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Would You Protect and Serve This Ex-California Highway Patrol Dodge Ramcharger?
Being that they’re issued to municipal fleets, police cars are rarely distinctive. And given that these service machines tend to live hard lives, buying a decommissioned one comes with no small degree of risk. Occasionally, though, the 5-0’s leftovers are undeniably appealing. This week, one such cool cop car is up for grabs online. It doesn’t look like it was in any high-speed chases or shootouts, and there are no donut crumbs in sight. While maybe not quite as sweet as Sheriff Truman’s Bronco XLT from Twin Peaks, or the Fox-body Mustang police cars of the same era, this ’83 Dodge Ramcharger still looks pretty, ahem, arresting in its original California Highway Patrol (CHP) livery.
Decades before the upcoming Ramcharger hybrid pickup, Chrysler introduced the original Dodge Ramcharger (and its rarer Plymouth Trailduster cousin) to take on the Ford Bronco, Chevy Blazer, and International Scout. The model debuted in 1974, so Chrysler was already years late to the party and neither the Dodge nor the Plymouth was a smash hit sales-wise. But the Ramcharger lasted for two generations, until ending production in 1993. (A Ram pickup-based Ramcharger also sold in Mexico from 1999-2001.)
Built on a short-wheelbase pickup chassis and called the “Rhino” early on in its pre-production phase, the first generation (1974–80) models wore a dealer-installed fabric roof or optional removable steel one and got a variety of engines ranging from a 225-cubic-inch “Slant Six” at the bottom to a 440-cu-in V-8 at the top. The second-gen (1981–93) version got a significant facelift and a fixed roof with nifty, tall rear side windows that wrap in a bit at the top. The engine lineup, meanwhile, shrank to either 318 cu in or 360, both V-8s.
According to the seller of this CHiPs-era ’82 4×4 model, the California Highway Patrol used it around Eureka in the northern part of the state in period. Its 318-cu-in/170-hp V-8 might be a bit anemic, especially when loaded up with police goodies like the light bar, grille light, A-pillar spotlights, push bar, Motorola radio, and Regency scanner, but nobody’s going to be chasing down any actual perps in this thing, anyways. We’d wager it will be destined for a life of heading to shows (like RADwood) and use in period films and TV shows.
Being a police vehicle that saw some service, it isn’t perfect. Pictures show peeling clear coat in a few spots, and the seller notes flaws like a missing windshield wiper, a missing wiper for the tailgate, non-functioning rear defroster, leaky power steering, and a CARFAX that notes both an unspecified damage incident in 2020 as well as a “potential odometer rollover” in 2017. So, far from perfect, but pretty good for a 43-year-old police car.
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The Hagerty Price Guide value for an ’82 Ramcharger in #3 (“Good”) condition is $22,300, and for one in #2 (“Excellent”) condition it’s $30,500. Whether this one’s fuzzy history (get it?) helps or hinders its value is sort of up the the tastes of individual bidders, and we’ll see when the auction (via Bring a Trailer) for it ends tomorrow.
UPDATE, February 25, 2025: The Ex-CHP Ramcharger sold for $28,350, including buyer’s premium.
I think it looks cool. It also looks like something I dreaded seeing parked in turnoffs – like in these pictures – back in the days when I used to haul loads throughout the Sunshine state! 🙄
Just fyi, all factory police vehicles, pursuit etc.. will say Certified on the speedometer. That proves they are the real deal, at least from the factory
Looks like a fun vehicle. Off road chops and classic truck looks.
A quick internet search of cars they used in CHiPs (of which i was a big fan at ages 7-8) showed they used cars from all of the big 3. I don’t see one of these but it definitely brings back memories and I am sure if you looked hard enough you could find one in an episode. Very cool truck.