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-   -   My '55 Dodge Kingsway 'Rustoration' (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/post-war/148270-my-55-dodge-kingsway-rustoration.html)

Sometime in April 1955, a church in south Kerala picked up a Dodge Kingsway, for use by the head of the Church. The car was light green in colour, and served the owners well for several decades.

It was later passed on to one of the followers of the church, who used regularly, for quite some time. In his ownership, the car was painted blue. He parked it once it became impractical to use on a daily basis.

It lay there for many years, and started to sink to the ground, but what hurt it the most was the 'repair' done by a mech who had no clue what he was doing.

With the help of a kind BHP-ian, I was able to lay my hands on it, in 2011.

This is the condition I got it in.














If anyone feels that the pics look bad, the real life version was much worse.

There may be people who are of the opinion that this is not a feasible project, but to me, it made perfect sense.

Love, as they say, is blind. :)

:) Bring it on, JayD!

What a transformation!

It might be old and it might have more rust than metal. But God, does the Kingsway have a personality! It looks so darn imposing, even lying dead on the flatbed.

Going by how your Landmaster turned out, I'm sure she's a beauty today. Please share pics of the restoration & completed car.

It feels nice the see another restoration story. My first thought was that the front windscreen is unbroken and the trim is complete clap:. The car has good body line and one would have to presume that the trims were stored safely.

However, noting that the amount of work required on this car and after seeing the pictures of the completed car, I will surely be following this thread for updates.

Thanks JayD for starting this thread and sharing this story, keep posting.

Cheers

KPS

PS. Hopefully I will soon start a new thread on my 1954 Dodge once you complete your story

Happy for you, as you saved a legend from its death bed and happy for the car, as it got a new lease of life. Cant wait for the remaining 'Rustoration' Story.

Glued to this thread.

The car sure has the looks and am waiting to see how it will turn out after the 'rustoration'.
How about the engine and the insides. The outer body looks 'workable' and not that rusted considering that it is from Kerala. Hope you do get the 'right' person who will do justice to the vehicle.
Please do keep us updated on how it will turn out.

P.S wont be saying that love is blind Mr.JayD..just that certainly beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder

Indeed, the beauty of an object lies in the eyes of the beholder!

This Dodge Kingsway, bearing registration KLK/923 (Right?) is in excellent condition.

The car still has its original Straight-Six in there.:thumbs up

To say, that the finished car is excellent is actually an UNDERSTATEMENT. I am running out of adjectives to describe it..... lovely, excellent, perfect all fall short.

In my opinion, "excellence personified" is an apt comment.

You are lucky, JayD! I'm turning green with envy, the same colour as the car.

Once more, the finished product is excellence personified!

Cheers!

P.S: When the car was but in a state of decay, on the flatbed, look just how much more regal it appears when compared with the W124, in the
fifth picture.

Can't help, but make this comment, inspite of me being a Merc buff. Dodges! Lovely creatures!

With all due respect to JD. I just got to see this beauty in metal and its a head turner for sure.

wow. The restored version looks stunning. I guess planning a trip to Kerala will have a new agenda. Sheer Beauty! Awesome JayD.

I agree, there is something about these cars, especially the dodge and the plymouth which makes them look majestic, no mater how run down they are!

The car is in the final stages of completion, pics coming up!

Thanks KPS,Even though it was very very rusty, the fundamentals of the car were in proper order, that's why I picked it up.

Most of the trims were available, but some bits were missing. They had to be procured seperately.

Looking forward to seeing your cars resto too!!

Thank you! Pics coming up..


The original engine was present, but was in a fully damaged condition. Was completely worked upon, and is in Mint condition now.

Thank you! The colour was chosen as the car was originally green. I already have a car, in a similar shade, hence decided to tweak it a bit!:)

Soon after the car got home, My dad and i evaluated things. We noted the following points


1) The entire work was to be done at home. The amount of TLC needed was such that no garage would do justice.

2) Most of the original trims were available, but metalwork had taken a severe beating, thanks to kerala weather.

3) The engine was fully dead, as it last ran in the 70's

4) The starter and carb were missing, suspected to have been flicked by someone at some point of time.


That aside, we started to disassemble whatever was on the car. Pics below.

Hey Jay D ,Couldn't help it .so had to log in after almost a year.Nice to see this project.And i still remember the way you got hold of that blue M800.lolz.
Steeroid ,nice to see your post.

@ JayD: You're going to restore the Dodge right in your front yard? Kudos!

Will be watching this thread.

My goodness JayD!! It must have been a huge feat to restore this beauty. I cant imagine the amount of hardwork and personal time you have put in this to restore the majestic Dodge.

Kudos JayD!! I will be closely following this thread man :)

A great car worth spending your resources. Waiting to see the beauty in restored form. All the very best.