Back in the day, cars were an important part of television shows. In fact, they were sometimes cast members in their own right. Case in point is the “squad car” from The Andy Griffith Show, which ran from 1960 to 1968. Every year, they had a new “black and white,” each provided by Ford Motor Co. For the first season, it was a 1960 Fairlane 4-door sedan, likely in base trim. The seller has a recreation of the Andy/Barney car from that year of the show, and it appears to be detailed correctly. Located in Hamilton, Ohio, this Andy Griffith Special is available here on Facebook Marketplace for $12,000.
Andy Taylor and Barney Fife were the sheriff and deputy in fictional Mayberry, North Carolina, in the 1960s. We understand that Mayberry was patterned after Andy Griffith’s own hometown of Mount Airy. They have a museum dedicated to him there, along with a diner, barber shop, and gas station, just like in the show. And every Fall, they host Mayberry Days, which seems to be quite popular with fans. Attractions include rides in Mayberry tribute cars like this one. T.J. gets the eagle-eye award for this cool tip!
You’d probably have to set your DVR to record the TV show and study each episode to see if they missed any fine points in creating this Mayberry Sheriff’s Office squad car. This one is a Fairlane from 1960 that has the batwing look of the full-size Chevies from that model year. We don’t know what engine would have been in Andy’s car, but this one has a 390 cubic inch V8 with a 2-barrel, which should be ample to go after moonshiners. The seller is undecided as to whether this car has an automatic transmission or “3 on the tree” (I don’t think Andy had to shift any gears).
As best as we can tell, this Ford runs and drives well, and the police light bar works, so don’t get yourself into any trouble with the real law. We’re told there’s a teeny amount of rust on the doors and quarter panels, but not enough to prevent you from making the rounds in Mayberry after they roll up the sidewalks at night. As Barney would say, “Nip it, nip it in the bud”!
Been to Mt. Airy,,,great place…the best of small town America..the museum is a must see…and Emmit’s fix-it shop is on main street along with Floyd’s barber shop, Aunt Bee’s bakery..and the “Old fishin’ hole” plays by the statues of Andy and Opie..will be there agin this fall….as for buying the car….we’ll see.:>)
Been to Mt. Airy,,,great place…the best of small town America..the museum is a must see…and Emmit’s fix-it shop is on main street along with Floyd’s barber shop, Aunt Bee’s bakery..and the “Old fishin’ hole” plays by the statues of Andy and Opie..will be there again this fall….as for buying the car….we’ll see.:>)
Can’t find the listing on FB…
there’s a business in mt airy that offers rides in a mayberry squad car. they have several replica squad cars, and this would make a good addition. i don’t think they have any this old (1960), it’s the year the show started.
I sent them a message letting them know it’s available. (not my listing of course)
The curse of the vintage police car hobby! The infamous Mayberry cars……I hate them!!
I always wanted to know how a small town like Mayberry could
afford a new patrol car every year?
The first time I was in Mount Airy I was disappointed in that it looked
nothing like Mayberry.It’s a really spread out big town.Pilot Mountain is
not to far South of Mount Airy – “Mount Pilot” in the show.
A short way up Highway 52 is this cool abandoned Blue Ridge Cafe & Court building,in Fancy Gap,Virginia (just over the state line).I stopped there
on my way back from the British car meet in Dobson,NC.
Did they have a new car every Season?? I’ve seen every episode, but didn’t notice the cars to that extent. They definitely had newer models when they went to Color.
Yes; Ford supplied the cars and every season Andy would have the latest model. TV shows were so reliant on manufacturers for product placement cars that Barney drove an Edsel.
Too much shine for a Mayberry squad car but, I love it…the only kind of tribute I appreciate!
A beautiful replica, and it appears quite faithful to the one in the pilot episode. $12K? Not a bad price considering you can probably hop in & drive it away! Always had a soft spot for the `60-`61 patrol cars Andy drove. (Even if they had to apply hair spray to the chrome bumpers so we didn’t see the camera’s reflection!) GLWTA!
Can’t let this one go by. Andy Griffith Show, the sheriff that never carried a gun, was a must see family show. The characters were lovable and predictable. It was clear Barney( Don Knotts) made the show. Did you know, Floyd,(Howard McNear) had a serious stroke after filming began, and Andy convinced him to come back. It’s why you never see Floyd do much with his left hand. This is a great tribute,,,but alas, not the 1st patrol car. To make one thing clear, t’was not filmed in NC, sorry folks, back lot of Universal Studios,( you can see the court house and the barber shop in other movies) and the 1st police car we saw Andy with was a 1959 Ford with the premiere of the show on the Danny Thomas show, circa, 1959. Even then, still not the VERY 1st. In the episode “The Runaway Kid”, season 1 episode 6, Andy is on the porch with the runaway kid, with the 1960 on the street, Barney pulls up in a shoebox Ford with a light on top. It’s the only time we saw that car. For the most part, there was a new car every season, the 1961 Ford was probably the most featured, after that the patrol car wasn’t featured as much. They had a ’62, a ’63, a ’64, a ’65, a ’66, and the last one, season 8, a ’67. When Barney left the show, it didn’t have the zing, and I think Andy just had enough of the role, even though, to us, he was always Sheriff Taylor. Great find.
Very true Howard..loved the show and characters and simple life…have been to Mt Airy where the museum is…and there is no info on how to contact seller on FB…would be an interesting buy tho..
FB is kind of goofy, but I got through okay. Also, none of the Mayberry police cars were a stick. You have to be a member of FB to view the details.
my other half is a member and she logged on but no contact info…Oh well.
My wife is also on Facebook. No phone contact, only “click on” to contact. Interesting that they have about four other vintage cars for sale, but this one is the only one with a reasonable price, maybe because not everyone wants the police tribute, nice as it appears?
Sure would like her contact number about this car!!
“To make one thing clear, t’was not filmed in NC, sorry folks, back lot of Universal Studios,( you can see the court house and the barber shop in other movies)”
Sorry, Howard, but the Griffith show was never shot at Universal. Exteriors were filmed at the famed, and since demolished, “40 Acres” backlot in Culver City — part of the Desilu-Culver studio lot owned by Lucy and Desi at the time and previously owned by RKO. Selznick shot “Gone with the Wind” there when the studio was known as Selznick-International (leased from RKO). Earlier, C.B. DeMille occupied the studio, which was built by Thomas Ince. Griffith show interiors were shot at Desilu-Cahuenga in Hollywood.
The follow-up series, “Mayberry RFD” (1968-71), switched to the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank after the first two seasons (Lucy having sold Desilu to Gulf & Western/Paramount in late 1967).
Thank you Vance, I guess my point was it wasn’t filmed in NC.
@Howard A: Point well taken, Howard, and I should have noted in my comment that you were correct on the basics of it being shot in CA and not NC. Apologies for the omission.
Glad to see it has a real engine.
Always wondered what the CB was for. Only the two of them and even though they frequently rode solo , I don’t recall ever seeing a CB in the “court house” no expert , so may be wrong
Thanks for the Kudo’s on Mt Airy. For the truck nuts, every late summer, early fall the have an all years truck show with 100+ trucks on display.
very cool for sure.
I remember the squad car being a ford galaxy? ….cause we had a ’64
I guess I’ll have to jump on the ‘ol tube and check?
Fairlane became the name of their intermediate line in 1962, so wasn’t used on full size cars after that.
If this is a 390, it came out of a 61 or newer. The top engine in 1960 was the 352.
Go the the Big Mack Trucks website and scroll almost to the bottom of the forums section and there is a topic area for transportation.
Lovin’ old cop cars!