My '71 Plymouth
- Thread starter A38E86D32
- Start date
Triple Pickle
Senior Member
Love it!
Thank you for posting, @A38E86D32 -- do you have pics of the fender tag and/or build sheets, and of the interior, that you could share?
Loadrunner
Active Member
I did jack cars up, and loud exhaust, traction bars even, silly...but primer?
Just wondering, 4dr tuna boat like this, how many cans, like 1- 2 cases?
If I'd primered this I'd hide or burn the pics.
All over kids primered perfectly good paint jobs on cars - Chevelles, Mustangs, GTO's etc - that sell for insane dough now, mostly on account the perpetually deflating nature of our currency.
Just wondering, 4dr tuna boat like this, how many cans, like 1- 2 cases?
If I'd primered this I'd hide or burn the pics.
All over kids primered perfectly good paint jobs on cars - Chevelles, Mustangs, GTO's etc - that sell for insane dough now, mostly on account the perpetually deflating nature of our currency.
I totally agree with what your saying. My grandfather got the car from my dad(1987 or so), got it running again and had it primered, ugh! Wish he didn't do it! And to think, he was going to paint it "candy apple red" . The hood was destroyed when the engine caught fire in '82(fire dept butchered it with their Halligan tool trying to open the hood). Dad sourced a hood from a green Plymouth, so that's what it has now.
I'm stripping it to bare metal, SPI epoxy, primer surfacer, and returning it to it's former black glory (bc/cc)
Goes with with it's M1XA Vinyl/cloth bench interior!
-Marc
I have a remnant of the Broadcast sheet, "New Jersey Police ". Here are some other photos, including the fender tag. It was hard to read, so removal and flipping the photo was necessary. I'll dig up more
In the process of cleaning and detailing the undercarriage. Rebuilt the police leaf packs, added firm feel rear bar, powder coated all suspension brackets and rear housing. Rebuilt 3rd member with new 3.23s and clutch sure grip. Green bearings on axles. New 440 dyno'd and ready....
Sport Fury 67
Active Member
Have you looked into using black wrap? Might be a more cost effective than paint.
I haven't, but i will! Thanks!
Meltshop Mikey
Member
This is great! Almost exactly what I'm doing. What did you use to paint the underside?
Thanks!, I used this paint called "Zero Rust". Really reasonable price and works great. Brushed on the first 2 coats then sprayed the last coat. Thinned 10% with lacquer thinner and it sprayed real nice. A lot of work!
Meltshop Mikey
Member
You're welcome! I used rust seal on mine. Seems like basically the same concept. Brushed and rolled also and it was a ton of work.
GOLDMYN
Senior Member
2 questions, 1. Real Cop car? 2. Did you set the parameter on the trans or the shop
Yours looks great. Seems yours was scheduled for build a month before mine. Mine is 6-16 and the door tag says 6-1971. Both Newark plant.
Meltshop Mikey
Member
Thank you! And that's correct, my door tag is 5-71.
Hi, yes! Real PM41U1F A38 police package. Unmarked unit from West Trenton, New Jersey State Police.
And Yes, i had the trans built to my spec. The car also has a heavy duty police torqueflite in it as well.
GOLDMYN
Senior Member
So, How did your Dad come across the car? Did you rebuild the original engine? and finally, How long have you been restoring it? Very nice car!
Thanks for that!
Dad worked part time jobs along with his policework in the early '70s. Just before he joined the Army in June 1974, he worked as a night watchman at a local chevy dealership, Kardon Chevrolet here in Mt.Holly New Jersey. It was a decent size dealer with an oval test track in the rear of the premises. The sales manager gave him dibs on any car in the used section to use for patrol on the property. He asked for the keys to the black police car in the back. He popped the hood, there was an orange 440 engine block with black dual snorkel air breather. He fired it up, listened to the factory duals. He jumped in, drove to the oval track and "lit it up". After that, he "had to have it" his own words lol. From that point he used it for patrols of the lot and arranged a deal with the GSM. I think he paid around $1500 for it?It was at that point where he found a little history about the car. A lieutenant with the NJSP owned it after it was decommissioned. At one point after being decommissioned it was resprayed all black. Now i am unsure about what happened here exactly. Dad said it was an unmarked unit. It has the "999 999" paint codes on the fender tag and under the black there is the presence of white paint, so i think it may have been black AND white at the beginning of it's life. There are holes in the dash for microphone holders, holes where the 6" unit s6 spotlight was mounted, holes on the trans tunnel where the GE Mastr head unit would've been bolted, as well has a hole on the driver's side of the roof for the roofrack, and a 3/4" hole on the top of the drivers rear quarter next to the trunk lid (where NJSP mounted their antenna).
