Summary

One of just 701 Dodge Royal 500 Pace Car convertibles built. 200hp, 241cid 4 barrel Red Ram V8 magnificent AACA Grand National winning restoration.

Details

The Royal convertible picked to pace the Memorial Day classic race was finished in Pace Car Yellow and Jewel Black and was equipped with a Continental kit and Kelsey-Hayes chrome wire wheels. A Carter AFB 4 barrel carburetor on an Offenhauser intake manifold, a factory-cataloged dealer installed option, raised the standard 150hp 241cid 2 barrel Red Ram HEMI V8's output to an estimated 200hp, more than sufficient to pace the Memorial Day classic race. To capitalize on the huge publicity given by pacing the 500, one of the world's most watched sporting events, Dodge built 701 replicas of the eye-catching yellow and black pace car for customers. The Royal 500 Pace Car Edition models all had the correct appearance and the dealer-installed high-performance 4 barrel intake that rendered them virtually indistinguishable from the actual pace car on which they were based. This genuine 1954 Dodge Royal 500 Pace Car was found in California by its previous owner and given a full photo-documented restoration that included a rebuilt engine. Powerflite automatic transmission, steering and brakes. All of the work was done to a very high standard and it is in gorgeous condition from top to bottom, inside and out, even including its irreplaceable original trunk mat without a cutout for the spare wheel and tire. The work put into this very rare car brought it an AACA Grand National First Prize in 2014 and it still presents as a show car. It is a show-quality example of a milestone in Mopar and Dodge performance history.