1966 Monaco four speed

[boostedvan]

A buddy of mine picked up a couple cars last week and one of them is pretty unique. Its a 1966 Canadian Dodge Monaco with a 383 four speed. It has AM/FM Radio, rear speaker and rear defrost, and bumper guards. Some kids smashed the front window, drivers side glass and the rear window out of it and jumped on the roof. It's all there otherwise with all the four speed stuff present. Someone added a pair of Bazooka tips from a 1971-1974 B-Body to it at some point. The guy does has a 1965 300 with no papers and the glass looks very similar on that car to the Monaco.
How rare is a 383 four speed in these cars? I'm sure there weren't many made, especially Canadian Monaco's. Also any help in decoding the fender tag on it would be greatly appreciated, I'm not good with the early tags.
The car will be cleaned up, get it running and find some glass for it and it will be for sale.

 

[thrashingcows]

Wow quite a well optioned car...Buckets, console, 383/4spd and bower brakes!

Looks like the car was up in the Okanagan area, how long has the windows been missing? At least it was up in the drier desert region of the province.

 

[boostedvan]

Here are pics of the 1965 300 that is part of the deal with the Monaco. My friend isn't the best at taking pics, but you can get an idea of it.

 

[Big_John]

Production dateJuly 15, 1966
Shipping order00785
Car lineDODGE Polara/Monaco
Price classPremium
Body type2 door hardtop
Trim GradePremium [32P]
Seat typeBucket vinyl [334]
Trim colorGold [34Y]
Paint 1Gold metallic [27Z]
Paint 2Gold metallic [28Z]
Paint schemeMono tone paint [291]
Accent stripesWhite [29W]
Upper door frame paint(UNKNOWN)
Engine(INVALID)
TransmissionTransmission-4speed manual floor shift [393]
Power equipmentPower brakes [451]
RadioRadio-solid state AM/FM 5.5W [423]
GaugesTachometer [577]
Bucket seat accessoriesConsole [486]
Front bucket seatsBucket seats [564]
MirrorsMirror-outside LH remote [536]
-OR- Moulding-bumper reveal [546]

 

[boostedvan]

Wow quite a well optioned car...Buckets, console, 383/4spd and bower brakes!

Looks like the car was up in the Okanagan area, how long has the windows been missing? At least it was up in the drier desert region of the province.

Yea its a nicely optioned car that's for sure. We didn't really get an answer of how long the windows have been smashed out, but the car is dry inside and floors are still good in it. It was in the Okanagan near Kamloops.

 

[Big_John]

Not sure why I can't get the engine code right. Maybe Canadian?

 

[boostedvan]

Thanks @Big_John for the decode of the fender tag. Would've been a good looking car back in its day.

 

[Ross Wooldridge]

The windows from the 300 are a direct swap I believe. There are other things to save from the 300 too (like the AutoPilot cruise control stuff, the power buckets as dual headrests in 65 is VERY rare, the power antenna and radio stuff) - and if it's as dry as the Monaco then both cars should be saved.

I own a Canadian 66 Monaco 440 4 speed car, and by all accounts your car is very rare. 383 should have G in the VIN, 440 should have J in the VIN. VIN is found on the drivers side cowl/door post.

July 15/66 is a late production car - likely a special order late in the year, as they would have closed the assembly line in the next couple of weeks to tool up for the 67 model year run.

It looks like the Monaco has a rear mount antenna. Is it a power antenna or a manual? Any evidence there was one in the front passenger fender and they moved it to the rear when the car was painted? If it is a power unit and looks similar to the one in the 65 300 then it's likely a factory one and may even be assembly line. Therefore can you please take a picture of the dash antenna switch please and post it? There is a listing in the 66 parts book for a power antenna switch that is specifically for 1965 and 1966 Fury dashboards which the Canadian Dodge Monaco/Polara line uses, and if your car is equipped with one it is an exceedingly rare little option. Often when someone wanted a power antenna, dealerships simply installed the Chrysler power antenna package as it was more readily available, and it has the more common map light and antenna switch most of us are familiar with. My Monaco has the Chrysler switch in the dash, as the original owner ordered my car radio delete with the intent of getting the Chrysler search tuner radio with power antenna, rear seat speaker and reverb package. See the picture below.