My grandfather actually titled it in his name because dad was just leaving for BCT at Fort Knox. Grandpop drove it for a while, even drove it to kentucky for my dad's graduation as well. The photo you see of it being all black is said graduation.
I found documents last year that provide a chain of provenance. Old insurance id cards with the vin, etc. There's more to the story but there's a tid bit for now.
As for the original engine. Unfortunately, i believe it broke the oil pump driveshaft and ran bearings dry in the late 70s early 80s. It wasn't too known back then to keep the numbers matching block i suppose, so rather than rebuilding it dad had a low mileage '72 Imperial 440 swapped in. Didn't have anywhere near the ZAP of the original engine. That is the engine currently in it.
The engine you see in the other photos was meant for a previous '71 Fury i owned. I started out with just a bare standard bore block and had it built up.
I found the car in april 2015 and finally acquired it that august. I've been working, acquiring parts and such ever since.
That's all for now i suppose, thanks for the inquiry!
Dad worked part time jobs along with his policework in the early '70s. Just before he joined the Army in June 1974, he worked as a night watchman at a local chevy dealership, Kardon Chevrolet here in Mt.Holly New Jersey. It was a decent size dealer with an oval test track in the rear of the premises. The sales manager gave him dibs on any car in the used section to use for patrol on the property. He asked for the keys to the black police car in the back. He popped the hood, there was an orange 440 engine block with black dual snorkel air breather. He fired it up, listened to the factory duals. He jumped in, drove to the oval track and "lit it up". After that, he "had to have it" his own words lol. From that point he used it for patrols of the lot and arranged a deal with the GSM. I think he paid around $1500 for it?It was at that point where he found a little history about the car. A lieutenant with the NJSP owned it after it was decommissioned. At one point after being decommissioned it was resprayed all black. Now i am unsure about what happened here exactly. Dad said it was an unmarked unit. It has the "999 999" paint codes on the fender tag and under the black there is the presence of white paint, so i think it may have been black AND white at the beginning of it's life. There are holes in the dash for microphone holders, holes where the 6" unit s6 spotlight was mounted, holes on the trans tunnel where the GE Mastr head unit would've been bolted, as well has a hole on the driver's side of the roof for the roofrack, and a 3/4" hole on the top of the drivers rear quarter next to the trunk lid (where NJSP mounted their antenna).
My grandfather actually titled it in his name because dad was just leaving for BCT at Fort Knox. Grandpop drove it for a while, even drove it to kentucky for my dad's graduation as well. The photo you see of it being all black is said graduation.
I found documents last year that provide a chain of provenance. Old insurance id cards with the vin, etc. There's more to the story but there's a tid bit for now.
As for the original engine. Unfortunately, i believe it broke the oil pump driveshaft and ran bearings dry in the late 70s early 80s. It wasn't too known back then to keep the numbers matching block i suppose, so rather than rebuilding it dad had a low mileage '72 Imperial 440 swapped in. Didn't have anywhere near the ZAP of the original engine. That is the engine currently in it.
The engine you see in the other photos was meant for a previous '71 Fury i owned. I started out with just a bare standard bore block and had it built up.
I found the car in april 2015 and finally acquired it that august. I've been working, acquiring parts and such ever since.
That's all for now i suppose, thanks for the inquiry!
GOLDMYN
Senior Member
great story!
Similar threads
- Locked
