A Blues Brothers 1974 Dodge Monaco Police Coat Hiding A Real 440 HP Washington SP Cop Car!

[@bradschroeder809]

I live in the Chicago area and there’s been lots of Bluesmobile clones around here. I’m seeing less lately though, maybe that’s a good thing. The original bluesmobile was a clone of sorts, I heard it was a surplus California police car the movie company painted up to look like it was from Chicago suburban Mt Prospect. When I was in high school in the late 70s, I went to Victory auto wreckers near O Hare airport to seek parts. I saw a bunch of wrecked police cars there stacked up like firewood and wondered what was up with that? That summer Blues Brothers premiered and I realized where those cars had came from. Wish I’d had a camera with to take a picture!

[@rocketresto]

So many cars wrecked in that movie, think they held the record for a long time.

[@dennis1954]

From Joliet and saw the real deal. They were shooting the prison scene there and earlier in the day I drove around the backside of the prison (the administrative side) and they were setting up a scene. They let the locals on set when the doubles were there. As I was leaving the real “Jake and Elwood” showed up. Nobody really cared because they were stoned to the max and thought their crap didn’t stink. Just prior we enjoyed interacting with the guy that played My Favorite Martian and the guy that rode the trike on Laugh In. Maybe somewhere else they had a fan club but to us they were just regular stoners.

[@Karl-u9t]

Man they were very fast.thank you.soo much memories driving them back then thank you

[@Karl-u9t]

Man they were very fast so many good memories thank you

[@ryanomalley430]

That car is awesome! I agree with you about changing it back to original.

[@rocketresto]

Totally

[@charlielaudico3523]

I worked for the Buffalo Police department in the late 80! We serviced the fleet of police cars! They were in top shape even with the miles that was on most of them!

[@rocketresto]

Always well maintained.

[@butcher390]

Absolutely 💯 love ❤ these old C - bodies Mopar , police 🚔 cars

[@rocketresto]

Same

[@1621billw]

The Blues Mobile still looks pretty good!

[@grizzly766]

I had a buddy with a 76. We would peg the 140 speedo and the engine would still be climbing!

[@rocketresto]

Those cop cars are a hoot.

[@FYMASMD]

Yeah I don’t believe that. 140+!!! Nah.

[@rocketresto]

@@FYMASMDthose smog motors didn’t have a ton of power

[@Camcodrummer]

I worked at a Chevy dealer in 89 and delivered parts to a PA state police repair / maintenance shop. In the back garage was 2 69 or 70 Fury police cars and if I remember the guy said one was a 440 and had very few miles..I think a museum bought both cars..

[@rocketresto]

Wow would have loved to see that

[@louislepage5111]

Yes good point on Blues clones , I've heard that the shop that did most of clones was backing away because ant serviceable 74 was getting hard too come by .

[@rocketresto]

Super hard to find a solid body anymore.

[@gt-37guy6]

I love your car...I am from Minnesota, what you are pointing at is NOT rust - that is Patina, seriously that is not bad rust by the back window and deck, very minor. Love it the way it is -but could see it restored to original - and it deserves it. I have a 74 Buick GS 455 from Yakima Washington. It is a mostly original paint Patina car, and a worn interior, but I spend my money on keeping it on the road and DRIVING it - hope you can put some highway miles on theat car sometime!

[@rocketresto]

Previous comment said pass because of the cowl rust and you're saying not a big deal. Being from Minnesota you have a lot bigger tolerance for rust.

[@ThisValiantAdventure]

So is making a Bluesmobile basically the same as making a General Lee at this point? We’ve seen it, we’re not impressed anymore.

[@rocketresto]

Yep kind of where I’m at.

[@butcher390]

Agreed 🙏

[@Brimstone667]

same

[@weirdkindofsexsymbol]

The van community is also sick of seeing Scooby Doo Mystery Machines, and I especially cringe when they are done with A and B vans.

[@RustyZipper]

@ThisValiantAdventure - I watched all of your videos and am extremely impressed 👏

[@stevee7260]

She's a little rough however that WSP 74 custom is a beast. I drove one with a slightly modified 440. I'm totally surprised that there's 2 of them kinda still alive. Seems like all the old WSP cars got destroyed. Glad to see you saving them or finding them homes. I grew up with WSP 428 440 cars around.

[@rocketresto]

Love WSP cars, they were taken very well care of by the agency. Also used carpets so the floor pans didn't rust out.

