on average and handled pretty well. For the record, there were 360 M-bodies built through 1979. In the fall of 80, a wheel bearing failed, causing the front wheel to part company with the rest of the heap. Got 340 engine with MP heads with the big valves, steel crank, KB 10.25 hyper pistons. Although this model, like the Aspen/Volare and Omni/Horizon models, was conceptually fine and could have been competitive, new Chryslers launched at that time werent even half-baked when foisted on the public. It was probably easier to do this in my car because it was originally a single speaker AM radio and I ran the speaker wiring from the back and put in some front speakers in the factory holes and hooked everything up to the later harness. Check with your state to see how replica police cars can be operated on roadways. The popular Dodge Diplomat was based on Chryslers mid-size M-body platform from 1977. shepherdsville kentucky. I bought it in Pa. and drove back to Mi. My engine met its demise when all the teeth sheared off the plastic cam sprocket. 1979 Dodge Trucks. I purchased the car in 2004, ith 58,194 original miles, rom the son of the elderly woman who originally purchased the car in Northern California. 1968 Chevrolet Biscayne Chicago Police Car, California Highway Patrol 1973 Dodge Polara, Italys Carabinieri 505HP Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio, 1966 Ford Country Sedan Wagon Fire Chief Car, Ford Police Interceptor Utility (Explorer). By 1980, restrictive anti-emissions regulations meant that it was a dog to drive, with many police officers complaining about its poor performance. I could say more about this but I wont. The CHP also maintains a SWAT team on 24hour standby to respond to any terrorist activity. It was a very traditional full-size model based on the Panther platform built until 1991 when it morphed into the iconic aero-styled Crown Victoria. Coinciding with its usage in law enforcement, the St. Regis appeared on multiple 1980s police-based television series, including Sledge Hammer!, "The A-Team" and T.J. Hooker. Something that drives everyday. The best cure for Lean Burn is to pull it, replace it with a standard Chrysler electronic ignition and a matching non Lean Burn carburetor. 1700 isnt crazy for this one, though it seems more like maybe a $1200 car to me. Its not a perfect car as I would have done some things differently design wise, especially around the windows, window regulators, wiper linkage attachments and door seals. In California, the St. Regis was fitted with a 190 hp four-bbl 360 V8. The Gran Fury was purpose-designed as a cheaper version of the Chrysler Newport and was aimed at taxi, police and other fleet operators, with police cars utilising the 5.2-litre and 5.9-litre V8s. The thing that has to be remembered about these R-bodies is that they got a very small piece of the development pie compared to the Omnis and the upcoming K cars which result in things like noisy frameless windows, pieces of plastic partially covering the shock absorber front and rear bumpers. The headlight doors have been manually cranked open. The test led to the purchase of Ford Mustangs in 1982, for use as traffic enforcement cars. There is a St Regis hotel on Grand Boulevard rather close to the headquarter of Chrysler at that time. The skimpy 7 1/4 rear end wore out prematurely. The Car have 3 Different Lightbars, all working Gamefeatures and other small working Parts. The neat clear-lens headlight covers are gone (most police departments ditched them) but everything else about this begs for a road trip. Volare Wagons, and Chevy Camaro Z28s on the road for an 18 month test. I own this car now, the lean burn has been all redone and works properly, it has a brand new alternator, and no the needle is not stuck on the radio, the needle moves with the knob but only 1 AM station comes in. Your email address will not be published. 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? Original owners manual and all 1979 Chrysler emissions documentation, and repair slips. Air Resources Board) to modify the exhaust for patrol duty. Its very hard to tell the rust problem though, as the thick chrome trims cover up the door seals and rocker panel, where is most suspicious to rust. What's in the box: 1-43 1979-81 Dodge St Regis. 1/43 1979-81 Dodge St Regis (BJ7UKP728) by rapidpro on Shapeways. 1979 Dodge Diplomat Station Wagon - Million Mile Dodge / The Green Machine. The drivers power seat looks different than my standard non power seat. It was a compact-class model which was employed by police forces with either six-cylinder or 4.9-litre V8 engines. The St. Regis today is an exceptionally rare sight and comes in two flavors: babied or absolutely and utterly trashed. A/C, Cruise, PWR seat, windows, Special handling package, 3 tag car. Andrew was a contributing writer at Performance Drive. Top Cars for Sale Locations. It wasnt an MSP car originally, but it is a real police spec machine, originally hailing from Virginia. 