Also @Big_John there's no evidence looking at that console that any tachometer was intalled - there would be a big hole in the console top above the shifter, and it looks untouched. Perhaps someone took the top with the tach and dropped another non-tach 4 speed top in its place.

 

[LocuMob]

@boostedvan empty your inbox

 

[boostedvan]

Inbox emptied

 

[Polara_500]

@boostedvan empty your inbox

I was wondering how long that would take.......

 

[LocuMob]

I was wondering how long that would take.......

Like a moth to the flame.

 

[Polara_500]

Like a moth to the flame.

Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzt!!!

 

[3175375]

Like a moth to the flame.

Others are like ‘A maggot in hot ashes’

 

[SportFury70]

Very cool and well optioned car, looking forward to seeing what happens with it. .

 

[SportFury70]

How rare is a 383 four speed in these cars? I'm sure there weren't many made, especially Canadian Monaco's.

ANY 4 speed C-body is rare, usually the Canadian cars are rarer than the American ones too.

 

[69CoronetRT]

July 15/66 is a late production car - likely a special order late in the year.....

Based on the evidence at hand, there's nothing to support that speculation. If anything, the VON may simply indicate 'built for sale in CA'.

Posting a pic of a broadcast sheet would be nice.

 

[Ross Wooldridge]

Based on the evidence at hand, there's nothing to support that speculation. If anything, the VON may simply indicate 'built for sale in CA'.

Posting a pic of a broadcast sheet would be nice.

Absolutely - purely simple speculation on my part, based on the car's rarity due to its unusual options. Someone would have to WANT a car so equipped - unlikely a dealership "on the floor car" but not impossible.

Unfortunately, Canadian cars made in Windsor AFAIK did not get broadcast sheets left in cars for some strange reason.

 

[Ross Wooldridge]

ANY 4 speed C-body is rare, usually the Canadian cars are rarer than the American ones too.

1966 Canadian Monacos are equivalent to USA Monaco 500 cars, so what follows is based on this model only, and is possibly not entirely accurate... I forget who told me these numbers (I think it was Murray Park, because he has one), but it was someone respected, and from all I've seen, a fairly accurate estimate:

1966 USA Monaco 500 production was roughly around 10,000 cars. 383 Four speed cars at 1.5 percent, so around 1500 cars so equipped. 440 Four speed cars at 1/10th of 1% total production, so 10 1966 Monaco 500s equipped as such in the USA.

Canadian production at the time was typically at 10% of USA volumes, so that puts Canadian Monaco 383 Four speed cars at roughly 150 so equipped, and 440 Four speed cars at 1 or 2.

I own one (special ordered no less), and have heard rumour of a white 440 Four speed 1966 Canadian Monaco VERT but have yet to see true evidence.

Murray Park owns a special order light green 440 4 speed 1966 Monaco 500 with the "Especially Built For So 'n' So" plaque on the dash discussed in another thread. He graciously let me examine it up close many years ago, along with a gorgeous survivor 66 VIP with Autopilot.

FWIW.

 

[300rag]

1966 Canadian Monacos are equivalent to USA Monaco 500 cars, so what follows is based on this model only, and is possibly not entirely accurate... I forget who told me these numbers (I think it was Murray Park, because he has one), but it was someone respected, and from all I've seen, a fairly accurate estimate:

1966 USA Monaco 500 production was roughly around 10,000 cars. 383 Four speed cars at 1.5 percent, so around 1500 cars so equipped. 440 Four speed cars at 1/10th of 1% total production, so 10 1966 Monaco 500s equipped as such in the USA.

Canadian production at the time was typically at 10% of USA volumes, so that puts Canadian Monaco 383 Four speed cars at roughly 150 so equipped, and 440 Four speed cars at 1 or 2.

I own one (special ordered no less), and have heard rumour of a white 440 Four speed 1966 Canadian Monaco VERT but have yet to see true evidence.

Murray Park owns a special order light green 440 4 speed 1966 Monaco 500 with the "Especially Built For So 'n' So" plaque on the dash discussed in another thread. He graciously let me examine it up close many years ago, along with a gorgeous survivor 66 VIP with Autopilot.

FWIW.

Ross, check your math. 1.5% of 10,000 is 150, not 1500