At the end of the 1970s, the Big Three were all moving towards smaller, lighter machines. The Chrysler R platform was dropped during the middle of the 1981 model year, with the Dodge St. Regis ending its product run; to reduce model overlap, Chrysler ended sales of the Newport. Of course we cant forget visual proof of why the St. Regis population dwindled rapidly in the Eighties.. In this form it was almost identical to the Dodge Diplomat except for badging. Print length 192 pages Language English Publisher Motorbooks Intl Publication date January 1, 1996 Dimensions 8.5 x 0.5 x 10.75 inches ISBN-10 0760301972 ISBN-13 978-0760301975 See all details The Amazon Book Review But at Chrysler, things were a bit more convoluted. The car would go both fast and handle. This was 1979 and Chrysler still had dial radio with pushbutton Cadillac had digital soundsytems on all models back then. Based on the photo and the ad copy, Id say that young man is CC material. The Diplomat has been a long staple in American history mostly recognized as police cars throughout most Gateway Classic Cars Click for Phone O Fallon, IL 62269 (644 miles away) 2 27 1984 Dodge Diplomat I was rewarded with a 1980 Aspen. This is a 1979 Dodge St. Regis. Most of those wound up being wrecked on TV shows and movies. Maybe it will stay there longer. Lol. 1:43 Car 1980-1999 USA. 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. owner's manuals. 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. It was in a church parking lot and I took the picture through the fence from the next door Sports Authority. Sort By Sorting Order Results Per Page Location. As 70s interiors go, thats not too bad. Twenty years later, at least two of my old compadres were still driving the old patrol units. The Plymouth Gran Fury was initially built using Chryslers larger R-body platform until its switch to the mid-size M-body in 1982, something a lot of ongoing larger Chrysler nameplates did. Rough rider since it is older and it handles OK. Great in snow, and mud since it is 4 wheel drive. Sure is, just looked at the brochure and vinyl was optional, no mention of leather at all. 1979 Dodge St Regis Police TJ Hooker R Body Year: 1979 Mileage: 60,100 Location: Davis, California, United States 1979 Dodge Magnum XE ORIGINAL (Cordoba, St. Regis, 1978 Dodge Magnum GT) NO RESV Year: 1979 Mileage: 52,000 Location: Broad Brook, Connecticut, United States Seeing how bad they looked in less than fifteen years, given the choice, Ill take vinyl over whatever Dodge was using for leather. The St. Regis trademark. Im surprised that any St. Regis survived. At the time I thought it was the best looking car Dodge ever produced. It was comfortable, handled superbly, and had lots of room. CLICK the The car was so gutless that they removed the mufflers and ran straight pipes out past the bumper. Ten years earlier the full size Chrysler cars came out with the cockpit styling and hoods long enough to land a plane on. Competing against the downsized General Motors B-body chassis and the all-new Ford Panther chassis, the R-body is the longest-wheelbase of the three. The pin that held the shift lever departed, causing it come off in my dads hand. It's in pretty good shape. The more basic S model was produced for fleets which had no vinyl roof, no chrome roof band, no hood ornament and bench seats. The front suspension continued to offer Chryslers signature longitudinal front torsion bars, called Torsion-Aire, and anti-sway bar with a solid rear differential connected to leaf springs. 1979 dodge st regis very nice car see pictures there is slight damage on left rear side of bumper again see pictures it is a 318 motor automatic transmission missing the 2 hubcaps 136k+ miles motor is quiet and smooth as well as transmission shifts smooth this car can be driven home interior again see pictures is very nice including dash the On Diplomat SE, the heavier steering improves the handling much, with smaller steering wheel. A Number of Police Departments weren't happy with the Dodge St. Regis Police Car. Its so fortunate the car is equipped with FM too ( I bought a parts radio from ebay for my volare as I cant stand the AM radio in remote north Michigan countryside ) and more than one speaker is a big plus on St Regis. Im sure its simpler than I think. Surprisingly, a similar glut of inventory occurred approximately 10 years ago, near the end of Daimler-Benz ownership of Chrysler: http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2006/12/chrysler-bank-on-it/. Rear defrost. 