1962 Chrysler Enforcer. Reportedly CHP car. Hemmings auction. Not mine.

[JamesR]

Quote

....restored 1962 Chrysler Enforcer California Highway Patrol cruiser...According to the selling dealer, this 1962 Chrysler sedan isn’t a clone, but the real deal, a true Chrysler Enforcer police pursuit car and one of 1,227 produced in 1962. The seller says, “I can’t find another anywhere.”

1962 Chrysler Other | Hemmings.com

[Guest]

Interesting car.

The former ownership by CHP is possible as the VIN confirms the car was designed as a police issue.  It's a little curious that two of the trunk photos show turquoise paint where the black is chipped away.

The black plate shown in the trunk would not have been on this car originally if it were a police vehicle.  The alpha numeric sequence is for regular civilian use and the black plate wasn't introduced until 1963.  Where police cars used the earlier Yellow colored Exempt or "E" plates which would not have gone with the cars when they were sold at auction after their service life had ended.  Of course the plates shown in the trunk could have belonged to the first person to register the car for civilian use.

Cheers, Greg

 

[JamesR]

Good points Greg. I figured someone from California could probably provide some insight about a car like this. I personally find the choice of a full sized Chrysler as a police cruiser interesting. I would more expect a Dodge or Plymouth. Even if they used them as cruisers, is it possible that this was an old detective's car that was restored as a cruiser? Might explain the different paint. Or maybe it was resprayed as a civilian car once the department auctioned it off. I have to admit, even though it's not what I'd expect as an early '60's cop car, I really like the look of it...and I'm generally not into old cop cars.

[5219]

In the middle 1960's, the New Jersey State Police, at least on the Turnpike, used Chrysler New Yorker sedans.

[TexRiv_63]

Very cool.

[Marty Roth]

13 hours ago, 5219 said:

In the middle 1960's, the New Jersey State Police, at least on the Turnpike, used Chrysler New Yorker sedans.

Yes, this was true at least as far back as 1957, as I recall.

The big Chrysler New Yorker 4-door sedan was the New Jersey State Police vehicle at that time,

and a few of the more friendly Troopers were more than pleased to show us the big 392 "HEMI" powering their cruisers.

[Guest]

James, 

                        I had pondered the very same two ideas about this car, that perhaps it was a detective issued car or it had been repainted to turquoise post-police use.  I suppose either idea is possible.

Also, I did some research on the Plymouth/Dodge vs. Chrysler thing and found a pretty informative article that seems to explain things.

 

Plymouth far outsold Dodge for police and fleet use.  By 1961 Dodge no longer offered a police package on the Polara, however the California Highway Patrol wielded much influence in those days and due to that influence, they were the only agency in the nation able to order a fleet of specially built Dodge Polara police cars.  To pick up the gap for all other agencies, Chrysler introduced the Enforcer.

The Enforcer line was introduced in 1961 and offered all the police goodies necessary, bigger engine, suspension package, brakes, etc.   Apparently the California Highway Patrol had decided the ideal wheel base for use as a highway cruiser was 122 inches (although no explanation is available for this reasoning), which the Enforcer offered.  By 1962 a restyle at both Plymouth and Dodge had reduced both lines to a 118 inch wheelbase so that made the Chrysler Enforcer the car of choice and several states purchased fleets of this car including California starting 1962.

Greg

Edited March 31, 2022 by GregLaR (see edit history)

[m-mman]

1 hour ago, GregLaR said:

however the California Highway Patrol wielded much influence in those days and due to that influence, they were the only agency in the nation able to order a fleet of specially built Dodge Polara police cars. 

 I have heard that in 1955 the CHP got Buick to build a fleet of Century 2 door SEDANS.  

Century being the big engine in a small body variation, but as an upscale series they were hardtop only. It wouldn't take much to put the big engine in the same wheelbase sedan version. And supposedly they displayed the Century scripts and trim. 

[Marty Roth]

1 hour ago, m-mman said:

 I have heard that in 1955 the CHP got Buick to build a fleet of Century 2 door SEDANS.  

Century being the big engine in a small body variation, but as an upscale series they were hardtop only. It wouldn't take much to put the big engine in the same wheelbase sedan version. And supposedly they displayed the Century scripts and trim. 

Yep !

