Rare 1967 Dodge Monaco 500 Ragtop Is a Freebie Barn Find, Seized V8 Hasn't Run in 40 Years

Sources vehiculate a 500-unit batch put together for the model year, but no official sources back that statement. That makes them all the more valuable barn finds nowadays, therefore, especially when they come for free. You read that right: someone got a 1967 Dodge Monaco 500 convertible for nothing. Mind you, it’s a survivor – of sorts – but not the kind that will attract a crowd and stop traffic at car shows.

No, this example is a real-deal dusty, crusty, crispy, time-scarred Canadian car with a cool story. To top it off, it’s got around 22,000 miles (35,400 km of thereabout) on the clock, and it’s a good chance that the mileage is also original.

Dean Kallstrom from Fintry, British Columbia, came across this rough example, and his video – see it below (slide the cursor to 22:45 to skip the non-Dodge Monaco 500 intro) – tells the story in full. The nice gentleman acquired the car some 15 years ago from a salvage yard, where it sat for a considerable time waiting for the crusher.

The elephant in the room is the car’s overall condition; yes, the rag top is torn and slashed after all this time, but the original glass rear window is still intact (sitting comfortably behind the rear seat). How, then, did this full-size Dodge make it through the not so friendly Canadian weather for all these decades?

Let’s go from day one: this Monaco 500 was bought brand new in 1967 by a Canadian lady who also happened to be the proud aunt of a set of nephews with a knack for motor adventures. One Saturday evening, the boys convinced the good auntie to hand them the keys to the Mopar, and went for a joyride. Unfortunately – for the Dodge – they drove the oil out of it.

Not a metaphor, I’m afraid – at least, that’s the official version, passed on from one owner to the next. The hot-headed, lead-footed Canadians drove the engine dry, until the powerplant refused to work any longer, and seized. For good, apparently, because it’s in the same condition today, some half a century later.

For whatever cause, the Monaco 500 convertible never got repaired, and sat in the woman’s yard for about a decade. It was then brought to the salvage yard, and slowly started to integrate into the surroundings. Willows grew around and, eventually, over it, completely covering it. This is what might have saved the beautiful convertible from biodegrading into the ground – the shelter provided by the trees.

The man telling the story saved it on the strict condition that he would restore it – something he never got to do, so he now passes the car to another Mopar enthusiast to do it justice. The 318 V8 upfront was the standard equipment for the Canadian-only convertible. A two-barrel carburetor brought the Poly to life and spurred the 230-strong stud.

Yes, there still was a polyspherical 318-cubic inch (5.2-liter) Chrysler engine being produced in 1967 (but only by the Canadian branch of ChryCo). The motor was cancelled after that year (south of the border, it was terminated in 1966), and replaced with the wedge 318 wight-cylinder, the all-too-famous Mopar small-block.

The best part about this ‘barn find’ (any other proposals on how to properly address this beaten Monaco 500 drop-top are welcome) is its price, or lack of thereof. The owner gave it away for free, under the promise that the Dodge will live on as one car and not be dismantled for parts of sold as scrap iron. It this isn’t the most Canadian way of being nice to one another, I don’t know what is.

Standard motor, but with an automatic transmission instead of the regular three-speed manual, and the TorqueFlite option mandated a 2.94:1 rear gearing ratio. 230 hp and 340 lb-ft (233 PS, 461 Nm) wasn’t much for a big car (122-inch wheel base, 219.6 overall / 3,098 mm by 5,578 mm) , but it was enough to push the car with relative ease.

The optional V8s for the Monaco 500 (the Slant Six was not allowed under its hood by Mother Mopar) were the Dodge Hi-Performance V8 383 (6.3-liter, with a two-barrel and 270-hp, 390-lb-ft regular gasoline output / 274 PS, 529 Nm, or a four-throat setup, with 324-hp and 425-lb-ft / 329 PS, 576 Nm, on premium juice), and the big-block 440.

The 7.2-liter behemoth was not cutting any performance corners in Canada: a single quad-barrel carb offered the 375 hp and 480 lb-ft (380 PS, 651 Nm) thanks to a dual exhaust and high-lift cam. In the US, the big V8 was spliced in two versions: a 350-horse 4-v choice (single exhaust), and the familiar Magnum V8 with its aforementioned specs.

Despite its rugged appearance, the convertible Monaco 500 is in surprisingly good condition, given its past and elements exposure, with only minor dents and scratches on the body. The YouTuber that took it home estimates that a paint job is too much hassle, since the car value won’t be worth the effort, at $30,000 (I would assume Canadian dollars). However, he plans to go through the car and see what he can do to and with it, either wrench it back to life or give it away to a more energetic Mopar fan.