1989 Plymouth Gran Fury
An Actual New York City Housing Police Car
Last update: January 12, 2006
Of all the cars I ever wanted, I never thought about owning neither a Plymouth Gran Fury nor a police car, so I guess it makes no sense that I bought a 1989 Plymouth Gran Fury that actually served as a NYC Housing Police Car! Well, here's how it started...
I accepted a position as the Education Director at the New York City Police Museum in December of 2004. Within the Museum's possession, are several former NYC Police cars. One of the cars at the Museum is a 1988 orange/blue (the official colors of NYC) Plymouth Gran Fury that served as a patrol car for the NYC Housing Police (that was before they merged with the NYPD in 1995). I suppose that the orange roof color was part of the attraction (hey, that's my favorite color...and my Corvette's as well). I also think that it attracted me since it wasn't exactly a highlight of all the Museum's attractions. Being a sucker for the "underdog" and often overlooked cars, I began to work on the car since the staff had difficulty getting it running well. I asked the boss for the opportunity to care for the car and he told me to go for it.
After a new battery (the car has a tendency to drain them rather quickly), and getting a little familiar with her personality, I got her running in a short time. Since then, I have been starting her up, washing her and doing whatever I can to keep her in good shape. Since then, the car has served us well as eye candy for visitors and was even used by the Museum on Family Day as the "Take Your Picture with an Old NYC Police Car" picture giveaway. The car received a good amount of attention.
But it wasn't until the annual NYC Police Museum Car Show in 2005, that my Housing Car destiny was set! Several of the police show car owners were curious about the Museum's Housing car so I offered to open it up and let them take a closer look. During that time, a fellow car guy told me about someone he knew who was selling an identical car (only it was an '89). After a couple of emails, I contacted Ned, the owner of the '89 for sale.
Ned had purchased the car from a taxi company that regularly bought NYC Police Cars at public auctions. Several cars were used for their fleet and others were sold to the public to pay for their acquisitions. Ned purchased the car from them in '92 and used it as a daily driver for commuting. He eventually planned to convert it into a NYPD car for show purposes but never got around to it. After a while, the car got little use and he decided to sell it. So as in most collectible car story endings, one thing led to another and I drove home my new ride.
Here's the ceremonial "It Now Yours" handshake with Ned and his family in somewhere on Long Island.
Here I am checking out the new ride with the theme song from S.W.A.T playing in my head!
The car is in good shape but does have a few bumps and bruises like any vintage police car. Ned took good care of the car and wanted to see her go to a good home. Being that I dedicated my professional career to historic preservation and accuracy, I will convert the car back to her NYC Housing Police scheme. Basically, paint the roof orange, add the Federal Streethawk light bar and a radio.
This is the Museum's '88 Plymouth NYC Housing Car. Being an relatively unmolested original car, it will serve as an excellent guide for my police color scheme restoration.
Inside the Museum's car.
One of the ways to help authenticate the Housing Cars was the color scheme and the techniques the Department used to mask off the cars for painting. The Department used special markings on body panels which help identify the car's past. (Although separate from the NYPD at the time this car was in service, the car was serviced by the NYPD's Fleet Services.)
So check back soon, I will have more pics of my car and the work in progress.
By the way, the Museum's next car show will be held on Saturday & Sunday, June 3 & 4, 2006! Contact me at work for more information at 212-480-3100 x. 116
PROGRESS REPORT:
Oct 23, 2005: Check out the car for the first time.
Nov 12, 2005: Picked up the car and added it to the fleet!
----- Last Updated on October 21, 2004-----