Here’s another 1973 police car, a Chevrolet rather than a Plymouth this time, but this one’s a little different. No, it’s actually a lot different, and there’s a couple of surprises thrown in that might shock you. This Biscayne (no, it’s not an Impala) is listed for sale here on eBay and is currently bid up to $5,000 with no reserve. You might think that’s a lot. Wait until you see what comes with this car. Thanks to Will for this neat find with a bonus!
This looks like a pretty plain sedan, doesn’t it. We learn from the seller that not only were Biscaynes only produced in Canada in 1973, but there weren’t that many, and the only big blocks were for police use. This car is said to have been with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and been a supervisor’s car used where there wasn’t salt on the roads.
The underside of the car does have a healthy coating of surface rust, and that rust has traveled up the sides of the car as well.
Here’s another shot. I’m guessing right about now you are wondering why this car is worth so much money. Stay tuned, fans!
That’s not a small block under there–that’s a real 454 cubic inch big block “Rat” engine (I remember when Chevy small blocks were “mouse” engines and big blocks were “rats”. Now we’re getting somewhere! And yes, it runs, drives and stops, although the seller says it still needs work. But there are two surprises left.
One is this nice Turbo 400 automatic transmission with reverse valve body and an interesting looking shifter that’s included. Nice, but you’re still probably wondering why the excitement. Ok, I won’t hold it back any longer.
That, my friends, is an aluminum block “555” engine with an EFI setup! I can’t believe the seller is including this in the auction and not selling it separately! You are looking at an engine that would cost well over $10,000 to duplicate! Now are you interested? I thought so! Would you put this engine in this Chevrolet, or can you think of other homes for it? Please share!
Lot’s of potential for burning gas in that auction. Hope he gets some extra $$ through BF exposure.
Never knew there was a 73 Biscayne. I’d love to cruise around in that puppy.
I think it’s more like your buying the 555 and the trans and he is throwing in the police car🚓🚔
IDK, I don’t see anything that would indicate this was a police car.( on the car itself) Supervisor, or otherwise. One site says, with very few exceptions, most all 70’s Chevy police cars had a 350. I’d say the newer motor is worth a lot more than the car. Put that motor in a Studebaker pickup, don’t waste it here. Yank the 454 and scrap the rest.
It does list police speedometer on option list. Not sure if that was an option anyone could order. Anyone know?
Ed, this car was an original RCMP car…it is real. It is a factory police package with full documentation.
If it’s an RCMP car from that era it will have zippers in the head liner for access to the bolts for the roof lights. Dad and I found one of these in BC in the late 70’s It was smashed up with a bent frame. Bought it cheap, pulled that motor and sold it to a guy for his 57 Belair. Used the back of the body to rescue a rust bucket Biscayne.
And Howard, you’re right…that Brodix engine would do this Biscayne a complete injustice. This numbers-matching rarity needs to stay COMPLETELY original!
Arkansas had a special grant program for drunk driving deterrent that furnished these same exact vehicles. I know, I rode in them while a rookie cop. Never got to drive one, but can tell you, they were awesome.
As one that got to drive one quite similar-those big 1974 Ford LTDs with the 460 police package were equally as awesome! Even with so many hard trooper miles the surplused one I got to drive on I-85 one afternoon was like a huge heavy rocket ship on wheels when the secondarys opened up! Too much so-I almost lost my state job when driving this particular one-while on state business-after being chased down by a GA state trooper that I never saw(clocked me @94 in a 55 zone!). It was the closest I’ve ever gotten to going to jail… …but it was worth every second!
I was thinking the same thing Howard.. drop it in an old Stude pick up.. Like Cannonball’s pick up in Hot Rod…
I hear the Cannonball theme song!
Who’s with me?
This is a very rare and REAL car. It is, likely, the only example surviving and, is incredibly solid and complete. Any big-block cop car from the ’70’s is rare and worth big money…but GM police cars are even more rare, especially with the largest engine option you could get. Most agencies went Dodge/Plymouth in that era as they typically had the lowest bid prices and built a good car for that purpose.
I take that to mean to not even THINK about yanking the 454 and scrapping the rest. I’m with you on this! I saw no damage on the car, nor any cancer. And the thing even runs, drives and stops. And if that paperwork is authentic,that goes double. However, I find it a little hard to believe it’s been in indoor storage since it was 10 years old with all that surface rust.
Heck buy it all then sell the car to replace the money and you got a heck of a motor to drop in your Camaro, chevelle, nova at little to no cost, just don’t put it in a Ford.
ford’s better idea! – powered by chevrolet
Sure, just don’t use a GM ignition switch if you value your life!
Seller could have found a better audience for this engine on racingjunk.com.
