70s Police Mopar

[Breven52]

Hey Guys,
This is my first post. I’m new to researching 70s police Mopars, but I would like to get a Gran Fury, Monaco, or Polara. My dad started in a Gran Fury in 1974 at our local PD, and I was recently assigned a 2019 Dodge Charger. I can’t help but find styling similarity between the 70s Dodges and the current Charger. I’ve frame off restored a 1942 Ford GPW army Jeep in the markings of my Granddads unit, so I wouldn’t mind to do a replica of my Dads first car. How unobtainable are any of the 70s Mopar police packages?

 

[Davea Lux]

Several of the '70's police cruisers have shown up on this site over the last couple of years, so they are out there. Your typical early '70's cruisers would have a PK, DK or CK as the first two digits of the VIN number. Most of the C-Body cruisers were PK41 or DK41 4 door sedans. Typically Plymouth Fury 1 and Dodge Polaras. Some cruisers were also built on the Fury 3 chassis and will have a PM as the first two digits of the VIN. The CK units were Chryslers and are not as common. Engines varied some by jurisdiction but most state cruisers were either T Code (350 hp) or U code (375 hp) 440 engines. The Gran Fury you referenced was '75-'77 and is actually a C-Body Chrysler re-branded as a Plymouth when the full sized Fury ceased production. A lot of B-Body Furys were built for police service from'75-'78 also and they were built with a 440 available. Cruisers as you are no doubt aware, lead a hard life and many have been re-engined, so if originality is desired, be sure to check the casting date on the block to be sure it model year appropriate.

If you are looking for a C-Body Gran Fury cruiser, it will need to be a '75-'77 unit. For what it is worth, the best performing C-Body mopar cruisers were the '68-'70 Furys or Polaras.

Dave

 

[Breven52]

4 door Fury’s and Polaras seem to be hard to come by. What do I need to look for when inspecting one?

 

[CBODY67]

There is a really good pair of books on the "Mopar Squads". A two-part deal, broken down by model years and pre-LX car. Lots of neat history in them. There were also some police car specific sales brochures, somewhat rare even then, for Dodge and Plymouth. They detail the standard equipment and optional equipment.

As Dave mentioned, the engine choice was up to whomever wrote the bid specs for the cars. Texas usually had 383 4bbls in their Fury IIIs, using 440s in 1968 only, then going back to 383s after that.

There is also a series at www.allpar.com on Mopar Squads, too. Authored by Curtis Redgap. Plus some other articles and pictures. There is also a national police car enthusiast organization, but from what I've seen, the bulk of their members' cars are basically from the Crown Vic era.

Welcome and Enjoy!
CBODY67

 

[Breven52]

As Dave mentioned, the engine choice was up to whomever wrote the bid specs for the cars. Texas usually had 383 4bbls in their Fury IIIs, using 440s in 1968 only, then going back to 383s after that...

Welcome and Enjoy!
CBODY67

I would be thrilled to get a 440, but from what Dad and I have discussed is that they ordered the 383 in all but a few department cars. The 440s were recked too often to justify.

 

[Davea Lux]

4 door Fury’s and Polaras seem to be hard to come by. What do I need to look for when inspecting one?

As noted, be sure it is an actual police cruiser, there are a lot of clones out there. Under the hood on the core support there should be a build tag. Most police cruisers will have a second tag that says "Special Order" On first the build tag second line from the bottom on the lower right corner will be the order number. Police vehicles start with the letter K as the first digit of the order number. The A-38 police option code will be displayed on the build tag of many but not all police cruisers. VIN numbers as noted are most commonly branded with PK or DK as the first two digits.

One you are satisfied that the car is a real cruiser, carefully inspect for rust. Many Midwest and East coast cars have seen their share of salt and have lots of rust. Do not waste your money on a rust bucket as it will be very expensive to bring a car like that back. Check to be sure that the police equipment is still in place, battery heat shield, hi amp alternator, usually a 26" HD radiator, police wheels and hubcaps if so equipped, 140 mph certified speedometer, Ticket light, spotlights if so equipped. Most 70's cruisers have heavy rubber floor mats. Some will also have a power steering cooler. All of this stuff is hard to find if missing.

Police cruisers with the original engine and transmission have a greater value than those that do not. VIN number is stamped on the engine block and transmission case for '70 on. Check the frame rails for obvious signs of collision damage. A lot of retired cruisers have frame damage from driving over highway medians. Scraping is not a big deal, large deformations will usually mean a tweaked frame. Check the overall condition of the vehicle, how much work does it need? Follow the market for a while and get a feel for what a good cruiser sells for.

Dave

 

[commando1]

How unobtainable are any of the 70s Mopar police packages?

That has to be the most realistic question ever asked here by a new member.
Way to go Breven.

 

[ayilar]

Welcome! My suggestion would be take your time to find the right car. Fixing a bad one is WAY more expensive, so get a good one to start with.

As noted above, several c-body police cars that sold in the past 2-3 years were discussed at length on this site. I would, if I were you, search the « for sale » section and absorb what you read. Doing so will also show you (some of) the members who own police cars.

Edit: @amazinblue82 has several. His garage shows a few.

