** CHP testing reached the Chrysler numbers with a 445 pound load in the car but only after setting the shifts to factory spec and replacing the muffler with a straight pipe. As 70s interiors go, thats not too bad. Illinois State Police 1979 Dodge St. Regis.avi - YouTube I used to own a 79 St. Regis back in the late 80s. BTW that is some of the best looking vinyl I have ever seen it fooled me! Original owners manual and all 1979 Chrysler emissions documentation, and repair slips. That year the CHP put a limited number of Ford Fairmonts, Chevy Malibus, Plymouth Volare Wagons, and Chevy Camaro Z28's on the road for an 18 month test. What's in the box: 1-43 1979-81 Dodge St Regis. You really wanted the intersection to be very, very clear before you started to make a left turn. I bought a lean burn 81 imperial as a gag for beer runs at the cottage 20 plus years ago . The Dodge St. Regis is an automobile that was marketed by Dodge from the 1979 to 1981 model years. Im not even sure the oven was allowed to pre-heat. For reasons we never diagnosed it couldnt get out of its own way, but handled like a go cart..fun car, and new enough that people got out of your way in a hurryor slowed down to a miserable fear soaked pace.. Where are the blinkers? It was maintained meticulously throughout the years, and everything from changing the oil to simply replacing a spark plug has been professionally done and documented by the local Midas. Even so, the original unit in the St Regis has FM radio that I really hope for ( AM only in North Michigan doesnt return many channels ). Dodge All Model Paint Codes and Color Chart, Chips Oem Examples Brakes coming totally unset from the factory! 1979 Dodge Magnum XE ORIGINAL (Cordoba, St. Regis, 1978 Dodge Magnum GT) NO RESV, 1979 Dodge Magnum XE ALL ORIGINAL (Cordoba, St. Regis, 1978 Dodge Magnum GT) 52K, 1979 Dodge Magnum XE ALL ORIGINAL (Cordoba, St. Regis, 1978 Dodge Magnum GT), 1963 DODGE POLICE CAR, ORIGINAL AMARILLO TEXAS POLICE UNIT. The car was very comfy on long distances with its wide pillowy seats that were like a sofa. The leather interior door handles need to be re-attached. Dont know if Ive previously mentioned that like others, Ive seen rather few of these going all the way back to when they first came out. The risks you take when buying a used fleet vehicle. I have a 79 St. Regis. Just seemed like a neat feature to my younger self. The Chrysler R-body cars (like their 197478 predecessors) arrived at precisely the wrong time, as a second gasoline crisis hit the U.S. in 1979. With 42,000 miles and a 360 V8, this chocolate bar is an unusually well-preserved car. Takes all kinds, I guess. 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. Oh, and the car is luxurious enough to have cruise control, AC ( good chance of working or relatively easy fix ) and FM radio with more than one speaker, non cloth seats not falling apart. For 1982, the model line was discontinued, with the Dodge Diplomat serving as the largest Dodge; the next full-size Dodge sedan was the 1990 Dodge Monaco (derived from the Eagle Premier, itself a version of the Renault 25). The rear tires are 80% Winter tires. Even after it warmed up it would sputter and bog down on tip-in from idle. The CHP gradually assumed increased responsibility beyond the enforcement of the State Vehicle Act and eventually merged with the smaller California State Police in 1995. They could hit one hundred five mph. Hell, there was probably a time when a little junkyard combing could have gotten you all the spare ballast resistors & stuff you would need for life. . 1979 Dodge St. Regis For Sale Wichita Falls, Texas - Collector Car Ads And stick/no a-c is the setup to have on the Horizon! 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. Oh, fancy radio with glass like cover and chrome buttons from M-Body will be a nice swap with all the same connections. But my dad, who passed away in 2007, actively avoided Chrysler products for the rest of his life. I remember Dabney Coleman driving one in the hilarious car chase in the movie Short Time, and wondering just how that thing held together. The Diplomat . The popular Dodge Diplomat was based on Chryslers mid-size M-body platform from 1977. There is no in-between. Rear defrost. She is Catholic, however. its not close to stock and would make a cool ride if your OK with 4 doors. Progrs-dimanche, dimanche 15 novembre 1981 | BAnQ numrique So perhaps I might point out that there is no St. Sedona, but there is a St Regis, and she can drive the car named after him. 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). There are only handful of St Regis around, and fewer of them is in heavily salted Michigan. 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. Learn how your comment data is processed. Today's Rare Ride is for sale in Pennsylvania. The digital clock lights, ut does not reset. 