1973 Coronet "2 door"

[Rennkafer]

Thats not the Charger bumper. I would use the whole Charger bumper!

You're right, when I looked at the pics originally I thought the black space in the middle was the middle bar on the Charger bumper... but it's just a gap.

 

[fullmetaljacket]

You're right, when I looked at the pics originally I thought the black space in the middle was the middle bar on the Charger bumper... but it's just a gap.

I like the original grille with its sides recessing at the ends near the headlights. Makes the lights pop out more. I'm planning on painting the grille gun metal with gradual darker ends to make it disappear into the headlight buckets. I do think the hideaways are a good alternative though.
As far as the power bulge hood, it will only be a non functional power blister and not the Magnum fins nor the air grabber.
Subtle and husky is the look I am trying to achieve.
I'm just wondering if I start with a complete power bulge hood, all I would need to do is trim off the three or so inches up front at the nose and reweld the outer edge and trim back on. In other words, shortening a Charger power bulge hood instead of cutting out the bulge itself and welding it into the existing Coronet hood.

 

[chargervert]

I would separate the bulge hood skin from the inner frame structure,then separate the Coronet hood skin,except for a few inches of the leading edge of the Coronet hood where it meets the top of the front bumper. lay the Charger hood over the Coronet frame and trim it until it meets the leading edge of the Coronet hood and weld them together.

 

[fullmetaljacket]

I would separate the bulge hood skin from the inner frame structure,then separate the Coronet hood skin,except for a few inches of the leading edge of the Coronet hood where it meets the top of the front bumper. lay the Charger hood over the Coronet frame and trim it until it meets the leading edge of the Coronet hood and weld them together.

Chargervert.
That's a great idea. Much more precision in the look and feel of the hood then what I was thinking. Thank you.
The mission commences now to find that donor power bulge hood. Wouldn't want to fall into buying a whole new AMD bulge hood just to cut it up, but then again, an AMD would be better than cutting up an original bulge hood.

 

[chargervert]

Chargervert.
That's a great idea. Much more precision in the look and feel of the hood then what I was thinking. Thank you.
The mission commences now to find that donor power bulge hood. Wouldn't want to fall into buying a whole new AMD bulge hood just to cut it up, but then again, an AMD would be better than cutting up an original bulge hood.

The hoods are prone to rust and damage in the forward edge of the hood. Thats what happened to the hood I cut up to make the 70 Charger 71 louvered hood out of. Put an ad in the wanted section for a damaged or rusted one. They are also very prone to the underside inner structure rusting out,so if you find one that has that issue,it would be perfect for what you are doing because you are going to use your inner structure and leading edge anyway.

 

[Detective D]

Why not just leave a car a 4 door?
OP sees a kick *** ride he likes enough to inspire a picture and a thread, but it isn't cool enough to leave as is?
The 4 door body I think was designed in 72 and mostly kept intact until 78. Chrysler was very smart about the mods they did over the years, the 5mph bumpers instead of adding them out the back and changing everything they simply put an accordian strip to abosorb on the bottom rear quarters.
When they went to square headlights they designed a bolt on that went onto existing fenders(mostly) and extended the car out, and designed a new front bumper to hide the 5mph stuff and retain the same frame rail length. That's why they are "wavy" looking.

They ARE tough. The 78 Fury 4 door was the fastest production vehicle until the 90's. fullmetaljacket's ride is freegin badass.

i wouldn't spend all that cash to hack up a car so it can fit the mold some nostalgia driven old guys think is important. Anything with a metal front end and chrome on the grill to boot turns heads now. If someone is worried about an "investment" and "value" then just find a numbers matching usual suspect and buy it, it will cost the same in the end vs hacking up a 4 door.

now, full disclosure, I am working on a 78 Monaco police so I like 4 doors. I like 2 doors too. I like all the cars from back then really, they don;t make them like that anymore, big blocks are big blocks, and righteous burnouts look cool from a turbo caravan or a hemi charger (or a 4 door b body ) so embrace it for what it is and don;t be ashamed if you think it is cool. Who cares what the other guy likes, it's going to be your car. They can get their own.

