Sarge's History: The life of DK41U2D254142
In March of 1972, Chrysler Corporations Belvidere Illinoise assembly plant rolled out a series of special police cars. Roughly 1,100 Special Order California Highway Patrol cars were brought to life, in that group was DK41U2D254142.
The CHP took possesion of the car which was sold thru SWIFT DODGE in Sacramento and designated the car as unit #9333. Outfitting it with a compliment of radios, lights and sirens the CHP placed it into service on September 8th 1972 as evidenced by the documentation with the car.
Although faded, the VIN and unit numbers are still partially visible. The CHP placed an "In service" label on the driver side dash, this is the original label from 1972.
For the next two years the big Dodge cruised the interstates serving the California Highway Patrol, receiving only a few minor war wounds before being decommissioned. I wish I knew more about the "In service" history. If this car could only talk!
In April of 1974 with 75,332 miles on it, the dodge retired and was sent thru a "Pre-Auction" inspection at Vandenberg Motors in Sacramento. There it underwent some minor work and was run thru a check list before being released for the next auction.
On May 21st 1974, CHP Unit # 9333, turned in its shield and was sold at auction for $905.00 to Don Graf of San Francisco.
As the story goes, the CHP officer who drove Polaras in service (Mr. John McKee) wanted the car at auction but the CHP did not let thier personnel buy the cars. So Don purchased the dodge and resold it to John. The car was still wearing its pushbars and black / white paint with only the doors being repainted black. The B.F Goodrich Pursuit Radials still footed the car and a few rips in the seats remained from service work. The car was used on and off but in later years languished around Johns property.
Fast foreward to 1999. I had spent a few years searching for an old squad to restore.
I was in possesion of a 70 Monaco which came from the NY State Governors detail but I really wanted a marked car from either NY or California.
Enter John Dupuy who had come upstate to check out the Monaco. There was a bond of cop car bretheren and after some time he called me about a particular 72 CHP Polara in a police car newsletter.
I didnt expect much after seeing so many clones/tributes/replicas and rust buckets, 28 to be exact. I called the ads number but it was not in service...area code seemed to be the trouble so I tried the common Cali codes and reached John McKee in Santa Rosa.
After some long conversation he agreed to send some pics and photos of the car and documentaion. The information arrived Monday morning and the car was negotiated by noon!!! It was without a doubt the car I had been looking for. I sent the check for $3,000 and another $1,000 to ship it. John called a couple times as the payment was taking longer than expected to arrive and another party was interested in the car. The payment made it 2 hours before the truck...talk about close!!!
The car arrived as described, in fact better than described, aside from a couple small workable dents and some surface discoloration the car was virtually rust free.
In the trunk was the full documentation on the car, a full door from another CHP car with the insignia on it, two of Johns old uniforms and a bottle of Champagne saying "Congratulations on finding your car". John McKee was a class act all the way!
The car immediately went on the lift for inspection, I was amazed to see the floors / trunk / frame / rockers / quarters and extensions had only discoloration on them and aside from a million stone chips, were in excellent shape. The unit number was still visible in the door jamb and the "in service" tag was still on the dash, but most important, the CHP Ivory steering wheel was still there and in outstanding condition, as well as the other CHP specific parts!
Still it was decided to drive it unrestored a while to work out any bugs that lingered. At this point John Dupuy returned upstate to go for some cruising in the big dodge, and it was John who appropriately hung the name "SARGE" on it. Since that fateful day, the car community has known the old dodge by this name! Friends in the local and state law enforcement agencies even began to check in on Sarge from time to time, often stopping to pose for the occasional picture and a cup of coffee.
All good things come to an end. It was nagging me that the car wasnt all it could be, so I decided it was time to restore it completely. Unfortunately a self proclaimed police car guru who also happened to own a shop offered to do the work. What I got back was appauling, running worse than when delivered, painted over parts, incorrect colors, and worse yet the loss of a rare CHP trailer hitch used to ferry the CHP bikes. Billed for work that wasnt done and a lengthy lawsuit against a crook and his sleazy lawyer put me to the point of offering up the car for sale. I wanted nothing else to do with it.
Enter John Dupuy again, reminding me that anything they did could be undone, the body wasnt damaged in thier "Tape and spray" style of "Restoration" and aside from the hitch, everything including the numbers matching engine and transmission was still there. It just needed to be restored right!
I worked as much overtime as I could and took a second job to finance the RE-Restoration. In my spare time I toiled on the Sarge and searched for the CHP accessories I was still missing. Body panels were repaired, NOT replaced, Correct paint applied and accessories like the original alternator and emmissions air pump were rebuilt.
The chrome was redone and in a stroke of luck I found some ORIGINAL heavy duty grey seat material. During the reupholstery process we found the original seat tags which were
re-attatched when done.
A set of CHP door decals "Showed up" from an annonymous donor. I had the presence of mind to scan them in case there is ever damage. I compared them to the original on the CHP door John McKee sent me and they were a direct match.
Over the years I would come across things like the correct map light, spotlight handles, and eventually the right CHP radio head and electronic siren. Behind the grill was a seized up growler siren which I refurbished with parts purchased from a fellow named John Dorgan.
John Dorgan incidently found my CHP deck light housings as well which I refurbished.
Every year I would pick a project to do on Sarge. One year was rebuild the heat and A/C systems.
Another was rebuilding the entire steering column, steering knuckles and rubber biscuit isolator. The grill pieces were repainted correctly, the letters rechromed and painted, new rubber for the push bars and general restoration of the existing parts was performed.
A great effort was made to keep any original parts. Body panels, bumpers, rubber floor mat, interior panels (with exception of recovering the seats), glass, engine, transmission and most mechanicals are original.
The most tedious part was detailing the engine bay which in my opinion still needs some trinkets and attention to detail, but considering I drive this car every weekend and on a couple cruise nights a week, I would say it doesnt look to shabby.
Today Sarge enjoys a pretty good retirement. Good weather weekends are reserved for hanging out with friends at car shows, raising money for charity events or more importantly attending events which honor the memory of fallen officers whenever possible.
Sarge has traveled the eastern seaboard, working in motion pictures or attending events such as Chryslers at Carlilse, Adirondack Nationals and Police Memorial Week in Washington D.C.
The tank is always full of premium, the fluids changed often and I have laid out a maintenance schedule that rivals even the California Highway Patrols! Im hopeful that long after I have gone, Sarge will still be here to carry out his current duties of educating people about law enforcement, automobilia and the history of the mighty CHP Polaras.