Luxury with more than a touch of mutation was the Florida key in the mid-1960s for Dodge ’s top - of - the - dividing line full - sizing modeling , the 1965 - 1966 Dodge Polara 500 , Monaco and Monaco 500 . In fact , Dodge described its Polara 500 package for 1965 as just the resolution " for special , sports - given , fun - have intercourse the great unwashed . "
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perhaps so , but in the expression section , few would rank these as the most alluring Dodges ever – or even of the decennary . Some might even call them stodgy , perhaps average . Yet they were eminently representative of their times , displaying the brand of straight - up , no - nonsense styling that was gaining favor throughout the industry . Body / frame structures were closely allied to the redesignedChryslers , whose square pattern were penned by Elwood Engel .
Finally distancing itself from the bonds of its excessively colorful and aureate late past times , Dodge could now focalise on creating a distinguished – yet youthful – behaviour for its bad automobiles . juggle those two seemingly contradictory themes was a thaumaturgy that each American automaker had to see in a haste .
If the goodies were n’t allure enough out of doors , a peek under the surface might win over skeptics that Dodge could build some interesting full - size of it excitement . Beneath that hood might mess about anything from the basic Polara 383 - cubic - inch V-8 with two - barrelcarburetorand 270horsepower , right up to the big 426 - three-dimensional - column inch " wedge " with 365 horse ready to extend . In between was a four - barrel 383 , as well as a 413 - three-dimensional - inch version of the Chrysler V-8 .
Extras in the Polara 500 sports package , offered on hardtops andconvertiblesonly , admit all - vinyl front pail seats with center console , a floor - pitch four - speed or three - speed TorqueFlite automatic , padded dashboard , and deluxe wheel covers . Like other Polaras , the 500 had a tortuousness - bar frontsuspensionwith anti - sway bar , curved side - window trash , and Methedrine - type vent panes .
Polaras displayed a slim , full - width dumbbell - shaped grille made up of thin vertical bar , incorporating quadriceps headlamp . Outward - angle , Delta - form rear light rested at the stern . Fender skirts cost extra .
record about interiors and options for the Polara and Monaco on the next page .
For more information on cars, see:
1965-1966 Dodge Polara 500, Monaco and Monaco 500
The 1965 - 1966 Dodge Polara 500 , Monaco and Monaco 500 pop the question a wide chain of mountains of options and some luxury touches .
Monaco for 1965 was placard as the " Limited Edition Dodge for the man with unlimited gustatory modality . " This " one - of - a - kind , best - of - everything Dodge " sold only as a two - short ton , two - door hardtop , with a $ 3,355 cost shred . Riding the same 121 - in wheelbase as the Polaras , Monaco reached even further in their pursuance for a mix of lavishness and muscularity , sophistication and spirit .
inside earned extra aid . thick pleated bucketful seats came in soft saddle - cereal vinyl with a rattan wicker pattern on the back ( and matching door panels ) , or a combining of Dawson - pattern cloth and vinyl .
Full - duration consoles could get an optional tach , inset in brushed atomic number 13 . Rear passengers savor integrated bucket rear end , while the machine driver faced a three - spoke translucentsteeringwheel .
Appropriate ticks on the option listing brought even more pleasure , from electric windows to an Auto Pilot and atmosphere conditioning . Monaco bodies , meanwhile , came in a extract of 15 colors , which could be emphasize by an optional grained - vinyl roof in disastrous or lily-white .
A good for you helping of torsion permit theMotor TrendMonaco with the 413 - cubic - inch engine to knock down to 60 in a sizzle 8.4 seconds – less than a second slower than a 426 - three-dimensional - inch Polara 500 had achieved a yr earlier .
That ’s rapid motion indeed for a car with so many pounds to hale along , and a TorqueFlitetransmission . Chrysler ’s four - speed gearbox with the 426 railway locomotive would contribute even more art . Standard Monaco pulverisation was a four - barrel edition of the 383 , rated at 315 horsepower .
taper taillights grew much wider for 1966 , give into " Principality of Monaco " blocking inscription on the rear . Monaco 500 was the top model this time , foreground by sill moldings and paint striping . Dodge boost Monaco ’s " lavish exhibit of luxuriousness on the inside that some people call downright sinful . "
The standard 383 - three-dimensional - column inch engine with TorqueFlite now wield 325horsepower . Both the Polara and Monaco 500 could get a 440 - three-dimensional - in V-8 this year , rated at 350 horsepower ( 365 with dual exhausts ) . Front - disc brakes were optional on each full - size Dodge . This class ’s grille had the same " pinhead " shape as 1965 , but with its thin perpendicular bars in an evenly spaced pattern .
Not the good - remembered of dodging today , the posh Polara and Monaco two - door earned a smudge in history for their clever blending of formality and japery . They help bring Dodge to a decade - mellow product total in 1966 , earning fifth slur in the gross sales rankings .
Both gens uphold into the seventies , though the elevator car themselves were overshadowed by the jump popularity of mid - size sinew simple machine .
To see specifications for the 1965 - 1966 Dodge Polara 500 , Monaco and Monaco 500 , continue to the next Thomas Nelson Page .
1965-1966 Dodge Polara 500, Monaco and Monaco 500 Specifications
The 1965 - 1966 Dodge Polara 500 , Monaco and Monaco 500 were oriented as much toward luxury as they were toward sport . But they were worthy of the muscle cars that would fall out in the next few years .
Specifications
Engine : ohv V-8 , 383 cid ( 4.25 × 3.38 ) , 270/315/325 bhp
1965 Engine:413 Criminal Investigation Command ( 4.19 × 3.75 ) , 340 bhp ; 426 cid ( 4.25 × 3.75 ) , 365 bhp
1966 Engine:440 Criminal Investigation Command ( 4.32 × 3.75 ) , 350/365 bhp
Transmission:3 - fastness manual of arms ; optional 4 - speed manual of arms , 3 - speed TorqueFlite automatic
Suspension front : non - parallel ascendance weapons system , sidelong torsion bars
Suspension rear : live axle , leaf springs
Pteridium aquilinum : front / rearward drums
Wheelbase ( in.):121.0
Weight ( lbs.):3,765 - 4,315
Top speed ( mph):103 - 118
0 - 60 mph ( sec):8.4 ( V-8 413 )
