- Seller: Marc M (Contact)
- Location: Grants Pass, Oregon
- Mileage: 84,810 Shown
- Chassis #: 5943278799
- Title Status: Clean
- Engine: 413-cubic-inch V8
- Transmission: Automatic
Many of us likely have a romanticized view of the California Highway Patrol based on two television programs: Highway Patrol, starring Broderick Crawford, and CHiPs, starring Erik Estrada and Larry Wilcox. As with most things, the realities are certainly far less lighthearted (than CHiPs, at least). One thing the Highway Patrol always needs is power, the power to get ahead of trouble if possible; therefore, the CHP, through their size alone, has been able to steer patrol car specifications. The 1964 Dodge 880 was one of the burly Chryslers they depended upon for pursuit duties, but most of them were decommissioned and eventually scrapped. The seller of this car says it’s an ex-CHP Interceptor, and although it will need a full restoration, it comes with a parts car to help. Located in Grants Pass, Oregon, both cars are being offered as one Barn Finds Auction.
Mopars were the preferred choice for a lot of police departments back in the ’60s and ’70s because they had strong big-block engines and relatively nimble torsion-bar front suspension systems. The top option for police-spec Dodges was the big 413, which produced 360 horsepower at 4800 rpm and 470 lb.-ft. of torque at 3200 rpm. It was backed by the tough 727 Torqueflite (with push-button gear selection for one final year) and an 8 3/4″ Sure-Grip differential with 3.23:1 gears for high-speed duties. Anecdotally, big-block pursuit cars could top out at 130 miles per hour and more, which was enough to get the job done in almost any situation.
A heavy-duty cooling system including a bigger radiator and a seven-blade fan with shroud were standard on 413 cars (although those items appear to be missing from our auction car).
The interior of this 880 will need almost everything, but you can see that the car has spotlights and dashboard brackets that suggest that this car has seen some police duty.
Although the 880 appears to be in fairly solid condition, it will come with this parts car (the seller says to bring two trailers along); the two-door doesn’t have an engine but appears to be fairly complete otherwise. The seller says that there are several reputable towing/storage companies where he lives, and he would like the cars removed within two weeks.
Sure, those old TV shows dramatized what it meant to work as a road officer day in and day out, but it must have been an exciting (if sometimes harrowing) career. Engaging in a pursuit was (and is) not something to be taken lightly, but we car fans can always appreciate the machinery that they used to get the job done as quickly as possible. If you appreciate these burly Mopar police cars, make a bid!
Bid On This Auction
5plymouth7 bid $1,050.00 2025-06-17 12:14:06
Pontiac man bid $950.00 2025-06-16 11:57:12- 5plymouth7 bid $600.00 2025-06-13 11:36:37
A CHiP off the old block! 😔 Calling all cars! SOS! Bring a trailer!
Saw one on Jay Leno’s garage one time and what an impressive car it was too. It would’ve been made even more so if they would’ve used the 426 street wedge or a 440 V-8.
The use of these two engines would’ve made them faster off the line than a 413 UNLESS it had ram induction with dual 4bbl carbs. The set up where you have one carb over each valve cover. It put out some pretty serious ponies when put into the 300 letter cars in the early 1960s. Compared to cars from Ford and GM, the 413 was a slug compared to the FE
427s and 409 big blocks of the day. Both of these mills made 425 HP with just 2 4 bbl carbs and a mild beefing up of
the innards of these engines. The closest thing Chrysler had to this was the 426 street wedge that could also pump out 425 HP with dual 4 bbl carbs as well. Why Chrysler didn’t use
this engine is beyond me. It’s sad to think that after these cars were retired, they were used as crash test vehicles for
companies to make the new cars safer. As for these two cars, put a Keith Black 440 with TPI injection and a 392 cube
Hemi for the hardtop. The 440 would go into the cruiser. and that modern hemi would go into the hardtop. That engine too would have the TPI fuel injection unit. I can just see it now.
2 ground pounders for the price of one! Save ’em both if you can! They both seem to be worth it.
That’s to bad it was left with the carb off and nothing to stop the critters from getting into the engine now I don’t know I think if it was sitting in my field in that condition I would scrap it. I hope the seller gets a good price for this from someone who sees something in it
I read that these CHP cruisers didn’t have A/C back then.
I can’t imagine driving a Black car in the desert without it.
Oh, there were more. Before “Highway Patrol”, a show called “State Trooper”, that aired 104 episodes, 1956-1959. I think he drove a Ford. Contrary to the seller who thinks the police car adds some value, the “parts” car is the one to save. Those 2 doors are extremely rare, and the 413 would make a neat classic. Forget the cop cars, eh?
I still remember, the actor Broderick Crawford, being a rather amply-proportioned man, made the springs of his car sag every time he jumped into it to answer a call.
The two door needs to be saved as well. There can’t be too many around and ut is a really good looking car.
The two door needs to be saved as well. There can’t be too many around and it is a really good looking car.
‘63s had 413s. ‘64s had 426 wedges. My sister bought a refurbished’64 CHP car in ‘66 for $1200. It was stupid fast. The CHP cars were obviously tweaked. If you pushed “D” you’d better have one foot on the brake. It chirped the tires when it engaged with no throttle. Really nice car. (Stripped down Chrysler in disguise)
Perhaps there was a change midyear, but the 1964 police car brochure says that the 413 was the biggest engine option available in the ’64 cars.
A station wagon cop car. For picking up a whole family of juvenile delinquents. Maybe only the 413 was available for police duty that year. You’d figure since it was a proven engine, used in big Chryslers and Imperial for a few years already. The 426 was new.
No they did not put the 426 wedge engine in the 64 Dodge’s. All Dodge 880s had either a 383 or the 413 Chrysler 300 solid lifter dual point ignition engine in them. I have two unmarked police cars both 64 Dodge 880s one I bought here in Michigan and the other one came out of Tennessee both 413 HP cars. I have all the brochures and all the options for those cars and the 426 was not an option. And had already shown its durability that’s why it was the engine that was used
One of the few times a 2 door will be used as a parts car for a 4 door.
I ran into Broderick Crawford at the Van Buren Drive In swap meet in Riverside California around 1973. He lived in Riverside County and would sell stuff at the swap meet. Oddly enough the stuff he was selling was unremarkable, unlike Mr.Crawford. Chatted him up a little, a great actor.
In the mid 1980s I bought a ’64 Dodge 880 convertible, loaded with options, even factory A/C, and it had the 413. Color was light metallic blue, white top and blue vinyl interior. Garaged kept every night from day 1, it was one beautiful MoPaR.
The original owners decided to sell it to me after I parked my 1963 Chrysler 300 pace car convertible next to their Dodge at the local supermarket and waited for them to come out.
Sure wish I still had them both!
If I’m not mistaken, I think I saw these cars in the background of a recent YouTube video episode from “Dead Dodge Garage” up in the Pacific northwest.