[@Karl-u9t]

What ever happened to the 2door chaser cars I had two. Of them 1970 and 77 2door police package chasers now I can't find one anywhere

[@rocketresto]

They were all ridden hard and put away wet.

[@mdumas7856]

I'm a BB fan but I get the restored cop car thing myself. What's going on with the trunk lid latch?

[@rocketresto]

Electric trunk release

[@americanrambler4972]

With the cowel rust, that car is of little interest to me because I could never repair it. But these are really really cool cars in WSP trim! When I worked in a service station, we serviced a few of these cars. Most of them were 72 and 73 models. They may have been 4 door cars, but they were a seriously cool car! In full police trim, they had just the right stance. And nothing beats the sound of a factory duel exhaust performance 440 sitting on the side of the highway at medium high idle with all the on board gear in operation. They weren’t the fastest cars on the road, but there were not very many cars that were faster and could run extended distances at high speed. If they couldn’t catch you, they could chase you until you had to slow down because your car could not out last them at high speed. They had huge gas tanks and the WSP kept them full so they could chase you as far as they needed to.

[@rocketresto]

Love WSP cars, have a 72 and two 73's.

[@richjordan9375]

C-Bodies forever! But I'll still stick to my favorites (1969 - 1972)

[@rocketresto]

I like the fuselage cars better but something special about a 440 HP cop car no matter what year it is.

[@Dwayne-mb2uj]

When my wife was in High School she went out with Charlie Gibson and his Dad gave her a bunch of Blues Brothers Bling that she gave to me and I still have it.

[@rocketresto]

Would be cool to see. To be clear love the movie, just don’t love all the clones out there.

[@Dwayne-mb2uj]

@@rocketresto I would post photos if I knew how.

[@davestark2015]

Two years, it's an abandoned car. It's yours again.

[@rocketresto]

He’s been paying storage.

[@steves9905]

Cool...looks like it will have to be stripped down pretty far to attack the rust, but would be super afterwards. And yea that needs to go back to WSP livery. I hate the blues brothers cause of the massive C body carnage. The first couple examples of clones are fun and kinda cool, then it gets old super fast...I would rather have an original slant 6 barracuda convertible than a hemi clone

[@rocketresto]

Seen a couple slant 6 cudas over the years and when they drive by they are so quiet it’s weird, it should have more sound than that.

[@fifthlomat717]

Unless you restore it yourself which would take years, to pay someone would be a fortune

[@idaholineman5788]

Sad to see a car that was nice before it went to the Midwest. The humidity just never lets the cars dry out like up here in the northwest

[@rocketresto]

Real shame

[@fifthlomat717]

Especially when idiots let them sit out under trees and on grass and never drive them, if you keep everything up and running, clean them and park in the drive way it's not bad

[@idaholineman5788]

Well I let my car sit outside behind my dad’s house for 15 years in the weather..the interior got a bit baked but due to our arid climate she’s no more rusty than the day she was set there.

[@peacemaker6156]

I see hoods in the background. Do you have a ramcharger hood for a 69 super bee ?

[@rocketresto]

Think I have a 70 bee? I’ll look but don’t think so.

[@Brimstone667]

gorgeous find!!!!

[@RafaelV8Lovesound]

Carro maravilhoso carro show

[@charlesschultz658]

My father worked at the Belvidere pant when that car was made. He may have hung the rear bumper on that car.

[@rocketresto]

Love hearing story’s from the plant. So many shenanigans going on!

[@1621billw]

Is Elwood still in the glovebox?

[@rocketresto]

Cigarette lighter doesn't work still

[@1621billw]

@@rocketresto I thought that Joliet Jake threw it away.

[@Dwayne-mb2uj]

It`s that shit box dodge again!

[@rocketresto]

It shows up a lot.

[@GeekGinger]

My grandfather had an early 70s WSP car with a 440. Grandpa liked flying low. My uncle scared the crap out of young me in that car. He later put it into a tree. He was ok but that car was done. 😢 Grandpa was NOT happy.

[@rocketresto]

Bet it made a good dent in that tree. Remember specifically what car it was?

[@GeekGinger]

@@rocketrestoI don’t. I was only 9 or 10 but that was in 75 or 76 so it had to be a late 60s or early 70s. I mostly remember a big, white 4 door and that it was a WSP car with a 440.

