'69 Polara... or was it a Fury III... one of those Mopars was FAST! Does anyone remember a patrol group in SoCal around the early 60's that drove souped up Chevy Biscanes? I remember a friend saying something about them... Sam.
Well, I know they are way later (Hamb Unfriendly) but how about the Camaro Pursuit Cars Chevy sold the year after they quit making them (you could probably order them all along)? If I remember the press they were certified to do at least 160 out of the box. You had to go to driving school just to be assigned one, supposedly.
Does your wife plan on having a garage sale any time soon while you are out of town? I can be in KC in just about 3.5 hours. I'll bring $50 cash that ought to cover it at garage sale prices! Your wife will be glad to get that junk out of her way. I suppose you have intakes, carbs and linkages? How about the saddle bag style air cleaners?
In the 40s and 50s the Revenuers used to get their cars hopped up at the same shops that the moonshine runners used, or so the legend goes.
I heard the same about the driving school, it was on the news too when they broke the story that the CHP would be using them. Let the whole world know they would be white with a super low profile light bar. Supposedly they were only going after big rigs but they were performing regular duty. You can still buy them used, basically a strippo Z/28.
I think you have to give this one to the chrysler corp. As mentioned earlier, the 69 dodge police package held the record until the mid 90's until it was broken by the chevy caprice, and I'm sure the caprice was not on polyglass tires as the polara was. Also, the 78 plymouth fury police package car was the fastest american made production car that year, and it even beat a good majority of the imports. It was the last year for the big 440.
The difference being that the Shine Runners could afford the parts. The shine runners cars were at one end having work done while the revenuers car sat waiting for money for parts.....at least, that's the way I heard it.
Mine was no rocket off the line, push you back in the bench and clip along when the mass was movin though !!!! Sadly sold it to buy my 55 Dodge truck project...I miss it. Was my "homage" to Jake and Elwood before the drove through the Pier 1 imports ! Derek
what about the newer dodge chargers (kansas) state-trooper cars.. my buddies dad drives one and he said it goes from 0-60 in about 4 or 5 seconds... thats some major crimial-busting power.. i dont know what top-end is, but knowing what the HEMI is capable of... i never would run...
my father bought a used highway patrol car in buffalo, wyo., back in 63. it had dual quads, dual 2 inch exhaust, sat low with mercury bars, solid lifters with external oilers, certified speedo, radio delete. vinal seats in back, windows didnt roll down and had no arm rests or door openers. had a bar across the floor for hand cuffs in back. still had the motorola speaker bolted to the floor. had 2 big red glass lense lites in the back window, next to each other that said stop. had 2 red lites between the bumper guards. he gave it to me for graduation in 64. i drove it to school in casper, wyo for a year. got my draft notice and left it at a friends house in casper and it got vandalized, so was hauled away. it would go 60 in low gear. also had a locker rearend. had the tin tag on the glove box lid. got a slide picture of me doing a dual wheel smokey burnout on the new interstate and another shot of it vandelized, my dad took. lyn finlayson, alliance, nebr...
when i got back from viet-nam in 69, i bought a special dealer optioned 69 camaro rs ss. the dealer bought 5 of these. mine had the 350hp, 350 with 11-1 pistons, holley, air cleaner ducted to the firewall, chambered exhaust, front and rear spoilers and bumper guards, hide away headlites with washers, cowl hood, front and rear power disc brakes, 390 posi 10 bolt rearend, fold down rear seat, vinal top, arm rest 8-track, dash mounted am-fm, guage package on council, 140 mph speedo, tach and clock in dash, rear window blower defoger, black out rear panel above bumper, back up lites below bumper, power steering, no a/c. veterans cost was $3,375. the reason for this info about this camaro was because i had a highway patrolman in hannibal that was always pulling me over for something. he had a big blue merc patrol car. he told me they ordered the cars themselves and just ordered a new red merc with the scj 428, that i couldnt out run. cant remember his name right off, but i definately remember his car... lyn finlayson, alliance, nebr.
another cop car story. i live in alliance, nebr now. one day, i turned down this alley and noticed this old black 63 buick 4 door, settin in this garage, jacked up with the hood open. on the ground was this big dual snorkel air cleaner with 2 carb mounting holes in it. these two kids were trying to work on it. they just got it from their grandfather, who was the chief of police at one time. apparently, the grandfather ordered a police package for this car. never saw a buick police car before. anyway, it had a 401 with dual quads, big single air cleaner, no power steering or brakes, radio delete, front and rear heat. had a spot lite, was all black with blue cloth seats with plastic still on the rear seat. it had a column shift 3 speed stick. the clutch was burnt out. the kids were out, killin the car and burn out the clutch. i eventually talked the kids out of that car and fixed it back up and drove it for a couple years before selling it to my fat little brother in omaha. he was comming home from the drag strip one nite and fell asleep and hit a culvert and totaled the car. i got it back from him and stripped it of all the usable parts. it was a totally rust free car and only had 16,000 miles on it when i got it. at least, i do still have pictures of it when i had it displayed at one car show. lyn finlayson, alliance, nebr.
