The Polara was Dodge’s version of the Chevrolet Impala or Ford Galaxie 500 in the 1970s and 1970s. This Polara Custom (1972) is a two-owner automobile that at first glance looks like a repainted police cruiser. But it’s not and has a small-block V8 where a 440 might have otherwise lived. In good running condition with a few cosmetic needs, this family sedan can be found in Kenmare, North Dakota, and is available here on eBay where a single bid of $3,000 has been cast thus far.
Dodge used the Polara name for the first time in 1960 and would be a lineup mainstay for 14 years. While it was always a full-size car, some would say it was a mid-size in 1962-64 when Chrysler goofed and undertook a downsizing when no one else did. The fourth generation of the Polara arrived in 1969 and would receive periodic restyling through the end of the line in 1973. Out of nearly 109,000 Polara’s built in 1972, less than 11,000 were Custom 4-door sedans like this one.
The color at first glance on this Mopar looks like white but it’s light blue with a white vinyl top. The paint is not original and there is some rust in places and the vinyl top is starting to peel away. The windshield is also cracked (better call Safelight!), which may or may not have anything to do with the wipers only working intermittently. But the interior looks pretty tidy.
Chrysler’s venerable 318 cubic inch V8 is under the hood and may have 90,000 miles. It’s paired with a TorqueFlite automatic transmission. The vehicle is said to run well and doesn’t leak or smoke. The first owner had the car for 45 years and it was purchased by the second owner (the seller?) from her estate. With decent tires, this looks like a daily driver that could provide service until you decide to deal with the bodywork.
Well, it may have been from her estate, but I bet her old man had this car in a municipal job, of some sort. It’s optioned way too sparsely for the public. No a/c or p/b, poverty caps, I don’t recall too many all white cars then. I’m actually surprised there aren’t more bids, and for a lot more. These were great cars, cops used them for a reason, and while this has no indication of being a cop car, it has a lot of the same guts. Can’t go wrong here.
HoA, I would respectfully disagree with your comment about this being a municipal vehicle – it has a vinyl top and a nicer interior than most muni cars would have. My sense (I was 7 when this car was sold, and I grew up on the east coast) was that these cars were sold to folks who had miles to travel to do ordinary things and wanted a heavy, stable car to go down the highway at 70+ mph for hours at a time. I’ve owned several Furys and they were great highway cars. I can imagine a 318-powered C-body having the same performance characteristics as a 225-powered A- or F-body, which were everywhere when I was growing up in the Boston area.
If you look at the photos on Ebay, one of the photos shows paint peeling in the door jam. The paint under the respray is white.
I asked the owner what his ballpark ($) would be and said he would like around 6K. The 1 bid has zero feedback and is most likely playing games with the auction. 5 to 6K for this original Polara seems very reasonable. I’m looking into a 64 Dodge D100 original Paddy Wagon for around 6-7K, so we will see.
I don’t think it’s light blue. I think it’s a bad respray or a really odd attempt at two-tone paint. The lower body below the character line, rear valance, and underhood areas are clearly white.
Nice! I’m tempted…many moons ago I bought a ‘72 Polara from the State Auto Auction, a former State Patrol vehicle. Sold it to my ‘not a car guy’ brother who trashed it. Regret it to this day! Anyway…other than not having AC it would sure make a nice cop-car-clone! Especially if you could find an appropriate 440 to drop in there…great freeway cruisers.
This is nice in its ordinaryness. I would prefer a little more in the engine room and some power stoppers. Maybe paint it beige to go with that gold gut.
I drove these when I was a cop. The department got rid of our Coronets and replaced them with Polara’s. Terrible decision, I still attend reunions where we fondly remember the Coronet. The Polar was roomier but that was about it. It floated and one night on a Code 3 call after two applications of the brakes, I slid through an intersection pressing down on the emergency brake . The brakes were upgraded as I was not the only one who experienced this fade to nothing. However, as a passenger car, they were great, my parents bought one and loved it. Nice find.
Sold with a high bid of $3,550.
Steve R