[FWDLK] 1956 Dodge D500-1 4 door

[David Homstad <Dhomstad@CHARTER.NET>]

Roger,

This has got to be the same car again. There can only be one like it. I have
attached below an old e-mail I wrote that discusses this car's history.

I placed an e-mail on the FL list as a response another e-mail concerning
this car in Cars And Parts. After that, Mike (current owner) e-mailed me. I
gave him the history of the car from my firsthand knowledge. It is an
original factory D500 with air, PS, PB, and PW. I think from the Las Vegas
area. I saw it in 1985 and was given a ride to demonstrate the difference
with a TorqueFlight and dual quads. The owner then, Clarence, and our mutual
friend Ray from LA, both said he put this equipment on the car. In fact, the
dual quad set up was offered to me in 1982 by Ray, before it was sold to
Clarence. (Stupid me, I didn't buy it because I didn't have a 56 Dodge yet!)
Clarence didn't do it to clone a D500-1, but because he liked the added
performance. I had even once provided a piece of stainless trim for it. A
few years later, Clarence sold it to somebody in British Columbia, who
restored it. That fellow sold it to somebody in Washington state. When he
put it up for sale on the internet about a year ago (2000), a flurry of
e-mails bounced around the ForwardLook list. I said to the FL list the same
things then, and the Washington fellow e-mailed me. I told him the same
story. If he failed to pass it on to Mike, he misrepresented the car,
because he was informed.

Mike also received Clarence's phone number and a photo of the car I took in
1985. Mike seemed to be grateful for the information in his e-mails and
never declared as fact that the car was factory built as a D500-1 with TF.
He was mostly just unsure, with conflicting info from me and the 2 previous
sellers. He has now been informed, with names and data, and no longer has an
excuse. I just reread the C & P article. It states that the car has the
D500-1 and TorqueFlight options, but never quite goes all way to declare
they were factory installed. However, anybody reading the article would
assume the implication that it is factory.

Clarence and Ray have both installed TorqueFlights in several D500s back in
the 60' and 70's. I met a fellow from Iowa at the WPC meet in Chicago in the
early 1990s who brought a 56 Dodge 4 door Royal with a 315 Poly, that he put
dual quads and a TorqueFlight in back in the late 60s.  My 56 CRL has a
correct 56 D500 engine with dual quads that I installed, and I plan to
convert to a TorqueFlight soon. I may call it a D500-1 on occasion, but
never that it was factory built. I have an 8 page document that details
everything I did in rebuilding the engine, which I have passed out to
several others who are building Dodge engines. Who ever owns mine 50 years
from now, will probably claim it to be factory built, with the truth lost
over the years and nobody left with direct knowledge to dispute it. My car
came off the assembly line in October 1955, 2 months before the D500 was
announced. Maybe I should call it "the First D500 ever built"? An
interesting note: the PowerFlight transmission support brackets welded to
the frame were positioned at the factory with tabs and slots in the frame.
The TorqueFlight's mounting pad is 3 inches farther back on the tranny than
the PowerFlight. Even in 1955, my car has extra slots in the frame to locate
the support brackets for the TorqueFlight! Chrysler was ready, but delays
kept the TF out of Dodges throughout the 1956 Model year. All available TFs
went to C300Bs and Imperials in late 56. I have heard rumors of a few that
went to the California Highway Patrol, but no documentation. The CHP bought
several hundred 1956 D500s. The rumors may have started with Clarence and
Ray and others converting several retired CHP D500s they owned in the 60s.

Mike has a beautiful car with rare equipment, but it ain't "factory built"!
Who in their right mind would believe that the factory would install a
racing only D500-1 in a 4 door with air and all power options? I am sure
that only selected experienced racecar drivers were allowed to get the few
available D500-1s from the factory. Only 100 manifolds were cast, so that is
the upper limit of -1 production. Not all manifolds were used by the
factory, because I have one that has never been on a car and was sold over
the parts counter to a fellow here in Minneapolis that ordered a -1 but
received a regular D500.

Dave Homstad
56 Dodge D500

-----Original Message-----
From: Forward Look Mopar Discussion List
[mailto:L-FORWARDLOOK@lists.psu.edu]On Behalf Of van Hoy
Sent: Wednesday, August 22, 2001 8:18 PM
To: L-FORWARDLOOK@LISTS.PSU.EDU
Subject: [FWDLK] 1956 Dodge

There's a white/yellow '56 Dodge four door sedan for sale in
California.  Ad in Cruise & News.  Hold onto your hats [and
your wallets], the asking price is $27,500.  It purports to
be a
"D500-1,"  but is most likely the clone we've discussed at
length on this list several times before.  The 2x4 intake
manifold and two carbs were added by a previous owner, as
was the TorqueFlite transmission.  The mag can be contacted
at cruzerdog@aol.com.

--Roger van Hoy, '55DeSoto, '42DeSoto, '66Plymouth,
'73Duster, '81 Imperial, Washougal, WA