cool cars and trucks over the years, loved them all, had my fun with them, and I now have the luxury of an empty driveway that I can actually use, rather than have it full of rigs that were just taking up space and giving the berry bushes a matrix to cling to!

It ****s when you don't have a big shop or garage to keep the machines out of the weather.

My friend out in Marysville, has about 10 acres and a couple of my old rigs live out there a****st a lot of other cool machines, some asleep, many very much alive and used on a daily basis.

I went out to my friends annual 4th of July party this year, and went out back of one of the big shops, and there I spotted a very cool 57 Dodge Custom Royal Lancer 4 door sedan. Its a D-500.

You just have to love the super cool, mean looking, snaggle tooth grille and the teeth it has, it looks like it will bite you right in the *** if you are not careful!

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I used to own a cool 59 Dodge Sierra station wagon when I was a kid in High school back in the 60s. I wish I had never sold it. Mine was Root beer brown with metal flake.

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This 59 Dodge Coronet seen at the recent Estranged Drags down at Toutle Washington 2026, really brought a smile to my face when I saw it.

It only anchored my idea even further, it was saying, "You know you want to be here next year in that 57 Custom Royal lancer" !

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Upon seeing the 57 Dodge out at my friends place, I got this idea of how to bring it back to life, and get it ready for next years Estranged Drags at Toutle Washington in 2027.

I recently p***ed up a chance to buy a vintage mint condition 65 Volvo PV544 for $2000.00 from a collector friend of mine, it was worth a hell of lot more than $2000.00 and we both knew it.

But the lack of a garage to store it in and take good care of it, brought me to my senses and I had to let it p***, I wanted the car, but really didn't need it, so common sense sometimes kicks in.

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So here is the plan.

That $2000.00 I was willing to part with to get the Volvo, well I have decided to put that $2000.00 towards new tires and new brakes for the 57 Dodge that belongs to my friend.

It was his brothers car and it ran when it was parked a few years ago and the engine isn't stuck. Even so, my friend has a spare engine and transmission that we can use as a back up.

This is a rare opportunity to do a very cool project. All of the gl*** is intact, and the floor boards are not rusted out, it has a clear ***le and all of the paper work and the brochures and a ton of other things ***ociated with it.

My goal is to pressure wash the hell out of it, get all of the gl*** clean and basically just get it running and to drive and stop safely.

So a lot of elbow grease, some flitz and steel wool to clean up the trim and bumpers, get the headliner put back where it needs to me, and what ever else it needs, which I am sure will be an interesting list of things that need to be attended to!

Fortunately, my friend has a lift, and all of what it takes to get this Ghost motoring down the road again.

The real goal is to put some Mexican blankets on the seats, and me and some other gear heads will drive it down to the Estranged Drags at Toutle next year, and hopefully that cool 59 Dodge Coronet will be there as well so we can park next to each other!

What is so cool about all of this is, it will always belong to my friend, and I don't have to keep it here in my driveway, it will always live out at Marysville.

It will be a cool ride that isn't a show car, nor is it a rat rod either, its just going to be a cool old ghost, that will cruise in style down the freeway to various cool events.

So stay tuned fellow "HAMBER'S", to see this Ghost wake up and be as cool as it ever was!
Thanks from Dennis.

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/estranged-drags-at-toutle-washington-2026.1354775/

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My dad's first new car was a 1957 Dodge and as I recall it was a beautiful car, I spent a lot of time i the back seat.

Looking forward to watching you build the car.

Not dads car but it was the same colors. HRP

 

Whats interesting is I p***ed one of those 4 doors coming home from work about a mile from my house yesterday. It was a two tone turquoise and white, even had D 500 on the plate. They are a good looking car rolling down the road.

 

Hey Danny.
Just to be very clear here, me and my friend are just going to wake her up and clean her up and get her running and driving safely, as well you know, that term "build" is very deceptive, we don't intend to let this old gal **** our wallets dry, she is going to get the bare minimum to operate safely!
I do appreciate your dads great taste in vintage old MOPARS!
Thanks from Dennis.

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/estranged-drags-at-toutle-washington-2026.1354775/

 

When I was in 4th grade I had a crush on a cl***mate whose father drove a salmon over charcoal '57 Dodge Custom Royal. I'd see them drive by as I played in the yard next to the highway. Then we moved away and I never saw the girl or the car again. I'd sure like to see that color combination car again. The girl, not so much. I'm 77 now and I'm sure she looks hideous.

 

Great plan. I have been a '57 Dodge fanatic since high school in 1966, when I rescued a D500 hemi convertible from a local junkyard. I have a lot of parts (no sheet metal) and am about 20 miles west of Olympia. PM me for a list if you need anything.

 

My son has a 57 4 door wagon with a modern drive train in it.

His has been in this condition for nearly 10 years now.
That body style looks great in two tone color combinations.
Is the car the OP is going to get running a two tone green and maybe cream color? Don't think I've ever seen one that color.

 

Hey Amigo, I know I have seen your great wagon at Good Guys in Puyallup before, when I saw it for the first time, it brought back such great memories of my old 59 wagon.

