MrMopar's 1969 California Highway Patrol restoration

[MrMoparCHP]

Looking forward to seeing it completed.
Looks like after their life on duty, they spent their retirement getting thrashed around the track at the CHP Academy.

My understanding is they more often than not had new cars to keep current. Some of them were kept for the more challenging work and bad guy cars.


Alan

 

[polarus]

I think 72/73 are the same, that should double the demand, say four dash pads.

 

[polara71]

Yes they are, that is why I stopped at the 72

 

[polarus]

I'm still learning, just trying to study (restore) one year one model and get everything right is tough.

 

[polara71]

I'm still learning, just trying to study (restore) one year one model and get everything right is tough.

ccasion14: ......... I have been studying them since 76 and ...still learning about them.

 

[MrMoparCHP]

Don't let my handle fool you, I have only been at this since 1985 and this is only my second restoration.
I do know the 67 Barracuda quite well and I am learning a lot about the 69 Polara.
Stack the CHP on there and that is about it for me.


Alan

 

[MrMoparCHP]

Well although I haven't posted much progress I have been working on the car I have been working on it.

I got the engine back from the machinist a little while ago and have started the assembly, I have never done this and have recruited the help of a good friend to teach me (more like do it, I owe him big time). Even never having done this I can see that he is quite particular about a lot of things. Even before we started he had me paint the engine to help protect it from all the oil used during the cleaning and assembly (basically to make it easier to clean and put the final (and proper color) coat of paint on.

First up was a thorough cleaning of all the oil passages, bristle brushes every which way and a wipe down with WD-40 to clean all the machining dust off. That was done on the block and the crank (there are a lot of holes oil passages on the crank). Once it was clean he took many measurement to confirm the machining tolerances and clearances. Once we were happy that everything was to spec as requested we started. The crank has been installed and all the rings fitted, along with the rod bearings, we plan on fitting the pistons next weekend.

This work is being done in my dining room as it is the only space clean and available to work.

While all that has been going of I have been cleaning parts and refinishing them.

All the suspension has been power coated as well as the wheels, soon as I get the bushings pressed in I can starte putting it back together. I still need to purchase an idler and pitman arm as well as refinish the sway bar and torsion bars.

Getting the front end on will only help a little bit in clearing space, I still have parts to 2-3 cars piled up around the car. Next up will be to start selecting the parts to be used and send the spares to storage.

Then once I can get to the car without much effort I plan to start assembling the doors. From there I will be pretty much dead in the water till I get some parts from a vendor that has agreed to make them.


Alan

 

[MrMoparCHP]

The idea of putting a bumper sticker on the car was something I always wanted to do. I was just going to find a current one I like and use it, that was till I saw this on ebay. This has a 1979 date on it but it will look much better than most of the current ones. I doubt they would be allowed to use this message today.

Alan

 

[rexus31]

This work is being done in my dining room as it is the only space clean and available to work.

Looking good! Judging from the quote above, you are either single or have a very, very supportive wife/girlfriend.

 

[Mr C]

I once did a set of heads in the living room (I had no garage at the time..we lived in an apartment). Twenty years later and she still hasn't forgiven that, LOL.

 

[MrMoparCHP]

Looking good! Judging from the quote above, you are either single or have a very, very supportive wife/girlfriend.

Bingo!

Been there done that, no repeats!


This free agent has more cash and freedom to do as I choose, I'm heading into retirement in the perfect position to enjoy it.


Once this car is done and I finish the house project I may start taking applications.

Even on my Barracuda I setup shop painting parts as thee was nowhere to work with the car in the garage.

Alan

 

[68blackbird]

THE most impressive thread I ever read...45 minutes of wow....

I just "restored" a 68 Firebird, both rear 1/4's, typical rust around window, fenders...first paint job, I thought I knew about restorations....until now.

 

[tallhair]

The idea of putting a bumper sticker on the car was something I always wanted to do. I was just going to find a current one I like and use it, that was till I saw this on ebay. This has a 1979 date on it but it will look much better than most of the current ones. I doubt they would be allowed to use this message today.

Alan

Looks perfect Alan

 

[67valiant 100]

I love this car!

 

[kmccabe56]

Is it odd to have a VIN on a warranty replacement block? I would have thought the pad should be blank. Is it also common to have the casting date out of sync with the build date on the block? Is there a range of dates that would be considered date correct, can you have a 68 casting date on a 69 or even a 70? And those little clocks..... Just curious, I'd love to learn what all of these stampings mean. Dang, I think we need a whole thread just to explain this!

I wouldn't call the casting date out of sync with the engine build date stamped on the front china wall of the block. Engine plants would grab bedsteads of castings that were the most convenient to the beginning of the block line. So if this particular block was part of a bedstead of blocks that arrived towards the end of February and got stacked somewhat out of the way, they'd only go and get them if (a) somebody kicked up a fuss about rotating the stock or (b) there was a shortage of castings in the engine plant and they finally grabbed this bunch. Similarly, once the block was fully machined it was stacked on pallets and stored, waiting to be taken to the beginning of the assembly line. Again stock rotation and a whole laundry list of factors could influence how soon the block started down the assembly line to become an engine.

I don't believe this is a warranty replacement engine, mainly because the stampings on both the engine and transmission match too well. I agree that warranty replacement engines have no stamping on them. Dealers may have been "supposed" to mark something on them, but that would be a rarity all its own. It's not unusual for an engine build date to be 2-3 months behind the build date of the car. Conversely one of my ' 79 Aspen wagons was built at Hamtramck with a Windsor built engine, and both the engine AND the car have the same build date. Just the luck of the draw with a touch of "just in time delivery" thrown in for good measure. The cast in numbers represent the part number of the block casting (not the machined block). The cast date on the block is the date the block was poured in the foundry the pointer beneath the "D" an "N" indicate whether it was the day or night shift that poured the block and the pointer with the 8 dots around it is the shift clock. The shift started at 12:00 and proceeded clockwise around. So this block was poured in the second hour on the night shift for that day. All of the stampings on the pad at the top of the engine are decoded in the FSM.

