The skimpy 7 1/4 rear end wore out prematurely. Following its introduction, the Dodge St. Regis saw heavy use as a police car in the United States. Saw one of these, white over white, on my drive home the other day. Seems really tacky. Has Power drivers seat (a little of the leather separated from the seam as shown), All power windows (back right is stuck shut) all leather seats, Cruise control (works perfectly) Power steering and Brakes, stock radio turns on but only tunes into one station. They could have expanded the line and made several available models, having a base, mid and Brougham. But you know, a funny thing happened. Id do it myself, its simple. Still a 360, but it couldn't handle the big tires and beating, and, being lighter, you felt every bump around. It featured a unique retractable headlight cover, 5.2-litre and 5.9-litre V8s and a three-speed automatic transmission. Air Resources Board) to modify the exhaust for patrol duty. I was always impressed with the ride quality and handling, even with the police suspension and police pack components. Select a 1979 Dodge St Regis Trim. Or not. The next up was the Dodge Aspen. mtm352: I was a career Trooper, and one of my favorites all around was my unmarked 1980 St. Regis. I ran the power wire from the later harness over to the original factory power wire. No leather seats in the St.Regis, just vinyl.. All repairs are documented. Eventually, the linkage got worn enough that you could just press lightly down on the lever to drop into second and then tap it upward to catch third. Yes, Gran Furies were more numerous back then for RCMP highway patrol. $12,000 1-2 Search Tools Refine Search? That is me. The rear tires are 80% Winter tires. The Chevrolet Impala was a cheaper, trimmed down version of the B-body full-size Caprice and came with V8 engines of 5.0-litre and 5.7-litre capacities. We were not alone in these issues. . Dad bought a 1985 Audi 5000 demonstrator in late 1985 to replace the beloved Buick and that thing made the LeBaron look good. (ABC Comedic, sarcastic Version of Miami Vice in the same time period). 360 L-code, was white with blue interior. These were usually driven by police chiefs and fire chiefs. I bought it in Pa. and drove back to Mi. I know the seats werent leather too. dimanche 15 novembre 1981, Journaux, Chicoutimi :[diteur non identifi],1964-2017 I have a 79 St. Regis. 1979 Dodge St. Regis Pricing Original MSRP N/a Price range N/a Average price on CG $0 YoY price change N/a Date Sep 22 Oct 22 Nov 22 Dec 22 Jan 23 Feb 23 Price (US $) $28,500 $29,000 $29,500 $30,000 $30,500 $31,000 1981 Dodge St. Regis 1980 Dodge St. Regis 1979 Dodge St. Regis Index Price See more price trends Trims & specs In contrast to the clean-sheet Ford and GM designs, the dire financial situation of Chrysler relegated the company to retool an existing chassis. It came with a 4.9-litre V8 and a larger 5.8-litre unit (restricted for police use only), with electronic fuel injection later arriving for the 4.9while a carburetted 5.8was still fitted through to 1991. . Good ones are extremely hard to come by. Produced for a single generation, the St. Regis is one of the shortest-lived Dodge nameplates. Im sure you know that was also the first year they had equipped the Torqueflite with a lock-up torque converter. Im not even sure the oven was allowed to pre-heat. Coinciding with efforts to expedite the retirement of the St. Regis from patrol service, the CHP adopted the 'Ford Mustang Severe Service Package' police pursuit vehicle (PPV) in 1982. police car fan 2012-09-05 18:16-- Last edit: 2014-03-24 14:42:15: police car fan 2013-11-07 20:50. There are some quirks like any car of this age. Volare Wagons, and Chevy Camaro Z28s on the road for an 18 month test. But, I digress.) It was only produced from 1979 to 1981 and most of the 58,000+ cars produced went to fleet use. I did this to my St. Regis and ran a early 1990s AM/FM cassette and it blended right in. In the fall of 80, a wheel bearing failed, causing the front wheel to part company with the rest of the heap. shepherdsville kentucky. So, if you took your eyes off the road for even a moment, you could find yourself halfway in the adjacent lane. (The siren and light bar have been disconnected per EBay policy.) Sometimes it would fire up again again sitting, sometimes not. 2022 Ram 1500; 2022 Ford F-150; . . I swear, I do not think that Audi was out of the shop more than six weeks for the five years he owned it and, once out of warranty, it seemed each repair bill was at least $1000. She is Catholic, however. 