426 Hemi-powered 1966 Dodge Coronet 500 is a connection to another era | WHY I DRIVE #26

Like many car-crazed kids in the 1960s American Midwest, Gary Riley spent the summer nights of his youth at the local drag strip. Some fifty years later, he can still see and hear and smell the Cobra Jet Mustangs, the Charger R/Ts, and the Chevelle Super Sports as they rumbled up to the starting line at Cordova Dragway just outside of Rapids City, Illinois, awaiting their turn at quarter mile glory. It was an experience stuck with him and ultimately shaped his life.
Those hot August nights are a distant memory now, but when Riley climbs into his dark turquoise metallic 1966 Dodge Coronet 500 for his daily drive to his shop, LevelOne Restoration, in Arvada, Colorado, he is instantly driving through the late-1960s all over again.
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[@alteregos8949]

Really does light a fire in the heart. Mopar is the muscle car of the 60’s and early 70’s. What a beautiful machine.

[@michaelferro897]

I had a 66 Coronet and loved it! yours is absolutely gorgeous and it's great to be able to share it with everyone. whether it's having the family enjoying it luckily by driving her or someone seeing and hearing it roar on by in town, it's incredible she's still roaming the asphalt all these years later, bringing smiles and memories back to us who've had and cherished them and adding new memories to the youngsters who are seeing and experiencing it for the first time! thanks for sharing this with us!!!! God bless you!!!

[@marcosoliveira8731]

Living a dream, man.

[@jasonhayes9776]

That's the whole point of the old cars, they can take you for a ride back in time. My old Malibu can take me back to when I was 19 whenever I want.

[@rixkafer56]

I hear ya !! ive had my 64 Malibu since 82 !! takes me back

[@eyeswideopen9696]

Im not as old but have a Saab Aero hand made 9-3 coupe the last 6 ever registered makes me feel happy

[@arielriley7632]

instablaster.

[@patrickseals5746]

Love these stories. I love driving anything that lets you drive and feel the experience and it’s different for everyone along with the cars that bring on that joy of getting out and enjoying the open road.

[@shadowknight99999]

The style and american pride and love that was put into cars back then is what makes them special. Cars from that era will never be duplicated. I'm in my 20s and will pick to drive a classic over any modern car.

[@devillockj]

That was painful. I just spent 6 min watching a hemi car not spinning the tires or revving higher than 3000rpm?

[@roleneanddeedee2920]

I have had my '66 Coronet 500 since April 1980, and am the second owner. It's a ball to drive! And it is a car I wouldn't hesitate to drive cross-country right now.

[@davewoodmancy4596]

I grew up in an era in Illinois when these cars and cars like them were out there roaming the streets. These cars were built not for the general population for a specific part of the population. Very few people appreciated these cars in those days.

[@billharden7127]

Open it up. Is an expression I haven't heard in years.

[@email4664]

Smell the gas as you are burning it, and the brakes as your are burning them too....

[@Bobshouse]

Had a 66 Coronet, sold it to a friend when I left home for the military. He wrapped it around a telephone pole before I even made it out of basic. Loved that car.

[@thomasryan8218]

Great story and great that your daughter is involved.

[@duncandmcgrath6290]

No better feeling of going back in time, than to get behind the wheel of 60’s era American iron.

[@truebetold65]

I'm a Vette guy and I'll tell you sir that this car is a true piece of artwork.

[@LeftLaneShane]

I had a 66 440 coronet, it only had a poly head 318, but she still was a sweet ride. Paid $400. Back in the 80s when these beauties were everywhere and cheap!!!! The good old days for me. Thanks for sharing this with us.

[@timtbone8187]

Seeing that buying price makes not only I, but my wallet weep for a machine this beautiful.

[@tcjohnson3437]

I have the same car. Mine came with factory 383 and many years ago I put a 440 in it. Still has the 383 badges on it. Great cars. my son gets it when I'm dead.