 

[chargervert]

He wants to build a unique Mopar that no one else has. Four door B body cars are fairly cheap and plentiful. I enjoy my one off Mopar. I have plenty of factory ones to look at,but the Convertible Charger is so much fun to drive.

 

[Rennkafer]

He wants to build a unique Mopar that no one else has. Four door B body cars are fairly cheap and plentiful. I enjoy my one off Mopar. I have plenty of factory ones to look at,but the Convertible Charger is so much fun to drive.

Cheap, yes... plentiful, not around the Northwest.

 

[Detective D]

He wants to build a unique Mopar that no one else has. Four door B body cars are fairly cheap and plentiful. I enjoy my one off Mopar. I have plenty of factory ones to look at,but the Convertible Charger is so much fun to drive.

4 door b bodies are almost extinct in the midwest. Between road salt, and the dismissal from the "cool list" they were prime to be junked or put in derbies. I fully expect legit hwy patrol cars to skyrocket in price(comparitively) in the next few years, people are spending on them now for reasons OP mentioned.
Talk about no aftermarket as well. I have spent a couple years looking for a windshield for my 78 that isn't a "custom new" for over $800 in a crate, not installed. There are no parts cars. They turn up once a year, half the country away.

 

[fullmetaljacket]

4 door b bodies are almost extinct in the midwest. Between road salt, and the dismissal from the "cool list" they were prime to be junked or put in derbies. I fully expect legit hwy patrol cars to skyrocket in price(comparitively) in the next few years, people are spending on them now for reasons OP mentioned.
Talk about no aftermarket as well. I have spent a couple years looking for a windshield for my 78 that isn't a "custom new" for over $800 in a crate, not installed. There are no parts cars. They turn up once a year, half the country away.

True this. The fleet or donor cars probably didn't exist at all because most of these 4 door B's were fleet cars..... police, Government, Taxi and derby pigs.... so extinct parts and no after market makes it hard.
I lucked out with a clean, mint version with no chassis or floor-trunk rust at all. I'm still trying to find extra body panel parts to have as back ups. It does turn heads though because the way it is dressed, it sparks up many fond and post bond memories.
When it comes to inventing a none existent car, why not if you have the time, $ and skills to make it happen. It would be a conversation piece for the ages.
If I had the time, I probably would do that, but then again, I like having a nice 4 door to play and be a civilian and the '65 post for being a villain.

 

[Detective D]

True this. The fleet or donor cars probably didn't exist at all because most of these 4 door B's were fleet cars..... police, Government, Taxi and derby pigs.... so extinct parts and no after market makes it hard.
I lucked out with a clean, mint version with no chassis or floor-trunk rust at all. I'm still trying to find extra body panel parts to have as back ups. It does turn heads though because the way it is dressed, it sparks up many fond and post bond memories.
When it comes to inventing a none existent car, why not if you have the time, $ and skills to make it happen. It would be a conversation piece for the ages.
If I had the time, I probably would do that, but then again, I like having a nice 4 door to play and be a civilian and the '65 post for being a villain.

My 78 is also clean. In WI. Let that soak in.
It was a county detective car kept in the county garage. Then it went to auction and the guy used it for 30 years to pull his pop up camper to upper michigan. That's it. Tucked away outside of camping season in a dry shed. Quit running it about 8 years back because it was blowing blue smoke.
Guy bought it before I could, pulled the engine and transmission, swapped with his brother in law's rebuilt 318/727(cam, intake, etc) and I drove it home. He got the original big block, told me later he had it checked out, cracked head, needed bored 60 over. I did alright

But I have not seen another within 300 miles of me, even a rotten hulk for parts in the couple years since. Well, I can;t say that. One came up with busted glass and the rear springs holding the trunk open from a cow pasture about an hour away. Rat infested interior, broken out glass, still had the 400 big block in it, sunk about a foot in the dirt(yeah I bet it turned over lol).

But people should get past the whole 4 doors grew on trees thing. That was a lot of years ago, and no one cared to save them until about maybe ten years ago now.

