1960 Buick police cars

[Guest 60Buick]

I have had a relative in Mississippi recall that the state patrol used 60 Buicks. Can anyone else back this up? I have only been able to locate photos of Chevrolets. Memories get foggy after 40 years and they do look similar. Does anyone know of other states that may have used the Buick in 60?

[DualQwad]

I have been told that the Nutley, NJ police dept. used 65 Wildcats, and so did the NY state troopers for awhile. I have yet to confirm this.

[lrlforfun]

OK Richard: Of course there were 1960 Buick cop cars! How do I know this? I saw them featured in an article in the Buick Salesmaster newsletter,a rag sent out to all those Royal purples and other sales people not so great. In those years a Buick salesman (I don't believe there were any women) stayed with the house they worked for, for a much longer period of employment. Today a clerk at Macdonalds restaurant stays on the job longer. And how do I know that?????????????? Because I eat there and I used to call on new car dealers as a car wholesaler.

There were also many communities that liked to trade with all their local dealers so Buicks could have appeared on the scene as well as other makes.

Mitch.

[Guest brianmcfa]

I realize this appears to be a very old forum, but I am specifically looking for any police agency that used a full size 1961 Buick, preferably a LeSabre for their police cars. I have come across a picture of a fire chief's car, but never a police unit. I have my great-grandfather's 1961 LeSabre that he used when he was a detective in the 60's and I know he used it on duty. It was never a marked unit though. I would like to restore it into a marked police car but I want reference photos.

[Barney Eaton]

Call the states listed in the above post. Contact the State police and ask if they have a state police museum or archives.

I remember going to the Indiana State fair and the State Police had a big display with lots of old pictures on the walls. Even if there is no organized museum, often someone in the state has started their own collection and someone at police headquarters will know about them.

After posting above, I did a search and here is a place to start..........

http://policecararchives.org/mississippi/missi.html

Edited March 28, 2013 by Barney Eaton (see edit history)

[60FlatTop]

In New York State Troop E is a friendly place to try. The Commander gave a presentation to our Finger Lakes Chapter on our 25th anniversary. He liked cars ,too. I remember Dodges at our local barracks. Troop E ran the Thruway, maybe Buicks, but I would want to see a document.

A LeSabre or base Wildcat would be a good choice cost-wise compared to a police version Chevy 9C1.

My '94 Impala SS was a response to the needs for a high performance image. Long faces around a corporate meeting table were trying to figure out what to do and someone said "Let's put aluminum wheels and leather seats in a cop car." Ta-da! I heard one police force, maybe Tennessee, opted for the SS over the 9c1 because they cost less and bought something like 25 of them.

Oh, the trooper who talked to our group, he said they liked seeing old cars but sometimes we drove too slow. He left knowing the difference between a Buick and a Ford!

Bernie

[The Old Guy]

I Flikt Mich ( hometown of Buick ) used Buicks for many years. The City police got tired of being outrun by young people in fast cars, They used Chevies before.