Police Interceptor: 1971 Plymouth Fury
There’s something about a stealth sedan with a law enforcement background and a big V8 that does something to me. The fact that this is a 1971 Plymouth Fury sedan makes it even better. This police package Mopar can be found listed here on eBay in Clarkston, Michigan and there is an unmet opening bid price of $2,999 and no reserve after that.
The fifth-generation Plymouth Fury was made for the 1969 through the 1973 model years and we’ve seen many “Fuselage” Furys here in the past. We had one in the early-1970s, a 1969 Fury III four-door sedan in yellow with a tan vinyl top and 318 V8. I’ve wanted one for years and this ’71 Fury would be tempting but it’s more work than I’d like to take on right now. I believe this car would have been Amber Sherwood color originally, and the seller references that due to the data tag that they provide a photo of. That’s a nice, 1970s olive green color and I would bring that back if I were to restore this Fury.
You can see that it’s a project car and the seller doesn’t hide the fact that there’s rust and lots of work to do on this car. I love the offset trunk keyhole, that’s a very cool touch. Not to mention the recessed tail lights in the rear bumper. I’d want to add a third brake light in the rear window somewhere, there’s no way a texting driver would see those low tail lights while tailgating behind this car with their 18-foot-tall SUV.
This is about it for interior photos other than one showing the back seat along with the radiator which is sitting on the floor. There is also a photo of the speedometer with what I’m assuming is a creative gauge lighting fix. These Furies were notorious for not having the brightest dash lights, but I’m not sure about a couple of LED lights stuck to the side of the gauge. Ya gotta do what’cha gotta do I guess. I don’t see really any “police” anything on this car, do you? It does decode to being a police package, at least as far as the second digit of the VIN.
Here’s the zing that puts the ring-a-ding-ding in your… uhhh.. whatever. I mean, here’s where the action is with a 440 cubic-inch V8 which had 335 gross horsepower and 250 net, along with 460 gross ft-lb of torque, more than enough to fry the back tires. I love the double-snorkel air cleaner. I’m not sure when it got painted that bright blue but I’d want to bring this one back to bone stock, lose the wheels and put some nice steelies and dog dish caps on it and then just drive it. Any thoughts on this Fury? How would you bring it back to life?
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Comments
140 Speedo and the word CERTIFIED was only on the POLICE Package. I picked up a 77 Fury that was a UN MARKED State Police car. Heavy Duty Everything Under The Hood and Drive Line. Picked it up in 85 and it only had 63 thousand on it. Paid $ 500.00 for it had it a year and sold it for 1500.00. Only car I every owned that scared the hell out of me, Never Found the top end, and I tried a few times.
My ’69 and ’72 Ford Customs, both Connecticut ex-State Police cruisers, the former with a 428 PI and the latter with a 429 PI, both had the certified speedos. They both sported heavy duty suspensions, PDBs and heavy duty alternators. The interiors were Spartan with vinyl bench seats, rubber floor mats, column shift and not much else. They handled really well for full-sized cars and were unbeatable at highway speeds. I had the ’69 up to 130 mph once and when I had to back off it was still pulling strong. They weren’t much to look at but those big block Ford PIs were awesome performers.
I don’t know if this ’71 Fury is worth restoring but that big 440 is worth having.
I am a retired cop and began my career in 1966. I had both the Plymouth’s and the Ford’s mentioned above. Both were awesome cars patrol/pursuit cars. I recall chasing a 1969 Plymouth GTX for more than 20 miles, mostly on an open highway at speeds reaching more than 130 mph in my 1970 428 Ford, and I stayed right on the GTX’s bumper. At times, slower speeds below 100, at 2AM, his passenger was hanging out the window throwing beer bottles and bouncing them off my hood. He finally separated a tire from it’s rim and crashed into a chain link fence…No way was I going to even pit him in my new cruiser…. My next one was a 72 Plymouth 440 similar to the one shown here. It too was an awesome car to work the streets and highways…
Fast idle lock on this car? Reason?
I wonder what was under the hood of the 1972 Dodge Polara pursuit special – the one at the end of the movie – not yet with police lites …
http://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_28166-Dodge-Polara-1972.html
Joe, the ‘fast idle lock” did exactly as it is labeled. The faster idle at prolonged idle times kept the 440 a little cooler as well as helping to keep the battery from draining from all of the extra law enforcement electronics.
The fast idle lock was to keep the engine running above idle while stopped with lights and other equipment running. I generally set mine at 1200 to 1400 rpms while working a wreck or other extended stops. Kept the battery charged up as well…
We are on a mission from God.
‘Are you the police?’
‘No ma’am, we’re musicians…’
I was lucky to have had two of these, one from Ohio, one from Virginia, both with the U-code 440. Both had highway gears, the Ohio car had manual steering. They drank premium gas like it was Night Train and I had paycheck-cashing privilege at the NAPA store.
The Ohio car was bought in the spring of 1975 and traded for a 1969 Charger R/T a year later.
The Virginia car was bought a few months before my wedding in 1979 and sold two years later when my wife and I both lost our jobs and couldn’t afford to feed it and our first child.
Unless he’s changed his mind, Mark Worman doesn’t restore C bodies. I asked after spotting a 1971 Fury in the queue a few years ago. Rust where the roof meets the body is not a good sign for structural integrity.
It will never be worth the price of restoration. Maybe there will be a government program to save old police cars?
Perhaps there’s a police car museum.