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. So perhaps I might point out that there is no St. Sedona, but there is a St Regis, and she can drive the car named after him. The LTD switched to the mid-size Fox body platform from 1982 and also gained a fuel-injected 302 V8, then was phased out from 1986 when the new aero-styled front-wheel drive Taurus arrived. The leather interior door handles need to be re-attached. MOPAR BIG BLOCK, NICE 1981 DODGE ST. REGIS IN GREAT SHAPE RUNS AND DRIVES, ULTRA RARE 1976 Dodge Charger Sport-360 V8-Edelbrock Carb-Hooker Headers, 1966 Dodge Coronet Police Car Sedan 1966 Police Car Used Automatic. Just seemed like a neat feature to my younger self. Model WC WC-12 1979 Dodge St. Regis For Sale. With 42,000 miles and a 360 V8, this chocolate bar is an unusually well-preserved car. Because lower priced F-Body Dodge Aspens and Plymouth Volares were designated as the mid-size squad cars through 1980 - not M-bodies. A rebranded version of the Eagle Premier (adapted from the Renault 25), the 1990 Monaco was the first version produced with front-wheel drive, slotted above the Dodge Dynasty in size. It was very fatiguing to herd that thing on the open road for any length of time. If only they could have had both style and quality. Its north Michigan afterall, every town has an odd car, sometimes for odd use too. Switch to inches. I have a 79 St. Regis. Dodge Charger 7th-gen. In addition to its highway patrol duties, the CHP also provides other services including protecting state buildings, state facilities, and state officials. The Dodge St. Regis is an automobile that was marketed by Dodge from the 1979 to 1981 model years. Some continually blew transmissions. What a nightmare.. My current ride is a 2007 Toyota Avalon with 135K and still humming along. I think he paid the difference in the MSRP between the Horizon and LeBaron. Usually its an easy fix for radio shops, and pulling it off isnt that hard. Why? American Brands: AMC, Jeep and All Others, Tractors, Lawn Mowers, Off-Road Equipment, Runway Classic Video: The Mighty Convair 880 Takes Off Again, http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2006/12/chrysler-bank-on-it/, http://www.allpar.com/cars/dodge/R-bodies.html. 1979 Dodge St Regis TV Hooker replica photographed Oct 2014: 1932 Ford Coupe Hot Rod Troy MI Police photographed Aug 2015: 1932 Ford Coupe Hot Rod Troy MI Police It's this last engine, the E86-coded 440, that was specified for Barry's Fury, along with a 2.71 rear gear, when it was ordered by the Kansas Highway Patrol. Even the grille pattern looks more Buick than Dodge. The St. Regis was created during some desperate times for Chrysler. Video: YouTuber thrashes Ferrari F8, to provoke lawsuit? It was a silver 2 door with red leather guts and stayed nice for about 2 weeks. My original seats are in storage while Im actually driving around in bucket seats salvaged from a 1985 Dodge Omni that had low back buckets with adjustable headrests. My mechanical skills at the time were far from what they are now so the issue was never solved and the car remained in my possession for a couple more years. lol. Original paint, top and in . Its so fortunate the car is equipped with FM too ( I bought a parts radio from ebay for my volare as I cant stand the AM radio in remote north Michigan countryside ) and more than one speaker is a big plus on St Regis. Handling Ranked 2002 Ford Focus ZX3 better. 1980 Dodge Police cars (Brochure). Wow, we really do have some things in common, although I think your LeBaron experience was even worse than ours. In contrast to both the Monaco and the Diplomat, the St. Regis was offered solely as a four-door sedan. The extra $500 must for being in rust belt. I think a horizontal bar grille, as Dodge was introducing at the time, would have been a nice touch. C $10.00. 1979 Dodge Car Lineup. February 21, 2015 78 comments. The Horizon had stick shift and no air conditioning, so he traded it on the LeBaron. For Sale: 1997 Subaru WRX P2 WRC rally car raced by Colin McRae, Video: Hoonigan releases update, tribute to celebrate the life of Ken Block, 2023 Summernats 35: Highlights and mega gallery. All Rights Reserved. 1979 Dodge LRT Express. Of course, my perception may be influenced by the fact that my parents were having a rather disastrous experience with my moms 1978 LeBaron and I may have just tuned out Chrysler news at that time. Dodge, Plymouth, and Chrysler Police Cars 1979-1994 notes that the 360 powered St. Regis, Newport, and Gran Fury were the fastest and best performing police cars of the era. She is Catholic, however. That would kick in around 28-30 mph, causing a massive ping/detonation/lugging event alarming enough to make you let off the throttle. "It sits lower to the ground, it is a car, and it is newer". 