Dodge built America's first postwar Big Three roadster, then killed the body style within a year once buyers wanted a top that stayed up.
Lead trim: Wayfarer 230 cu in L-head six (1951–1952)
Dodge Wayfarer1949–1952
- 0spots by members
- Unclaimednobody has spotted one yet
- 0sets it belongs to
Nobody in Burbles has spotted a Dodge Wayfarer 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.
FactDodge built America's first postwar Big Three roadster, then killed the body style within a year once buyers wanted a top that stayed up.
The Dodge Wayfarer was produced by Dodge from February 1949 until 1952 and discontinued without a replacement in the United States (the Kingsway remained available in export markets); it was the first true roadster built by the Big Three since the 1930s, though the roadster concept was soon altered to the plusher Sportabout as postwar buyers demanded more comfort. 9,325 roadsters and Sportabouts were built out of a total of 217,623 Wayfarers of all body styles. The Wayfarer (D-29 series in 1949, D-33 in 1950, D-41 in 1951) shared the boxy corporate design of the new 1949 Chrysler products aside from its shorter 115 in wheelbase, in three body styles (two-door sedan, two-door business coupe and two-door roadster, entering production in May 1949), with removable plastic side windows on the roadster; it lacked features such as a crankshaft dampener and Micronic oil filter and had vacuum-powered wipers. A one-barrel, L-head inline-six of 230 cu in (3.8 L) with 103 hp was the only engine for the whole production run. 1949 production totalled 63,816 (25% of Dodge's total; 49,054 sedans, 9,342 coupes and 5,420 roadsters); for 1950 it was facelifted (a sleeker grille, new bumpers and rear fenders with the taillights mounted directly on them) and the roadster renamed the Sportabout mid-year (75,403 built despite a disastrous 104-day strike); 1951 received a new hood, fenders and two-piece slotted grille, larger windshield and "Oriflow" shock absorbers (Tom McCahill for Mechanix Illustrated reached 87 mph and 0–60 in 17.4 seconds), with the Sportabout last available with removable side windows. For 1953 the "Meadowbrook Special" replaced the Wayfarer. Dimensions: 195 in long (1949–50), 73 in wide, about 63.5 in high.
Collectors Spotted in the Dodge Wayfarer Lineage
No member has published a public street spot of the Dodge Wayfarer yet — the First · Worldwide stamp is wide open.
Trims & Figures
2 published trims in the catalogue. A blank is a figure not recorded, not zero.
| Trim | Years | Engine | Power | Torque | 0–60 | Drive | Gearbox | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wayfarer 230 cu in L-head six (103 hp, 1949–1950) | 1949–1950 | 3.8 L Inline-6 | 103 hp | — | — | — | — | — |
| Wayfarer 230 cu in L-head six (1951–1952) | 1951–1952 | 3.8 L Inline-6 | 103 hp | — | 17.4 s | — | — | — |
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
Rivals
Same body, same money, other badges — tap any card to flip.
In 1974 Alfa built a one-off on this Spider: a Porsche-style solid rear window and lift-out roof panels, fewer than 2,000 made, the only Spider ever with a part-solid roof.
Over 100,000 people voted to name this car "Duetto" — but a chocolate-snack maker had already trademarked the word, and a Milan court ruling forced Alfa to sell it as the Spider 1600 instead.
After nearly 25 years of manual-only Spiders, the final Series 4 cars quietly added something Alfa purists never expected: an optional automatic transmission.
The mid-80s Spider's Quadrifoglio Verde trim went all-in on a single look: blood-red carpets and grey leather with red stitching, and it only ever came in three exterior colors.
This Spider was built not by Alfa but by Pininfarina itself, on a platform shared with General Motors.
The 916 Spider's strongest naturally aspirated engine, the 192 PS 3.0 12V Busso V6, was never offered in its GTV coupe twin.
The Frogeye had no boot lid at all — owners reached the spare wheel by tilting the seats forward into the dark cavity behind, a ritual they likened to potholing.
The Fairlady 2000's SR311 update came with a five-speed manual gearbox in 1967 — a genuinely unusual spec for any production car of that era.