Check out this vintage pic. Kinda rare cop car caught

I follow the facebook page for (Historic) North Canaan CT. We lived there when I was a kid, and I loved the place.

The group always posts vintage pics of the town and they posted this one today taken in 1985. BAM! Sitting right there, looking fresh out of auction is a '79 Newport ex-New York State Police car! In terms of an overall package, the R body squads were considered the best for their time before the switch to the M-body squads. I would love to own one.




Oh, and there's a Porsche in the pic too........

I bought an undercover R-body Plymouth Gran Fury from the NY State Police in 1984. It was really a very nice car and drove well. I should have held onto it.

There was a clause in the auction rules that said auctioned cars that were the 'distinctive' (their word!) blue and gold of the NYSP had to be repainted within 2 weeks of being registered.

There was a clause in the auction rules that said auctioned cars that were the 'distinctive' (their word!) blue and gold of the NYSP had to be repainted within 2 weeks of being registered.

Really? Did not know that. In '84 (when I was in HS) I had a '77 Gran Fury that was an ex NYSP car and it was still blue and yellow. I got pulled over A LOT because of the color and finally a cop told me paint it or be arrested for impersonating an officer. I brush and rollered mine with Rustoleum satin black from the blue up. Only got stopped once after that.

I briefly owned a 'regular' '79 Newport. To me the car seemed more balanced and 'felt' lighter than a B-body.

Wow - when's the last time anybody ever saw a Pinto?

In person, a looong time.
On TV every Thursday night on CBS, on their new show "Clarice" she drives a pinto.

Those R body cop cars were excellent driving and handling cars. My father had one of those retired cop cars for several years. He had some good tires on it. That car would take corners with no fuss or drama. It just went where it was pointed! I was amazed at how well it handled. Later he had a 1986 Grand Fury cop car. It did not drive or handle as well as the 1981 model.

Dad's car was a 1981 if I recall correctly. It had a tired 318 in it, so it had very little power. We both thought the car needed a 440, but never swapped one into it. Dad's car had some very tough seat covers with rubber floor mats. It was very, very utilitarian. Mom did not like the car and hated to drive it or ride in it. That's the primary reason Dad let the car go.

In regards to the Pinto, I had one that was that same color, but it was a wagon. At the time I was a very poor college student who needed an ultra cheap car. My $100 Pinto did NOT improve my dating life!

Scroll through these pics to see an "ex federal agent car"

https://www.instagram.com/p/CL4f04elf06/

I survived over 250,000 miles in 4 Pintos - company cars when I was doing appraisal & collision-and-fire forensics work in the '70s.
One of 'em "won" a head-on with a gal in a Beetle who cranked a sudden left in front of me (we were both OK, surprisingly...& gratefully).
Not horrible cars IMO for the time, but nothing to write home about.

Cop cars ? Never drove one like in the OP, but I was impressed by the CHP Polaras & LAPD '69 Belvederes.

Great pic John. I'd love to have an A38 R body too. Might be hard to believe, but Police Officers voted R body with 360-4 barrel their favorite Mopar Police car (that was before Charger came out though). Stated just the right size, good handling, enough power with E58.

Florida Highway Patrol used to have a clause regarding painting the car within a certain amount of time as well. I'm not sure if they have it still or do one of those terrible rattle can jobs over the tan portion. I've seen some with that, and don't know if it was FHP or the new owner. FHP cars are very distinctive color combo as well, and many are slick tops.

Plenty of firefighters

JUST THINK on how many DOZENS OF DONUTS that poor cruiser has survived

And that larryLOVEit pic was taken fraudulently.....

It was originally parked in front of a Krispy Cream store ...

They made a great police car. My university had one as part of our Advanced Driver Education program for police, fire and EMS. We actually used it to practice backing maneuvers, as it was quite a bit larger than the Diplomats that made up the rest of the fleet.

I enlarged the pic on my PC, it might be a Gran Fury. The badge on the fender isn't straight/boxy like a Newport badge, it looks swept like a GF badge. If it is a GF, that would make it an '80 then wouldn't it?

I was thinking the GF had their own unique grill, but only the St Regis was different.

Regardless, still a neat pic.

It is a Newport,says right in the caption

I bought a 79 St Regis for my wife to drive (probably in the mid 80s), she hated it. I had to buy something else for her to drive. Good thing both vehicles were cheap. I probably drove the St Regis for a year or so, until someone wanted it more then I did. I think the one I had was a 360, but I know it had a 2bbl carb, or maybe a 318 car, so many cars back then......
I liked the 76 Coronet I had either before or after the St Regis much better. The 78 Monoco from about the same time period was a pile of crap, by far one of the worst Mopars I ever had. Gene

Errrr.....I was referring to the first pic I posted, not this one. I'm tired, sorry for the confusion.

I really like this 1980 St Regis posted on facebook. Of course, I'm partial to the Michigan colors.

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