 

[Rumble984]

They are out there
I just picked up a 71 fury, original penn state police car
Hard to find but they are out there

 

[71Polara383]

Heres one I had for a short amount of time about a year ago. It was as original as it could get. Drove to Missouri and put away in 1985 shortly after it was bought at a Police auction in Grants, New Mexico. The family bought it for the drivetrain for a Charger project that never took off. Thankfully.

They are out there. Gotta keep looking and be ready to jump when you do find it.

 

[billyfury]

Check in with Tallzag on this board. He has a 440 77 Gran Fury ex Montana State patrol car for sale.

billy

 

[shooter65]

There is a ton of good information on this forum regarding C-Body Police cars. Search Police in the search and you will find a ton of threads with good info but don't be too quick to discount a car as not a "real" police car based on the VIN, etc... Some departments, large and small varied from the MOPAR standards. Small departments to save money and large departments because it allowed them to custom order exactly what they wanted and didn't want. An example is the Pennsylvania State Police. When they were still ordering Plymouths, they would custom order large orders but it was always Plymouth Fury IIs, PL/PM depending on the year but they didn't order PK Police Package cars. They did however order the Fury IIs with reinforced doors, roofs, 440HP specifying the cam and carb, etc...

Having said all that, in 74 the Fury had the Gran Coupe and Gran Sedan as well as the I, II, and III but all Gran series were hardtops so not likely candidates for police units, not that some departments didn't use hardtops but sedans were preferred for the added rigidity of the full doors.

In 75, as said before They changed the name to the Gran Fury instead of Gran Coupe/Gran Sedan for the C-bodies and the Fury name became a B-Body. Interestingly they had the Gran Fury Brougham which had a different grill then the Gran Fury and Gran Fury Custom. The only decernable difference between the 74 Fury and the 75 Gran Fury/Gran Fury Custom was ht cross bar on the grill..see police car pics below.

74 Fury

75 Gran Fury or Gran Fury Custom

For Rumble984's benefit....lucky bastage...I was watching that one, here's a marked 71 PSP, check out that handset on the radio....

Finally, here's the brakedown of the 74 VIN. The 74 did not have the 383, they switched to the 400 by then.

 

[Rumble984]

There is a ton of good information on this forum regarding C-Body Police cars. Search Police in the search and you will find a ton of threads with good info but don't be too quick to discount a car as not a "real" police car based on the VIN, etc... Some departments, large and small varied from the MOPAR standards. Small departments to save money and large departments because it allowed them to custom order exactly what they wanted and didn't want. An example is the Pennsylvania State Police. When they were still ordering Plymouths, they would custom order large orders but it was always Plymouth Fury IIs, PL/PM depending on the year but they didn't order PK Police Package cars. They did however order the Fury IIs with reinforced doors, roofs, 440HP specifying the cam and carb, etc...

Having said all that, in 74 the Fury had the Gran Coupe and Gran Sedan as well as the I, II, and III but all Gran series were hardtops so not likely candidates for police units, not that some departments didn't use hardtops but sedans were preferred for the added rigidity of the full doors.

View attachment 324669

In 75, as said before They changed the name to the Gran Fury instead of Gran Coupe/Gran Sedan for the C-bodies and the Fury name became a B-Body. Interestingly they had the Gran Fury Brougham which had a different grill then the Gran Fury and Gran Fury Custom. The only decernable difference between the 74 Fury and the 75 Gran Fury/Gran Fury Custom was ht cross bar on the grill..see police car pics below.

View attachment 324670

74 Fury
View attachment 324653

75 Gran Fury or Gran Fury Custom

View attachment 324654

For Rumble984's benefit....lucky bastage...I was watching that one, here's a marked 71 PSP, check out that handset on the radio....
View attachment 324655

Finally, here's the brakedown of the 74 VIN. The 74 did not have the 383, they switched to the 400 by then.

View attachment 324656

Great pic of car in its original colors.
You can see the colors on my car under the grey that was painted over it
Thanks

 

[Breven52]

Thanks for the info! You all are a wealth of knowledge

 

[CBODY67]

One time, I found a Trailering Brochure, about '74 or so model year. I started looking through it and it seemed that the Heavy Trailer Tow option contained many of the same things the police package might. HD suspension, added coolers for underhood items, etc. Minus the 100amp alternator (although the electric heated rear window option contained a 100amp alternator, too), plus the 3.21 axle ratio and larger tire size.

A PK-type car would probably have had some additional wiring leads to accommodate the police radios, the rotating light on the roof/light bar, no body side moldings on the front doors (to allow for the normal jurisdictional ID decal). Additionally, there could be an additional switchable done lamp over the front seat, a "hat rack" in that area, too. On some later models, an a/c compressor cut-off switch on the instrument panel. Of course, if you find a non-PK type car, it would be nice to have some documentation of its past, for verification.

ALSO remember than any "real" police car would have the requisite "Calibrated" speedometer, with that world on the speedometer face in plain sight. Which usually meant that they didn't need radar to "clock" a speeder. That also meant that as long as the tire size was not larger than what originally came on the car, the indicated speed had a tolerance of +/- 1mph from actual velocity,. between something like 40 degrees-100 degrees F, if I recall correctly,

Chrysler Corp built the highest-performance, most durable, and all around best police cars . . . for DECADES back then. Even when all Plymouth had was a flat-head inline 6 cyl engine.

Enjoy!
CBODY67