Like manna from heaven, the classifieds have been filling up with seventies land yachts. Often requiring their own zip codes, these enormous seventies sedans harken back to a time when gas was cheap, TV and movies were actually entertaining, and parking spaces were a heck of a lot wider and longer. To add to our automotive feast, reader Pat L. has found for us an extraordinary aircraft carrier sized 1972 Chrysler Newport on craigslist out of Kansas City. What makes this $7,500 big blue barge special? Three things: impeccable condition, a police pursuit package, and a 440 cubic inch powerplant! How’s that for hijinks?
If you grew up in the seventies and eighties like I did, you know why cars like this aren’t seen anymore. Old four doors like this one died by the thousands in the filming of such shows as Emergency!, CHiPs Patrol, The A-Team, Knight Rider, and, the most destructive production of all, The Dukes of Hazzard. Those that escaped the carnage often fell into the speed-crazed hands of the fans of such shows, and these cars were often asked to break speed limits, soft barriers, and the laws of gravity. You haven’t lived until you’ve heard the heavenly sound of carburetor secondaries open up on a big block Chrysler as you race towards a giant dip in the road. Ask me how I know.
Somehow, this beautiful 1972 Chrysler Newport has escaped the clutches of such evil drivers. The seller tells us that this car, despite having the police pursuit option, never saw service in law enforcement. This 96,000 mile locomotive is equipped with power steering, power brakes, and air conditioning. Furthermore, the seller’s family has owned it for 35 years. Given the condition of the car, you can bet that most if not all of that period had the car occupying a garage. A very big garage. Or a roundhouse.
We are also told that the car is very roomy and comfortable. While those statements are kind of obvious, I wish the owner had seen fit to provide some pictures of the interior of this behemoth. It would be interesting to know if it has vinyl seats and a rubber floor mat, as you would expect from a police car, or if it somehow got a fairly luxurious interior befitting its size and grace.
When describing the car in the ad, the seller says that this is a very low profile car until you step on the throttle. While nothing would seem less conspicuous than a big blue and white Chrysler land yacht navigating modern streets amongst the Toyotas, Kias, and Smart Cars, I would imagine that dropping the hammer on this beast is the closest you can get on Earth to experiencing the Millennium Falcon engaging its hyperdrive engine. While horsepower numbers were down for 1972 due to emissions equipment and other factors, the standard 440 generated 225 horsepower. If the car is equipped with dual exhaust, which we cannot verify from the pictures than the output would be 245 horsepower. Like the old joke, cars like this one could pass anything but a gas station.
So, what do you do with a car like this? If it were mine, I would round up three friends and start planning for the 2019 Hot Rod Power Tour. While waiting for that event to arrive, a lot could be done to get more horsepower out of the 440 cubic inch engine. You are going to eat a lot of gas anyway, so why not travel in style and speed? We will never see cars like this on the market again. It almost seems fitting to enjoy a car like this in the manner for which it was intended: flying down the highways in comfort and style.
What would you do with this beast if it beached itself in your garage?
Nice one, Jeff! I’d have to have the hidden-headlight Imperial of this vintage, but I entertain the daydream of owning a land-yacht like this from time to time. I called my trusty Stage II 2002 Buick Regal GS “The Millennium Falcon” for its ability to move four people and luggage from point to point with stealth and brevity. I used fishing line to remove the word “SUPERCHARGED” from the trunk lid on Day One. This one weighs less than a 2006 BMW 750Li and other similar cars, and it might do OK with aftermarket EFI. Tell us more about how you would Pro-Tour this behemoth!
I read your comment and thought about it a little. How is this for different: A fully built 426 hemi, twin turbocharged, routed through the stoutest automatic I could find and a Ford 9′ rear end. Outside, a full eighties AMG style widebody kit with low profile Z rated tires on BBS honeycomb wheels. Lowered, of course. Inside, full black leather interior with front buckets sourced from a Viper. And no eighties hot rod would be complete without a killer stereo. Maybe even add exhaust cutouts through ports in the front fenders for that fat Hemi sound. Shave off all the chrome and the drip rails, and paint everything that is left with the glossiest black you can find (for that dipped look).
