With much of the police car market occupied by Chrysler in the sixties through late seventies, demand seemed to slowly begin switching to GM in the eighties, as some law enforcement agencies started to favor the Chevrolet Caprice. Ford gained ground in 1992 with the introduction of the Crown Victoria, which also proved popular with police agencies and for fleet use in general. However, the Plymouth Gran Fury and its Dodge cousin, the Diplomat, continued to serve officers well until 1989, when production ended for both models. This 1989 Plymouth Gran Fury here on Facebook Marketplace is said to have been an original squad car in Reno, Nevada, although it’s since made its way up to Mayville, Wisconsin. $18,500 puts you in the driver’s seat right now, but that amount may be a little steep, as this one’s already been listed for a year with no takers.
We’d like to thank reader Lothar… of the Hill People for his fun tip here! Plymouth kept downsizing the Gran Fury, with the final size reduction occurring in 1982 and lasting through the end of production. In 4-barrel form, the 318 was tuned slightly for law-enforcement M-Body vehicles, delivering 165 horsepower from 1982 through 1984, with a slight jump to 175 starting in 1985. While these numbers are a far cry from what many long-time law enforcement personnel were used to from a few years earlier, it was probably enough to help catch most criminals, provided the bad guys were driving something from around the same era. The seller states the carburetor has been rebuilt, and also mentions that a new gas tank and fuel sending unit have been installed.
Given the possibility that this Mopar may have seen some hard use in the past, the exterior appears to be in surprisingly good shape, although there’s no word on how much attention it’s received. The panels appear straight and I’m not seeing any signs of corrosion anywhere, and while the official police graphics have been removed, the seller reports that the replica set of Reno, NV magnets he had made will be included for car shows. The A-Pillar spotlights and lightbar on top are permanent fixtures, and the siren is also said to be operational.
While this was dubbed a mid-size sedan, there’s still quite a bit of room inside, with even the back seat looking fairly comfortable for the unfortunate passenger being transported downtown. There’s also plenty of radio equipment in the front, but whether it works or is only there for kicks remains a mystery. This one seems like a lot of fun to cruise around town in or take to Cars and Coffee, but $18.5k sounds a bit high for my pocketbook, although the seller doesn’t seem to be in a hurry to part ways with this 1989 Plymouth Gran Fury. What are your thoughts on this former police car, and how much would you be willing to spend here?
Don’t recall seeing the grill lights or red/blue high beams when I’d get one behind back in the day but then again it’s tough to remember what was on the plate at breakfast some mornings now too.
Great looking recast, would be a hit at the annual show in Ripon, Ca https://www.cityofripon.org/540/Emergency-Vehicle-Display-Show
but kind of pricey for that though it’s probably just a part of what they’ve got in to it.
Some would flip the air cleaner lid upside down in an effort to regain some of the power they thought it had! 😆
I love that, great one, Mike!
Reno Sheriff’s department, Lt. Dangle reporting for duty
Love these cars. Stephens, you mentioned it’s cousin, the popular Diplomat. But there was a northern 🍁 kin also 🚨 the Caravelle.
The Diplomat was the last passenger car made in Kenosha.
My first car was a Caravelle, bought at a government auction. I was 15 when I bought it.
Mmmm-hmm, stand my ground,,( CB turned down, never heard about the Smokey on my tail) Tom Petty cranked up, oh, oh, paranoia, a police car in my mirrors,,quick, log book, log book, NO, not that one( in the door) steering with knees drawing a crooked line,,,pulling RR wagon drew a lot of attention from the cops. For as many outlaw loads that I hauled, I only sat in the back of these, maybe 2 times. A particular Skokie, Ill city cop had it in for me. Since I spent the majority of my time on interstates, I dealt with State Patrol mostly, and a different caliber than a city cop, and for good reason. I have the utmost respect for LEOs( except in my mirrors) but State Patrol I have the most. The atrocities they have to deal with made a mere truck inspection a piece of cake. Once, a very green rookie insisted I need brakes on all axles of my ’72 Pete. I was adamant in saying, if it didn’t have front brakes new, it didn’t need them. He stormed off to the scale house, comes walking back, “take it away driver”, the feeling was enormous. Another time, at a stop, a trooper asked me. is it true you truckers get all the chicks? I replied, how many donuts do you guys really eat? He let me go,, :)
No siree, no use for an old police car, fo’ sho’..
Have several good friends through the years regale the rest of us with tales of the road and all had good road stories..
One of the most memorable though was from Jerry, a Texas boy. He was hauling the mail so to speak with an empty flatbed behind when he was stopped by a Texas troop. When he was told “you give me an original story why you’re doing 14 over and I’ll let you go..” immediately came back with “ well, my boss screwed up and gave me a trailer that’s geared 5 MPH taller than my truck and I was just trying to stay ahead of it”
Jerry said the trooper began laughing so hard that all he could do is wave him on..
So your saying you cheated on the weight of the load? That might have been profitable, but not good for the roads, nor safe for anyone on them.