1979 Dodge Trucks. The domes on the Federal Signal Aerodynic lightbar are in excellent condition. 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. 1979 Dodge Challenger (Brochure). My dad bought it in 1985, rebuilt the engine and the front suspension and drove it for ten years. There were quality control issues, like spring shackles that were not torqued to specs which brought anxious moments in cornering or hard acceleration. Even nicer if you want to stay with a factory radio is to salvage the radio wiring harness from a later 80s-2000 era Mopar, retrofit it to the St. Regis and use one of the AM-FM cassette/CD players and it still looks good and it just bolts right in. The St. Regis is a motor car from Dodge, with rear wheel drive, a front positioned engine and a 4 door saloon (sedan) body style. The Dodge St. Regis and Plymouth Gran Fury police car - Allpar Forums 79 Dodge St Regis with 340 engine - forabodiesonly.com Primed us for Iacoccas rescue package. The featured car is in better shape cosmetically than mine and if I had room for it would be all over it, but since my car has been in the family for 30 years will put in the sweat equity it would take to get it back to where we had it looking years ago. I was always impressed with the ride quality and handling, even with the police suspension and police pack components. The California State Legislature originally established the California Highway Patrol as a branch of the Division of Motor Vehicles in the Department of Public Works, with legislation signed by Governor C. C. Young on August 14, 1929. The 360 has been beefed up to a proper level and the car barks out through headers into Flowmasters. I non the less fail to see how his bio could be inspiration for naming a car, I mean he was not a coach builder like LeBaron. The Dodge St. Regis is a very rare car. These sites include nuclear power plants, government buildings, and key infrastructure sites. The car would go both fast and handle. CHP Police Car Site. That would kick in around 28-30 mph, causing a massive ping/detonation/lugging event alarming enough to make you let off the throttle. . I told the BIL not to buy it but he didnt listen. My clearest memory of these is the numerous pictures in the paper showing acres and acres of these things sitting unsold in rail yards all over north Michigan and southern Ontario.. Years later they were running the Dodge Diplomat and they were really pretty good. Ram 1500. Even then, these were unusual to see, but I remember thinking it was much nicer than I expected. 1979 Dodge St. Regis Michigan State Police Find this Pin and more on police by dan gordon. Shop millions of cars from over 22,500 dealers and find the perfect car. My grandpa had one as a police car. The horn, ipers, auges and all the lights work properly. I bought it in Pa. and drove back to Mi. lol. St Louis County Police dept. FREE LIVE DRAG RACING: The $25,000 64 Car Shootout At The K&N Southwest Showdown Has Been Reschedule For Friday Due To SNOW! 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. To further distinguish the model line from its Plymouth Gran Fury, Chrysler Newport, and Chrysler New Yorker counterparts, the front fascia was styled with transparent retractable headlamp covers (introduced on the 1978 Dodge Magnum). 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. ( but I dont think many people thought of searching for St Regis in cars anyway ) and I regret for not saving the photos one year ago, but it popped up again few days earlier. And I thought the general shape of the car was attractive, even if it seemed to owe a lot to Buick. For 1979, the 360 was available to cops in all fifty states, with a rating of 195 horsepower for everyone but those in California. Cool Project Series: Full Boost Is Turbocharging A 351-Cleveland Powered 1976 Ford F-350 Ramp Truck. The reason I know this is because Ive got a 79 St. Regis. Something that drives everyday. The pin that held the shift lever departed, causing it come off in my dads hand. But, I digress.) shepherdsville kentucky. The only other thing was the headliner started coming down after the car was 20 years old. When I turn off the lights, the doors now make a satisfying thunk as they close. The Horizon had stick shift and no air conditioning, so he traded it on the LeBaron. ( I came across a excellent looking Fox Continental in a Ford-Lincoln dealership in North Michigan last month, and it reveals the problem when I opened the door ). My engine met its demise when all the teeth sheared off the plastic cam sprocket. The Dodge St. Regis introduced in 1979 was a re-skinned dinosaur based on the old large Chrysler B-body platform which underpinned the classic 1960s Dodge Charger muscle car. Shorter than the 1977 Royal Monaco by five inches, narrower by three inches, and lighter by almost half a ton, the Dodge