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). C $14.42. The Caprice was Chevrolets mainstay for this period and was very popular, staying in production until 1990. A second oil crisis hit in 1979, and while Chrysler's new front-drive Omnirizons sold strongly, the company was sinking around them. I think their sales would have been much greater. 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? Just like this restored 80 model now residing in Edmonton. I told the BIL not to buy it but he didnt listen. . A gorgeous 1979 Illinois State Police Dodge St. Regis I made from Taigo's car on NFS Addons. Just seemed like a neat feature to my younger self. Only owned it for 27 years, lol. The popular Dodge Diplomat was based on Chryslers mid-size M-body platform from 1977. The box he put on the car in 1985 finally failed about two weeks ago. For much of the show's run, Shatner drove an equally forgettable . Once you did manage to get it started, it would stall and stall. In the books survey, officers wrote that the 360 powered 1980 St. Regis was the best Mopar police car of all time. 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. February 21, 2015 78 comments. This is a 1979 Dodge St. Regis. Ive never actually seen one up close and in person. 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. And the 318 is not my favorite Mopar engine. Coinciding with its usage in law enforcement, the St. Regis appeared on multiple 1980s police-based television series, including Sledge Hammer!, "The A-Team" and T.J. Hooker. I have since occasionally wondered how these models would have done if they had been kept in production and the bugs worked out. A period correct light bar, iren, potlights, hotgun rack and non-functional police radio were installed. In California, the St. Regis was fitted with a 190 hp four-bbl 360 V8. The St. Regis was based on Chrysler's rear wheel drive R-body platform, itself based on a modified version of the circa 1971 B-body design that provided the underpinnings for such cars as the Dodge Charger and the Chrysler Cordoba. 397. 1979 brought the CHP multiple vehicle test. The first example of downsizing of the full-size Chrysler sedan line, the R-body is an evolution of the B-body intermediate chassis. It was very fatiguing to herd that thing on the open road for any length of time. In the future Ill be equipping it with period correct equipment as a Chiefs Car. After 2 tears, a 50 cent piece sized flake of paint departed the quarter panel, leaving scabbly rust. 52,000. Overall the look is not bad, but it has a cheap look. This looks like one nice car! 1977 Dodge Royal Monaco Chicago IL Police photographed Aug 2007: 1973 Plymouth Fury I Delaware State Police . The main problem with the LeBaron for us was that it just would not run right. 1979 Dodge Magnum XE ORIGINAL (Cordoba, St. Regis, 1978 Dodge Magnum GT) NO RESV. Local police or the local sheriffs department having a contract with an incorporated city are primarily responsible for investigating and enforcing traffic laws in incorporated cities, but any peace officer of the CHP can still enforce any state law anywhere within the state, even though the agencys primary mission is related to transportation. It was a very traditional full-size model based on the Panther platform built until 1991 when it morphed into the iconic aero-styled Crown Victoria. 1978 Dodge Magnum Color Chart. It was the replacement for the Maverick which in turn was the replacement for the Falcon. Sometimes it would fire up again again sitting, sometimes not. I could say more about this but I wont. In this case, it's a 360-powered St. Regis worked up to represent a Michigan State Police car. Both the Chevy Caprice and Ford LTD of the time looked a lot better. 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. Popular Cars for Sale. Saw one of these, white over white, on my drive home the other day. The timing cover in between the block and water pump, with coolant passages cast into it, so coolant actually passes through the timing cover. A/C, Cruise, PWR seat, windows, Special handling package, 3 tag car. Pursuit Police Vehicle (2012-2014) Cars belonging to Dodge Charger 7th-gen. 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. I have a 79 St. Regis. I experienced all three years of the R bodies, with a 1979 Newport, 1980 Gran Fury, and 1981 Gran Fury, two with the 360 pursuit and one with the 318 four barrel. 1979 Dodge Truck Color Chart. 1979 St Regis. Either someone needs to use the antenna trimmer or the plug on the end of the cable is messed up and its not making a good connection. . 