1956 Dodge Regent with local history since new
Don Pearce of Leamington, Ontario, owns a beautiful 1956 Dodge Regent 2-door hardtop built at the Chrysler plant in Windsor. It was bought new by Shirley Ternan who, along with her sister Phyllis, was a teacher at the Leamington District High School.
Shirley probably purchased the car from Jack Forster’s Dodge-DeSoto dealership at the southeast corner of Nelson and Wellington. It was yellow and white when new and TUJMM IBT UIF PSJHJOBM DVCJD JODI mBUIFBE
six cylinder engine with 3-speed columnshift transmission. The odometer reads just over 73,000 miles and a delete plate occupies the centre of the dash where a radio would go. Murray Reid of Wheatley acquired the car many years ago and proceeded with a restoration. Don bought the car from Murray.
In 1956, all Canadian Dodges were built on the Plymouth body with a wheelbase of 115 inches (American Dodges had 120”). A total of 50,872 Canadian Dodges were built at the
Windsor factory during the 1956 model year. Three series were available: the modestlypriced Crusader, the medium-priced Regent, and the top-of-the-line Mayfair. The Regent was the most popular series with 28,039 built. They came with a V8 or a Six and most buyers chose the Six. For those who ordered the PowerFlite automatic transmission, the shift lever mounted in the dash in 1955 was SFQMBDFE XJUI QVTICVUUPOT GPS 5IF mBUhead Six remained in production until the fall of 1959, when it was replaced with the new overhead-valve 225 cubic inch Slant Six in the 1960 Valiant.
The Dodge nameplate goes back to November 1914, when the Dodge brothers, John and Horace, began building cars bearing their name. Both brothers died in 1920 and their widows sold the company to a New York banking group in 1925 for $146 million. The company was then purchased by Walter Chrysler in 1928.
Don Pearce has the 1972 Ontario plate that was on the car when Shirley stopped driving it. He has also rounded up an original 1956 Ontario plate and displays both of these at car shows. The picture you see here was taken on June 16 at the Second Annual Sun Parlor Home Classic Car Show in Leamington. Despite the threat of rain, forty-two cars attended, and the residents of the Home were thrilled to see so many vintage cars that revived fond memories from years ago.
I’m always looking for more stories. Email billtsherk@sympatico.ca or write Bill Sherk, 25 John St., P.O. Box 255, Leamington, Ont. N8H 3W2. Everyone whose story is published in my column will receive a free autographed copy of my book: “Old car detective favourite stories, 1925 to 1965.