For Fan Car Friday this week we bring you Michael and his memorable ’75 Dodge Coronet Crestwood Wagon.  Fan Car Friday is a segment where we want to share with the world the automobiles that our fans have. We have absolutely no affiliation/relationship with the cars, the build or the owners. This post was made with written consent from the owner.

“This car was purchased in late June/early July 1978 in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Why we did is very long story, so I’ll summarize it. But the back story is huge part of what makes the car family:

I was travelling with my parents and two older brothers on one of our several family vacations in our Travco motorhome. We were heading to the Crater of the Diamonds State Park in Arkansas. We made it as far as Elizabethtown , KY when the rear tires blew on the right side, causing them both to shear off and for us to slide on the brake drum for about 300 feet or so. After waiting for parts and getting it fixed, we got back on the road, but we debated about turning around. We agreed that the worst was behind us and we continued onward. Leaving the diamond park empty handed a few days later, we discovered the RV running poorly and then it suddenly died. Turns out, the engine had just blown. Stuck in Arkansas with no way to get home, we were forced to purchase the Coronet wagon. We were assured that the car was in tip top shape. On our way home, we got as far as Lima, Ohio. At which time the driver’s front wheel bearing seized, almost sending us into the grassy median. We then rented a car to get home. The family was a nervous wreck by this time. A few days later we went back and got the wagon and a month or so later, the RV.

The wagon became my mother’s car, being only her second of four cars she had in her lifetime. She drove it from 1978 to 1985, at which time I was a senior in high school and my mother got a newer car.“

“I was given the car in Spring 1985 as a senior in high school (Right! all 18 year olds WANT to drive a 10 year old wagon…) Was cool for one thing, it was faster then most of the 80’s cars in my school!

Driving a 10-year-old station wagon to high school was not very exciting. I received my share of comments and razzing. The only plus side was that it was faster than most of the early to mid-80’s cars in the parking lot even with a small block engine.

However, be it by providence or dumb luck, I complained to my dad about it and he gave me his old car, a 1973 Ford LTD (not a improvement, Dad !!) and unlike every other car out we had, it wasn’t sold. Instead it was driven about 50 miles to a friend’s house and parked in a grassy field. And then promptly forgotten. As for the reason why, no one knows. That one decision, strangely out of character for our family, sent her to a slow, rusting, near-death experience.”

“Fast forward about 10 years and the Woodward Dream Cruise is starting up and I decide that it should not be difficult to fix the wagon. I went out to look at her and was shocked. It had standing water inside the car. The water was seat cushion height throughout. The gas tank and rear bumper had almost fallen off, door would not open and all sorts of fuzzy critters had moved in. Well, she was dragged out and hauled home. I got the engine running with help and made it yard drivable, but that’s as far as she got for a about a year or so.

I found a local body guy who offered to restore it. It required purchasing two additional parts cars & extra parts. It took about two years to complete. It looked ok, not perfect, but it was much improved from what I could see. I then proceeded to drive it in the Dream Cruise a few times with my parents. I had fulfilled my dream; my car was in the Dream Cruise. But then a mechanical issue sidelined her. I got married to boot, so she was covered with a car cover and parked in the backyard. Life had taken precedence again.

Now it is 2006. I’m selling my house and I can’t leave the car in the driveway. So, I talk to a Chrysler dealer about it. He wanted to use the car as a teaching project, so we agreed to tackle it as a fill-in project. I figured it would be a simple repaint and spruce up. The car was shipped and then media blasted. Then the issues arose.

There was a lot of bondo and body fitment issues that had been covered up. Flor pans were practically non-existent. Rust was covered up by filler and woodgrain decals. It was a lot worst then I had ever imagined. ANOTHER parts car was acquired and both cars were cut up and patched up to make one. But at least this time, the starting point was going to be solid.

Figuring I would have the car done in a year or two, I felt it would great to surprise my parents with the car all fixed up, this time properly. Even though it was mine since 1985, it still was “their car”. Well, a month or so after it was sent out to start being worked on, my mother passed away suddenly. Then 18 months later, my dad died as well. Life had hit me again.

In 2009, the car was finally finished. New 318c.i. motor, rebuilt 727 transmission, everything repainted and new upholstery as well. She looked like a new car. Even better since she was painted in the new basecoat/clearcoat paints matching the original factory color. She shined and looked great.”

“Since then, she’s been in the local papers, in a video documentary, on the internet and even a commercial. She draws a lot of attention and comments by most people who remember travelling in one of these road warriors. The best thing is, it’s not a trailer queen, she drives on the road with other cars quite often. I’ve put her to work hauling supplies and material. And at car shows, I invite kids and adults to sit in it. They check out the rear facing seat or the huge hood. They are dumbfounded at the near 19’ in length and 5,000+ lbs. of weight. To me, seeing other people smiling and reminiscing makes me enjoy her that much more.

She’s 44 years old now. She doesn’t see snow anymore, unless it blows into the garage when I am outside. She’s earned her status. She may not be a Charger, ‘Cuda, Chevelle, GTO or Corvette. She may not be the fastest car around anymore, but when’s the last time you saw one? Most were destroyed or scrapped out. But she survived, due to luck, perseverance and a lot of blood, sweat, tears and money (more then I even want to think about). She escaped being destroyed by rust and decay. She hung on just long enough for me to remember her fondly. She hung on through life’s ups and downs and lived to talk about it. Had she not been parked back in 1985, she would be a distant memory.

And to think, how many people can say, they still have the car they learned to drive in and first drove by themselves? I can, and I am proud of that.”

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