Cop car pics from back in the day

Was at the Rec center in the town my Mom lives in, and they have a photo history of the town displayed down one of their hallways. These two pics caught my eye immediately. Based on the other pics, they switched to Fords in '79 or '80. All the municipality trucks were Fords and Chevys.

Would love to go back in time not only for the cars, but to see the town before urban sprawl hit. When my Mother moved there in '81, the town population was less than 40K, now its three times that.





Both pics are from '78 but no specific date was given.

Pretty neat to see a police wagon in the second pic.

Also find it interesting how none of the cars have push bars. I guess the heavy steel bumper was all they needed.

Enjoy!

Wonder where League City is?

That looks so much like a Gazebo in a town local to me.

Look under my avatar pic..........

Great pics John! Thanks for Sharing. Look at that last Fury in the back and unmarked white Monaco up front. Must be loaded with passengers lol. I'd love to have any one of those cars but especially the 77/78 Monaco in first pic!

41,000 is not all that small. Not huge but not tiny. Notice no "Call 911" all over cars

41,000 is not all that small

Compared to the current almost 130K it is!

Yes, I just meant even back then

I know I've posted this one before, but it's one of my all time favorite old cop car pics, and all time favorite cop cars!

Who Won?

^ I love that episode. Doesn't Reed win in his Phord?

That's how you know it's Hollywood...

One of the last

From friend the late Bill Overcash (RIP) miss you.

Dodge and Plymouth are legendary and the first cars to come up when referencing police cars of the muscle era. Did Ford and Chevy not offer cars with powerful 454s and 429s? Competition among police cars from rival brands sounds very fun.

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^^^^The ’69 Polara swept to 60 mph in only 6.3 seconds and blitzed through the quarter-mile in 14.4 seconds at 98 mph. And it sped around the big oval at the Chrysler Proving Grounds in Chelsea, Michigan, at an unheard of 147 mph. Even by 21st century standards, that’s astoundingly fast. STOCK! Stock tires of the day with no grip!

The police car version of the Belvedere sedan was a straightforward prowler that won sales with a combination of excellent power from it 330-horsepower, 383-cubic inch V8 and low prices. For urban police forces it was an almost-perfect combination. “If you ask ‘Why Plymouth?’” shouted Plymouth’s 1968 police car brochure, “take a 20 mph corner in one. At 60.”

The M Body Diplomat and Gran Fury will always be my very favorite. Built so tough and just the right size for good handling and they are so tough looking and sturdy. I love mine and plan to keep it forever. Now if I could just find me a good condition 77/78 Monaco with 440 but I'm afraid they are all but gone.

Hard to believe this - not calling you a BS-er though. Best 1/4 mile I ever ran in my 3:55 Auto 71 Hemi Charger was a 14:39 @ 99. The car was no slouch either - I was only beat by one car ever on the street. Also, I blitzed around the same big Chelsea test track (the BIG one) at about 140 in my Charger, and I was not alone! Bunch of us out there were tearing it up in 1981-82. Chrysler finally figgered it out - then no more Mopar Nats at the proving grounds!

I have two quick Mopar cop car stories to contribute here - both personally involved with:

1. One of my wife's cousins who is now retired, had a career as a policeman. In 1969 the town of South Lyon had some hot rodders that were raising hell & they had fast cars the cops could not catch with their 383 B-bodies. So they ordered a black '69 Roadrunner with a Hemi. Greg could not believe the story, so he drove out there one day to take a look (he was a cop for a different town) & sure enough, they opened the hood & there sat a 426 in all it's glory.

2. Junkyard in Phoenix, AZ. around 1986 had several old cop cars at the back row - all C-bodies - we were buddies with the owner of this particular yard. One of the cars had been used in the original movie Gone in 60-Seconds, & I could have bought it for a few hundred dollars. I passed on it but think now I shouldn't have! (of course)

I found this information on Google about the 69 Polara police cars. There were other sites that stated the speed of 149.6 mph.

1969 Dodge Polara 440
When old-timers get together and talk squad cars, this is the one that gets reverence. The full-size 1969 Dodge Polara police special was relatively lightweight thanks to its unibody construction and definitely overpowered due to the 375-horsepower, 440-cubic-inch V8 under its hood.

Channeling all that power through a three-speed TorqueFlite automatic transmission, in testing conducted by the Michigan State Police, the ’69 Polara swept to 60 mph in only 6.3 seconds and blitzed through the quarter-mile in 14.4 seconds at 98 mph. And it sped around the big oval at the Chrysler Proving Grounds in Chelsea, Michigan, at an unheard of 147 mph. Even by 21st century standards, that’s astoundingly fast.

To many officers who drove one, the ’69 Polara will always be the greatest cop car of all time.

Video from CHP in 1971, 1969 Polara's about to be retired in favor of 1971 models in action. Bonus, 1970 Superbird on the track. Video has been posted here before.

I know Super8 is no iphone, but GEEZ......cool to see, but hard to watch. A shame the sound got 'lost' during the conversion.

I found it a little funny how at the end they explained the Superbird topped out at 188, but it was on a 9 mile long downward grade............

Pulled this pic from the http://www.stationwagonforums.com/ site. The closest I came to owning a squad wagon was owning a loaded Crestwood wagon with tow package and associated HD components that made up the package. At the time I also owned a basic '72 Coronet wagon, and the difference in ride quality and handling between the two was almost shocking. Due to black ice, my time with the Crestwood was short lived......

That was Michigan State Police testing numbers.

I would love to have that wagon. Dang, look at that fender mounted siren lol!!!!

Thought I throw in some Aussie Charger cop cars and a locally produced Chrysler Royal from the late 50s which now belongs to the South Australian Police Historical Society. The Aussie designed Chargers produced between 1971 and 1978 generally had 360s and 318s with a couple with early 340s