Out west there were a lot of Chevy police cars with big blocks. ‘Interceptors,’ they were called. In the mid-70s when catalytic converters came out, there must have been some problems with the gas because the guts got burned out of the converters and the residue would plug the mufflers solid. I remember having coffee in the Gloc cafe in Sweetgrass one dingy Saturday morning. One of the local troopers came in with his patrol car (Chevy 454) that was less than 10K miles. He said it was overheating and wouldn’t push past 70. Opened the hood and the exhaust manifolds were red hot—engine idling. It turned out that the muffler weighed about 80 lbs, it was so plugged. A new muffler (didn’t bother with the converter–and no one got cited either) and 120 was effortless. It WAS an Interceptor again.
Ah yes, the Glocca Morra Cafe, home of the “Infamous 21 Shrimp and Fries” !
Memories of my mis-spent youth…..
Ha! I forgot about the ‘Basket of Shrimp.’ That was a long time ago. The cafe has been closed for a few years now although the tavern still does a fair amount of business. It’s the only tavern left (out of five) now. The DUI clamp down and the post 9-11 border security (that kept the Canadians from coming down on the long weekends) sure shut down business.
It was the catalytic converter that would get plugged if you ran leaded fuel, not the muffler. I saw it on one of our work trucks in 1980. It wouldn’t go over 15 miles an hour because the catalytic converter was plugged where someone didn’t run the required unleaded fuel. This was when you could still get leaded gas next to the unleaded. They put a new converter on the truck and it ran fine since it could breathe again.
Hi Tenspeed. I don’t want to get into an argument with you but I’ll tell you my experience from a prairie town dealership in the 70’s: I saw the odd catalytic converter plugged but the vast majority that came through our shop were mufflers plugged solid and the converters devoid of catalyst, or anything else for that matter. And I can understand why; the converters had gotten so hot that they almost melted (even well tuned cars could produce external temperatures exceeding 2K degrees). The loose catalyst continued back to the muffler and condensed; add residue from the lead in the fuel and you had one very plugged and heavy muffler. Sometimes we’d find the resonators (if equipped) filled with residue as well. When we first got the GM franchise, catalytic converters were just coming out but very few places sold unleaded gas. Consequently nearly everyone chiseled out the restrictions in the fuel filler pipes and continued to burn leaded gas. Our farm equipment salesmen drove demo pickups and we just pulled the converters off before the trucks left the shop because we were concerned about them being driven across a stubble field and catching everything on fire. I might add that there were more than a few field fires started by hot converters. Of course technology finally caught up and converters became much safer. By the time our dealership closed (1984) removing converters and changing plugged mufflers had declined drastically….
Take out the 454 then sell it to a derby guy .
Buford T. Passer would look right at home. It’s ugly fer sure but dudes out there are freakish for these things. Any thing cop car that is.
I just want the car they can keep the other engine and tranny. very cool police spec Biscayne!
I just want the 555 engine, you can have the car! I’d want to pull the oil pan and valve covers and see what they did and didn’t do right before I ran it in something!
The car is 100% legitimate. Been there – drove them. As to the salt claim – Port Mann Freeway Patrol is in the lower mainland of BC so the roads aren’t salted but the air certainly is. These cars were kept for 60,000 miles (approx. one year) as they tended to start falling apart at this point due to being driven at 100 mph on a daily basis on rural highways and idling for 8 to 16 hours a day. Attached from my personal archives is a 1972 Plymouth Fury 440 car that was assigned to me in 1972. The highway big block cars had white front doors and the small block cars had black doors – both with the same RCMP crest.
WHY would someone go through the expense of buying a race ready tall deck 555 Chevy big block Brodix aluminum block and heads and set it up for 9.0 to 1 compression??…….who does that? Most guys that buy that foundation build a NASTY FAST, DRAG RACE engine! And then cheap out with stamped steel valve covers and timing cover? The distributor looks oem. Things aren’t adding up. This engine was given to the seller because he was owed money. The seller doesn’t know any details on the engine build (crank, cam, rockers, rods, pistons, etc). Makes me question the build quality and if there’s anything wrong with it!……..why else would you get rid of it??…….not to mention, INCLUDE it in the sale of a $3k to $5K car! Seems like the former owner and current owner don’t put much value on it, that tells you something!
The only reason would be pump gas. My 69 396 Chevelle didn’t like anything under 93 octane and had a stock 10.25.1 compression ratio. It would spark knock with anything lower
I don’t really no what the heck a hipster is but they kind of like cars like this I think
My brother and I bought an ex RCMP Highway car -71 Chevy Biscayne, 454, th400. The gears were so low on that thing you couldn’t even chirp the rears from a standing start, but hang on if you hit it at 60 mph, all the way to the end of that 140 mph speedo. The only thing they removed from the car was the frame weights.
A friend of mine was a city cop back in the day when they were driving Diplomats. Chasing a Jag out of town one night and radioed ahead to the RCMP for assistance. He said they they passed the RCMP cruiser sitting on the shoulder, going as fast as they could. The highway car passed them like they were standing still and overtook the Jag.
Cool story Mike!
“[Elwood Blues Jake Blues has a fight over the police car Elwood Blues got after he traded away the original bluesmobile for a microphone]
Elwood: You don’t like it?
Jake: No I don’t like it…
[Elwood Blues floors the pedal and jumps over an open drawbridge]
Jake: Car’s got a lot of pickup.