1979 Dodge St. Regis brochure 1979 Ford LTD - Australia 1979 Ford pickups 1979 Lincoln-Mercury 1979 Newport 1979 New Yorker 1979 Chevrolet 1979 Plymouth Horizon 1979 Pontiac. I liked the compact size but they were tight on space inside. Tool Review: Is This Hand Tool The Budget Solution For LARGE WIRE CRIMPING? Positioned above the Coronet, but sharing the same chassis, were the Dodge Royal and Dodge Custom Royal. Ever. There were quality control issues, like spring shackles that were not torqued to specs which brought anxious moments in cornering or hard acceleration. The CHP also maintains a SWAT team on 24hour standby to respond to any terrorist activity. 1979 Dodge Ram Charger. I recall reading a quote from a Chrysler engineer once saying that the transverse torsion bar suspension was mandated for marketing reasons and there really was no way to model what it was doing in the computer or elsewhere. You Be The Judge. Id totally jump on it if it were a Newport. Original owners manual and all 1979 Chrysler emissions documentation, and repair slips. Your parents experience with a 78 LeBaron mirrored mine. Shop millions of cars from over 22,500 dealers and find the perfect car. The test led to the purchase of Ford Mustangs in 1982, for use as traffic enforcement cars. I have been showing the car for a few years and it has won some awards at car shows. It wasn't an MSP car originally, but it is a real police spec machine, originally hailing from Virginia. 1700 isnt crazy for this one, though it seems more like maybe a $1200 car to me. After 2 tears, a 50 cent piece sized flake of paint departed the quarter panel, leaving scabbly rust. Mileage: 33,430 . Its hardly perfect, but like anything else that is mechanically kept up, it has been and continues to be a faithful member of the family fleet outlasting much newer cars meant to replace it. 1980 Dodge St Regis (Canadian brochure). The California Highway Patrol tested the St. Regis: * After two miles First show I took it to it earned a first in MoPar other (not A, B, C, or E.). Funny the Aspen was actually better. Nowadays, I have my 2012 Chrysler 300c (Hemi of course), my 1977 AMC Gremlin, and my 1969 Toyota Corona. The last photo is of the featured car (and me before I drove it to prom, sorry about that). Even the Chrysler Newport had vinyl as an option with no leather available .I often think Chrysler downplayed these models as the more economical versions of their larger cars so people would opt for the New Yorker if they wanted more luxury. 1968 Dodge Monaco. We'll give you credit for the submission (of course) and what is cooler than showing all your gang that you have a story on Bang Shift? Contact seller. The car would go both fast and handle. Rwcar4 Police Car Photos Classic Police Cars. It wasnt an MSP car originally, but it is a real police spec machine, originally hailing from Virginia. Menu. After the lease went up, he ended up buying it and driving it for 2 more years before buying an 82 Audi 5000, itself a whole nother story. Michael Simonson wrote that 19,000 police St. Regis models were made in 1979, 6,000 in 1980, and 2,000 in 1981; most were ordinary police cars rather than special interceptors, and many were destroyed in movies. That year the CHP put a limited number of Ford Fairmonts, Chevy Malibus, Plymouth For 1980, the 360 was replaced by a 155 hp 318 V8 4-bbl with California emissions to comply with state emissions regulations. The CHP also works with municipal and federal law enforcement agencies, providing assistance in investigations, patrol and other aspects of law enforcement. all combined to keep sales low. It would be the last full-size Plymouth model ever built. He never even got it on the road, as he didnt even had a drivers