 

I recall Broderick Crawford as Chief Dan Matthews on the TV series Highway Patrol, and during some seasons they used the 2-door black and white Buick as the CHP cruisers. Thanks, m-mann for the reminder

[JamesR]

39 minutes ago, Marty Roth said:

Yep !

 

I recall Broderick Crawford as Chief Dan Matthews on the TV series Highway Patrol, and during some seasons they used the 2-door black and white Buick as the CHP cruisers. Thanks, m-mann for the reminder

 

That immediately came to mind for me, as well. I'd seen a rerun on youtube a couple of years ago.

 

Big engine/smaller body advantage aside, are there any other reasons a law enforcement agency would prefer a two door to a four door? More front seat legroom, maybe? If officers are in their cars all day, I could see how that might be a consideration, at least for taller guys. Or maybe it's hard for a perp to escape out of the back seat of a two door? In the end, I'd think that the disadvantages of a two door cop car would outweigh the advantages.

[Angelfish]

One of my cousins had a penchant for police cars in his younger days.  When you'd see a movie police chase with a lot of wrecked cars he'd say, "that's the one I ended up with."  Some of those police cars were run hard, it's easy to believe that a body panel or two may have been changed out along the way.  

[Gary_Ash]

I remember driving the NJ Turnpike in the mid1960s.  One day, a NJ state police car came up beside me in a Chrysler, scared the bejesus out of me as I thought he was going to tag me, then he floored it and burned rubber as we were both cruising at 60 mph or so.  He was soon out of sight, and I was glad that I was not his target.  That was a message to me not to mess with those guys.  But, wow, was I impressed!

[Jim Mead]

My Dad was Chief of Police for 24 years in our little town. It was like growing up with 12 Fathers. One night the kid, me, was hanging around the Station probably getting on Dad’s nerves. So he tells Officer Hal, a truck driver and gearhead, to “blow out the car” and to take me along. Needless to say the big Dodge hemi at 112 mph up Route 38 in the dark made quite an impression on this 13 year old…..

 

Those big Mopars were bulletproof. But they would load up from constant idling and 35 mph Village patrol work. 

[Marty Roth]

On 3/31/2022 at 8:20 PM, Gary_Ash said:

I remember driving the NJ Turnpike in the mid 1960s.  One day, a NJ state police car came up beside me in a Chrysler, scared the bejesus out of me as I thought he was going to tag me, then he floored it and burned rubber as we were both cruising at 60 mph or so.  He was soon out of sight, and I was glad that I was not his target.  That was a message to me not to mess with those guys.  But, wow, was I impressed!

I had a similar experience. The big New Yorker cars were exceptionally fast , and the early ones had the 392 Hemi in '57 and '58. I've also seen a State Police Officer "Chirp" the tires at 60 mph,

and fly away from my '49 Pontiac or '54 Mercury. My Powr-Pak '56 Chevy was much quicker, but still no match for the 

Also, when the NJ Turnpike first opened, you got a time-stamped entry tick, and the exit time could be compared, based on the time stamp, to determine if you had been excessively speeding.

 

Several of us would get on late at night in Newark during Turnpike State Police shift change and race several exits south toward New Brunswick at ridiculous speeds, but then pull into a service plaza to kill time before exiting.

We never did learn if our times were actually checked, but it was fun, thinking that we were beating the system.

[Fossil]

My first experience with a police interceptor came when I was 14. The night before someone went through our neighborhood egging houses. The next day someone called the Multnomah county Sheriffs and I was in our backyard when they showed up. I could hear a car out front that sounded to a 14 year old like a race car. Very rough idle in a good sounding way. I ran out front to investigate only to see a Sheriffs car idling there. After the Sheriffs were done interviewing people I asked a cop about the car. He said it was designed to set along the interstate highways and chase down speeders.  He called it a Police Interceptor and I never forgot that name. If I remember correctly it was a 1964 or 65 Plymouth and it sounded like music to me. 

[Jim Mead]

Too bad I threw away all those old Law & Order magazines in the attic. The ads would have supplied a lot of data and visuals on Police Pursuit Packages. I seem to remember more Dodges than Plymouths. They probably bought a car a year. The fleet was two cruisers, 17 and 87. 
Village was founded in 1787. 
And a detective or unmarked car, later becoming a Chief’s car. So I must remember about 22 years of cars plus seeing old photos in the squad room. 
 