I was a good kid as a teenager , never got into trouble. But (is the statute of limitations over?) I have to confess to outrunning 3 Florida Highway patrol troopers driving these in the early 70’s. I was on a Kawasaki 90 that wasn’t street legal, and they followed me off road next to a RR track. I got out of sight, laid the bike down in the weeds and stayed there for an hour. To this day, the sight of one strikes terror in my heart!
I remember seeing a 1971 Plymouth Fury I ex-Wisconsin State Patrol in the back row at Niles Chrysler Plymouth in Beaver Dam WI. In 1977 I was 16 yoa and this car was $300. I never forgot trying to find just the “right one”. About 15 years ago I found a ’70 Fury III ex-Washington State Patrol car, purchased it, restored it to a “clean top unmarked”. Now, when I take it to car shows the law enforcement emblems come out and are magnetic. The style changes between ’70’71 are small but the ’70 year only power bulge hood w/440 emblems are just right for me.
Spent the summer of 84 cruising in a Fury 440. Bald tires mostly because we were lighting them up every stop. Lots of fun and room holy I wish cars were still this big.
P.S. Mopar referred to squads in this era as “Pursuit” cars and Fords are “Interceptors”
“One Adam-12, one Adam-12, see the man…”
My dad bought a 73 Fury III in gold with a white vinyl top 4-door hardtop. He bought it used in 1974 and kept it in good shape till he sold it in 1981.Without my father’s permission I taught myself how to drive in that car and today at 55 years old I would love to buy a Fury III but this particular year as well as a sedan is VERY hard to find. A 73 2-door is also hard to find but the possibilities are far better than finding a 4 door. I’ve been searching a great deal of websites including Google. I think attrition has gotten the best of those models. Anyone know where I may be able to search for that particular year Fury?
Have you looked at this one Keith?
https://classiccars.com/listings/view/1176173/1973-plymouth-fury-for-sale-in-cadillac-michigan-49601
Thanks Jack! yes I checked out that Fury a few months ago. Unfortunately that vehicle is a coupe, my main interest is finding a 4-door. And I don’t mind dabbling in a little restoration, however that Fury looked a little worse for wear. Thanks for the link much appreciated!
Google Earth. Intersection of U.S. 119 and PA 31.
Go west on 31 about 1/2 mile, there’s a 73 Fury two-door near the highway with the other yard cars. Brown with a light brown vinyl top.
Okay Thanks!
Keith, you might want to check into this auction that will be held in October. Looks like he had many cop cars.
https://www.motortrend.com/features/barn-find-mopars-great-texas-mopar-hoard-event-auction/
Young guys in my neighborhood would get these at auction for $500 in the ‘70’s. Bring them home tweak on them and drive the hell out of them.
One friend got the grill lights working,“found” a siren in a wrecked ambulance. He would run down the road with lights a siren going, running red lights, until he looked up one night and saw flashing red lights in his rear view.
His father made him sell the car immediately to pay all the fines.
Two questions. Why ? and Why ask why ? Just let it go.
Nothing would be worse than a four door ex-cop car. If life turns that bad try motorcycles instead.
Bob
The naming police interceptor is actually Ford Terminology. It seems to me that many people that have Ex police vehicles refer to them as police interceptors. This is not accurate.
Curious, just how big was the gas tank in these pursuit specials? Reason, I’ve heard reports as low as 4 mpg’s,, most likely floored and “in pursuit” of some blue Chevy. That chase had better end like real soon!
Its a neat big old Plymouth with plenty of cubes under the hood but those 80’s style rims gotta go.
Gas tank was either 20 or 25 gallons. When I was driving the Ohio car gas had gone from 25 to 50 cents per gallon and it would take most of my minimum wage paycheck to get to the next paycheck. Highway mileage at 55-60 mph was usually 17 but got 22 once. Took from Columbus to Wheeling for the needle to come off “full”. Rear axle was 2.75 or so and the car would struggle with Pittsburgh hills.
The Ohio car had a rear window defogger while the Virginia car didn’t. There was a pick and pay in Chillicothe or Washington Court House then that specialized in old cop cars so I went there to get parts. One thing I grabbed was an oil pressure gauge that went where the clock went.
I may be thinking of the ones in California, the ’69 pursuit Dodge with a tweaked 440, the Los Angeles police department had a few of those “pursuit” cars as well. No light bar, two spots in the rear window and an alledged 0-60 in 6 seconds, 14’s in the quarter at over 95, all with a top speed of 140 miles an hour. In a car that big those are really impressive numbers, the 440 was more than a 375 horse version, more like 410-420. California and other big fleet buying states got privileges from Chrysler and had CA been able too purchase these Mopar coppers in ’70 an even hotter cam and who knows what else was being offered…with part numbers. Thats where I heard of the ridiculous gas mileage…bunch of leadfoots and who can blame them really.
Interesting to note that this is not a U-code 440HP car, but a T-code standard 440. Too bad, as the U-code 440 Super Commando would’ve made it much more desirable. They did offer a dual exhaust option for the standard T-code 440 when ordered on a police car which made it a little better, I suppose.
Had a friend, not close but I knew him. His main reason was because his GF was 5’10”. Not being a jerk, but I stole his girlfriend, and I drove a Pinto. She didn’t seem to mind the smaller quarters, she was a lot of fun. He drove that POS for 5 years, never had any luck. I still laugh to this day.
Like these cars a lot,this one would be great to strip down to help build a more solid car,it’s a shame the fuselage c-bodies are hard to find, especially really solid 2 -doors,which I had once,but it needed lots of body work.
Auction update: the last auction ended with no bidders and it’s running again with a starting price of $2,150 and no bids yet.