'49 Police Car on E-Bay

[49 Dodge Dude]

Here's something you don't see every day - a 1949 Dodge Police car. Looks to be in really good condition, too!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Dodge-Coronet-POLICE-CAR-BEAUTIFUL-VERY-RARE-1949-DODGE-POLICE-CAR-22-612-miles-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem3cb157010aQQitemZ260673306890QQptZUSQ5fCarsQ5fTrucks

[48P15Annie]

Very cool!

[randroid]

Folks,

I had a friend who had a fender-mounted 6v siren and I tried to talk him out of it for several years. Had I been able to do so Pigiron's color scheme would be quite different than it is.

-Randy

[Young Ed]

Randy about one a year ago but just can't bring myself to mount it out in the open like that. Still trying to figure out a way to stick it behind the grill of my pickup.

[Don Coatney]

Looks like a no reserve auction.

It looks like this car has a swing brake pedal and firewall mounted vacuum bake booster?????

Here is what the owner has to say about how rare a fluid drive Dodge is.

"VERY RARE FLUID DRIVE TRANS IS PERFECT. FLUID DRIVE MEANS CAR IS A 3 SPEED MANUAL SHIFT TRANS AND CAN BE DRIVEN AS A AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION ALSO. IT HAS A AUTOMATIC TORQUE CONVERTOR, I WAS TOLD THIS IS VERY RARE AND VERY HARD TO FIND IN A DODGE."

Edited October 5, 2010 by Don Coatney

[55 Fargo]

Looks like a no reserve auction.

It looks like this car has a swing brake pedal and firewall mounted vacuum bake booster?????

Here is what the owner has to say about how rare a fluid drive Dodge is.

"VERY RARE FLUID DRIVE TRANS IS PERFECT. FLUID DRIVE MEANS CAR IS A 3 SPEED MANUAL SHIFT TRANS AND CAN BE DRIVEN AS A AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION ALSO. IT HAS A AUTOMATIC TORQUE CONVERTOR, I WAS TOLD THIS IS VERY RARE AND VERY HARD TO FIND IN A DODGE."

Not so rare, if it is a fluid drive coupler, as you and I both know, many a Dodge had a 3 spd trans and fluid drive coupler.

Infact in Canada many Chrysler "Royal" models had the very same, with the exception of having a 251 engine.

I also noticed it was "no reserve" deal

[Phil Martin]

Brake pedal looks strange. Take all the police crap off and have an excellant dodge sedan.

[plyman 50]

Looks like a power brake booster to me also, I emailed seller and asked if the car had p/b or after market or home made setup. Only reply was car had No power brakes and brakes worked great.

[BobT-47P15]

And I say it's another case of the seller not really knowing much about

the car. If he had been the one who worked on it and installed the

brake system, whatever it is, he could have explained it.

Awfully nice upholstry for a police car.............

Isn't it missing chrome spears from the rear fenders?

He said he feels he has a very low "buy it now" price, but I don't

see that. Maybe the bidders exceeded it.

[Dan Hiebert]

The first "police package" or "special service" cars were not offered until about 1957. Everything before then was just the cheapest car off the show-room floor with the police doo-dads added. Virtually anything was used for a cruiser, depending on the budgets, the more plain-Jane the better. I've seen vintage photos of a '48 DeSoto used as a city police car. The rare stuff here is not the car itself, but the police accessories that are just tacked onto the vehicle. It was not a police car itself, its missing some key equipment for the time period, does not even have the controls for the siren and bubble-gum machine. Looks like someone restored the car and decided to make it a cop car. There is a whole genre of folks who do that. The "STOP" signal on the hood is unique to the Michigan State Police, and is supposed to light up.

[Don Coatney]

I see the price has now jumped to over three grand. I wonder if the price jump is related to posting the auction on this forum?

[hkestes41]

I don't know about MI but in MO the working red light would never pass muster.

I was a volunteer fireman for several years in the small town where we lived before moving to Texas. We all had the magnetic "Starsky and Hutch" style of lights you put on your roof or dash when heading to a fire and by law we had to use blue or amber lights. Red lights were only for official government (City, Municipal, State, Federal etc) emergency vehicles.

Sirens were no problem but a red light was a big no-no.

[Don Coatney]

I wrote the seller and asked the following question.

Can you post a better picture of the brake pedal and the fire wall mounted master cylinder? Does this car have power brakes?

I got this response.

HELLO. NO POWER BRAKES, BUT BRAKES ARE NICE. CALL WITH QUESTIONS 1-734-751-1023 DON

So I wrote back with question.

Can you post a picture of the brake pedal and the fire wall mounted master cylinder?

My guess is he will not respond but if he does I will post the response.

[Merle Coggins]

Sure looks like a vaccum brake booster on the right edge of this picture. Something tells be he has never driven this car. He's just selling it.

Edited October 6, 2010 by Merle Coggins

[Reg Evans]

It's interesting that he did not include Don's questions and his answers on his listing.

[Reg Evans]

It sure has cheesy battery cables !

[Don Coatney]

It sure has cheesy battery cables !

You should write and ask the seller if the car is positive or negative ground as it appears to be negative ground. Also what is the extra wire connected to the battery used for. And where is the heater duct?

[Merle Coggins]

I can hear it answer already...

"The battery is connected properly and the car starts and runs great. The heater also works great."

Merle

[Reg Evans]

OK, I just did.

He answered my question about the missing heater duct and if he had it.

Here's his answer.

"hi. yes i think it is in trunk,"

So I looked at the trunk photo.

Edited October 7, 2010 by Reg Evans

[Don Coatney]

I can hear it answer already...

"The battery is connected properly and the car starts and runs great. The heater also works great."

Merle

Merle;

You sound just like the seller:D

[jd52cranbrook]

I always wonder what it is inside people that drives them to knock another's possession.

Well, not always wonder, curious is a good word I guess.

Maybe we should have a forum topic for putting down other's cars? Pick one a week maybe.

Edited October 6, 2010 by jd52cranbrook

[55 Fargo]

I always wonder what it is inside people that drives them to knock another's possession.

Well, not always wonder, curious is a good word I guess.

Maybe we should have a forum topic for putting down other's cars? Pick one a week maybe.

I kinda wonder the same too at times. I figure if you aren't interested in the car, then why bother.

It's not too bad a specimen, like a lot of other 60 year old cars, things changed, added/subtracted, and not always in the best way, the car is not in bad shape.....Fred

[Merle Coggins]

I'm not knocking the car. I think it's a great vehicle, although the police scheme isn't my thing. I'm mearly pointing out his inability to properly describe the vehicle he's trying to sell. It's quite apparent that he really has no idea what he's selling.

[Don Coatney]

I always wonder what it is inside people that drives them to knock another's possession.

Well, not always wonder, curious is a good word I guess.

Maybe we should have a forum topic for putting down other's cars? Pick one a week maybe.

I have nothing against the car. I simply feel it should be described correctly by the seller. When I see a brake pedal such as is pictured below and the seller says "brakes are nice" I dont think I am getting the whole picture.

If you find my postings offensive please make use of the ignore function.

[jd52cranbrook]

Offensive isn't the word I would use. It's pretty obvious to me ridicule is a good theme in this and similar postings. I was wondering what the value is.

I'm just stating my opinion, or thought. Hope that's still OK on here.

I don't believe in the ignore function, everybody has good ideas once in awhile.