St. Regis (and its platform mates Chrysler Newport and Plymouth Gran Fury) shouldve worked in the market. The Diplomats, conversely, were only available in base trim. American Brands: AMC, Jeep and All Others, Tractors, Lawn Mowers, Off-Road Equipment, Runway Classic Video: The Mighty Convair 880 Takes Off Again, http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2006/12/chrysler-bank-on-it/, http://www.allpar.com/cars/dodge/R-bodies.html. For 1982, Dodge began marketing the Diplomat as its largest four-door sedan; nearly 16 inches shorter than the St. Regis, the mid-size Diplomat was the final rear-wheel drive sedan marketed by Dodge during the 1980s. 1979 Dodge Diplomat. After the departure of my St. Regis, I made the mistake of purchasing a 95 VW Jetta GLI (my first new car) which spent more time at my VW dealer for repairs than it did in my driveway. 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. Replacement motors are very thin on the ground. 1979 DODGE ST. REGIS: Dodge dumped its really big Royal Monacos after 1977, leaving only mid-size Monacos for 1978. Especially if it was known to have a lot of build quality problems on delivery. In contrast to the clean-sheet Ford and GM designs, the dire financial situation of Chrysler relegated the company to retool an existing chassis. Rough rider since it is older and it handles OK. Great in snow, and mud since it is 4 wheel drive. Chrysler R platform - Wikipedia This is a 1979 Dodge St. Regis. He never even got it on the road, as he didnt even had a drivers license yet! It was only produced from 1979 to 1981 and most of the 58,000+ cars produced went to fleet use. Generally, it did all these things after lurching just far enough into traffic that people would be bearing down on you. That is me. Even a highly reputable repair shop in my city could not rectify the problem. 4 Door Hardtop Pillared. Maybe it will stay there longer. Dodge Coronet Police Vehicle - NetCarShow.com Its been one of the most reliable cars Ive had (thanks to my dads rebuild) so far and because were down a vehicle in the family fleet it got put back into daily driving service again. Muscle for the Man! - 1978 Plymouth Fury A38 pursuit However the 2nd space in my garage is zealously guarded by Mrs JPC. The headlight doors have been manually cranked open. It was downsized and shed up to 450 kg in the process, and was styled to look bigger than it was. He pulled the engine to put in a 53 Willys and sold the car before he finished it. Video: YouTuber thrashes Ferrari F8, to provoke lawsuit? May consider other trades of equal value as well. 1979 Dodge LRT Express. The main problem with the LeBaron for us was that it just would not run right. Those St. Regis very rarely, come up for sale, if ever. The B-body platform was updated to replace the departed C-body cars. Just bought my 1980 dodge st.regis with a 360 v8 engine. Wow, I dont think Ive ever seen a St. Regis that nice. 1979 Dodge LeBaron (Brochure). 1979 Dodge St. Regis: Prices, Reviews & Pictures - CarGurus 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. There is a St Regis hotel on Grand Boulevard rather close to the headquarter of Chrysler at that time. It recently passed the rigorous California biennial smog inspection, s it has done since I have owned the car. Full review an, Cool sound You Be The Judge. Tool Review: Is This Hand Tool The Budget Solution For LARGE WIRE CRIMPING? 1980 Plymouth Gran Fury Police Package E38 Squad Mopar The car was so gutless that they removed the mufflers and ran straight pipes out past the bumper. But, my aunt drove her late-1980s Omni for 289,000 miles and would have bought another one if they had still been in production. A console from my deceased 67 Sport Fury is between the seats. The owner brought it to my place of business to let me see it and drive it. The Dodge St. Regis is a full-size Dodge automobile built from 1979 to 1981. By 1980, restrictive anti-emissions regulations meant that it was a dog to drive, with many police officers complaining about its poor performance. [citation needed] For 1979, Chrysler withdrew Plymouth entirely from the full-size segment (making the Volare the largest Plymouth that year); for 1980, a R-body Gran Fury was reinstated, nearly exclusively for fleet sales. 360 L-code, was white with blue interior. It was 5 degrees outside or I would have followed it and photographed it when it came to rest. The Fab Forums Fox Body Project: Doing A Factory Mini Tub Build Part 3. Unbelievable Survivor: 1981 Chrysler Newport | Barn Finds 10 Greatest Cop Cars - FOPConnect It's in pretty good shape. I wonder if anyones ever tried to fit one on. Cop Cars: Cop Car Performance Data 1981-1989 1979 Dodge St.Regis Maryland State Police | Police cars, State police My favorite kind of Craigslist car ad: by someone who knows what the heck hes writing about. L-code 360, white with blue interior. I have a line on 5 other cars. All Rights Reserved. Id do it myself, its simple. 