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!. Get the best deals on Parts & Accessories for Dodge St. Regis when you shop the largest online selection at eBay.com. 1979. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. . I bought from him and have owned it 20 years and drove it as recently as yesterday. 1968 Dodge Monaco with a 383 cubic inch motor. We are always looking for good bang shifty stories, projects, photos & videos. 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. The 360 has been beefed up to a proper level and the car barks out through headers into Flowmasters. I wonder if anyones ever tried to fit one on. . If you had a variable-venturi Crown Victoria, you could guess whether it would come off at idle speed or tear out the rear end with wide open power. My clearest memory of these is the numerous pictures in the paper showing acres and acres of these things sitting unsold in rail yards all over north Michigan and southern Ontario. In contrast to the clean-sheet Ford and GM designs, the dire financial situation of Chrysler relegated the company to retool an existing chassis. Alternatively (and preferably for my 17 year old self) you could just gun it enough to delay the upshift. Sort By Sorting Order Results Per Page The Plymouth Gran Fury was initially built using Chryslers larger R-body platform until its switch to the mid-size M-body in 1982, something a lot of ongoing larger Chrysler nameplates did. I thought they looked great, and kind of reminded me of certain TV shows set in the US Southwest, where this color of patrol car was often seen. When I turn off the lights, the doors now make a satisfying thunk as they close. Wow, I dont think Ive ever seen a St. Regis that nice. The Chevrolet Impala was a cheaper, trimmed down version of the B-body full-size Caprice and came with V8 engines of 5.0-litre and 5.7-litre capacities. They could hit one hundred five mph. 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). Ten years earlier the full size Chrysler cars came out with the cockpit styling and hoods long enough to land a plane on. The Impala was phased out in 1986 when the Caprice 9C1 police pack replaced it, but would come back in the future. The more basic S model was produced for fleets which had no vinyl roof, no chrome roof band, no hood ornament and bench seats. A special waiver was acquired to remove the anti-smog equipment to restore some performance, but departments such as the California Highway Patrol dropped it for the Ford Mustang instead. The 1981 318 was a decent police vehicle. Gene Poon: The last car I drove on duty was the California-spec 1980 Dodge St. Regis with the 318 4-barrel. The Dodge St. Regis is a very rare car. I used to own a 79 St. Regis back in the late 80s. Gets rid of a lot of headaches. There is a small piece of trim missing near the drivers door, unnoticed until close to car. The Dodge St. Regis was based on the rear wheel drive Chrysler R-body platform. 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. New Product, And How To Assemble It: The Speedway Motors Sheet Metal Mock Up LS Engine! . I use the car only for shows and parades. The digital clock lights, ut does not reset. A console from my deceased 67 Sport Fury is between the seats. While shifting to an intermediate chassis allowed the St. Regis a smaller exterior footprint over the 1974-1977 Monaco, it remained far larger than its Ford LTD and Chevrolet Caprice competitors (at 220.2 inches long, an inch shorter than a Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham). The second gas crisis came in 1979, the car was bigger than the B-body GM or the new-for-1979 Panther platform over at Ford, the styling echoed the Buick LeSabre just a little too much, the old suspension design showed through, the big-block cop cars had gone so fleet sales wound up going to hell, and then there was the quality control issues. I have a line on 5 other cars. 1979 Dodge Mangum XE. Used by a wide variety of Chrysler model lines, the B-body architecture underpinned model lines ranging from the Dodge Coronet and Plymouth Belvedere to the Dodge Charger and Chrysler Cordoba. The ad remains on CL for over a year with different photos, obviously the kid has such a hard time selling it. I was always impressed with the ride quality and handling, even with the police suspension and police pack components. Shop millions of cars from over 22,500 dealers and find the perfect car. My clearest memory of these is the numerous pictures in the paper showing acres and acres of these things sitting unsold in rail yards all over north Michigan and southern Ontario.. But, I am still haunted by the specter of that old LeBaron and have this nagging fear that things will start going wrong at any moment.