Wow – the twin-turbo Hemi would be more than I could probably handle, and I mean that literally, but there should be plenty of room for the piping. Love the honeycomb wheel idea. The ’80s monochrome would be rad. Sounds like the AMG Hammer version of a Newport. I call “shotgun!”
I had a ’73 2 door 400 in metallic green. While I still had it-early 80s-I drew it in one of my sketchpads where I tubbed it w/widened rally rims and had a blown Hemi for motorvation. Long gave up the car, but I still have the sketch!
Would love to see the sketch! I drew a lot of cars in school, but sadly never kept them.
Todd, I am with you.
Why buy the bottom trim level when for the same price you can have the elegant luxury model they had?
Another reason people don’t see these any more is because of that trash sport of demolition derbies.
A truly beautiful car. I’d try and get more power out of the engine while keeping everything stock looking. Maybe some custom performance tires with dual stripe whitewalls added in. I wouldn’t lower it though. There are plenty of speed bumps and crumbling pavement where I drive that I wouldn’t feel secure knowing the car is that much closer to the ground.
It would have been nice if the seller had shown the fender tag verifying some sort police package option was ordered, not just the 440. The 440 was common for the full size Chrysler products. My parent bought a brand new station wagon with a 440, it was a pig, it wasn’t fast, but made a great highway car. The T in the VIN shows non-hp 440, it was likely bought by someone old school that believed in a “big” engine. The 440 was actually on the small side compared to what Lincoln, Cadillac, Oldsmobile, Buick and Pontiac were shoving into their full sized cars prior to the first Arab oil embargo.
It’s s nice car, but it’s probably at or above market currently.
Steve R
I didn’t know you could get Newports of this generation still with a police package. I thought it was only Polaras and Furys by this point.
As far as what to do with it, already seen it.
When I was a kid a guy used to come into the old mans gas station with a fairly new New Yorker coupe of this vintage and a big Town and Country wagon.
The N.Y was stock but the wagon had a worked over 426 hemi under the hood.
Being just a little kid I didn’t fully grasp the concept at the time but he told my Dad he’d go “trolling” in the coupe, get them to the point where he’d tell them their car was so weak he could go get the wife’s station wagon and shut them down and do it!
It looks like it was built for the NJ state police but escaped being put in service.. They used them on the NJ Turnpike and possibly on the Garden State Parkway. Later they switched to Oldsmobiles. Supposedly they were very fast and nothing could out run them. I know they would suck your door handles off when they passed you.
Family night visiting the Dennis MA car show last night in our land yacht
From 1967 to the late 70’s the letter K in the second VIN digit denotes Police package. This one’s VIN is an L — which denotes low price class.(Newport) All the police package Mopars I have seen are Dodge and Plymouth and I’ve seen a bunch. Back then Mopar had a lot of option boxes you could check so it may have some police package components, line ticket would tell.
More than a few folk (myself included) would opt for adding Heavy-Duty equipment, i.e. cooling, suspension, brakes, etc. when ordering a new car, which may (or may not) be the case with this example. Brent’s suggestion would provide the solution to whether or not this was a Police-spec Chrysler.
Also, Steve R’s comments re the engine coding might suggest that it isn’t and that there’s an assumption that being 440-equipped, that this a civilian version of a cop car – thanks, Jake and Elwood…
The trailer towing package would get a whole slew of HD upgrades. That’s why my parents chose their particular Chrysler station wagon.
Steve R
When I was a little kid in the 70s, my next door neighbor had one of these in chocolate brown. Huge car. I’d love to ride around in a boat like this. Too bad there’s no interior pictures.
I like originality. I would leave it as it is.
Jeff, I don’t know why you would want to bastardize this car by putting a 9 inch Ford rear end in it. Mopar uses a perfectly fine rear end that can hold up to anything that a Hemi can throw at it. It is called a Dana 60.
As stated above demolition derby material in the eighties as I remember it, which at the time seemed logical(?) as monster sized smash em up cars like this could be had for dirt cheap, especially with the fuel friendly 440. Not classic or collector car status machines at that time at all, just big land yacht’s that no one wanted anymore.
These always reminded me of the cop cars from my early childhood which I thought was kinda cool, especially the high speed pursuit versions.
Today they would be considered classic cars, not necessarily collector cars. At least not the 4 doors l, unless they are verified to have been used as police cars.