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. Brands New Products . Im sure its simpler than I think. I purchased the car in 2004, ith 58,194 original miles, rom the son of the elderly woman who originally purchased the car in Northern California. Yes, its really confusing to think why there is a transparent headlight cover. 1979 Dodge St.Regis (Brochure). Im not a fan of the power window controls. Ours were disabled early in their sad lives. Goodyear GT+4 tires were installed at 58,500 miles. But word did get out that the officers positively loathed these things! It's this last engine, the E86-coded 440, that was specified for Barry's Fury, along with a 2.71 rear gear, when it was ordered by the Kansas Highway Patrol. One of very few Mopars that I have had zero contact with. For 1979, Dodge dumped he Monaco line altogether and unveiled this mid-size sedan called St. Regis. Police Cars . I still cant get past the way Dodge partially wrapped chrome bumpers with plastic, leaving exposed plastic edges. Powered by a 318-cubic inch V8, that car was so slow that the agency feared it stood no chance of keeping up with the old muscle cars still on the highways. The ad remains on CL for over a year with different photos, obviously the kid has such a hard time selling it. For Sale: 1997 Subaru WRX P2 WRC rally car raced by Colin McRae, Video: Hoonigan releases update, tribute to celebrate the life of Ken Block, 2023 Summernats 35: Highlights and mega gallery. New Land Rover Defen, New 911 GTS, with 7spd manual 1978 Dodge Omni. And the 318 is not my favorite Mopar engine. Usually its an easy fix for radio shops, and pulling it off isnt that hard. 1979 dodge st regis - Classic Dodge Other 1979 for sale The car runs fine and yard drives but will need fully serviced and probably the brakes gone through and of course new tires before it could be considered roadworthy. It's been off the road 25 years or so, I bought it never hearing it run turn over or anything, I just got . Top Cars for Sale Locations. GM Car Calibration Request; JEEP; UTV; GARAGE SALE DEALS. Classic Dodge Diplomat for Sale on ClassicCars.com A quick trip to the junkyard and he had everything he needed to convert it to electronic ignition. 1970-1979 Dodge car pdf sales brochures, catalogs and electronic media. 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. 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 liked the compact size but they were tight on space inside. It was only produced from 1979 to 1981 and most of the 58,000+ cars produced went to fleet use. Now, it looks like a Chrysler Newport, without the distinctive covers. Appearances in The Blues Brothers and the television series T.J. Hooker assured the Dodge St. Regis would remain in the public eye for many years, though few were made and they quickly disappeared from the roads. 2021. The Chrysler R platform was introduced for the 1979 model year. Didnt know they retracted, since they were clear to begin with. The young guy he bought it from drove it home for him, then bummed $5 for a cab home! Curtis Redgap: The R bodies weren't that bad! to feature. Click below to find your next car. Dodge St. Regis Base 1979 Dodge St. Regis Base 1980 Dodge St. Regis Base 1981 Dodge Stealth Base 1991 If they had been rolling in cash, the R-bodies would have turned out much differently. The name Ford Fairmont was a long-running nameplate in Australia, but in North America it was produced only from 1977 to 1983. The 360 has been beefed up to a proper level and the car barks out through headers into Flowmasters. 1978 Dodge Pickups. Man! After the Audi, he bought a Toyota Previa, which functioned beautifully, and never bought another non-Japanese car again. It was in a church parking lot and I took the picture through the fence from the next door Sports Authority. 360 4 Barrel 999 trans. Curbside Classic: 1979 to 1981 Dodge St. Regis - The Perfect Storm Dodge Durango SSV (Special Service Vehicle) 2021. Although it is not a police package car, have cloned it to represent the police department from the 1980s TV show "TJ Hooker" that starred William Shatner and Heather Locklear. The automatic transmission has been serviced and a third row has been added to the radiator. The Encyclopedia of American Cars, 2006 Edition, Learn how and when to remove these template messages, Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Detailed specs review of 1981 Dodge St. Regis 3.7L TorqueFlite offered since October 1980 for North America", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dodge_St._Regis&oldid=1135981790, This page was last edited on 28 January 2023, at 01:41. 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. 