1966SevenLitre

I've been researching 1960-78 police patrol cars run by each state agency in the US for a while now ... and this is the first time I saw a 1965 Indiana State Police Catalina. Does that look right? The last picture is a `66 Pontiac Catalina, so it appears the ISP ran Catalinas in 1965-66. Any idea if they were used any other years in the 1960s?

I know it's almost 2 years later ... but do you still have the Automotive news Almanac's? Thank you.

Hi folks ... I was just curious if anyone has copies of the 1971-72 Buick Police Package data sheets and 1973 order form posted by 72Buickguy. Been searching high and low for this information, would truly appreciate the help.

Ted - sure I remember the Hulk ... Roger here, we've talked through the 7-Litre group. As for Buicks, finding police car info on the 1966-71 full-size models has been tough. I have some of literature which shows options you'd find in police packages, such as HD suspension (towing package), HD cooling (ditto), larger wheels and so on. Yet actually understand what Buick actually offered in their "police package" cars during that period is a different story. For instance, attached is a page from the 1968 Oldsmobile Salesman SPECS book. You can see how it shows which models which offered a police package, the packages available like B01/B07, and all the other options along with them (including codes). As of now I haven't found anything like this on 1966-71 Buicks, though my understanding is that it does exist.

Ted - thank you for your input. Good point and makes complete sense. I have all the `66-71 Buick dealership brochures (including Prestige), but didn't notice the difference in wheelbase. That and I'm just not too familiar with Buicks and I'm still catching up. It may take time to find the police brochures which should have good info. But few may exist, especially if they were only distributed as part of the Buick Fleet Leasing & Purchaser book. As for 7-Litres, they were a high-end "gentleman's performance" car. Idea was to compete with the Gran Sport Wildcats and Pontiac 2+2s which had already defined the segment. 7-Litres were a one-year only model which reverted to an "option" in 1967 before being phased out. Along with the new 428, dual exhaust, power disc brakes, bucket seats, console and other standard features, you could make the car into whatever you wanted through RPO, LPO, DSO and dealer-added options. Ford had it's whole Total Performance program going on so there was plenty you could do. For police cars, Ford had the 2-door/4-door baseline Custom and the lightly upgraded Custom 500 through 1970. Then they added the Galaxie 500 (more standard features). 1966 was the only year Ford offered a solid-lifter version (P-code) of the 428. Afterwards, they never put a solid-lifter FE motor in another police or standard passenger car again.