[@StraightPipin]

I was born in 1996 in Nj and i bought my first classic almost 2 years ago and it’s a 1966 440 coronet with a 318 poly. This car will transfer you back in time and take all your stress away with the crank of the key and the smell of the exhaust. I love this video and it gives me more inspiration than anyone could ever know

[@Shaman-98]

the sound of this engine caresses the ear👍

[@kyleforeman4543]

So true,glad ur sharing the history in every aspect. Most Millennials will never get that experience

[@GlamStacheessnostalgialounge]

Thanks to ridiculous prices of classic cars we won't, sadly. At least 1980s cars are still going for relatively cheap.

[@GlamStacheessnostalgialounge]

@@MrCoffeekelly Nah, I never cared for the "desireable" cars anyway, always prefered the basic models with inline engines. But even for those most people are charging top dollar for 'eh. Seen a 60s Rambler with rust holes galore, and the guy wanted 5 grand for it!

[@fairlane2020]

We love old cars because we all know that back then in those days things were simple and effective. I recently bought a 1963 EH Holden sedan, a very popular Australian 60’s era motor vehicle.

[@AtZero138]

Beautiful Car.. cheers from Southern California.. 1968 Dodge Dart Daily driver everyday and Everywhere..

[@redcanoe2637]

Great story and first-class restoration.

[@ANDREWSAMY562]

He said it's original.

[@Rick-se5qm]

👍 In the 80's my weekend cruiser was a factory 66 Hemi Coronet convertible, 440 model. It was a comfortable reliable car but my wife hated it. Seemed to think it was an old mans car that did not fit our image.

[@michaellehto1697]

That car. Those roads. His story. Opens a mans mind and makes him feel good.

[@jimiplayscobo5877]

I love how the ignition is right next to the cigarette lighter those were the days. Lol

[@bluesbubba7429]

My first car was a 1968 Dodge Coronet Super Bee. I fell in love with Mopars in my teens. Today, I'm still a Mopar guy with a 2011 Hemi Challenger. However, it's not the same as a built 383 with a 727 Torqueflite and 323 limited slip.

[@yeseniakrueger1863]

I am their old grandpa that is being talked about..I raced against most of the cars you see here on you tube..I had a modified 68 camaro 427 v8 4 speed. Didnt lose.. but the cars were only part of the story..the whole way of life was better.. the summer of 1969 I think was the best..Get a time machine and live the year 1969......

[@MrGTO-ze7vb]

Nothing like driving a classic cruising thru mountain roads...!!

[@scottrasmussen8258]

Awesome story, a father and his daughter connecting over a car or a time of family history around cars. It seems like there is a bond that takes them back to the preceding generation, what a way to learn and help the current generation learn about what cars meant to us and our connection to the golden time of the automobile.

[@huntingtonbeachsasquatch]

I Love This Channel! From Watching Chip Draw, Rebuilding Engines, Finding Cool Cars Stuck In A Old Dusty Barn, Oh' Yeah! ....And SEMA!! Thank You For The Good Times! 👍👍👍😁😉

[@americanmusclemaniac9565]

It is really true driving a old car feels so much better than driving a new vehicles. New vehicles don’t feel like anything when you drive it but when you drive a old car is feels so good.

[@rnr442]

I miss my "66" 442 !

[@hmackprotection1]

R Fuhrer bad ass Machine

[@johnagreen883]

I have a '66 Charger, 383 4-speed, in the same blue with white interior. So much is the same between them, including the front buckets.

[@lateefcarrere1649]

Me: Did Gary actually say that a new car was better than an old one in almost every respect? Also me: I'll bet he didn't say that around the Coronet. The old cars hear real well.

[@scott3837]

My father was VP of finance for Chrysler back in the 60's....we lived in Bloomfield Hills and my father brought home all the cool cars. I had two older brothers...and Woodward Ave. was a regular part of life....as was Detroit dragway. Nothing like the 426.

[@billbell221]

Just bought one. Thank god for masks. The amount of drooling over the car is amazing. You will see very few original hemi’s, and this one is rare. Only 339? made I think I read.