another cop car short story. my fat little brother in central city, nebr, is a cop car nut. he found a fury 4 door x cop car that was from washington state at one time. he contacted somebody up there and donated it to them. they fixed it up and use it for display. he also had a number of old mopar cop cars from nebraska. one of his buddies in grand island, has a 67-8 big chevy old cop car he drag races that came with a big block. when i was on leave before going to viet-nam, in wyoming, i remember sitting in the back seat of a 68 chevy impala that had the 427 in it. my fat little brother has also spotted another x nebraska patrol car in a farm yard. its a 58 chevy with a tri-power 348 and 3 speed and overdrive, 2 door del-ray. cant talk the guy out of it and its just rustin away where its sittin... lyn finlayson, alliance, nebr.
more memories of old cop cars... when i was in high school in sheridan, wyo., 60-64, this kid that washed cars at the ford garage, drove a 57 ford 300 2dr sedan. it had a factory dual quad manifold with buick carbs, wild looking ram horn exhaust manifolds, stick and overdrive. he had cut-outs. nobody had headers back then and recap tires were the best drag tires. we rode with him over to greybull, to the airport there, on the other side of the mountains, west of sheridan. back then, you also drove your race car to and from the races. anyway, he told us kids it was an x highway patrol car from missouri... the factories must have started building special parts about the mid 50s. i remember some of the older guys talking about a 56 chevy that had a 283 in it and most cars didnt get a 283 until 57 and it was an option then. the silver v and the gold v told you what engine it had, kind of like the eldo caddys of the 90s with the northstar engines. the painted grill was 300 hp and the chrome one was less hp. lyn finlayson, alliance, nebr.
I suspect the first special-build cop car was the '55 Century 2-door sedan CHP car - they didn't make a Century 2-door post for public purchase. At least that's what the Cars & Parts magazine article I remember from quite a few years back said. I had a chance when I was in college to pick up a '67 or '68 Olds 88 ex-CHP car, but I passed on it because they'd stripped all the cop HD stuff out of it and it sat in a field here for a number of years rotting. With the repaint it just looked like a regular Olds 4-door. I like the DeSoto ambulance, does that count as the last Airflow?
In 1978 I was a very reluctant passenger in the back of a mid '70s Portsmouth, Virginia police car, a Caprice if I remember correctly. (Beware! Gardening can get you in trouble!) It had a 140 mph speedo. I asked the cop what motor the car had and he didn't know, but said they'd had it above the 140 mark a number of times. They only hit about 90 taking me downtown.
Not the first "fast cop car" by any means, but in '66 and '67 the Ontario Provincial Police had a few marked and un-marked '66 and '67 Chevy Biscayne 4-door sedans with 385 ho/427's, that they used for highway work. The 427-powered 'pursuit' cars all had front disk brakes too, which then required the use of 'Corvette-style' 15-inch rally wheels to clear the calipers and resulted in Chevy coming out with a special plain-jane "flat" center center cap with a simple 'bow-tie' stamped in the center of it for the 'cop car' rally wheels. Mart3406 =================================================
I had a ex- OSP state police car bought it when I was 16 in 1972, is was a 1966 biscayne 2dr,dark blue with rubber floor mats and a 396 turbo 400,a friend had the same car with a 4speed they looked like twins.and yeah it was damn fast
I've got one of those. Chrysler Nationals 2010. For the record it was the 69 Dodge Polara 375bhp 440 Magnum clock out on the track at 147mph on six ply bias ply tires.The car was built according to CHP specs. The first actual police package car was the 1956 Dodge the following year Plymouth came out with its version. To dispel some myths the 1956 Dodge D-500 was available with a 315ci hemi and dual Carter 4bbl carbs. From 1956-59 dual 4bbl carbs were available. In 1960 the D-500 383ci cross Ram Induction was available at 330bhp. Dual carb production version of police cars faded away after the 1960 year. Prior to 1956 most police agencies bought standard production cars and beefed them up some.
A little trivia. The Mass Turnpike Chrysler wagons, about 63/63, were soeced to run a minimum of 140, from the factory. In Maine, and I think New Hampshire, The Staties were given an allowance to buy their cars. Lots of wierd stuff up there, 421 Catalina's were common. Art
I purchased a 1965 Dodge Coronet 440 that was a former police car..still had the spotlight and antenna on it...was ouitfitted with a factory 426 "wedge" and a factory 4-spped w/hurst shifter that looked a mile long. That baby would flat get it.
how about the mid 60's plymouth or dodge 4 dr sedan with a 426 hemi at garlits museum. info says it was ordered special for a police department.
I worked with an old-timer that used to "fix" the 421 Poncho cop cars... apparently the WIS state troopers and county boys didn't like the out of the hole acceleration so a gentleman was sent from the GM hydromatic dept. to the dealerships to "improve" them... basically the tech was taught how to drill the valve bodies and adjust the bands. ("shift kit" anyone?) The man from GM warned them never to do this to customers cars though as it would void any warranties. According to Tom (the old-timer) after the tweak they would smoke the tires all the way through first gear and keep them lit quite a ways into second.
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