Larry – thank you for that suggestion. The Sloan Museum is on my radar. My aim is to do more legwork first in order to have a better understanding of what Buick was doing. For instance, I understand Buick’s police package for the 1964 LeSabre was called “Expressway Cruiser”. Did they have the same LeSabre package in 1966-71? Likewise, in 1966-69, did Buick use the 425 & 430 in LeSabre police packages when the lineup only had 340/350s? Hoping to find out more stuff like this, though I may to ask the Sloan Museum instead. NTX5467 – as always, thank you for your input. I know you’re a long-time poster and true car guy, plus it sounds like you share a similar appreciation of cop cars. Like you, my understanding from fellow enthusiasts in the police car world is indeed big-block high-speed pursuit cars weren’t always common among the agencies. On one hand, State police/highway patrol typically had them which makes sense given how their jurisdiction covers interstates and major highways. Counties and townships were hit & miss. But for cities, there were only a limited number, if any at all. Instead, just as you said, they are mainly patrolling city blocks and condensed areas. They just didn't need high-powered cars. That and the gas was expensive. Instead they’d run small blocks or even 6-cylinders. To give an idea on the number of full-size big-block high-speed pursuit cars there were ... in 1967 Ford built about 15.5K police cars of all sizes and shapes (Customs, wagons, Fairlanes, Falcons, etc). Of those, only 2,628 were 428-4V high-speed pursuit cars (17%). Edwin Sanow states that Ford was the leading cop car manufacturer until 1968 when Plymouth took over, and I’ve read government reports which have made me conclude the entire police car market in 1967 was somewhere around 55,000 units. If true, it means about 5% of all police car sales from the #1 cop car maker were full-size big-block high-speed pursuit cars. So the evidence certainly supports your assertion there wasn’t a vast need for 4bbl high-horsepower police cars. Agree with you on how manufacturers were pretty astute when it came to packaging heavy-duty components for these cars. Aside from their own lab work, research, track testing and experience from racing, they also received feedback from IACP, MSP, CHP, LAPD and other law enforcement entities which provided input for continued improvements. There was at least one point where a specific police car design was discussed for a law enforecement only, though it wasn’t feasible for manufacturers. As with most things, to your point, engineers don’t always think of everything ... and the end result is there can be weak points in their designs which lead to problems. There’s nothing worse for law enforcement agencies and manufacturers alike when cars are in the shop. That’s where proven platforms help, like the full-size cars in the early `60s. They were bred from decades of engineering and many were track tested and proven in extreme conditions. Another example is the Crown Vic. The Panther platform was fairly stout on its own and Ford continued improving it. Especially in 2003 when they switched to rack & pinion steering and Watts-link rear suspension. In Buick's case, no doubt it could draw from a proven platform in the mid-60s LeSabre. By then, the Riviera had already offered a 2x4bbl 425 and clearly Buick had thrown its hat in the power game. Overall, seems like many of the pieces were in place. But it's still unclear (to me) what their police packages actually entailed. Conversely, the 1966 Ford full-size police cars, regardless of engine/trans, all came standard with HD/handling suspension, HD fade-resistant brakes, HD cooling, 15x6" wheels, 2-belt 42-amp alternator, HD battery, HD seats and HD rubber floor matting. From there you simply choose your engine (428, 390-4V/2V, 289, 240-six), trans (C6, 3-speed) and any options like disc brakes, bigger-amp alternator, bumper guards, spotlights, etc.

For anyone interested in 1966-71 Buick police cars, it's possible that Buick provided information about its police package cars in its "Fleet" packet. Here is an example of what Oldsmobile did. You can see a Police Brochure was included in its Fleet Facts information package for dealerships. https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/1967-oldsmobile-fleet-facts-mint-440125231 If anyone has additional information or knows anyone who might, I'd truly be grateful. I'm looking for full brochures, spec sheets and so forth which provide all models, codes, engine options and complete specs for 1966-71 Buick Police cars.

Thanks for that reply. Sounds like your enthusiasm is the same as mine! If it helps, I have many of Edwin Sanow's books (and two from Monty McCord), plus I've scoured the police car websites as well as Allpar and others for data and info. Also have several government reports which provide good data/insights along with contacts in the police car collector world who've been advising on bid processes and other nuances back then. Add to that, I've owned several police cars over the years. Still, input is always a good thing and you never know what you can learn. Mainly right now I'm looking for 1966-71 Buick police car literature (brochures, spec sheets, etc), Buick historical info related to these cars and/or production numbers all of which I realized might be quite rare. If you or one else comes across this info or knows anyone like 72BuickGuy who may be able to help, I would be sincerely grateful.