[@terryschnereger8531]

My restored 74 Dodge Charger is still my 1st car I've owned and learned how to drive in and get my license for over 24 yrs. This car takes me back to when I turned 20 and 1st owned it.👍🏁

[@tombork2281]

Back in the early 1980s when I was in high school I inherited my grandpa's old 1966 Coronet 500. It hadn't been driven for about 5 years but I got her going again. As soon as I got my driver's license it was my daily driver. It was a great car with lots of power. Did a little showing off with her ( street racing, burnouts ) even had the playboy air freshener hanging on the rearview mirror.😎

[@paullemay3218]

What a beautiful ride. Thank you for sharing. 🇨🇦😎

[@alexvenable7890]

This story makes me want to restore my 66 charger. I got it when I was 17 as a shell and have been finding parts for it for now 13 years. This video lit a fire for me to finish my car and drive it around with my wife.

[@richardmalone4721]

Driving with my dad. I was 15. We had just gotten on the PA Turnpike headed west towards PGH, on our way back from McConnellsburg after the PA BMX State Championship where I had just doubled, achieving the #1 Plate for 1983 and although I was stoked, he was having a rare-proud moment and pulled over the ‘67 Galaxie XL and asked if I wanted to drive, lol, and THAT was thee best day, (yes, it was illegal and quickly could have become the worst, but thanks to my older brother ratting me out, I didn’t know dad knew that I had been sneaking away driving dads Ford Courier since I was 13) we shared. Feeling the engine rumble and the crackle of the glass packs as I coasted down the descent towards Somerset ignited a passion I’ve never lost. I wish I had that car today and could give a, (legal-licensed) teen an opportunity to experience that feeling and a chance to ignite their own ‘passion’. I’ll only be as good as what I give. Lol, now if I can get our daughters college loans cancelled out, I’ll get to it in the form of a ‘66 Aztec Bronze SS396! Mid-Life Crisis anyone? 😉

[@jamespn]

On 1960s cars you have to get used to manual brakes and a suspension that wanders, they don’t make them like this anymore. The restorations are beautiful, but OEM build quality in that era was truly atrocious but the styling is unique and timeless.

[@ANDREWSAMY562]

This car is a perfect sleeper. Damn.

[@davidallen5776]

Those were the best years that this country has ever had until Watergate came to past...and since then, we've been on a downward spiral!!

[@lucky-rowe2623]

I do not get that 43 people have down voted this. I feel sorry for you if your life is so shaded that you felt the need to down vote this awesome video.

[@kevintucker3354]

I had the same car with a 383 4 barrel and the center console shift automatic...

[@Markybug-Keira-Cody]

Camera work on these episodes is amazing !👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

[@HEMISUPERBEE426]

GREAT VIDEO.....MOPAR FOREVER !

[@joebrown1382]

Beautiful piece of work. At a time when the cars were not swamped with computers, sensors etc & you could actually work on them & not at $70 per hour in the dealers repair bays.

[@rockfertigaus3760]

I ll go to America sometime to America EXACTLY for THATTT

[@peterheidgerd5418]

Great video! GREEEEEEEEEEEEAT CAR!!!!!!!! Love the dark teal with white interior!!!!!! Hemi powered too!!! AND NICE FOLK! A friend of mine in the fall of Senior year at West Morris Mendham High School in north central New Jersey by the name of Jim Nienstedt had one of these. It was actually his Dad's car. It had been purchased from a family friend, a Mrs. Johnson who had bought it new. It had, and I truly remember this-- Only 36,000 original miles on it at that time (Sept, 1977)... This was the first car ever to 'scare me'. This was a white 2dr hardtop model 1966 Dodge Coronet 500 with a black bucket seat interior with the Torqueflite 3spd automatic. The engine? It was a tried and true 361 2bbl. But that baby would throw you in the seat while going up a major hill and achieving 70 mph!!! I instantly became a fan of that era of car. His sister Beth got into an accident in the car and I didn't remember seeing it again after that. What memories... And they go on and on!! WE WHO WERE really living back then will never forget that pre- 9-11 world. It was awesome to have the 1950's and 1960's as our backdrop! It just doesn't (and never will again, trust me!) get as good as that in these United States of America!