 

[fullmetaljacket]

My 78 is also clean. In WI. Let that soak in.
It was a county detective car kept in the county garage. Then it went to auction and the guy used it for 30 years to pull his pop up camper to upper michigan. That's it. Tucked away outside of camping season in a dry shed. Quit running it about 8 years back because it was blowing blue smoke.
Guy bought it before I could, pulled the engine and transmission, swapped with his brother in law's rebuilt 318/727(cam, intake, etc) and I drove it home. He got the original big block, told me later he had it checked out, cracked head, needed bored 60 over. I did alright

But I have not seen another within 300 miles of me, even a rotten hulk for parts in the couple years since. Well, I can;t say that. One came up with busted glass and the rear springs holding the trunk open from a cow pasture about an hour away. Rat infested interior, broken out glass, still had the 400 big block in it, sunk about a foot in the dirt(yeah I bet it turned over lol).

But people should get past the whole 4 doors grew on trees thing. That was a lot of years ago, and no one cared to save them until about maybe ten years ago now.

Mine was in Michigan all its life, but purchased in nearby Toledo, Ohio.
First owner was a woman who drove it lightly and kept it in her garage. 2nd owner was a 300 pound guy who put a hurting' on the front seat but also kept it in his garage. It finally ended up under an open canopy up in Hamtramck.
I had the front seat rebuilt and reupholstered along with the rear seat using OEM material. New rug and now waiting to install the new dash pad.

 

[fullmetaljacket]

Mine was in Michigan all its life, but purchased in nearby Toledo, Ohio.
First owner was a woman who drove it lightly and kept it in her garage. 2nd owner was a 300 pound guy who put a hurting' on the front seat but also kept it in his garage. It finally ended up under an open canopy up in Hamtramck.
I had the front seat rebuilt and reupholstered along with the rear seat using OEM material. New rug and now waiting to install the new dash pad.

The only other one that I know of across the country is Uncle Tony's Baby Blue bomber. I think it's a '72. I actually know UT very well, we go back. He'll race anything even if it has one wheel. LOL.

 

[Rennkafer]

The only other one that I know of across the country is Uncle Tony's Baby Blue bomber. I think it's a '72. I actually know UT very well, we go back. He'll race anything even if it has one wheel. LOL.

Well there's my '71... but I'm up in WA state.

 

[fullmetaljacket]

Well there's my '71... but I'm up in WA state.

View attachment 1638276

I don't know why people can't seem to wrap their heads around those wrap around bumpers. I love them. Classic Mopar.

I'm on the fence about whether I remove the old and weathered vinyl top on mine or have a new one reinstalled.
Thing is, if you remove the vinyl top, the side door ding protective trim probably has to go also because it throws everything off.

 

[Rennkafer]

I don't know why people can't seem to wrap their heads around those wrap around bumpers. I love them. Classic Mopar.

I'm on the fence about whether I remove the old and weathered vinyl top on mine or have a new one reinstalled.
Thing is, if you remove the vinyl top, the side door ding protective trim probably has to go also because it throws everything off.

I do too, though I'm probably biased as my first car was a '72 Coronet.

The vinyl top on mine was in rags, so it got pulled off. Haven't really decided how to deal with it, personally I prefer the no side trim look like my original Coronet (ex-patrol car), so I may eventually do that and repaint the roof.

 

[Detective D]

I don't know why people can't seem to wrap their heads around those wrap around bumpers. I love them. Classic Mopar.

I'm on the fence about whether I remove the old and weathered vinyl top on mine or have a new one reinstalled.
Thing is, if you remove the vinyl top, the side door ding protective trim probably has to go also because it throws everything off.

I removed the "straight line" trim down the side of mine. I didn't like it, I think it got thrown on by some corporate whatever way back when. The coke bottle shape, the whole car has curves, then they slapped a ruler on the side of the car.
Nah.

I took my vinyl off to make sure there wasn;t any nasty surprises under there. There wasn't, once I got all the glue off I could do a cut/polish and the paint would look like new if I wanted, but it is not the same color as the rest of the car. You could see it when I took the carpet out too, when my car came down the line the previous car must have been Charcoal Grey Metallic, they sprayed the roof and then started on the inside on the floor where the paint transitioned to Starlight Blue(color of my car). Must have been "cleaning out" the paint gun lol.
My car is Starlight Blue, with the sky blue(light blue) color top and a light blue interior. Typical of county detective/sherriff cars or the era in WI. It was a bit too much blue for me, I think I am going to leave the top off on my car. That's one thing with these cars, modifications do not seem to hurt value so long as they are either reversible or otherwise not extreme. I have a 69 383 to drop in it, and I am rebuilding the 9.25 rear end this winter.