Thanks for the replies. Roberta, appreciate the link. That was quick too! NTX5467, agree on the older thread, it may be the one I shared below. Regarding the police car market, hear you. For now my focus is on 1966-71 big-block full-size high-speed pursuit cars mainly because big-blocks were coming into their own and most of the high-speed pursuit cars were large sedans. Initially I considered intermediates but aside from the fact the research was already getting extensive enough, the vast majority of state police and highway patrol agencies during that era used large cars (big cops like large cars, etc). Good point on the Buick parts book, it may come to that. What I've been finding is that all manufacturers had some type of Police Car brochure, Fleet Book, spec sheet or the like which allowed agencies to understand the details of police package cars that were being offered. Even Rambler and AMC had them. I’m guessing Buick did too, just haven’t found anything yet. It's also fascinating that ll the manufacturers were players in the cop car market. Each of Ford, Plymouth, Dodge, Chevy, Pontiac, Olds, Mercury and Buick had full-size cars with big-blocks over 400-CID. AMC was the only exception. Selling to law enforcement, particularly when a local dealer to the local police agency, was good advertising. When Olds and Mercury won contracts with the California Highway Patrol in 1967 & 1970, respectively, it provided validation for sales to more law enforcement agencies. What’s also interesting is the price some of these state agencies paid varied as much as 25%. That makes sense for a few reasons. One is obviously the size of the order. Two, states had different requirements among them such as air conditioning, bigger tires, mechanical gauges and so on. Third, while the Michigan State Police and LAPD/CHP did rigorous annual testing on new models, there was no universal standard. Fourth, some state agencies prioritized certain features like top speed or 0-60 performance more than others did, perhaps like small, dense states. In other cases you never know what the deal was. For instance, in 1968, the Nevada State Police paid $2500 for each 428 Pontiac Catalina 4-dr. Meanwhile, the state just south, Arizona, paid $1879 for each Plymouth Fury 1. The huge difference in price begs the question, was the Catalina actually worth that much more than the Fury, a proven and popular model? That kind of gives you an idea how obscure this market is ... and why some of this stuff will probably never be known. So far I have validated that all manufactures offered police cars each year between 1966-71. I was able to accomplish this either by seeing authentic period photographs, finding manufacturer Police Car brochures for each year, and via government reports. The only full-size police cars I don’t have pictures of are 1966 Buick, 1966-67 Mercury and 1968 AMC. The brochures I’m missing are 1971 Olds and all years for Buick. That’s why I’m here seeking help from the Buick experts. By the way, here is a thread from 2005 where 72BuickGuy posted some 1972-73 Buick Police Car literature. Of course that was a long time ago, but it’s possible some posters copied the documents and could still be around. https://forums.aaca.org/topic/63489-71-73-lesabre-police-cars/ I’m reaching here but don’t have much else to go on ... It is a fascinating topic and an obscure part of Buick history. Same for Olds, Pontiac, Merc and AMC. That makes it good stuff if you ask me.

Hello folks, I am looking for help on 1966-71 Buick cop cars from Buick enthusiasts and experts alike. I've been researching all the full-size, big-block, high-speed cop cars from this era and of them all, Buick has been the most obscure (Mercury too). While other GM makes haven't been easy, I've managed to identify almost all of the full-size big-block cars offered by Chevy, Pontiac and Olds. For Buick, so far I've found all the dealer brochures from 1966-71 which have been good reference. Also found copies of the 1965 & 1970 Buick Facts books. To this point I understand what models and engines were available during this time (see attached table), but I haven't found anything on police package cars or even the RPO/codes used. What I do know is neither the 1965 or 1970 Facts Books list anything on cop cars. The 1970 book does show heavy duty suspension / trailer packages, plus an HD cooling option. It also shows the 455 wasn't optional in the entry-level LeSabre, typically the car that would be offered in a police package. Of course that doesn't mean it didn't happen, I just don't have any brochures, data sheets, etc to stand behind it. I did find a 1980 Buick police car brochure in a government report which shows the police package. It appears Buick called it the "Lawman's Action Package" with a reference to the "BT1" option. It's unclear whether Buick used that same Lawman Action Package terminology between 1966-71 or if the BT1 code existed then either. All searching I've done for full-size 1966-71 Buick cop cars has pretty much been fruitless ... which is why I'm trying to find experts here who might be able to help. Basically looking for any insights on these cars ... as well as `66-71 police brochures ... and ideally any production numbers. I know this stuff is hard to find. If anyone prefers contacting by PM to discuss in person that's all good here. I'm an honorable guy and can demonstrate that with complete respect. In my view these 1966-71 cop cars are quite unique in that they came out during a time when auto makers were in a race to introduce new big-blocks with huge power. That plus these police cars were getting disc brakes, rear sway bars, radial tires and other goodies for the first time. The fact they looked very ordinary and utilitarian only adds to their "sleeper" mystique. What I'm finding is that the production numbers for big-block high-speed pursuit cars was pretty low, in some cases just a handful. For instance, for one car there were only 14 built. Together it makes for a relatively unknown group of cars that are also quite rare. Sincerely grateful for any help that can be offered. Many thanks.