license yet! It was a 318 with a 2.45 gear and it was beyond sluggish, it struggled to move because the Lean Burn wasnt functioning properly. New Tri-Five Chevy Parts: Bolt-In Underdash Hydraulic Clutch System From American Powertrain, Not Stock Photographys John Jackson Takes Us On A Lone Star Throwdown Adventure, B&MS PRECISION SPORTSHIFTER WILL GIVE YOUR 2021-UP FORD BRONCOS 7-SPEED A SOLID SHIFTING FEEL, Lone Star Throwdown 2023: Is This The Baddest Truck Show Of The Year? My dad eased one in 1978 and it was junk with a capital J. Most of those wound up being wrecked on TV shows and movies. We had only one car that would almost hit one hundred, we had another that would hit eighty five. You really wanted the intersection to be very, very clear before you started to make a left turn. The automotive landscape and world at-large is shifting away from petrol cars and towards electrification and political correctness. The St. Regis was famous in Ca. It may be rare, but this looks like one of the crappiest built cars from that era. The neat clear-lens headlight covers are gone (most police departments ditched them) but everything else about this begs for a road trip. By 1980, restrictive anti-emissions regulations meant that it was a dog to drive, with many police officers complaining about its poor performance. The second Bluesmobile was an LTD Crown Victoria in the movie Blues Brothers 2000. 1978 Dodge Van Color Chart . 52,000. The horn, ipers, auges and all the lights work properly. It's been off the road 25 years or so, I bought it never hearing it run turn over or anything, I just got . February 21, 2015 78 comments. Its engine is a naturally aspirated petrol, 5.9 litre, overhead valve 90 degree V 8 cylinder with 2 valves per cylinder. New Product, And How To Assemble It: The Speedway Motors Sheet Metal Mock Up LS Engine! Im not a fan of the power window controls. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hed87QNchpw. The original speedometer is included with the vehicle. Dodge, Plymouth, and Chrysler Police Cars 1979-1994 notes that the 360 powered St. Regis, Newport, and Gran Fury were the fastest and best performing police cars of the era. Dimensions: 13 x 4.61 x 3.41 cm. 2021. If you had a variable-venturi Crown Victoria, you could guess whether it would come off at idle speed or tear out the rear end with wide open power. Broad Brook, Connecticut, United States. The Gran Fury was purpose-designed as a cheaper version of the Chrysler Newport and was aimed at taxi, police and other fleet operators, with police cars utilising the 5.2-litre and 5.9-litre V8s. Not only is it essentially uselesswow its ugly. 1979 Dodge Omni. My car had its original Lean Burn ditched by the original owner, when my dad got it, he found it had been converted to points and he converted it to standard electronic ignition. I have a 1979 Chrysler Newport, 318 LA small block 2bbl, TF A 904, AC, PS, PB, AM FM, cruise control (works well), base interior. What's in the box: 1-43 1979-81 Dodge St Regis. It came with a 318ci (5.2 litres) or 360ci V8 (5.9 litres) V8 mated to a three-speed automatic, and its odd, narrow grille was the result of being forced to re-use the bonnet from the Chrysler LeBaron. There is a small chip on the plastic of the right rear taillight (not the lens). It forms part of Dodge's Series EH range of cars. He was amazed the box when that long and he thought the original owner was crazy for putting points on a car he was still making payments on. Dodge, Plymouth, and Chrysler Police Cars 1979-1994 notes that the 360 powered St. Regis, Newport, and Gran Fury were the fastest and best performing police cars of the era. CNN got the prestige of a major car companys commercials running on their then-new channel and company cars for their reporters, Chrysler cleared out some of the sales bank and got a platform to advertise the coming K-cars. For 1979, Dodge dumped he Monaco line altogether and unveiled this mid-size sedan called St. Regis. Sure is, just looked at the brochure and vinyl was optional, no mention of leather at all. Base Price $6,847. I remember Dabney Coleman driving one in the hilarious