1960 Dodge Dart Phoenix 2 door
Hardtop
Owner: Charles Walker, Goffstown, NH
Submitted by: David Walker, Hudson, NH
E-mail: cudafan@verizon.net
The story behind this 1960 Dodge Phoenix
hardtop is an interesting one. In the fall of 1959, my dad went
to a local Dodge showroom to check out the new 1960 models and became
enamored with the new Phoenix. Although they did not have any
available to test drive, he was impressed enough with the literature
and specifications to place an order for one. He ordered a white
Phoenix 2-door hardtop with a wine-colored interior, 318 V8, pushbutton
automatic, split bench seat interior, and AM radio. Nothing
fancy, but when it arrived eight weeks later he was not
disappointed. The car was everything he imagined and then some!
Fast-forward two years: I was born in March of 1961, and later that
year the news arrived that there would be another arrival (my brother)
in late summer of 1962. Upon hearing this news, my dad knew that
he'd have to part with the Phoenix and get a more family-oriented
vehicle (i.e., something with four doors). Apparently there was
only room for one car seat due to the odd split front seat
configuration that these cars used. Reluctantly, his prized
Phoenix was traded in on a 1962 Mercury Meteor 4-door sedan and was
never seen again.
Fast-forward many more years: My brother and I are now grown up, on our
own, and deeply into old cars. Whenever talk would turn to old
cars between my dad, myself, and my brother (who became an
ASE-certified mechanic and owns several classic muscle cars), the
conversation would eventually get around to his beloved Phoenix and how
he "had to get rid of it when you kids came along." While funny
at first, this story got recited all too frequently to the point where
we got tired of hearing it. The only way to squelch this story
would be for my dad to get another Phoenix someday (whenever that
was). While it was nice to talk about, we never really thought it
would ever happen.
May, 2001: My dad is helping me do some carpentry work at my
house, and he tells me that he'd really like to find an antique car to
have fun with before he gets to be too old to enjoy the
experience. I think to myself, "OK, this will be simple. I
bet he'll want a 1949 Mercury, which is what he had for his first
car." Nope. When I asked him about it, his reply wasn't all
that unexpected: "No, not a '49 Merc. If I had my choice,
I'd really like to get another Phoenix." Wow...he was serious and
really wanted to do it! Now the next hurdle: where would we ever
find one?
Knowing that 1960 Dodges weren't exactly classified in the same
popularity category as '55-'57 Chevys, I knew that locating one in
decent condition was going to be a challenge (Challenge? I had never
even SEEN one for real to know what they looked like). I kept
searching the internet classifieds and, after a few weeks, got lucky
and found one in Illinois. It was in warehouse storage at a
salvage yard, but was advertised as a former Arizona car in good
condition with no rust. I printed out a copy of the online
classified and mailed it to my dad, not knowing what to expect.
The phone rings a day later, and he's all excited on the other end of
the line. "Where did you find this? Is it a hardtop?
What do you think of it? How could we get it home if I end
up buying it?" Suffice to say that he was interested! I
placed a call to the seller and was told to send a disposable camera,
which he would use to take pictures before sending the camera back to
me. A little unorthodox, but it worked out well and we got some
decent pictures of the car. Dad came over to my house to check
out the pictures, and the moment of truth was at hand. "So dad,
what do you think?" Somehow I was a bit unsure if he was truly
serious about it, but he said "If you think the car looks OK and could
handle setting up the delivery, then let's go for it." Second
time for me to think "Wow!" Now even I was excited at the thought
of him having another Phoenix and being able to relive some of the
excitement he felt about his first one 40 years before.
August 17, 2001: We're at my brother's house waiting for the car
to arrive, and a 10-car transporter comes rumbling up the street.
There it is, bookended on the bottom ramp by two other cars: a
light tan-colored 1960 Phoenix hardtop! Finally that someday that
we always talked about had arrived. We checked out the car and
found that it was basically as advertised, although it was obvious that
the storage part of the story was true due to its grimy
appearance. We found that the color combination was changed at
some point in time; the car was originally a rose color with matching
interior. The current light tan exterior color with brown metallic roof
is accompanied by a caramel-colored custom pleated vinyl interior,
which looked pretty good in person. It even had the cool
"satellite" clock on the dash! It needed some work to be road
worthy and a good exterior reconditioning to make it shine again, but
we were now staring at our dad's "dream" car right in front of us.
Today my dad is enjoying the car whenever the weather is nice here in
the northeast. The car actually has been a savior of sorts:
The following spring after he got the car he was diagnosed with colon
cancer. We were able to take the car to a couple of local car
shows in the summer of 2002, but my dad was battling the cancer and
coping with chemotherapy. Still, whenever we would talk on the
phone, he would always get upbeat when talking about The Dodge (as he
now called it). While we did have some fun going to shows in
2003, in August he had to have angioplasty surgery and was very close
to having a heart attack, but he has recovered very well. His
outlook on life has changed a lot in the past two years due to the
close calls with his health, but many people in the family agree that
having the Phoenix has also made a difference and given him something
to look forward to through the difficult times. For me, it's been
a great way to bond with my dad and to share the great fun that you can
have with old cars.
Thanks,
David Walker