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We are just now at the beginning stages of getting off of our ***es to get things moving, so Marysville is 33 miles from Seattle, and the traffic on I-5 is nuts at various times of the day. Fortunately I am retired and can pick good times to be on the freeway!

I was thinking of trying to find a specific official work shop manual possibly an old "Motors manual" or an official MOPAR work shop manual for this specific year and model of Dodge.

Thanks for the heads up and I will keep in touch as the project gets going.
Thanks from Dennis.

 

Hey Gene.
Well right now you can see that the 57 is covered in dirt and oxidation and just from sitting out in the elements, we really wont know the original color until we get it pressure washed off, then go over a few times by washing it by hand to really see what the original color was or is!

Right now, it kind of reminds me of Olive drab like military truck paint, color wise.

The seats as you can see from the photos are kind of a green and white, I didn't want to try to open the door because I know what a pain those types of door handles can be if they haven't been opened in a while!

Congratulations to your son, his wagon is a really nice ride, and I can imagine that it has a very cool updated modern drive train as well.

Thanks from Dennis.

 

How about 1957 Dodge HT D501 factory stick large hemi duel quads orig. this was years ago. on a car lot in San Rafael calif.

 

I was reading up on the differences between the D-500 and the D-501, truly amazing that the D-501 was for racing!
That would have been a hell of a great score to find that D-501 and buy it, I bet it went for cheap, most people probably didnt know what it was!

 

This had to be in the early 1960 it was sold to some kid in town then it was gone.

 

If you haven't already, join the forwardlook.net forum. I was able to pick up a practically new parts manual, over 2" thick, for about $25 there. Plus, there is a world of other info on it.
Darryl

 

Hey Darryl, see that is what so cool about the networking power of the HAMB, so thanks for that heads up, I will check into the forwardlook.net website, when I go back out to where the car is, I will write down the vin number, to possibly help to identify the car and its history!
Thanks from Dennis.

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The D500 hemi was a 325 ci. The D501 was a 354ci, I believe a DeSoto motor. The convert I found in 1966 was a dual-quad hemi which had a flat cam in it. I traded a $300 Matchless motorcycle for it. When ordering a new cam, the NAPA shop in our small town wanted the numbers off the block to get the right cam. Turned out it was the 354. I don't recall if it had the 500 or 501 emblem on the trunk lid and have no photos of it. Experts claim no D501 was an automatic, but this car was.
So was it the super rare D501, or had someone in its prior life transplanted the larger engine? I'll never know. After graduation I traded it in, for $100, on a '66 VW to take to college, which I totaled the day before cl***es started.
I spent the next 47 years looking for another D500 convertible and finally found one. It was too rare to hot-rod, so I did a total restoration on it.

 

looks like a very complete "clean up" project. so, what does a "Custom Stocker" look like instead of a "Custom Royal" ? be sure to not post rides with OT wheels, hint - hint

 

I’d drive it

paint is perfect

 

Yep, I agree, its paint is going to stay the way it is, after a couple of severe pressure washings, how ever I enjoy trying to use the steel wool on the trim and bumpers plus healthy applications of FLITZ, which is an amazing product!
Thanks from Dennis!

 

you don't need to do anything to the paint, you can just drive it the way it is. The brakes and fuel and cooling systems will take all your time and effort.

this is "words of wisdom" from someone who wears a weird rooster shirt while driving ****py old cars that look like ****, but have been made reliable enough to drive a long ways.

Headliners, clean paint, and all that stuff is highly over rated. Clean gas tanks, solid brake lines with new hoses and hydraulic cylinder cups, and clean radiators are under rated.

Great project for you!

 

Sounds like a perfect plan to me
fun/$
isn't it great to be able to get to the fun stage

 

Yep, I have learned from many of your journeys in ancient vehicles, take care of the important stuff and don’t spend a penny on accoutrements that have nothing to do with the safe mechanical operation of the vehicle!

 

Get it tuned up and enjoy! Neat project!

Don’t forget the “Yeah, it’s got a hemi” sticker.

 

If you want to replace the missing rf fender trim I have a good one. I thought I had the lf headlight eyebrow but must have already sold it. I also have a nice rear bumper and upper front one if you wanted them but suspect you won't.
Also, there is a wrecking yard in Williams CA that specializes in old MoPar - Big M, 530-473-2225.

 

Yep, we will do the basics and get it running, driving and stopping, once we have it to a point to where it can be trusted, then the fun starts!

 

I truly do appreciate the offers, but we are going straighten out that left front eyebrow and not touch either bumper!
I will keep in touch with you as the old gal wakes up!
Thanks from Dennis.

 

I love forward look mopars!

 

Me and you both brother, I love the old MOPARS, my first car was a 57 Plymouth 4 door savoy with a 318, have been a fan of tail fin cars ever since!
Thanks from Dennis.

 

I love a big mean late 50s sedan. She’s got a hemi!

 

Well you have seen the pictures of this old gal, she is one big ***, twin antenna, four door, rolling gangster palace of fun for sure!
I am pleased that there are so many of the HAMBERS that dig this mean faced MOPAR heavy iron!
Gotta think up a great name for this car!
Thanks from Dennis.

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I like it a lot . Keep us posted