4 Door Hardtop Pillared. Copyright 2023 BangShift LLC. hampered performance as did the loss of the 360 four-barrel after their first year; in 1980 and 1981, they used a 318 four-barrel. I only got to ride in one of these once, in the mid-1980s when I was in graduate school. There are some quirks like any car of this age. Its a decent engine with one fatal flaw. Im not a fan of the power window controls. Door handles coming off, seams tearing loose, dashes cracking in 2 years, the pad and horn switches falling out of the steering wheels, mirrors falling off, mechanical digital clocks failing, dash switches and knobs breaking, especially on the climate control and push button radios, headliners falling down, sunvisors breaking, etc. The leather interior door handles need to be re-attached. We were best friends in high school; hard to believe that 35 years later we are not even on speaking terms. The Dodge St. Regis is a full-size Dodge automobile built from 1979 to 1981. Surprising there wasnt a leather option seeing that the mid-sized Cordoba and LeBaron had leather available. In addition to its highway patrol duties, the CHP also provides other services including protecting state buildings, state facilities, and state officials. Ugh, I cant stand that archaic looking climate control system and push button stereo Those buttons always stuck froze in very cold weather in my 77 Newport. And maybe some donuts somewhere out of sightand we dont mean Dunkin. I bet that car is rare with leather interior. Used by a wide variety of Chrysler model lines, the B-body architecture underpinned model lines ranging from the Dodge Coronet and Plymouth Belvedere to the Dodge Charger and Chrysler Cordoba. The car starts up and runs nicely. . Got 340 engine with MP heads with the big valves, steel crank, KB 10.25 hyper pistons. I thought, most of the St. Regis were used on T.J. Hooker. 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 Gene Poon: The last car I drove on duty was the California-spec 1980 Dodge St. Regis with the 318 4-barrel. Wow, what a cool find! And stick/no a-c is the setup to have on the Horizon! Dad bought a 1985 Audi 5000 demonstrator in late 1985 to replace the beloved Buick and that thing made the LeBaron look good. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. The Lynn Townsend era had seen many, many screwups in managementthe Sales Banks, the 1974 C-bodies that couldnt have come at a worse time, a strict no small Chrysler policy that blew up in their faces when the Cordoba (yes, it was a small Chrysler compared to a New Yorker) proved to be a sales blowout that the company had desperately needed, and of course the problematic quality control gripes had eroded Chryslers reputation. 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? Dodge Charger 7th-gen. Those plastic piston brake cylinders were a nightmare until fleet figured that out (swelled up and stuck). I bought an estate out over the summer, this car was part of the deal, so I'll tell you all I know about the car. (Jeff Hwang thought this might be of interest to you all. Something that drives everyday. The California Highway Patrol is the largest state police agency in the United States, with more than 10,700 employees, 7,500 of whom are sworn officers, according to FBI data. "TJ Hooker" (1979 Dodge St. Regis): The post-"'Star Trek' the TV series" and pre-"'Star Trek' the Motion Picture" years saw William Shatner in a relatively forgettable cop show that starred perhaps the least believable cop of all time, Heather Locklear. with no issues. This car should be seen and driven to fully appreciate it. I am the second owner of this 1979 Dodge St. Regis. Havent seen one in many, many years though. I have been showing the car for a few years and it has won some awards at car shows. 2021. L-code 360, white with blue interior. Definitely not police issue. 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). Its engine is a naturally aspirated petrol, 5.9 litre, overhead valve 90 degree V 8 cylinder with 2 valves per cylinder. 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. So, old perceptions die hard especially when large sums of money are involved. 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. 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. Thank you all for the wonderful comments, and this is just so crazy to see my ad all these years later! 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. 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.. And as Brock Yates wrote in The Decline and Fall of the American Automobile Industry, the combination of options on these cars was sometimes a bit odd, to say the least. Its been kept up mechanically and give me enough gas money, Id drive it coast to coast without worry. Dodge St. Regis sedan: 1979: Dodge St. Regis sedan: 1978: Dodge Monaco sedan: 1977: Dodge Monaco sedan: 1976: Dodge Coronet sedan: 1975 .
Charleston County Road Projects, Articles OTHER