Michael Riley's Blog: Hemmings Find of the Day

Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Hemmings Find of the Day – 1988 Dodge Diplomat

How to find a cop car with all the cop car equipment but that hasn't been used up or that hasn't logged a few million miles? Find cars like this 1988 Dodge Diplomat for sale on Hemmings.com, a police package car, but one that apparently saw little or no patrol duty. That doesn't mean it's pristine, but it's at least solid, complete, and in much better condition than any similarly equipped patrol car. From the seller's description:

Police Package with Extra Heavy Duty Service Package. I bought this car in 1997 with 89K on it, and have put many new parts into her; the odometer rolled over twice and it now has 278K on it. This car has a rebuilt spec engine with approx. 100K miles on it, original trans still works fine! In cold weather, the shift from 3 to 1 is slow, but that's typical of these Mopars. Fluid changed regularly. This car has never failed me, it's really solid. NO rattles! The car was repainted in some areas about ten years ago, and it's got some rust coming through now on the rear wheel wells drivers door and gas filler door. Behind the right wheel & seam in front of the firewall on the driver's side, see photos. Frame solid. Car was a N.Y. State Thruway trooper's car, I believe it was a supervisor's/sergeant's car, it has a fabric rear seat. Airbag light is on. Needs a spotlight handle, spot works though. 1988 & 1989 Repair manuals come with it. The second owner only put 2,000 miles on it, and I put the remainder. Motor is strong and quiet, no tappet or bearing noises. I should mention the car was converted over to R-134 back in June 2001. It could probably use a charge, but the air does work. It would not take much to get this car looking sharp again, there is a solid car here to work with. No rips in the interior, one crack in the rubber flooring near the accelerator pedal. You really don't see these cars around anymore in any condition. I have put many thousands of dollars into her over the years I've been the owner. New tie rod ends, new gas tank, but original ball joints! I am a Fire Police officer, and have used the car on my calls. The yellow alternating deck lights in the back work, but the matching ones in the grille do not, there is a short somewhere- I took the relay out, it's bracket is located under the hood. I have an extra set of correct front Police torsion bars that will go with the car. Also have a spare trans cooler, and some misc cooler lines. Car has oil, power steering and trans coolers, all work without leaks. Engine rear main seeps oil slightly, which is what you see on the trans bell housing, nothing major…and again typical for these engines.