1965 Dodge Phoenix - today's tempter

By: Spencer Leech, Unique Cars magazine

Date: 24.12.2016

Looks like a lot of Americana for the money.

Big Dodge Phoenix was the flagship car for Chrysler Australia.

Nowadays it’s getting harder and harder to get your hands on big American muscle on the cheap, so punters are reaching out to the more family-oriented of the great V8 Yank tanks.

Here we have a 1965 Dodge Phoenix, which is essentially a Dodge Dart that Chrysler Australia imported down under in the 60s. Chrysler wanted a new flagship model to be placed above the Valiant and the locally-built Royal, that was focussed more on luxury, rather than performance.

The Phoenix was initially given a 318 cubic-inch V8 with a two-barrel carburettor, and was very similar in appearance to its foreign sibling. After a year of production, it was heavily restyled, dropping its fins and gaining a bespoke grille. It was also shorter, narrower and lighter.

By 1965, the A-Series Phoenix was launched and was no longer based on the American Dodge, and instead shared underpinnings with the Plymouth Fury.  From that point on, updates to the Phoenix were mostly cosmetic, though a 383 cubic-inch engine option became available.

The car we see here is an A-series, with the big 383 V8 motor which the seller says was fully rebuilt five years ago. The seller also claims that it has been used as a daily driver and has been regularly serviced since they bought it. The asking price is $13,000 and it comes with a roadworthy certificate.

1959-1970 Dodge Phoenix buyers guide - from our archives

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