The '65 Monaco's cabin went full lounge: bucket seats front and rear, a contoured package tray, and rattan wicker trim on the doors — upscale touches nobody expected on a full-size Dodge.
Lead trim: Monaco 383 cu in B V8 (325 hp, 1965)
Dodge MonacoC-body (1965–1968) · 1965–1968
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Nobody in Burbles has spotted a Dodge Monaco yet. See one on the street, point the app at it, and the first card is yours — with your @handle permanently credited on this page.
FactThe '65 Monaco's cabin went full lounge: bucket seats front and rear, a contoured package tray, and rattan wicker trim on the doors — upscale touches nobody expected on a full-size Dodge.
The Dodge Monaco was introduced on September 25, 1964 for the 1965 model year as the flagship of the full-sized Dodge line, replacing the Custom 880, and was intended to compete with the Pontiac Grand Prix in what came to be known as the personal luxury market. From 1965 through 1977 three generations of the Monaco used the full-size Chrysler C platform. The new model was based on the Custom 880 two-door hardtop body, with special badging and a sportier interior with a full-length center console, and a 383 cu in (6.3 L), 325 hp V8 as standard equipment, with Torqueflite automatic or four-speed manual transmissions, both with console-mounted shifters; it was marketed as the "Limited Edition Dodge for the Man with Unlimited Taste". It had a distinctive rear end, front fender-mounted turn indicators, wheel covers with simulated knock-off centers and a slim full-length side molding with ribbed rocker-panel trim; inside were standard bucket seats front and rear, a rear package tray contoured with the tops of the individual rear seat-backs, unusual rattan wicker accents on the door and quarter panels and a unique three-spoke steering wheel. The two-door competed with the Chrysler 300 non-letter series, Oldsmobile Starfire, Buick Wildcat and Mercury S-55, while its front-end design was similar to the lower-priced Dodge Polara; after one model year the Monaco became the full-size luxury line for Dodge. For 1966 in the U.S. the Monaco replaced the Custom 880 series and the former Monaco became the Monaco 500, offered only as a two-door hardtop, while the basic Monaco came as a hardtop coupe, four-door (pillarless) hardtop sedan, conventional four-door (pillared) sedan and four-door station wagon. The 1967 full-size Dodges were restyled by chief designer Elwood Engel with generally flat body planes and sharp-edged accent lines, the hardtop coupes gaining semi-fastback rooflines with reverse-slanted trailing edges on the rear quarter windows; for 1968 marker lights in the fenders and full-width tail lights were added. The generation was built at Hamtramck, Michigan (Dodge Main Factory) on a 121 in wheelbase, 213.3 in long, 80 in wide and 56.4 in high, with 383 cu in (6.3 L) B and 440 cu in (7.2 L) RB V8 engines listed, plus 225 cu in (3.7 L) I6 and 318 cu in (5.2 L) V8 for Canada.
Collectors Spotted in the Dodge Monaco Lineage
No member has published a public street spot of the Dodge Monaco yet — the First · Worldwide stamp is wide open.
Trims & Figures
One published trim in the catalogue. A blank is a figure not recorded, not zero.
| Trim | Years | Engine | Power | Torque | 0–60 | Drive | Gearbox | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monaco 383 cu in B V8 (325 hp, 1965) | 1965–1965 | 6.3 L V8 | 325 hp | — | — | RWD | — | — |
Owning one
We don’t estimate running costs for a car like this. What it costs depends on its condition, its specialist and how it is driven, and an average would mislead.
Owners’ builds
Nobody has claimed one yet.
Photographs
This Monaco exists because of fine print: buying AMC obligated Chrysler to use 260,000 PRV V6 engines, and the Renault-based Monaco helped burn through the quota.
This Monaco kept its name but lost its platform: for 1977 Chrysler simply moved the badge onto the smaller B-body, in name only.
Chrysler fully redesigned the 1974 Monaco, new unibody and all — and the press's verdict was that it looked like a three-year-old Buick or Oldsmobile.
For $50, a 1969 Monaco buyer could option a third headlamp: "Super-Lite," the first modern projector-style road lamp, built jointly by Chrysler and Sylvania.
The '65 Monaco's cabin went full lounge: bucket seats front and rear, a contoured package tray, and rattan wicker trim on the doors — upscale touches nobody expected on a full-size Dodge.
Rivals
Same body, same money, other badges — tap any card to flip.
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