When we think of the cars most little old ladies drive, we picture massive luxury sedans whose entire purpose was to be smooth, comfortable, and slow. When a family friend contacted reader Wayne M. about an elderly woman who was looking to let go of her old 1957 Dodge, he assumed it would be a base model car, since she was only asking $500. He decided for a price like that he might as well go take a look and what he found was a bit of a surprise. We will let Wayne tell you the full story in his own words below.

I got a call from my Dad’s best friend wanting to know if I would be interested in a ’57 Dodge with 15K on it for $500. He had roomed with the lady while he was going to college and had often asked Emma (the owner) to sell him the car. She would always reply the same, “David would never forgive me if I sold his car.” Her significant other had bought the car new in ’57 and traded in their ’50 Chrysler Windsor sedan for it. He died a year after he bought the car and it sat in the garage for 20 years, till I got the call. Dad’s friend had lost interest in the car years ago, but he volunteered to take me to see it. I assumed it was going to be a dark green “base” 3 door sedan, after all little old ladies didn’t drive flashy cars. We pulled up in front of a well-kept post war bungalow and Emma met us with the keys to the garage. After a bit of a struggle, we got it open and there under layers of dust, sat the Dodge with those twin antennas giving me the first clue this was not the car I had imagined.

This is what every collector dreams about! It was a 2 door hardtop with the D-500 Hemi, dual mirrors, dual antennas and those infamous “sinner” caps. Then reality set in… I must have heard wrong about the price, so I turned to Emma and asked “how much did you want for the car?” She turned to me shaking her finger and with a very stern look said, “young man, I want $500 for it, not a penny more, not a penny less!” And the rest is history! The Royal has been a part of my life for 35 years! It has been driven to 4 national meets, but still only has 37k on it!

Even if a ’57 Dodge isn’t your dream car, you have to admit this is the kind of find we all dream of. Not only did he find a great Hemi-powered car, but he got an amazing deal on it. One might feel as though he ripped the owner off, but she knew what she wanted for it. To us, it sounds like her main concern was that it went to go to a good home, which it sounds like it did! This tale is also an important lesson that one should never make assumptions about what is parked in someone’s garage. You never know what that little old lady may have stashed away! Thanks Wayne for sharing!