1954 Dodge Royal 500

Pace car Convertible

8 - Cyl.

Automatic

Gasoline

I first saw this 1954 yellow Dodge 500 Indianapolis Pace Car replica in 1971, when I went to play in a team tennis match at another club in east Sacramento. The owner, named Claire Bishop if memory serves, explained to me what it was. My recollection is that he had owned it for some time, and both he and the car had originally come from Illinois. Not too long afterwards I saw an ad for such a car in the Sacramento Bee. I called, found that it was Claire’s car, and bought it. It ran well, needed little work, and with its little Hemi engine could keep up on the freeways and go up over the passes in the Sierras. It also performed Little League and parade duty as occasion arose over the next 25 years, with a backseat full of kids and the top down. The three distinguishing items for the 1954 pace car are an Offenhauser manifold, a continental kit, and wire wheels. I am told that this one was probably dealer assembled, because the wheels are not the usual Kelsey-Hayes true wire wheels, but simulated wire-wheel hubcaps. It has been garaged for most of its life in the dry Sacramento Valley foothill climate and was driven regularly until the past decade. It was always reliable and a good driver – with early automatic transmission and power assists. Early in my ownership it was the cover car and subject of a Drive Report in Hemmings Special Interest Auto (SIA). Mike Lamm, then the editor of SIA (the predecessor of Hemmings’ current “Collector Cars”) lived in Stockton, heard about the car, called me up, and did the story and photo shoot himself. The Dodge currently runs and starts right up. The V8 motor runs smoothly without unusual noises or black smoke. The car is currently registered non-op so we have only driven it around the property but should be road worthy with a full tune-up. There seems to be minor seeping of oil around some gaskets but it doesnt leave "puddles". The brake system works but needs a couple pumps to stop as the system needs bleeding. I could not find any leaks in the brake system. The automatic transmission works normally and does not seem to leak. The electrical system will need some work as it is almost completely original and many wires have flaked off bits of insulation. The power steering pump works but leaks. The body is in overall good condition. There is some rust on the floor and rear corner panels but no holes. It is currently in a very usable condition. The front bench seat has some stains and the carpet is shot, other than that the interior is fairly decent shape. There is some surface rust on the metal dash and on the chrome passenger window frames. There is a fist-sized dent in the front right lower quarter panel and a scratch which creased the metal a bit on the driver side. This, except for the mentioned rust is the extent of its body damage. It is not known if the paint is the original since the car was purchased in 1971. The upholstery was redone in 1982. The convertible top will need to be redone as a cat fell through it 20+ years ago. since then the top was put down and has not been put back up since. Its frame should be in good condition and should work fine with some oiling as it has been stored indoors since we've owned it. To get the car running again, we replaced distributor parts, battery, and tires. This is the extent of the work performed on this car by us. We haven't buffed. polished or done anything to the paint. It should look nice with the paint's surface oxidation removed. A piece of chrome on the passenger side has fallen off but is included. Its mounting clip will have to repaired. The chrome center pieces of the chrome wire-wheel hubcaps are in rough condition and one is missing. The wire hub caps however are in great condition (we shined one up for fun). As mentioned this car was featured in an 8 page article in Special Interest Auto (Dec 1971). This article will be included with purchase and I'll try to scan and post the article shortly. Also included is our registration slips dating back to 1971 and the registration slips of the previous owner dating back to 1966 I have more pics and a video of the car upon request. Feel free to contact me with any additional questions. Thanks for the interest in the Dodge. It has been loved by our family for about forty years and we wish it the best home possible.