 

[kmccabe56]

Therein lies the question.

There is no doubt that this was stamped at the factory at the same time as the transmission, so it really isn't a warranty engine.

I'm not sayin it wasn't a replacement but it was done at the factory and before they are assigned a VIN or they swapped both the engine and trans then added the numbers.

The fact that the engine was assembled 12 days after the schedule build date raises the question along with what looks like it could be a tag like that used on warranty blocks, without the rest of the tag we have no idea what it was.

More likely was they pilfered the stock of warranty engines/blocks and might be part of the reason for the delayed shipping was an inventory issue on engines/blocks.

I am very intrigued by this but in no way do I think it isn't the original engine that was in this car when it left the factory.


Alan

I'm with you, Alan, the engine and transmission are original to the car. Could the engine/trans both have been swapped out after the build date of the car. I'd say No.

I dont subscribe to your theory about the build date mixup. First, engines built for warranty replacement are shipped to a parts warehouse. They aren't stored at the engine plant. So I don't believe this engine could have been taken from an in-plant stock of replacement engines. Second, the build date on the body tag isn't really the car's build date - it's the body FRAME date, i.e. the date the body was framed. My guess on this is that the car was scheduled with the expectation that police engines would arrive in the plant in time for assembly into the car when it reached that point in the plant. Each assembly plant has a holding area for completed, painted, untrimmed bodies. If word reached the plant that the police engines wouldn't be available by a specific date, the body shell would be held in this area until word was received that the engines had arrived. Then the shell would have been released back into the production line to be finished. So, given that your engine's build date is 12 days later than the scheduled body frame date, my gut tells me this car's actual "build" date, when the car came off the end of the line, would have been another 3-4 days later yet. Factor in material handling at the engine plant, transportation to the assembly plant, material handling to unload the truck or rail car that brought the engine, paperwork processing to let the scheduling people know that the engine had arrived, etc.,etc., and I can see an easy additional 3-4 days, if not more.

 

[MrMoparCHP]

I'm with you, Alan, the engine and transmission are original to the car. Could the engine/trans both have been swapped out after the build date of the car. I'd say No.

I dont subscribe to your theory about the build date mixup. First, engines built for warranty replacement are shipped to a parts warehouse. They aren't stored at the engine plant. So I don't believe this engine could have been taken from an in-plant stock of replacement engines. Second, the build date on the body tag isn't really the car's build date - it's the body FRAME date, i.e. the date the body was framed. My guess on this is that the car was scheduled with the expectation that police engines would arrive in the plant in time for assembly into the car when it reached that point in the plant. Each assembly plant has a holding area for completed, painted, untrimmed bodies. If word reached the plant that the police engines wouldn't be available by a specific date, the body shell would be held in this area until word was received that the engines had arrived. Then the shell would have been released back into the production line to be finished. So, given that your engine's build date is 12 days later than the scheduled body frame date, my gut tells me this car's actual "build" date, when the car came off the end of the line, would have been another 3-4 days later yet. Factor in material handling at the engine plant, transportation to the assembly plant, material handling to unload the truck or rail car that brought the engine, paperwork processing to let the scheduling people know that the engine had arrived, etc.,etc., and I can see an easy additional 3-4 days, if not more.

I agree with all that, I have always assumed that this car (and maybe others) were pushed aside waiting for engines.
What triggered this conversation was the existence of part of a tag. I know of warranty tags, are there others?

Alan

 

[Fury Pursuit]

I agree with all that, I have always assumed that this car (and maybe others) were pushed aside waiting for engines.
What triggered this conversation was the existence of part of a tag. I know of warranty tags, are there others?

Alan

Alan,

This is not to complicated to figure out. What is your VON, and your SPD? Post a photo of the fender tag, I'll cross reference it with the cars I have in my files, and see if the engine assembly dates are in line with the SPD and the actual SHIPPING DATE when the car left the factory. The VON and a VIN tag shot would be helpful!

By the way, it is my understanding that the CHP PAINTED all the cars prior to being sold to the public. How did yours not get the white, yellow, or brown??

Great Work; really shows your passion and dedication!!!

 

[MrMoparCHP]

Correct, nothing complicated about this.
5/30 "Scheduled" Build date (could be later, could be earlier)
6/11 Engine "Assembly" date (After the "Scheduled" build date) so the car didn't leave the factory till after 6/11

The SO is 530 941489, VIN 927125

The only question I have is What Was the Tag?

I know this is the original engine that was in the car from the factory.
I know the car was assembled later than the "Scheduled" build date.

I guess the only other question is was this an isolated case or was more of the run impacted.

I know of another 1969 CHP Polara car that has the same Scheduled Build Date and within a dozen cars of mine. I'm trying to get hold of the owner to see if he can tell me his engine "build" date.


As for the paint, the doors were painted out black by the CHP although not great.
This car was sold at a time when some of the area offices were selling cars and they probably didn't bother. I have seen numerous other cars that still had the original black and white with painted doors.


Alan
PS Welcome aboard

 

[70bigblockdodge]

My 2 cents is that fleet orders could be all over the place with dates as long as factory had them ready by a ship/del date, so i could see maybe the original, original engine for the car pulled for a single order/special order that its engine had some problem and a dealer is tapping his foot waiting for, this all happening before they even get close to one another(staged but not coming down the line yet) then another engine is built, hence the later dates than scheduled build of the car, just some thoughts and a little knowledge of supply chain workings.