car chase in the movie Short Time, and wondering just how that thing held together. In deference to fuel economy standards, the 400 and 440 big-block V8s were deleted from the engine lineup. Early versions of this generation Malibu had six-window sides and fixed rear door window glass. Historic Drag Video: Ultra-Rare Footage Of Art Arfons Green Monster And The Dud Jet Dragster, Great Read: The Man Who Would Be Greyhound: A 1986 Sports Illustrated Profile Of Big Daddy Don Garlits. While closer in exterior size to the Diplomat, the Intrepid nearly matches the St. Regis in interior room. The back seat was surprisingly roomy and compared well to Dads oh-so-broughamy 1980 Buick Limited, which was a beloved family vehicle. Compared to its 1977 Dodge Royal Monaco predecessor, the Dodge St. Regis shed 5.5 inches in length, 2.7 inches in width, 3 inches in wheelbase, and nearly 900 pounds of curb weight (dependent on powertrain). Cool Project Series: Full Boost Is Turbocharging A 351-Cleveland Powered 1976 Ford F-350 Ramp Truck. The biggest engine available was the Chevrolet 5.0-litre V8 and it was produced until 1983. Most disastrous of all was the 1980 Dodge St. Regis supplied to the California Highway Patrol. Model WC WC-12 1979 Dodge St. Regis For Sale. C $14.42. Wow only am fm and no cassette no 8 track player and one station working. This is a 1979 Dodge St. Regis. Ram 1500. I bought my first Chrysler product, a 2014 Durango, about a year ago and it has been a delightful and flawless vehicle for 25,000 miles. He pulled the engine to put in a 53 Willys and sold the car before he finished it. Have you ever wondered what all those boxy American police sedans were from the 1980s in American movies and television shows? You would think the full-sized cars would offer leather. With 42,000 miles and a 360 V8, this chocolate bar is an unusually well-preserved car. Always wanted to be a rally expert but never had the right car for the job? Dodge Charger 7th-gen. Dodge St. Regis (1979-1981) Dodge Stealth (1991-1996) Dodge Stratus 1gen (1995-2000) . Here we take a closer look at those conservatively-styled box-shaped sedans, which were designed to Serve and Protect, to see exactly what police car fleets consisted of back in this decade. There is a small piece of trim missing near the drivers door, unnoticed until close to car. Furthermore, CHP officers act as bailiffs for the California Supreme Court and California Court of Appeal, as well as providing security at buildings occupied by the State of California. I drove a later model Volare a few times for work and it steered much better, so I suspect it may have just been our cars particular set up. Replace your dim and dated standard sealed beams with our full LED headlights and get an upgrade in. We never had a noticeable increase in failed pursuits when we engaged with the 318. After the Audi, he bought a Toyota Previa, which functioned beautifully, and never bought another non-Japanese car again. Deriving its name from a 1950s Chrysler trim package, the St. Regis was the first example of downsizing of the full-size Dodge sedan line. Replacing the Monaco, the St. Regis was the largest Dodge sedan, positioned above the mid-size Diplomat and Aspen. A new grille for its final year heralded the merger of the Fifth Avenue and New Yorker names in 1982, in the more successful luxury version of the M-body Dodge Diplomat. Free shipping on many items | Browse your favorite brands | affordable prices. On Diplomat SE, the heavier steering improves the handling much, with smaller steering wheel. I was rewarded with a 1980 Aspen. 