The Ultimate Vintage Police Car Thread

Wigwam700

Member
May 25, 2011
1,009
New York Adirondacks US
Station 3 said:
Seeing those Blazers and those Crown vic LTDs i can truly say that i was born in the wrong year..... I WISH i was born in that decade and was able to patrol the streets in those beautys..... instead i have to drive around in a plastic car with generic LED lights that everyone has.....


something about those old school units that just looks tough and classy.

I feel the same way about the ambulances and firetrucks today nothing is different they are all just boxes on wheels. :(


Sirens all sound the same everybody has clear LEDs:(
 
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Wailer

Member
May 24, 2010
2,293
Canada
SomeBloke said:
Far too many photos to list here, but a VERY interesting read and great for you Beacon fanatics.

50 Years Policing The Motorway

I know they now use American electronic sirens there (e.g. new Whelen 295 series), but I was surprised to see American beacons and light bars on some of the cars (mostly Whelen and Code 3).
 

Skip Goulet

Member
Feb 23, 2011
4,241
Midland, TX
Wigwam700 said:
I feel the same way about the ambulances and firetrucks today nothing is different they are all just boxes on wheels. :(
Sirens all sound the same everybody has clear LEDs:(

Those older Ford LTD CVs were very fast cars. In the early '70s when our standby ambulance first started the race track's mgt. always called for an escort for us if we left the track, until we found out that it wasn't necessary. But one night we'd just loaded a patient and had headed out of the track. Just at the end of the track's property was a small convenience store with a hamburger stand at one end.


Just as we got near the service road I let loose on the siren. There was a sheriff's office deputy sitting there, and suddenly he lit that '69 LTD up and away we went. Our old '60 Chevy wagon creaked and groaned and rattled, and I didn't like driving over 70; but with an escort you had to keep up. The speedometer on the old wagon didn't work, so I just had to guess at what we were doing. After the escort I thanked the deputy whom I knew for the escort, and he chuckled and said that he figured halfway to the hospital that we didn't need him. We had an old Mars DL8 light on top that had been converted from 6volts and used a 1019 junior beacon bulb. It was bright. When one of our guys who hadn't been at the track suddenly appeared at the ER and started berating me for how fast we were going, I asked the deputy how fast we were going. When he said that we were doing nearly 120, I was almost the next patient! :D
 
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Jarred J.

Lifetime VIP Donor
May 21, 2010
11,584
Shelbyville, TN
here is the antiquest of all cop cars..


the 1st


al2.yimg.com_bt_api_res_1.2_zFlmgnpxj8c4rHZKJNuT2g___YXBwaWQ9e99a906fd797ddf3cfc9f4aa5ae237c48.gif
 

Wigwam700

Member
May 25, 2011
1,009
New York Adirondacks US
Nice Sergeant's car from 1 Adam 12 but I believe the number on the can light should read 1 X 14, as the Sergeant would often call to talk on tact 2 as 1 Xray 14 I believe, but this may have changed over the years of the show.

2 Cars from "The Gauntlet" with Clint Eastwood-1977

x14.jpg

gauntlet1.jpg

gauntlet2.jpg
 

Skip Goulet

Member
Feb 23, 2011
4,241
Midland, TX
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1976 Pontiac LeMans

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1978 Plymouth Fury

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1980 Gran Fury

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1989 Caprice

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Ft. Worth Nova

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Ft. Worth Malibu

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Ft. Worth Mustang

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Richardson Traffic Caprice.


Note the hood lights. Pattern


was red/blue with HLF


*Photo CCDC
Some neat D/FW area pix!  I remember when Dallas PD cars were all black and had small Adam-12-type lights on the roof with an assortment of motor-driven sirens in the center.  A god friend of my parents whose name was "Cliff" (I was 7, so that's all I remember) was a DPD officer in the early '50s. His partner was "Mike".   Back then Dad had to go to Hensley Field in G.P. because he was still in the active Air Force Reserves.  One of the guys dated my mom's cousin Carolyn. So anyway when Dad had to go to Hensley my mom and I went to on her vacation time.  One time Dad happened to ride with Cliff and Mike on patrol and they got call out on a shooting or something down in Oak Cliff. They started south on N.C. Expressway, and they were running in excess of 90 mph with no lights or siren on.  Dad asked why they weren't running "hot" and they said that those things didn't work anyway!  All Dad could do was say "Oh Shit!" and hang on for dear life! :lol:
 
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dmathieu

Lifetime VIP Donor
May 20, 2010
8,780
S.W. New Hampshire, USA
Back in the 60s Dallas used two 4" double sided lollipops like this Signal Stat turn signal, red/red with a mechanical siren between.