Elwood: It’s got a cop motor, a 440 cubic inch plant, it’s got cop tires, cop suspensions, cop shocks. It’s a model made before catalytic converters so it’ll run good on regular gas. What do you say, is it the new Bluesmobile or what?
[a brief thinking pause while Jake attempts to light a cigarette]
Jake: Fix the cigarette lighter.
”
great-quotes.com
In 1975 OPP had 440 Plymouth Fury Ones and 454 Chevys with wood grain dashes. The Chevs had all kinds of extra’s as GM stopped making the big car in 1976 and they were trying to get rid of their extra parts is what we were told.
I bought a 1976 Caprice Classic with 350 4bbl loaded. We measured it one night during a discussion that the Chevs were much wider than the 1977 Plymouths. the Chev was 6″10″ across the front and the Plymouth only 6’2″
The car is the real deal guys I was the second private owner of this old Chevy.
I bought the car 5 years ago from the first private owners family, the old cruiser had sat for 20 plus in an old shed in BC.
I had GM Historical document the car.
Runs fine, as seller says lots of surface rust, but good old car..
@Howard A
Comment on whatever you like, but when you’re wrong, you really do look like an ass. Just sayin.
Are you two really good friends?
Play nice or get out of the sandbox.
Just sayin.
Cool car!
I’d put the 555 in an airboat!
the 1975 Chevys with 454 would top out at 160MPH on bias ply tires. the tires would squeal as you drove through curves and after a short run up the highway you could read o book by the light of the glowing exhaust manifolds and exhaust pipes. a few burnt to the ground. There was a directive from the Commissioner not to park on grass due to fires. Our Corporal, Detachment Commander had the front tires replaced, used fronts put on rear and rears discarded about every two weeks. (He couldn’t understand why the tires wore out so quickly) We never told him why, he thought the u turn burnouts on the highway were the local kids, not so! In an eight hour shift we would fill the car with gas twice. Their replacement, Fury ones with 360 2bbls were nothing more than disappointing. WE had a couple of back highways that were laid out by a snake. the Plymouth bodies would flex if you landed hard off a knoll. It caused the front fenders to wrinkle just in front of the doors. I remember discussing them with the Corporal and after a hard landing, checked the fenders and there was one more wrinkle in the fenders (everything but the fenders sprung back into place)
160 mph?
There can only be one way to arrive at that conclusion: The cops pulled over a kid and stole his weed.
Chevrolet had the following Police packages:
BY2 Police Body Equipment
B07 Police Chassis Equipment
So why aren’t any of these mentioned on the documents? Not suggesting the car wasn’t an “official” vehicle (it’s clear this car was used for something), but why none of the options that were available in 1973 for cops?
Reading through these posts is why I love this place! Thanks everyone for sharing your first hand experiences.
Restore this with a beautiful deep black paint job dog dish hub caps on wide steel wheels and lower just a little with a little rake and it would look awesome. Work on the 454 a little too. Could be a really great car! Great for a tow car for what you are going to put that 555 into.
I would buy it and use it to terrorize people on backroads. I’d play chicken with them and see if they want to risk their 50k pickup truck to my impala of death.
Too bad this car is not sent out to “Count Customs” to be brought back to complete original condition. It would go for really big bucks.
Too bad this car is not sent out to “Count Customs” in Vegas to be brought back to original condition. It would go for really big bucks.
ever listened to that guy? he is a total d-bag!
Up to $8,100.
For sure another CAR, What a COLL FIND.
Mike I beleive the story, but I think you meant high gear ratio rear ends. The high gear ratios won’t but baely chirp the tires on hard excelleration off the line, but the will run way over the top speed of a similiarly engined car with low gear ratios. 4.11’s will lay rubber loudly for 1/2 block and will bark again for fair distance in a speed shift and full throttle into second and even a bit into third it you do it right.
When the 4.11’s are doing all the spinning, snorting and barking the have probably out distanced a 2.90 rig by a what looks like a mile, but is only a block or two while the 2.90’s are building momentum comparitively slowy til they hit 55 soon catching the 4.11’s near or at their 115-125 topends, the 2.90 will shoot by the 4.11’s like a rocket and that is where the 2.90 drivers smile with a tip of their hat,as the 4.11’s have no more speed to give and the roar on by reaching theirs at 140-150 mph.
you shouldve seen the guy in the Corvette’s horrified look when i barked 2nd gear at 60mph with my 2.73 geared 455 grand prix! oh talk about priceless!
The Biscayne can keep the 454 there are so many possibilities for that aluminum block they are endless😎😏
My Father had the exact same car. Ex Richmond RCMP highway patrol car, 454/turbo 400/12 bolt with I think 2.21 gears or something like that. Certified speedo, the zippers in the headliner, the real deal. I buried the certified 140 mph speedo on HWY 99 when I turned 16 in 1977. Oh man, those were the days……….
i’d like to see it in a bel air (base version in u,s)
The base car was the Biscayne.