I just turned 44 this past November. As a car-crazy teenager coming of age in the mid to late 80's, I can remember spending many a lazy summer afternoon or late Friday / Saturday night watching endless reruns of 1970s-era, made-for-tv, low-budget redneck cop vs. crook movies that were a staple on independent tv stations back then. What caught my eye were the cars. In all those films, the small-town Sheriff and his deputies all drove those big Plymouth Furys and Dodge Polaras or their slightly smaller siblings, the 71-77 Plymouth Satellite and Dodge Coronet four-doors. I used to love to watch chase scenes with those things. Those big, ugly Mopars skidding around on country roads, their stiff torsion bar suspensions bouncing through ruts and potholes, those big 383 and 440 engines greedily sucking air and fuel through their four barrels and roaring out the dual exhausts. All too often, the chase would end with the bad guy getting away and that poor Plymouth ending up on its roof, smashed into a tree, or sinking in several feet of water.
In a case of life imitating art, in real life these cars were the darlings of law enforcement agencies everywhere. Their stiff torsion bar suspensions, potent 383 and 440 engines, and rigid, overbuilt unibody construction made them both faster and better handlers than their Ford and GM competitors. That's the biggest reason why these cars are so rare nowadays. A lot of them were bought by cop agencies, only to be crashed or driven into the ground. Many more survivors got sent to the boneyard after having their potent big-block engines and indestructible Torqueflite trannies yanked out and dropped into something else, like a Charger, Challenger, or Duster. Still more met their end when they were unceremoniously dumped by anxious owners who witnessed Chrysler's death throes in the late 70's. No one wanted to be stuck with an orphaned car that they might not be able to get parts or service for, so they got chucked. Next stop- scrapyard or demo derby!
After years of being overlooked, these cars are finally starting to attract attention. There's a Swedish car club dedicated to these things, and I'm starting to see more and more of these show up at Car's & Coffee, The Woodward Dream Cruise, Pomona Swap Meet, and other classic car events.
One of these days, I'm buying one. Make mine a strippo 4-door Plymouth Fury with roll-up windows, heavy duty suspension and cooling package, and a built 440 under the hood.