According to today,s standards, extremely ineffective.

$_12 (1).JPG
 
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JazzDad

Member
Aug 5, 2011
5,165
USA
Re: Richardson Traffic Caprice.
Note the hood lights. Pattern
was red/blue with HLF

Very odd looking.  Probably quite effective straight on, though.
 

Skip Goulet

Member
Feb 23, 2011
4,241
Midland, TX
This old truck reminds me of an old ambulance that appears in Canadian Walt McCall's first ambulance book (1900-1999).   It's a small electric ambulance that has the patient area out in the open on the side of the vehicle. This one was in service in NY City c.1901.  As cold as it gets there, I'd hate to be the patient or the driver, who sits on the outside, too.
 

emtanderson51

Member
Apr 9, 2011
3,795
USA Massachusetts
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Mndlm

Member
Jun 14, 2010
128
Minnesota
Another from HAMB. To bad there aren't more pics or movies of the 1960 LAPD Ponchos.

10426208_10152640711007457_6909900553509935416_n.jpg
 
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RyanZ71

Member
Jun 14, 2011
1,001
Denver, Colorado
Love that AMC Matador Wagon!  SWEET!!! 


Nice Sergeant's car from 1 Adam 12 but I believe the number on the can light should read 1 X 14, as the Sergeant would often call to talk on tact 2 as 1 Xray 14 I believe, but this may have changed over the years of the show.

2 Cars from "The Gauntlet" with Clint Eastwood-1977
I have always wanted to get me an 87-90 Caprice 9C1 to restore.  Probably the 89/90 since the 350 and 305 had fuel injection those years. 
 
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Skip Goulet

Member
Feb 23, 2011
4,241
Midland, TX
I have always wanted to get me an 87-90 Caprice 9C1 to restore.  Probably the 89/90 since the 350 and 305 had fuel injection those years. 
I had a '94 Caprice which was the newer body style.  It was an ex-cop, ex-taxi vehicle with the Corvette engine.  It would fly, but actually got decent gas mileage.

My son and ex-wife rode in this (last pic NYPD) in the Tuned by Tuna car show in Springfield MA while I drove the Whelen Demonstrator in the lead. The car is absolutely PERFECT!!! The McDermott still fun=ctions like new and he has a few more in storage
Any idea how many demo cars Whelen has?  I had one pass me on the highway on my way into town a couple of months ago. It was headed west on I20.  I know that they also have some pace cars for the big car races.  One of them came through here, too, not too long ago.
 

emtanderson51

Member
Apr 9, 2011
3,795
USA Massachusetts
I had a '94 Caprice which was the newer body style.  It was an ex-cop, ex-taxi vehicle with the Corvette engine.  It would fly, but actually got decent gas mileage.

Any idea how many demo cars Whelen has?  I had one pass me on the highway on my way into town a couple of months ago. It was headed west on I20.  I know that they also have some pace cars for the big car races.  One of them came through here, too, not too long ago.
I know they have 4 up here. I was in 003 which is a decked out PI Sedan with mags, ALPR Leqacy, Havis integrated computer screen, Cantrol and V-Series everywhere...turbo 6 under the hood. Car is unreal...
 

Phillyrube

Member
May 21, 2010
1,272
Flatistan
Far too many photos to list here, but a VERY interesting read and great for you Beacon fanatics.

50 Years Policing The Motorway

Two splendid looking MK2 Ford Granada estates in use with Surrey Police and Essex Police as motorway cars. The Surrey unit was so top heavy with its stem light and rear spoiler set up that it gained the rather unfortunate nick-name of the General Belgrano!

That's FUNNY!!
 

LRGJr72

Member
May 29, 2010
790
Detroit, Michigan
Denver Police.. as seen at the vintage police & fire vehicle show in the City Park Sep 12. The show was definitely a letdown. Especially having been so many times to the Ferndale Police & Fire show in Michigan. 

IMG_0367.JPG

IMG_0368.JPG
 

CrownVic97

Member
May 21, 2010
3,350
Hazen, ND
Somebody needs to replace the dome on that 184 in the second pic. Looks like it was cleaned with a harsh solvent.
 

irsa76

Member
May 24, 2010
342
Australia, NSW
Lol, South Australian Police Valiant crash squad car. Most, all?, other states preferred the Falcon 351 wagons for that duty, Valiants didn't offer V8s in the police package with that model. Didn't need to with a 4bbl 265 hemi under the bonnet!
 

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