The car was light blue with a nice blue cloth interior but ran rough and had obvious problems. Brands New Products . In The 60s and 70s you even saw the odd Pontiac or Meteor. By 1989 it was very outdated with its three-speed auto and carburetted engines but was the first Chrysler model to feature an air bag and tilt-adjust steering wheel. We live in South Carolina, so rust is not really an issue. It's been off the road 25 years or so, I bought it never hearing it run turn over or anything, I just got . FREE LIVE DRAG RACING: The $25,000 64 Car Shootout At The K&N Southwest Showdown Has Been Reschedule For Friday Due To SNOW! The only St. Regis I can ever recall seeing was this one I took a picture of about 5 years ago. One of my fellow students, who was not known for his good judgment, had a rather battered one and six of us crammed into it to go somewhere local. Has the trusty Chrysler 318 V8. I have a 1979 Chrysler Newport, 318 LA small block 2bbl, TF A 904, AC, PS, PB, AM FM, cruise control (works well), base interior. It took years to find another working headlight door motor. The Diplomat was a much better car, quality wise. The original owner found a non Lean Burn Holley 2280 to put on it. hampered performance as did the loss of the 360 four-barrel after their first year; in 1980 and 1981, they used a 318 four-barrel. Im sure its simpler than I think. Click below to find your next car. Usually its an easy fix for radio shops, and pulling it off isnt that hard. I wonder if anyones ever tried to fit one on. The Dodge St. Regis is a very rare car. The back seat was surprisingly roomy and compared well to Dads oh-so-broughamy 1980 Buick Limited, which was a beloved family vehicle. Police cars, unlike civilian ones, had the Lean Burn computer behind the glove box at first, then above the parking foot-brake. You would think the full-sized cars would offer leather. Even then, these were unusual to see, but I remember thinking it was much nicer than I expected. The Chrysler R platform was dropped during the middle of the 1981 model year, with the Dodge St. Regis ending its product run; to reduce model overlap, Chrysler ended sales of the Newport. About Dezo's Garage. This gorgeous full-sized survivor is listed on eBay with an almost laughably-low buy it now price of $4,250! While the St. Regis is of little collector value today (alongside Chrysler/Plymouth R-body counterparts), the mechanical commonality of the R platform with earlier Chrysler vehicles leads collectors to search for scrapped examples for its front disc brakes to upgrade earlier cars (such as the Dodge Dart and Plymouth Barracuda)[citation needed] With the low number built (in comparison to its Ford and Chevrolet competitors) and the high percentage destroyed in film and TV work or retired after police use, very few examples survive today. Just seemed like a neat feature to my younger self. 1979 Dodge Ram Charger. Im 22 now, and that last photo is me when I was 15! Has the trusty Chrysler 318 V8. The longest fresh water beach in the world couldnt hide a beater imperial. Ive never actually seen one up close and in person. Popular Cars for Sale. All this wears the cars slap out before they finally get rid of them. At the time I thought it was the best looking car Dodge ever produced. Thats the only connection I can think of. The change in powertrain was unpopular, as officers found the top speed of the vehicle was reduced to below 100 mph when fitted with a lightbar (or 65 mph on a grade). The Car have 3 Different Lightbars, all working Gamefeatures and other small working Parts. This is a HEAVILY OPTIONED CAR with Power Seat, Power Window, A/C, P/S, AM/FM radio, Tilt Steering Column, Cornering Lights, Cruise Control. The Ford LTD Crown Victoria was the main entry from the Blue Oval brand during the 1980s. police car fan 2012-09-05 18:16-- Last edit: 2014-03-24 14:42:15: police car fan 2013-11-07 20:50. 1980 Dodge Police cars (Brochure). 1978 Dodge Pickups. Ever. Coinciding with the 1979 fuel crisis, high interest rates and the uncertain future of the company forced Chrysler into a high proportion of fleet sales for its full-size sedans. You really wanted the intersection to be very, very clear before you started to make a left turn. St Louis County Police dept. Dodge Coronet Police Vehicle (1959) Dodge Coronet Police Vehicle The Coronet was a full-size car from Dodge from the 1950s. All Rights Reserved. Got 340 engine with MP heads with the big valves, steel crank, KB 10.25 hyper pistons. HP exhaust manifolds from 1968-70. Options $0. Top Rated Seller . I was about to take issue with your comment then remembered the low idle vibration my 1975, Custom 500 had. The Dodge St. Regis introduced in 1979 was a re-skinned dinosaur based on the old large Chrysler B-body platform which underpinned the classic 1960s Dodge Charger muscle car. Police Cars . Wow, what a rare find, Paul But where are those cool headlight covers? Between the warranty work, the money we put into it after (including paint touch-up and a great deal on an 8 3/4 Sure Grip off a wrecked 80 Volare Road Runner with 3000 miles on it, it actually became a decently running reliable car. They could hit one hundred five mph. Your parents experience with a 78 LeBaron mirrored mine. Chrome housing, clear lens. Cars used by California Highway Patrol 1929 to present. By comparison, the downsizing of the GM A, B, and C-bodies in the preceding years were seismic events and the Volare/Aspen and LTD downsizing debuts were also rather big deals. Gets rid of a lot of headaches. It looks pretty good for 36 years and 100,000 miles. One of the more rare Chrysler cars to this day, as they were mostly used for cop cars back in the early 80s and most all of them were crushed. A person could probably write a whole book on