1978 Dodge LRT Express. . Said Lean Burn also failed repeatedly, leaving you stalled out without warning at random times. The original owner found a non Lean Burn Holley 2280 to put on it. My mechanical skills at the time were far from what they are now so the issue was never solved and the car remained in my possession for a couple more years. Video: YouTuber thrashes Ferrari F8, to provoke lawsuit? Driven one winter since new. The department usually kept their cars three years, but the St. Regis were so bad, they replaced them after only two. The only St. Regis I can ever recall seeing was this one I took a picture of about 5 years ago. All this wears the cars slap out before they finally get rid of them. Dodge, Plymouth, and Chrysler Police Cars 1979-1994 notes that the 360 powered St. Regis, Newport, and Gran Fury were the fastest and best performing police cars of the era. 1978 Dodge Diplomat 4,804 mi $ 16,500 or $272/mo Gateway Classic Cars of Tulsa is proud to present this slick 1978 Dodge Diplomat Coupe. Dodge St. Regis 1979, 4x6" (165mm) Rectangular Chrome LED Headlights with DRL by Lumen, 1 Pair. The leather interior door handles need to be re-attached. This is a HEAVILY OPTIONED CAR with Power Seat, Power Window, A/C, P/S, AM/FM radio, Tilt Steering Column, Cornering Lights, Cruise Control. It was probably easier to do this in my car because it was originally a single speaker AM radio and I ran the speaker wiring from the back and put in some front speakers in the factory holes and hooked everything up to the later harness. (Ford Explorer Police Interceptor Utility). The Dodge St. Regis is a very rare car. Dodge Coronet Police Vehicle (1959) Dodge Coronet Police Vehicle The Coronet was a full-size car from Dodge from the 1950s. Just bought my 1980 dodge st.regis with a 360 v8 engine. Why? So they always occupied a small space in my automotive memory banks. Details. Original paint, top and in . When I turn off the lights, the doors now make a satisfying thunk as they close. If they had been rolling in cash, the R-bodies would have turned out much differently. Only owned it for 27 years, lol. While the St. Regis is of little collector value today (alongside Chrysler/Plymouth R-body counterparts), the mechanical commonality of the R platform with earlier Chrysler vehicles leads collectors to search for scrapped examples for its front disc brakes to upgrade earlier cars (such as the Dodge Dart and Plymouth Barracuda)[citation needed] With the low number built (in comparison to its Ford and Chevrolet competitors) and the high percentage destroyed in film and TV work or retired after police use, very few examples survive today. 1979 Dodge Diplomat (Brochure). These cars are a great deal for St Regis shoppers. If the radio in this car was anything like my 79 St. Regis its one of two things. Im apt to think that he means that the analog dial is stuck & turning the tuning knob has no effect. The 225 Slant-6 inline-6 was now the standard engine with optional 318 and 360 V8s; a three-speed automatic was paired to all three engines. Yes, its really confusing to think why there is a transparent headlight cover. Even a highly reputable repair shop in my city could not rectify the problem. I believe 79 was when Lee Iacocca came in to clean house. Of course, my perception may be influenced by the fact that my parents were having a rather disastrous experience with my moms 1978 LeBaron and I may have just tuned out Chrysler news at that time. Despite being an introductory model, nearly 30% of St. Regis production was dedicated for police/law enforcement use. Aluminum bumpers, coated with a chrome-like substance that peeled right off when getting splattered with the chemicals for snow melting on the roads. GM Car Calibration Request; JEEP; UTV; GARAGE SALE DEALS. These sites include nuclear power plants, government buildings, and key infrastructure sites. Its very hard to tell the rust problem though, as the thick chrome trims cover up the door seals and rocker panel, where is most suspicious to rust. Im actually using some disc brake parts from a St. Regis on my 66 Dart. Last, but not least, the 1980-83 Dodge Mirada/Chrysler Cordoba. 360 4 Barrel 999 trans. The longest fresh water beach in the world couldnt hide a beater imperial. The pin that held the shift lever departed, causing it come off in my dads hand. Front Seats Ranked 2002 Ford Focus ZX3 better. Insanity! I never saw this until just now. I think the St. Regis would have been rather like the beautiful bright red, with white vinyl top and white leather interior Mirada I got around this time, in that it would have been a comfortable highway cruiser, though not the greatest handling machine around town.