 

[Detective D]

That's it man, I'm breaking out the hacksaws, torches, welders and body hammers and going at it to make the worlds first lightweight 2 door '73 Coronet.
In all seriousness, I believe the '73 Coronet is a few inches shorter than a Charger of the same year thus being a few pounds lighter for a perfect street sweeping sleeper. The hood is definitely shorter since I've been planning to draft, graft and fab on a power bulge onto my stock hood. Either that or shorten a Charger power bulge hood and bolted it on. They definitely look muscular and tough.
This car gets lots of attention on the NYC streets. It came with a factory two tone Gold interior and a burnt gold exterior coat.

By the way, I happen to know just the guy to make the conversion if it were in the plans since he made a hardtop '68 Coronet into a post car better than the factory could ever do. His name is "The Palm Reader" and Rmchrgr knows him well.

View attachment 1632702

View attachment 1632714

I have to say about the side trim though, maybe it is this color but it looks nice on this car. maybe it is the extra chrome.

 

[fullmetaljacket]

Since the vinyl top needs to be replaced, I'm gonna see how the overall car looks without it. I have a suspicion that something is going to be thrown off. We'll see.
I wish the car was originally black, but I don't want to go through that process, so when I paint it, it will be the original burnt Gold or whatever it is called.

 

[rmchrgr]

Why not just leave a car a 4 door?
it isn't cool enough to leave as is?

No.

I'm not trying to offend anyone here but come on man, it's a 4 door sedan which (at least in my book) is probably the most pedestrian form of automotive transportation in existence. If car pooling, transporting prisoners or picking up fares is your thing that's OK but none of that is relevant in my world. 4 doors just do not speak to me on any level. Again, I can understand their appeal especially if it's a secondary toy but if I have to choose, I'm opting for a 2 door every time.

But also - where's the fun in taking things at face value? Hot rodding is all about putting your own stamp on something. Sometimes that works and sometimes it doesn't but if you don't try you'll never know if an idea has merit. Taking a car like a '70's 4 door sedan that no one (generally) cares about seems like the best possible scenario to try something like this.

I'm also not suggesting this idea should be taken to some extreme end by reshaping the car into something else. Turning a 4 door Coronet into a 2 door still leaves 95% of the car as-is so what's the big deal? I said I liked the grille, fenders and roofline so none of that would change. I'm not sure why the factory didn't offer a 2 door Coronet in '72 but they should have. That rendering I posted looks totally right to me and I believe it would be a good looking car.

Everyone knows the story about the end of the muscle car era - horsepower was down across the board in '72-'73 due to rising insurance premiums and the first gas crisis. Theoretically, if a 2 door Coronet idea would have made it into production in '72, it probably woudn't have been some high impact color Scat-Pack gee gaw machine but rather a Slant 6, 318/360/400 2 bbl with a ton of smog crap, column shifted automatic, 8 1/4" rear with highway gears, basic vinyl bench seat interior and little else. In other words, the perfect blank canvas for a subtle, street sweeper sleeper.

Like everyone I have specific tastes but I know my eye is good. I've studied these cars for my entire life and can articulate exactly why I like certain aspects of them and/or why I don't like other things. Do you only like your car because it's a 4 door or do you like it for other reasons?

Again, I do not own a Coronet 4 door nor do I have any intention of going out and buying one for the express purpose of turning it into a 2 door. If FMJ decides he wants to cut up Leroy Brown in the name of science, I'm a willing participant in that experiment. Until then, it's just an idea in my head.

I won't hold my breath but perhaps this thread will inspire someone to try this out some day. That one little picture I found certainly got my wheels turning, why wouldn't it do the same for someone else? Maybe that someone has a 4 door Coronet out in a field or parked in a shop corner taking up space. Rather than parting it out or junking it, why not make something cool and unique out of it? What's the worst that can happen, a couple left-for-dead Mopars are revived and enjoyed?