Do you believe in synchronicity? I do. What are the odds . . . I’m in my ’60 Dodge Dart driving along Route 46 in Parsippany NJ, and what do I see parked by the Dunkin Donuts? THIS!
And it’s not a fake or tribute cop car either; it’s the real thing.
I make a screeching right turn into the parking lot. I have to check it out!
My first reaction was: OK, someone found a ’59 Dodge Royal sedan and converted it into a police car. Could this be my long-lost Dodge? The one I test drove back in 1986 but didn’t buy? The one I’ve been trying to locate the whereabouts of since?
Yes, back in 1986 there was a 1959 Dodge Royal for sale in Long Valley, NJ which I test drove but didn’t buy. I’ve always wondered what became of this car . . .
. . . but “my Dodge” had a green interior and steering wheel, with the optional vinyl safety pad covering the spokes of the wheel. So clearly this black and white police car wasn’t my lost Dodge.
Suddenly the owner appears and starts enthusiastically showing me all the original police equipment that goes with this car. Apparently it is a TRUE POLICE CAR, and the owner proudly states, “I have documentation for everything!”
This is, the owner says, an original police car out of Beacon, NY–a town just across the Hudson River from the city of Newburgh. The body has been repainted, but with the original paint scheme and graphics professionally and correctly done.
When in police service, this car was driven by Detective Stephen W. Price. When the car was retired, Det. Price bought it from the department and kept it ever since. Somehow the car made its way to its present owner.
Now let’s look at all the vintage police equipment which has been with the car all these years:
Dashboard with Motorola police radio.
1950s radar detector.
This exterior-mounted chrome unit is part of the radar detector’s equipment.
Package shelf-mounted police lights.
Heavy duty red case holds more police paraphernalia.
The engine is the “Red Ram” 255 hp 325 cubic inch V8, very similar to the 318 “poly” V8 but with a slightly larger bore. Chrome siren visible to the right of the air cleaner.
1959 Dodge Royal and 1960 Dodge Dart Phoenix side-by-side.
The terrifying rear styling of the ’59 somehow makes my space-age ’60 look rather sedate.
Time to leave. The owner backs out. The exhaust note sounds really deep and powerful!
I’m following behind. Two Forward Look Mopars going out on patrol. Cue the Dragnet music…
A terrific find. This also makes two real 1959 Dodge police cars that have been documented at CC. Such seems rather improbable, but stranger things have happened.
That the current owner has so much documentation is icing on the cake. With every car having a story, I can only imagine the stories this Dodge could tell.
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-american/state-fair-classic-1959-dodge-coronet-yep-its-the-real-thing/
That’s quite a coincidence. Would you say the sight of that police car pulled you over?
If there are awards for “existing cars parked for the most hours at a donut store”, this one may win hands down.
Great find Stephen.
I hadn’t realized that police cars used speed radar back in the 1950s…until this post got me to look that up, and sure enough so.
That ’59 Dodge front end just has the best ‘angry’ look for a police car…terrifying to see that visage in your rear view mirror back in the day!
My grandfather bought his 59Dodge because Dodge sponsored the Lawrence Welk show. I still have the car and it still looks like the day he bought it….for $3600.00.
Talk about coincidence! My parents had a 61 Phoenix convertible. Loved that beauty. I used to think the 59 DeSoto was the best of Chrysler Corp styling, but I’ve come to appreciate the menacing look of the 59 Dodge, equalled by the 59 Buick. Speaking of menacing, that rear bumper looks pretty scary 😨 😳. Wonder if Lawrence Welk would have had one of These DOTCH police vehicles guarding his wunnerful Champagne 🍾 🤔.
I’m still wondering why this would be a Royal and not a Coronet, since the lowest-priced line was typically selected for police use. Also it has the 325 V8 and not the 361 or the 383.
My thoughts exactly. Of course this was a small town cop car, not a highway interceptor or subject to the strict ordering requirements of a large fleet purchase. Small towns would buy their police cars from the local dealer and had some discretion as to equipment. Recall that back in the sixties a small town near my home had 283 V-8 Chevy Bel Airs as their cop cars instead of the 396 powered Biscaynes the State Police had.
Not police cars, but our city acquired some interesting stuff during the COVID shortages. I’ve seen FX4 trim F150’s and Rangers with alloy wheels hauling tools and trash, some in silver or gray, alongside their older basic white XL work truck brethren with dog dish hubcaps and vinyl bench seats.