it. Seeing how bad they looked in less than fifteen years, given the choice, Ill take vinyl over whatever Dodge was using for leather. I think a horizontal bar grille, as Dodge was introducing at the time, would have been a nice touch. Its north Michigan afterall, every town has an odd car, sometimes for odd use too. So, if you took your eyes off the road for even a moment, you could find yourself halfway in the adjacent lane. lol. The next up was the Dodge Aspen. It appears to be in very good condition for an R-body. 1978 Dodge LRT Express. Unfortunately for Chrysler, their luck just straight-up sucked. The Chrysler R platform was introduced for the 1979 model year. Furthermore, CHP officers act as bailiffs for the California Supreme Court and California Court of Appeal, as well as providing security at buildings occupied by the State of California. I was rewarded with a 1980 Aspen. The Lynn Townsend era had seen many, many screwups in managementthe Sales Banks, the 1974 C-bodies that couldnt have come at a worse time, a strict no small Chrysler policy that blew up in their faces when the Cordoba (yes, it was a small Chrysler compared to a New Yorker) proved to be a sales blowout that the company had desperately needed, and of course the problematic quality control gripes had eroded Chryslers reputation. Even the grille pattern looks more Buick than Dodge. Have you ever wondered what all those boxy American police sedans were from the 1980s in American movies and television shows? $9,495. Select a vehicle trim below to get a valuation. Just like this restored 80 model now residing in Edmonton. For much of the show's run, Shatner drove an equally forgettable . Which is why I have always wanted one. Im not even sure the oven was allowed to pre-heat. I think their sales would have been much greater. 1986 Chevrolet C/K 10. The St. Regis was based on Chrysler's rear wheel drive R-body platform, itself based on a modified version of the circa 1971 B-body design that provided the underpinnings for such cars as the Dodge Charger and the Chrysler Cordoba. Hell, there was probably a time when a little junkyard combing could have gotten you all the spare ballast resistors & stuff you would need for life. The department usually kept their cars three years, but the St. Regis were so bad, they replaced them after only two. In the fall of 80, a wheel bearing failed, causing the front wheel to part company with the rest of the heap. Ours were disabled early in their sad lives. The California Highway Patrol is the largest state police agency in the United States, with more than 10,700 employees, 7,500 of whom are sworn officers, according to FBI data. I drove a later model Volare a few times for work and it steered much better, so I suspect it may have just been our cars particular set up. Out of all the things you listed, Ive only experienced the mirror falling off the windshield, the hard plastic panel that went over the defroster and radio speakers cracking but only after the car well past 30 years old. Turns out it could not even be certified for the road without spending a ton of $$$. Even after it warmed up it would sputter and bog down on tip-in from idle. Insanity! Ugh, I cant stand that archaic looking climate control system and push button stereo Those buttons always stuck froze in very cold weather in my 77 Newport. And Im sure thats the last time I ever saw one. Skip to content. Alternators (Leece-Neville) that were well out of alignment to the crank pulley. Following its introduction, the Dodge St. Regis saw heavy use as a police car in the United States. 1968 Dodge Monaco. There is a small piece of trim missing near the drivers door, unnoticed until close to car. We were best friends in high school; hard to believe that 35 years later we are not even on speaking terms. Curtis Redgap: The R bodies weren't that bad! I did this to my St. Regis and ran a early 1990s AM/FM cassette and it blended right in. The test led to the purchase of Ford Mustangs in 1982, for use as traffic enforcement cars. I never saw this until just now. The 225 Slant-6 inline-6 was now the standard engine with optional 318 and 360 V8s; a three-speed automatic was paired to all three engines. We'll give you credit for the submission (of course) and what is cooler than showing all your gang that you have a story on Bang Shift? My brother took it over, and when he sold it in the fall of 83 it was in better shape at 5 years old than when it was brand new!. The St.Regis looks like one of the worst. But, I digress.) Youd think someone at Chrysler would have known better than to repeat that past mistake. Bought from the original owner, an old veteran, who purchased it right out of the showroom in the local Chrysler/AMC dealership. It was downsized and shed up to 450 kg in the process, and was styled to look bigger than it was. Like a lot of old Chrysler products they were driven for years and then simply became scrap. It was 5 degrees outside or I would have followed it and photographed it when it came to rest. The risks you take when buying a used fleet vehicle. But my dad, who passed away in 2007, actively avoided Chrysler products for the rest of his life. I saw one up for sale on CL, I think, dont quote me, like last year, It was going for about $2500-3000, in good original condition I think it was that dove gray color, that they used in the original St. Regis ad, back in 1979 I remember, the ad slogan, Hey, thats my Dodge.. 52,000. In California, the St. Regis was fitted with a 190 hp four-bbl 360 V8. Driven one winter since new. Im surprised that any St. Regis survived. With the exception of a full-size Chrysler, the 440 was unavailable for public use, and even then, the civilian version was rated for 195 hp. I told the BIL not to buy it but he didnt listen.