The earliest I remember was a photo of a Studebaker mid 50’s. There was a later 50’s Ford that fell apart. But after that it was a long run of Mopar with a smattering of Chevys up until 1980. There was a second Ford in the early 60’s, but it only lasted 6 months. Some of this had to do with the NYS bid price for pursuit cars. 

[Fossil]

This one was a little different. When in high school a friends dad aquired an old 1957 Ford police car. It was an ugly two tone grey 4 door that even then seemed pretty bare on the inside. This too was a chase car but was different in the way the transmission worked. Under normal conditions it would shift like any other car but if you nailed it from a standing or slow start it would shift down to a lower first gear and would take off like a scalded cat. I'd really like to drive that again to learn more about it. Looked like a beater and went like crazy. 

 

 

[8E45E]

This car must have sold as it is now here in Calgary, and the current owner isn't going to be parting with it anytime soon.

 

Here it is at our first show'n'shine of the year.

 

Craig

 

[JamesR]

Thanks a bunch for the update on the car, Craig. Does anyone have an idea what it ended up selling for? I didn't follow the auction all the way to the end.

[8E45E]

On 4/26/2022 at 5:31 AM, Jim Mead said:

Too bad I threw away all those old Law & Order magazines in the attic. 

 

The earliest I remember was a photo of a Studebaker mid 50’s. There was a later 50’s Ford that fell apart. But after that it was a long run of Mopar with a smattering of Chevys up until 1980. There was a second Ford in the early 60’s, but it only lasted 6 months. Some of this had to do with the NYS bid price for pursuit cars. 

Too bad you tossed away those magazines.  All dedicated ads directed at police constabularies would have been interesting to look over, including ones on handguns, two-way radios and especially the ones on cars.  

 

Studebaker didn't actively pursue the police car market in postwar years until 1956 when they introduced the 289 engine.  They did make some interesting fleet cars over the years: https://forum.studebakerdriversclub.com/forum/your-studebaker-forum/general-studebaker-specific-discussion/104686-some-canadian-stuebaker-fleet-vehicles-1958

 

Craig

[Joe Fay]

I really feel compelled to respond to this string.  A couple of points, first and foremost, this car is the real deal and I have good Californian copcar friends that know the car well.  To wrap your head around the 1962 Chrysler, you have to understand that CHP had very specific requirements and how Chrysler Corp supported CHP in 1961.  CHP had extremely tight requirements for their squads.  Dodge was the preferred supplier since 1958.  In 1961, Dodge only officially offered one fullsize package car, the 1961 Dodge Dart.  CHP would not accept the Dodge Dart, as it did not meet CHP requirements.  A special order and production run was issued for CHP by Chrysler Corp.  1200 1961 Dodge Polara package cars were produced for CHP.  The units rode on a 122 inch wheelbase and roll on 15 inch 760-15 inch wheels, the Polara was a far, beefier unit than the Dart package car.  The following year, due to the 1962 downsizing, again, the 1962 Dodge Dart with a 116 wheelbase would not meet CHP requirments and again CHP found itself  in the same situation, the Dodge cars did not meet the CHP requirements.  These 62 Chrysler units are very similar to the CHP 61 Dodges, so the Newport was the perfect replacement for the CHP as it was based on the same platform as the 61 Dodge.  Altered for 1962 the  Chrysler front clip was added to the 61 Dodge.  The 61 Dodge reverse fins were squared up and reduced on the 62 Chrysler.  Regarding the "turquoise paint", the wholesaler who sold a significant number of used CHP cars did a great job of painting, to camoflage the fact that the Dodge and Chryslers were former squad.  I own a former CHP 1961 Dodge Polara package car, it too was painted turquoise paint.  Its highly likely that there were unmarked cars, but the majority of the CHP Dodges and Chrysler were solely used for patroling the highways.  

Edited July 6, 2022 by Joe Fay (see edit history)

[Joe Fay]

Here are some photos from the 1963 KPIX CHP Documentary, "Soildier Of The Law" note the 62 Chrysler

[58L-Y8]

16 hours ago, Joe Fay said:

