1974 Dodge Monaco

The title of this post is a bit of a misnomer, since nobody actually remembers or lusts after the 1974 Dodge Monaco for its own merits. No, the '74 Monaco is most famous for its role as the Bluesmobile in the 1980 film The Blues Brothers, in which the humble Mopar full-size sedan became one of the most famous movie cars of all time and easily the most influential car in molding my questionable automotive tastes.

My love for huge American sedans, my passion for beaters, my odd predilection for 1970s Mopars, my belief that "Hold On, I'm Coming" by Sam & Dave is the best driving song of all time--these are all thanks to my early exposure to the Bluesmobile.

The '74 Monaco was one of the prettiest full-size American sedans of its time, strong and clean; in battered ex-police trim and with push bars on the front, the patina of age and abuse makes the Bluesmobile completely gorgeous. With the big V-8 burbling sweetly under the hood and soul music playing tinnily over the cheap speakers, well ... it's so close to my ideal of automotive perfection that I'm left speechless.

As Elwood Blues so famously described, the Bluesmobile is a Monaco equipped in full police interceptor trim, sporting "a cop motor, a 440 cubic inch plant. It's got cop tires, cop suspensions, cop shocks. It's the model made before catalytic converters so it'll run good on regular gas."

That 440 was one of the last remaining hero engines from the glorious muscle car era; in its time, in 440 Six-Pack trim, it was second in the Mopar hierarchy only to the famous 426 Hemi. The 440 made police Mopars fearsome machines indeed in the mid-1970s, and the Bluesmobile puts its 440 to fantastic effect. Forget the wail of an Italian V-12; I've never heard a prettier sound than the mournful howl of that Dodge 440 as the Bluesmobile flies along Lower Wacker Drive at 120 mph with seemingly every police car in the country in hot pursuit. That's a real 120, by the way--the footage was not sped up. Check it out below the post.

"Our lady of blessed acceleration, don't fail me now," Elwood once muttered--and she never did, until the job was done. Whether chased by the State Patrol, the Chicago police, fire-fighting boats, Illinois Nazis, the owner of Bob's Country Bunker, a homicidal ex-girlfriend, or fire-fighting boats; whether through downtown or through a shopping mall, the Bluesmobile was up to every abuse and every challenge.

Replica Bluesmobiles are all over the web now. There don't seem to be many original '74 Monacos left, but I'd love to have even a garden variety Monaco. In fact, I think I'd rather have a vanilla Monaco than a replica Bluesmobile. There's only one Bluesmobile, and it's on the screen; a "real" Bluesmobile would inevitably be a disappointment.

The first two images are of a Bluesmobile replica highlighted by StillRuns.com, which we previously honored in the 1976 Chevy Impala Car Lust as one of the finest and funniest Impala sites around. The Dodge police brochure is from Bluesmobile.net which has lots of great information and one of the most fantastically cheesy MIDI themes I've ever heard.

By the way, don't even think about mentioning the movie Blues Brothers 2000 in the comments. It never happened, do you hear me? It never happened.

--Chris H.

Comments

[Alan on October 03, 2010 at 12:00 PM]

I wish I had bought bigger cars when I was a kid. The $500 '85 Delta 88 Royale Brougham coupe I had in fall 1996 was disappointing for construction equipment destruction. I was at the wheel and my friend braced his legs against the open passenger door and we knocked over a nice long line of orange barrels. When we were done, my door looked like someone took a grinder and a sledgehammer to it. And no, it did NOT buff out. Had I done the same in a '75 Delta 88, I'm sure a little spit and a paper towel would have been sufficient.

[ash on March 20, 2011 at 01:40 PM]

anybody know anywhere where i can buy one
a 74 dodge monaco
doesnt have to be painted in bluesmobile strip but it would be better if it is as thats what im gonna do with it

[Dakota on September 08, 2011 at 11:36 AM]

This car here is a nice car because it did its job and its still got the power it had back then.