Restorer finds a rare ex-police 1964 Dodge 880 with a surprise inside
- A man bought this cool ex-police 1964 Dodge 880
- Despite its age, the car wasn’t in bad shape
- It had a cool surprise lurking under the hood
Published on Sep 26, 2024 at 5:09 AM (UTC+4)
by Claire Reid
Last updated on Sep 26, 2024 at 2:56 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Tom Wood
A restoration expert bought a 1964 Dodge 880 that used to be a police car and found a cool surprise under the hood.
Launched in the early 1960s, the Dodge 880 had a handful of model years before production was wound up.
During its production run, only 101,200 Dodge 880s were created – so you’d be forgiven for having never heard of it.
These days, it’s pretty rare to see one out and about in the wild – and rarer still to find one that started life as a cop car.
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The old Dodge 880 is in pretty decent shape
In recent years, we’ve seen police forces across the globe adding cool and souped-up motors to their fleets, such as Australia’s Northern Territory Police Force, which recently added customized Subaru WRXs, or cops in California who announced the first all-electric fleet in the US with the introduction of 20 Teslas.
And back in the 1960s, California Highway Police opted for the Dodge 880 to pad out its fleet.
The vehicle was created as a factory police package car and was a pretty solid option for cops.
It’s unclear how long the Dodge 880 spent on the road with the Californian Highway Police, but it has since spent a decent chunk of time off the road.
It was eventually rescued by the team from Rocket Restorations in Olympia, Washington – and is set to get a second lease of life.
The bodywork is largely rust-free, and you can even spot some of its old police livery.
There’s a cool surprise under the hood
It also has its original fender-mounted spot light and the holes for its former flashing lights are still on clear display round the back of the vehicle.
Inside it’s a similar story with original, yet slightly tired-looking, interiors.
However, the biggest surprise was hidden beneath the hood as the vintage 880 still has its original police-specification 413-cubic-inch (6.8-liter) V8 High Performance engine.
As you’d imagine, this all-original engine makes this 880 a particularly rare and interesting motor.
Sadly, the car is in desperate need of some serious TLC and won’t run without a rebuild.
Fortunately, it’s landed with exactly the right people to offer it a full restoration.
We can’t wait to see how this car turns out.
Claire Reid is a journalist who hails from the UK but is now living in New Zealand. She began her career after graduating with a degree in Journalism from Liverpool John Moore’s University and has more than a decade of experience, writing for both local newspapers and national news sites. Across her career she's covered a wide variety of topics, including celebrity, cryptocurrency, politics, true crime and just about everything in between.