I really feel compelled to respond to this string.  A couple of points, first and foremost, this car is the real deal and I have good Californian copcar friends that know the car well.  To wrap your head around the 1962 Chrysler, you have to understand that CHP had very specific requirements and how Chrysler Corp supported CHP in 1961.  CHP had extremely tight requirements for their squads.  Dodge was the preferred supplier since 1958.  In 1961, Dodge only officially offered one fullsize package car, the 1961 Dodge Dart.  CHP would not accept the Dodge Dart, as it did not meet CHP requirements.  A special order and production run was issued for CHP by Chrysler Corp.  1200 1961 Dodge Polara package cars were produced for CHP.  The units rode on a 122 inch wheelbase and roll on 15 inch 760-15 inch wheels, the Polara was a far, beefier unit than the Dart package car.  The following year, due to the 1962 downsizing, again, the 1962 Dodge Dart with a 116 wheelbase would not meet CHP requirments and again CHP found itself  in the same situation, the Dodge cars did not meet the CHP requirements.  These 62 Chrysler units are very similar to the CHP 61 Dodges, so the Newport was the perfect replacement for the CHP as it was based on the same platform as the 61 Dodge.  Altered for 1962 the  Chrysler front clip was added to the 61 Dodge.  The 61 Dodge reverse fins were squared up and reduced on the 62 Chrysler.  Regarding the "turquoise paint", the wholesaler who sold a significant number of used CHP cars did a great job of painting, to camoflage the fact that the Dodge and Chryslers were former squad.  I own a former CHP 1961 Dodge Polara package car, it too was painted turquoise paint.  Its highly likely that there were unmarked cars, but the majority of the CHP Dodges and Chrysler were solely used for patroling the highways.  

Thanks for the CHP history.  Were 1962-'64 Dodge Custom 880 CHP Enforcers offered once that series came to market?

[Joe Fay]

To respond to the question, above, in 1962, Dodge only offered the Dart as a police package car, Chrysler offered the larger platform. The midyear entry of the 880 was never offered up with a package option.  That said, in 63, The Dodge 880 was now available with a package option and the CHP would again purchase Dodge......over the Enforcer.

Edited November 25, 2023 by Joe Fay (see edit history)

[1957Birdman]

Since the 1950's Ford police applications have been identified as "Police Interceptor". That moniker has been on full size Fords, Mustangs, and Ford Explorers (not an exhaustive list). I remember seeing an orange 2002 Mustang GT on I-95 that had pulled someone over. 

Lew Bachman

1957 Thunderbird

[kingrudy]

On 3/31/2022 at 1:09 PM, Guest said:

James, 

                        I had pondered the very same two ideas about this car, that perhaps it was a detective issued car or it had been repainted to turquoise post-police use.  I suppose either idea is possible.

Also, I did some research on the Plymouth/Dodge vs. Chrysler thing and found a pretty informative article that seems to explain things.

 

Plymouth far outsold Dodge for police and fleet use.  By 1961 Dodge no longer offered a police package on the Polara, however the California Highway Patrol wielded much influence in those days and due to that influence, they were the only agency in the nation able to order a fleet of specially built Dodge Polara police cars.  To pick up the gap for all other agencies, Chrysler introduced the Enforcer.

The Enforcer line was introduced in 1961 and offered all the police goodies necessary, bigger engine, suspension package, brakes, etc.   Apparently the California Highway Patrol had decided the ideal wheel base for use as a highway cruiser was 122 inches (although no explanation is available for this reasoning), which the Enforcer offered.  By 1962 a restyle at both Plymouth and Dodge had reduced both lines to a 118 inch wheelbase so that made the Chrysler Enforcer the car of choice and several states purchased fleets of this car including California starting 1962.

Greg

Thanks for the info Greg.

[Crusty Trucker]

Since this post popped back up, I had to add my 2 cents worth for history freaks.

 

Looks like a Buick '42 - 48:

 

 

1953 Ford:

 

 

 

1955 Buick Century:

 

 

1957 Pontiac(s):

 

 

1970 Mercury:

 

 

Fox Body Mustang:

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 25, 2023 by Crusty Trucker (see edit history)

[Leif in Calif]

I have a story from the opposite end of the performance spectrum. In the late 70's and early 80's, I owned a glass shop in the small town of Truckee CA, located at 6100ft, just over Donner Pass on I-80 (7,000ft). The CHP had a station in town and we did all their work. Just before they got the Mustangs, they received a couple of Dodge K cars! There was an article in the local paper about how they not only couldn't catch up to speeders going over the summit, they couldn't even  stay with them to clock them!  It was also a hard transition to move from the front wheel drive "K" to the Mustang when there was snow on the ground (possible about 9 months of the year). 

Edited November 25, 2023 by Leif in Calif (see edit history)