Steve R
This car does not have a Police package. The only Newports after 1964 that had the availability of a Police package were the 1976 and 1979 model years. Many sellers tend to think ( or intentionally misrepresent to seek a higher selling price ) that any car with a 440 engine is automatically a Police car.
Your right dave Gasperetti this Newport doesn’t have a police pkg, just a regular Newport with few options and a 440. I’ve emailed him 3 different times asking what the car has on it that makes it a police pursuit. One time he replied it had police pursuit “seat belts”, another time he said it had a special option popo 440, I asked for a pic of the body code plate to verify that a special 440, I’m still waiting for that, hard to take a pic of something that wasn’t ever made. He said it was bought from a state auditor 30 yrs ago
You can still see the turquoise color on the valve covers, which means standard 440, and he must have tossed out the cop rims, they didn’t run whitewalls with wheel covers
“Gimme 40 acres and I’ll turn this rig around”
For ages now somebody local has been advertising a full rear axle and factory disc brake setup from a 1975 Imperial on Craigslist. This would seem to be the ideal car to put it in.
That Guy, In what area of the country is that Imperial rear axle being offered? I own a 75 (pictured above) and would love to have spare parts.
My mother owned a ’77 Chrysler New Yorker. I learned to drive in that car.
I also learned to parallel park in it (downtown Cleveland near the GE offices).
Awesome car!
From comments it would appear the police package is bogus.
Just a nice old Newport
Lovely looking 72 Chrysler Newport. The only thing I don’t like is that there’s not enough photos. If you’re going to advertise a car, there should be photos of everything that can be shown, good and not so good. Engine, trunk, interior, instrument cluster, everything. That’s the thing I don’t appreciate about Craigslist advertising. There’s rarely enough photos to show.
No interior pics of this vehicle in the original ad on Craigslist….gotta know how to advertise if you wanna make a sale….. These are the type of photos you would see on Ebay…How to sell a car 101
Want more oomph and better gas mileage when your foot isn’t thru the floor?
I have two words for you: Six Pack!
My parents bought one of these brand new. I was 4 or 5 then and remember my mom catching big air when she would pick us up from school. Much more fun without the seat belts on, kinda going zero gravity for a second. I would love to have 1 of these but my kids would be buckled up.
My Uncle had one of these from new as it replaced his 68 Fury III wagon with the woodpanels and 318. Not sure of the year though or the motor. It was either a 72 or 73 though and Gold with Gold interior. I was five in 73 and I recall him having this car throughout the 70’s. It was sideswiped on the street when it was two to four years old where he lived in Staten Island and he along with my Dad fixed all the damage when he brought it up here over the summer months. I recall going somewhere and there were no door panels. I am not certain, but this is the same car that my Aunt inadvertently hit and broke through a bank wall with while on the drive through. My Aunt always had mishaps behind the wheel.
Love this one as it is my favorite color.
Inside shot would show rubber mats, radio and A/C delete if it had the police package or some kind of documentation and also dog dish hupcaps.
Over priced entry level Newport? YES.
Police car optioned? NO. A 440 does not make it a copcar. MANY 60s and 70s cop cars (patrol class AKA” taxi class”) had slant sixes for inner city patrol . Generally Highway Patrol and State Police and some County Sheriffs had the 440s most were mid size V8s and municipal agencies had small V8s and 6s (as a general rule) . This car is over priced.
I had a similar car assigned to my office ( Detective in a major west coast city ). It was a Fury III, police package 440 etc. it had been the Chiefs car but he kept hitting stuff after late night ummmmm budget meetings. That’s right budget. Ha
The sucker was fast as long as the road was straight. One boring night we joined a high speed chase on the interstate. We walked past all the diplomats and satellites marked patrol cars. Can’t remember what we were chasing. But he was fast. Caught him.
But on curvy roads more than once I saw my own taillights. Ha. Good old days
Chrysler Newport were the bottom of Chrysler imperial was# 1 new Yorker #2 Newport was #3. I had a 72 with a 400 cu. I loved the car. Living room on wheels. And a trunk to fit a tool chest, 2 ton floor jack and two full-size spare tiers. With room for groceries. I really don’t understand the crazy prices one asks. Its not an imperial