I wondered this question a bit too, as well as the engine. The ’59 Dodge brochure is a bit coy about what the standard engine are for the various models. It does say that the 325 is standard on V8 Coronets, and that the two-barrel 361 is standard in Sierras (wagons), and that the 4-barrel 361 is standard on Custom Royal and Custom Sierras. So that does not include basic Royals, which I suspect also came with the 325 standard. The 383 was optional in all cases.
But yes, town/city police cars typically had modest engines back then. NYC specified sixes in their big full sized Furies for a very long time, including the early fuselage era. It would have seemed wasteful, back when budgets were small and expenses scrutinized carefully.
What a find! Love it! Nice write up, Steve. Now, regarding Jeff’s wisecrack about the car and the donut store, it appears that Jeff is unaware of special equipment option DD429 available for police package vehicles only. Whan actuated by a simple button on the dashboard, the vehicle automatically locates and directs the driver to the nearest donut shop.
Wow – what an outstanding find… plus the story to go along with that find. Just as intriguing as the actual car is all the original equipment. Like Jeff above, I hadn’t realized that police radar was widely used in the 1950s – that Radar Speedalyzer could probably be the topic of an article on its own. And all of the trunk-mounted equipment, the parcel shelf lights… it’s all incredible.
Authentically parked outside a donut shop too!
And tangentially, I’ve been to Beacon, NY a few times, and it’s one of those places where I’ve often seen interesting older cars wandering around.
Thanks for this writeup.
What a fabulous car and what fun it would be to drive. One quibble – wouldn’t a radar “detector” be what’s on the civilian, receiving end of the police car’s radar?
Here’s another original.
Hialeah’s Finest
I miss the whine of an old-school motor-driven siren. In general, I mean. Not one directly behind me.
The 59 Dodge has the best-ever face for a police car. So much more menacing than the friendlier Fords used in Mayberry.
Police agencies are having an adjustment period right now as sedan production has finished at Dodge. Durango’s have proven troublesome- entire fleets have been downed by defective oil coolers and general quality issues.
Its SUVs and pickups for patrol fleets from now on plus survival of the quality control race to the bottom.
There’s a Matchbox/Hot Wheels of a 59 Dodge Coronet Police car.
That’s cool! I’ve never seen that one. Do you have the series number?
“National Police” is interesting, as well as the color. I wonder if National Park Police is somehow what they mean.
Matchbox MBL-1180-71
Am I looking at the show Highway Patrol?
What an awesome find! And your car brought back memories for my father in law as his first new car was a 61 Pioneer.
Thanks for sharing
“Your” 59 Dodge looks a lot like one my dad has. Although he bought it in the mid 90s in Baltimore, and I don’t think it’s the same car
Yeah, put me off, as well.
Same for me on that sticker.
To answer your original question – I’d be very scared to see that scowling visage in my rear view mirror!
It’s a “4dor”; close enough to the “2dor”, ones that starred next to “Broderick Crawford”, in “Highway Patrol”.
Can hear the “music” , even after so long.
We had those same Motorolas well into the dawn of the 1980s. Cars had electronic sirens by then, but we still used the old motor driven sirens on our Jeeps (M-151s).
Interesting to see cars you wouldn’t normally figure for fleet cars. A bit off the topic, but I recently noticed the Air Force using a Ford Raptor in their fleet of work trucks. Since this was in Nevada – perhaps to chase UFOs?
We had those same Motorolas well into the 1980s. Cars had electronic sirens by then, but we still used the old motor driven sirens on our Jeeps (M-151s).
Interesting to see cars you wouldn’t normally figure for fleet cars. A bit off the topic, but I recently noticed the Air Force using a Ford Raptor in their fleet of work trucks. Since this was in Nevada – perhaps to chase UFOs?
Raptor photo
This beauty looks meaner than ‘Christine’!
The first image is the best .
Nice to see it survived all these years .
-Nate
Great article. And if I saw THAT coming up behind me swiftly, I might think Batman was behind the wheel! In fact, as a car-conscience kid in the early 70s, I had always thought the Batmobile WAS a ’59 Dodge (I also thought “Checker” cabs were made by Studebaker; not by a separate marque. Live & learn!) Btw, even thru the 60s, many police cars were still 2dr models, with “Paddy wagons” doing duty for scofflaw transport. A texter mentioned the current rise of SUV police cars; I remember back in the later 90s when the Caprice was being phased out, some states experimented with “cut down” (height-wise) 2wd versions of the Chevy Tahoe; and later, 4wd versions. The Jeep downsized Cherokee was an up & coming hot rod police crusier back then too.
Man, I love authentic Dodge police cars. Here’s my 1961 Dodge Polara CHP unit.
Wow!