[Pacopcar]

Tow packages were close, but the earlier packages had performance upgrades including the electrical systems. Electrics is the topic of this week's new column, coincidentally.

There was some specialty upgrades to limited markets I never knew about before a while back. One I found out about from Mopar was a 2 speed rear end that was sold in a very limited market down South during the early '70s. They called the cars a "Dixie Special". I don't know if any are still in existance or how many were produced. The particular car I was told about was based on a Polara and ended up in the hands of a Pennsylvania trooper. He wanted to see just how fast it would go and made arrangements with an on duty trooper to clock it on radar up on I-80. The car was clocked at 160. Unfortunately, their watch commander found out about the "test" and they both got called into his office. The cars were ungodly fast because of the gearing.

If the fellow who told me the info wasn't an old timer in the auto trades and someone I know personally, I would have doubts if these cars existed at all. I did know that the manufacturers fielded specific requests for options back in the day, but never heard of something like this.

[Curtis Redgap]

Presently, supposedly, Chrysler builds Chargers to order. Not like before when all the manufacturers would run the police fleet line a couple times a year, which usually was at vehicle introduction, and then again in the spring. I don't know what Ford or GM is doing now, however, I would guess they still go with the fleet production system as before. Vehicles were sent to nearby storage lots awaiting orders. Of course, special purchases, or specific options were built during the production run. It was a matter of quesstimates as to how many. Sometimes they were short, sometimes they were over. There was ALWAYS some left that were "orphans" resulting from cancelled orders or bid differences, or outright rejection, or misshipments. They didn't go to waste. They were sent to dealers who often either got the local guys to buy it at a price, or they sold it outright. No reason that someone can't have a police package vehicle if that is what they want. Just don't paint it like your local law enforcement agency's marked vehicles. A whole lot of them end up running around in civialian guise well after their regular service duties in taxi fleets, private ownerships, security outfits and such like. You want a brand new cop package car? Go talk to your local friendly neighborhood dealership. Order one. You might get a deal on a reject, overage, or maybe you will pay full boat. But you can get it.

[Curtis Redgap]

Bearhawke, on 25 February 2008 - 08:53 PM, said:

Ford was silly about not selling 'police package' vehicles to the public------oftentimes they were slower than some of their retail cars.

As for Mopar: apparently in the 1970's, anyone could by an A38 vehicle.

Really, Ford wasn't that strict either. Walk to your local friendly dealer, them him you are a "Security" company, (or some sort of whatever) and need a heavy duty vehicle such as a Police Package. Lay down your money, and within a few weeks, unless they got one off the storage lots, the car would be in your hands. Our local Postman, who got paid to use his own car, (this goes waaaaaaay back) always got a police package for himself. You can bet, and I have seen it occur a lot, that if a dealer has some left over, or an order that got canceled, someone would be the lucky new owner of a police package car. In 1977, we were looking for Police Packages because our bid got out late, and we were shorted vehicles. We began a diligent search of the local dealers, and then went state wide. We found over a dozen on dealers lots, right in the regular line, with "civilian" units, all price marked and eager to sell to anyone with the money to get one. We found two A38 Gran Fury jobs 1/2 across the state, equipped with 360 ci two barrels. We bought them anyway. They were pretty darn good in their own right!