There’s something curiously captivating about old fleet vehicle photos, especially when they were never meant to attract much attention in the first place. And in today’s case, the old photo provides not only nostalgic memories –it also shows a lineup of 1970 Chrysler Town & Country wagons rather than Plymouth/Dodge ones, which tended to be the Pentastar’s usual fleet providers and far more commonly seen.
The men from the Reading, PA, Fire Dept. look thrilled with them, and I guess they’ve reason to be –the Town & Country was the Pentastar’s spiffiest wagon. The Fire Department must have been feeling flush when they ordered these, or more likely, had a good connection with this seller to get a good deal. In any case, these wagons had to carry the Town & Country’s higher accoutrements, plus the expected emergency package upgrades. And I can only guess that the T &C’s usual faux-wood had a delete option.
Generally speaking, however, Plymouths and Dodges were the norm for fleets. In the case of the 1970 Plymouth police/emergency packages, their brochure even had a pretty neat cover. I even feel like going after some miscreants just by looking at it.
Much of the hardware across the Pentastar had become quite standardized by 1970, so we can safely assume that today’s Town & Country’s specs couldn’t differ much from their corporate siblings (at least when it came to V8 options). In the case of Plymouth, the cars came “in hot. Or hotter.” The 318CID with 230HP at 4400rpm was the package’s standard, with an optional 440CID 4-bbl. Super Commando offering 360HP at 4600rpm. An additional 440CID with 375HP was also offered, but only in Fury sedans. And last, a 225 Slant Six for patrolling.
Handling upgrades included heavy-duty torsion bars, 15/16″ front sway bar, heavy-duty rear leaf springs, and heavy-duty front and rear shocks.
Naturally, today’s fleet were Emergency Wagons, with the updated fuselage styling that had debuted on the 1969 Chryslers (and reached Plymouths in 1970). All from the sedan was available on these, aside from the 375HP tuned engine, plus a two-way tailgate with self-washing window. “A complete package…” in Plymouth’s words.
That said, the men from Reading’s Fire Dept. knew their Pentastars and preferred them in Chrysler mode.
The ’69 full size Plymouth’s were also of the fuselage styling. Not much difference on the outside between a ’69 and a ’70, or for that matter a ’71 Plymouth except for grille and tail lights.
I suppose that springing for white walls was a bridge too far. LOL.
High speed rated tires were part of the package, blackwall only.
“There’s something curiously captivating about old fleet vehicle photos”
Well said, Rich — My 1st impression in looking at the opening photo.
The formality and smiling faces in black & white …… are juxtaposed against my recollection of the ‘Year of Kent State,’
I get the impression of the end of an era.
I remember that in many communities in the 40’s thru 70’s; that the fire chief got to have a classier car than the usual fleet vehicle. I recall Buicks, Chrysler and even an Edsel in that use. Don’t know what the reasoning or history of that standard was.
I mean, they WERE the Chief….
When I was a kid the fire chief in my city drove a red, 1956 Buick Special. An upgrade for sure over the usual Chevy 150, but a total stripper with manual transmission.
The one that lived in my aunt/uncle’s, building drove a “Torino”, wagon. (one = “Chief”)
“Hoo ray” for vent, windows btw.
Can I mention one tiny typo?
The front sway bar measured 15/16 of an inch, not “15/1” “
Thanks. It’s updated.
Nice ;
I too remember MoPars being the default LEO vehicles for many decades .
These wagons are nice, I had a less than ten year old 1969 Chrysler wagon with (IIRC) a peppy 383 C.I.D. V8 .
-Nate
They advertised their popularity as a police vehicle too.
Wow. The span of glass between B and C pillars is greater than the A-B dimension ! One thinks of certain Down-Under hearses, with their panoramic rear-side glazing . . .
When I was a kid growing up in Dallas, TX the City of Dallas utilized Ford products for many, many years. Then, in a stroke of brilliance they shifted to Plymouth sedans and wagons. The City purchasing office would pout out a bid for so many units and the dealers would respond accordingly. The first year the city had Plymouth Fury police special sedans, most of the officers loved them! They were fast, and held up well under the abuse of constant use. What was interesting is that the city would send so many of these units to the Police and Fire departments, then they would send some of them to other city departments. I worked for a city department that had some of the Plymouth sedans in our fleet – and yes, they were all the standard police issue sedans with the 440-4 police special engines that were fast! The supervisors in our department that drove them absolutely loved them! After a number of years with the city decided to downsize and bought a whole fleet of Plymouth Volare sedans (with V-8 engines), and also a huge fleet of Pontiac LeMans sedans, and even some AMC Matador sedans with V-8 engines. This another topic for discussion another day! But I remember those Plymouth’s quite well!