One of the most stunning cars in the show was this ex-California Highway Patrol ’65 Dodge Polara. Completely un-restored, it’s still wearing the CHP issued push bar. The absence of a roof-mounted bubblegum machine makes this one a “slick-top”, and all the more difficult for speeders to spot approaching in the rear view mirror. But when that pillar-mounted red pull-over lamp blinks on, the jig is up!
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| Most people think Mopar cop wheels have slotted spiders and drilled poverty caps. While that’s true of the 15x7 hoops used on 1974-up police cars – and borrowed frequently for use on our hot rod Mopars - here’s a rare look at the Mopar cop wheel and cap package used in previous decades. Also found on taxi cabs and certain fleet vehicles, these heavy duty 15x6 wheels feature riveted inner tangs to secure the wheel caps. David Pearson’s Trans-Canada rally ’65 Hemi Coronet ran this type of rolling stock. | Inside this unmolested time capsule, we see the CHP-specific white plastic steering wheel, rubber floor mat, heavy duty vinyl bench seat and, natch, radio delete panel. A Motorola police band radio was fitted instead. In the Seventies, most police departments began specifying standard AM/FM radio equipment so officers could tune in during natural disasters (earthquakes, floods, storms, locusts) to hear the same information the general public hears. Without AM/FM receivers, officers sometimes had trouble getting up to date information in emergencies. That’s why you won’t find radio delete plates in the vast majority of modern cop cars. |
Even the specific dual “overbite” tail pipes remain to vent the 413’s exhaust gasses. While the 426 Street Wedge was available in full size Dodges in 1965, the CHP specified the 340-horse 413 for use in these Polaras. The fresh paint on the gas tank is a tip off the present owner had to de-mothball this car for use. We’d have asked but he was nowhere to be found.