1978 Dodge Van Color Chart . Around the 50k mile mark, our LeBaron had definitely adopted a nose-down attitude and would bottom out against the suspension stops if driven across big dips with any gusto. A second oil crisis hit in 1979, and while Chrysler's new front-drive Omnirizons sold strongly, the company was sinking around them. I can see dumping the lean burn but convert to points? At least this Allpar article gives a good overview: http://www.allpar.com/cars/dodge/R-bodies.html. My brother took it over, and when he sold it in the fall of 83 it was in better shape at 5 years old than when it was brand new!. I know the seats werent leather too. The timing cover in between the block and water pump, with coolant passages cast into it, so coolant actually passes through the timing cover. There is a small piece of trim missing near the drivers door, unnoticed until close to car. I have since occasionally wondered how these models would have done if they had been kept in production and the bugs worked out. In this case, it's a 360-powered St. Regis worked up to represent a Michigan State Police car. The neat clear-lens headlight covers are gone (most police departments ditched them) but everything else about this begs for a road trip. It was a silver 2 door with red leather guts and stayed nice for about 2 weeks. (The siren and light bar have been disconnected per EBay policy.) Dodge Charger 7th-gen. It looks pretty good for 36 years and 100,000 miles. A large number of Diplomats were also built by AMC during 1987 to 1989. The ability to accelerate to 80-100 mph quickly makes all the difference, and the 1981 318 equipped Gran Fury did that. Does anyone know why a car was named after a Saint? Given how much Chrysler was copying Buick styling with these R Bodies, Im surprised they didnt offer a version with rear fender skirts. Dude could of at least, got rid of the laundry basket in the front Hopefully, it wasnt the ad to sell the car. Something had to be done, and for 1978, something was done. The idle needs to be re-adjusted (Ill do that myself more than likely, before its purchased) and the suspension bar that holds up the rear trunk needs to be replaced. Im 22 now, and that last photo is me when I was 15! Model WC WC-12 1979 Dodge St. Regis For Sale. The CHP tried some marked Camaros in 1992, and used a few 1993 and 1994 (and 2001 and 2002) Camaros for truck enforcement. Those plastic piston brake cylinders were a nightmare until fleet figured that out (swelled up and stuck). Surprising there wasnt a leather option seeing that the mid-sized Cordoba and LeBaron had leather available. 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. Dodge Intrepid Police 2004 Dodge Intrepid R/T 2000 Dodge Intrepid R/T 2001 Dodge Intrepid R/T 2002 . While closer in exterior size to the Diplomat, the Intrepid nearly matches the St. Regis in interior room. Software; Manufacturing; Industries . While police units who used the cars praised handling and had positive things to say about the 360-powered cars, when things are falling off, breaking, or worse, showing up on new cars not put on properly, the damage was considered done. The reason Dad ever bought the LeBaron in the first place was that Mom had won a new Plymouth Horizon that was given away as part of the grand opening of a new shopping mall. The last photo is of the featured car (and me before I drove it to prom, sorry about that). Dodge St. Regis and 1980-81 Plymouth Gran Fury Police Cars Summernats is MktoForms2.loadForm("//app-sn05.marketo.com", "979-LYJ-350", 1596); 707hp. At the time I thought it was the best looking car Dodge ever produced. Cars for Sale in; Houston, TXCars for Sale in; Jacksonville, FLCars for Sale in; Miami, FL I think a horizontal bar grille, as Dodge was introducing at the time, would have been a nice touch. I thought they looked great, and kind of reminded me of certain TV shows set in the US Southwest, where this color of patrol car was often seen. A period correct light bar, iren, potlights, hotgun rack and non-functional police radio were installed. ACCOUNT. These cars are a great deal for St Regis shoppers. This gorgeous full-sized survivor is listed on eBay with an almost laughably-low buy it now price of $4,250! 1979 dodge st regis for sale: photos, technical specifications, description The rpm lock, when engaged, keeps the motor running at a desired rpm, to power the lights or for the air conditioning on those hot sunny highway days. 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. The leather was cracked and looked horrible. With the exception of a full-size Chrysler, the 440 was unavailable for public use, and even then, the civilian version was rated for 195 hp. What a nightmare.. My current ride is a 2007 Toyota Avalon with 135K and still humming along. Various party buddies employed numerous bubble gum and bobby pin repairs before we finally drove it to the wrecker at the direction of the police.