Family cars rarely survived more than a few years with the same family because cars were miled-out at 100,000 miles in the old days.
They were too expensive to work on because a new car cost a few thousand bucks so throwing any money at a worn-out family sedan made no sense.
This 1959 Dodge Custom Royal four-door sedan ran contrary to that story.
Jerry Sutherland
Guy Scott grew up in this car after his father bought it as a gently-used second car for his mom in 1961. His dad bought the car in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada then the car went to Yellowknife, NWT, Canada.
He remembers camping out with his sister on the back floor of the car during road trips with his three other siblings and his mom and dad. That’s how baby boomers rolled in the 60s because stuff like that would never pass in today’s kiddie-restrained, bubble wrap world.
The big Dodge played a huge role in the Scott family daily routine because Guy’s mom drove them everywhere in the Custom Royal. Eventually Guy drove the Dodge in high school and then it met an untimely end when Guy’s sister crashed it in 1976.
The ’59 Dodge Custom Royal went into long-term storage in a barn until it was kicked outside for ten years. Guy’s father had a strong attachment to the car, so he began to assemble front end body parts to rescue the Dodge from its long hibernation.
Unfortunately, Guy’s dad ran out of time on the project, so Guy stepped in to continue his late father’s plan to bring the old Dodge back to life. That was about eight years ago, and Guy took it on as a serious project roughly five years ago.
Guy wanted to keep the costs down on the Custom Royal project, so he went minimal on the paint. The original finish was decent enough to use, so he had to address the parts of the car that he replaced with his dad’s donor parts.
There’s evidence of the paint shift on the Dodge, but it ranks as a good, solid driver finish thanks to Guy’s careful attention to detail.
The engine was another story.
Guy knew the original 361 V-8 in the Custom Royal was seized, so instead of an expensive rebuild with expensive (hard to find) parts Guy found a donor 413 big block from a 1964 Imperial.
The 413 wasn’t the ideal engine for the Dodge, so Guy went in search of another affordable Mopar big block. He found it in the form of a balanced and blueprinted, cammed-up 383 from a 1966 Dodge Coronet.
The 383 fell within Guy’s budget for the car because he said he “got it for a great price”. That’s where he’s at with the family legacy car in 2025—on time and within budget.
Guy also redid all the suspension parts—including the steering box, so the big Dodge is straight as an arrow down the road. It has an 8 ¾ rearend with 2: 76 gears, so it’s not working hard at highway speeds. Guy thought the 413 had more torque, so it got up to 70 faster but the 383 has far more life left.
The ’59 Dodge has served as a wedding car and it sees just enough miles to get exercise, but the most important thing about it is obvious.
Mom and dad’s old car is back on the road after nearly 50 years.
Jerry Sutherland
By: Jerry Sutherland
Jerry Sutherland is a veteran automotive writer with a primary focus on the collector car hobby. His work has been published in many outlets and publications, including the National Post, Calgary Herald, Edmonton Journal, Ottawa Citizen, Montreal Gazette, Saskatoon StarPhoenix, Regina Leader-Post, Vancouver Sun and The Truth About Cars. He is also a regular contributor to Auto Roundup Publications.
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