[@Mr.Worf63]

Saw one of these up close in a small town . Stunning car !! It had factory rims and a right hand door mirror . My brothers was the 1969 Coronet 440 .

[@seekerBill]

Beautiful car! I live in Bettendorf and had raced many times at Cordova drag strip.

[@dannyelrod9607]

Driving a piece of American history is a pleasure

[@bosse641]

Proper driver's cars back then. ....all lost now, sadly.

[@paulehlers2225]

Great multi generational story. Awesome car & I love the redlines!!!

[@racer67]

I was born in 79 and all ive driven was 60s cars i currently daily drive a 67 impala and a 69 chevy c-10

[@mwhitelaw8569]

That's one big bad brute of a car Thanks for sharing it with us

[@vettekid3326]

Back in 1974 during my misspent youth one summer I helped campaign a drag bike. We would go to different tracks around Illinois starting out on Friday after work sleeping in the back of an old pickup truck and living on McDonalds and track food. We would hit Motion Raceway in Assumption, Il , Mid State in Havana, Il , Cordova Dragway, Byron Dragway and Oswego Dragway. My C4 Corvette takes me back to happy times every time I get in it.

[@nailhed6628]

👍 It’s nice to see cars that are period correct and unmodified

[@glenbarham797]

Great car. I have a 67 Charger that reminds me of a couple of 1st gen Chargers I grew up around as a kid. Thanks for the video.

[@a_imanalgofia.4520]

Its very nice 👌

[@seabee12333]

lots of these Dodges were used in stock car racing back in those days as well. It was truly a golden age for the car culture in America

[@billace90]

What a jewel of a car!

[@727100bear]

my mother’s first new car was a beige 1966 Plymouth Belvedere II 3-seat wagon powered by the trusty 318 V8 - the instrument panel closely resembles the Coronet models.. it was our family’s first wagon and first car with power steering and brakes and factory air conditioning.. I remember it well.. being a 3-seater the power rear window was a standard feature which Mom always appreciated.. especially after we realized that the Hawaiian Blue ‘68 Fury Sport Suburban 383-powered 2-seater we traded the Belvedere for DID NOT have the electric rear window. We test drove the flagship ‘68 Chrysler Town & Country wagon before settling on the Sport Suburban (my dad didn’t like the Chrysler’s rear fender skirts) which was also equipped with the fancy dual air conditioning and rear window wiper/washer options. I think we just assumed all modern wagons were equipped with power tailgate windows.

[@gordocarbo]

Nice color combo...the girl, father and grandfather all posting here is cool! THese are the real Hemis cant not notice them and drool.

[@ryanleenstra2265]

This video made me tear up. Maybe it’s the somber tone? Maybe it’s the slower in depth pace? Or maybe it’s because my first car was a 1966 Dodge Coronet 500 2 door hardtop 318 2bbl. It may be dead in my garage but at least it’s in my garage. I’m as old as your daughter and apparently wise enough to have never sold it. Cheers to your profession and passion of preserving MOPAR history.

[@LogicAndReason2025]

Of all the cars I've owned, the only one I have dreams about driving is the 67 Coronet (318) I had 35 years ago. However, I still want another 69 Satellite (my first car). If anyone has a 318-383, 2 door in good condition, I'm in the market in Rhode Island.

[@sailorboy105]

I remember seeing the Wild Child run at Dray City in Rochester, Illinois

[@SteveLowtwait]

Five years ago, I lived in the Colorado foothills near there driving my 1966 Jeep Super Wagoneer on similar (or maybe those same) mountain roads. I no longer have the car but those memories I will never forget. This video took me back there.

[@ironhead9507]

I'm 52 now and if there were one car I wish I would have kept it was my 66 coronet 500 , not a hemi but I still loved it. It was originally a 318 poly swapped to 440 auto

[@seanseanseanseansean]

Awesome series. I also enjoy letting other people drive my old car. I take it to work and let my co-workers take it for a spin.

[@benderc7778]

Ide like to say that this is inspiring, but the question is, are the muscle cars gonna go for $120,000 when the boomers die off?

[@serget2168]

Nice ride to say the least another KZbin channel about mopar is Nick's Garage and has a Kowalski Charger just like the movie

[@claiborneeastjr4129]

Such a desirable Coronet with a magnificent HEMI!

[@leapyear9460]

I’m holdin back the tears

[@johnmayo5358]

This is why I drive. Consider driving a manual. Automatics are pathetic.

[@geoffreydemaesschalck6065]

Fantastic car, and nice to see them both drive it.

[@pinkvitz7208]

This is, essentially an old charger that can easily be restored(budget wise). There are alot of great older mopars that sit under the shadow of the charger and challenger.

[@SolamenteVees]

I think my favorite thing about this car is the fact that it's not "perfect" ie the owner isn't afraid to drive it.

[@JoseTorres-rq2sr]

Más nunca fabricarán vehículos de esa calidad y que duren tantos años

[@adammiller6606]

Very cool guys, you have the bug. Enjoy the ride!!! 😁👍

[@stefanbartz9195]

Und ich bin total geil auf das Auto...Deswegen möchte ich ihn fahren... Mfg Stefan Bartz

[@TheIBonflugal]

Putting a 1967 Coronet RT with a 440 back on the road for 2023. My dad used to own a 34 Ford sedan that he took us to all the cars shows in, so though I grew up in the 80's, all these kind of cars instantly bring me right back to that era of being 4-5 at car shows. My dad is helping me put the 67 together, and I dont think I will ever part with this car. Show me a 2023 that someone is going to want to restore in 50 years... you probably cant. (Probably!! Not saying it is impossible, not starting that!) But I bet that these cars will still be collected by some people, and maybe even restored and driven, if the laws will allow them on the roads in another 50 years... but still, ageless, classic cars that should always be appreciated. Wow, you read all that babble and made it hear? Thanks!! Thanks for posting the video and sharing why you drive!!!!

[@TheIBonflugal]

*here, not hear.... 🤣

[@martinshow5146]

awesome.

[@kevinl6231]

Pass the passion on to our youth.

[@Ikeebeabuchi]

What a pretty car. Love the color combo and wheel covers

[@barttimmerman6077]

The love of cars knows no age...

[@manicmechanic448]

I'm about the same age as Megan, and my daily driver is a 75 Chevy Laguna S3.

[@randychase973]

RandyChase, ilove love ❤️ you.

[@danamuise4117]

when all the old guys are too old to drive or gone, and gas is $10 a gallon what's going to happen to all these muscle cars?

[@antonioederlopezlopez7341]

Electric engines

[@jakevalent6180]

my name is herp derpala, and this is why i drive

[@madmarshal7708]

Получилось классное душевное видео

[@jeffjankowiak6837]

I'm so glad she gets it

[@AtZero138]

Cheers from Southern California.. 1968 Dodge Dart Daily driver everyday and Everywhere.. Rain or Shine.. named Cecile.. not even close to being fully restored, but still on the road survivor.. and a twin to my wife's first car, and still owns ..

[@bobsilver3983]

My son is only 23 and has a very nice 68 Olds Cutlass. I had lots of cars and he got interested in them and bought his Cutlass when he was just 19 years old.

[@StuartOliver83]

Lovely story great car and nice people 😳🇬🇧

[@StuartOliver83]

👍🏻🇬🇧

[@hellatightdude]

This reminds me of Petrolicious. And that’s a massive compliment. Awesome video.

[@davidnichols1363]

My first car was a 66 Sport Fury .I got it in 1977 .It had a383 and thar car would run ..

[@nhra7110]

Very, very cool!

[@BIGBADWOOD]

Wonderful video .. 5 stars ... Thanks so much for making it ... MOPOWER !