[@fifthlomat717]

Unless it's a really nice well kept car, the blues mobile is really the only way to go once these cars get rusty and beat, sadly no one is going to spend 5x the value of the car for a restoration it but if it's a blues car you will get everyone looking at it and it really doesn't change the car much if it's already white

[@rocketresto]

Real u code 440 cop cars are pretty rare, have restored several of them. If it’s a run of the mill 318 car then ok.

[@racer6583]

What a shame the blue Mobil was just a 74 Monaco made to look like a police car. Most of the movie cars where just 318, 360 stock cars just for the purpose of crashing them. Enough of copy cat movie cars. I went to the Georgia State fair grounds for a mopar show and it seem like all 69 Chargers where General lee, I was in shock when I came a crossed one in a ford grabber blue with kidney bean slot mags needless to say I don't like the General lee anymore.

[@rocketresto]

They crashed a lot of cars in that movie.

[@Dave-ji9ft]

I agree with your opinion

[@slicksnewonenow]

But the real question is.... DOES THE LIGHTER WORK?

[@rocketresto]

Negative

[@donwest5387]

440 Cubic inches (375 HP)

[@glenfenderman]

Good video, but I feel the need to correct the opening transcript. It's stated that that the engine is 440 HP, but I think what you meant to say is that the engine is 440 CID, which means Cubic Inc Displacement, and that means the sum total of the cylinder bores. The HP means the Brake Horse Power, which means the total power of the engine.

[@rocketresto]

In this case 440 HP means High Performance, it does not have 440 horsepower. So 440 cubic inch engine that is the HP version.

[@glenfenderman]

@@rocketresto ok, I understand now. I didn't know that. All good!

[@olikat8]

General Lee clones, Blues Brothers clones, Bullit Mustang clones, Herbie clones, Bandit Trans Am clones....over done. I'm no purist, you know that Tom, busy making a Benton County Gran Fury into a restomod AHB car. Not a 'clown car,' but there are dozens of stock, restored M-body service cars that handle like they are on Jello. Mediocre brakes. A whopping 165 strangled horsepower...in order to truly be able to drive that around in modern, busy traffic that is too pathetic

[@rocketresto]

That is just fine with me as long as it doesn’t turn into a “clown” car, if you make a good effort to reproduce the agency its representing and it started out as a real cop car have no problem with that. The clones are just getting out of control.

[@fifthlomat717]

86 fifth ave here, 360 magnum, flat top pistons, headers, dual exhaust, police suspension, police sure grip 8 1/4, 125 speedo. No problem keeping up with traffic here pass them like there standing still.

[@olikat8]

@@fifthlomat717 So, essentially you are proving my point? Stock they are anemic and pathetic in current times. You've got a Magnum engine you've built, put in a bunch of AHB pieces (but if you didn't get rid of the rubbery-gooey iso clamp trash, upgrade the suspension it's still rather jello-like handling), yanked the cats, your gear ratio is probably 2.2, 2.76, or 3.21 (at best) and no overdrive. And we haven't gotten into the terrible selection of 15" rim tires these days nor the comparatively mediocre brakes F,M, J cars have in comparison...upgrading is not an option but a requirement in my book. Your combo makes it pretty decent but so many vehicles have forced induction, 6- to 10-speed transmissions, direct injection, 16" rims are very standard with tires that far outclass 15" offerings (Bridgestone Ecotopia's, anyone? No). These things are dinosaurs and to better the odds of them surviving on the roads, being fun to drive, safer, et al? I go 'all in' on the thing, not partially. For comparison, I have a modified Buick Regal GS (the PGA & SeaFair promo car), a GT350, a D2 Audi Quattro, and a twin-turbo D4 Audi Quattro APR car. "Standing still," you said? Not so fast- For old Mopar, have a '76 Valiant sedan with a full USCT chassis stiffening kit, Bergman Auto Craft front end set up, JRSpring XHD rear springs w/FFi rear swaybar, 8.75 w/3.23 SG (489 case), 12" front rotors, 11.2" rear rotors...and the '69 Swinger is even more trick.

[@fifthlomat717]

@@olikat8 Firm feel isolator delete front and rear, 255 tires and 321 gears handles pretty good, Nothing wrong with 15in tires and brakes are just fine with drilled and slotted rotors. Not as fast a hellcat or handle like a F1 car but so what. Just don't drive like a mad man and know your car can do.

[@olikat8]

@@fifthlomat71715" tire selection is pretty trash, IMHO- 'touring radials' for cheap sedans or CUV's. Mediocre compounds, tread patterns, temp/traction ratings- best you can do are BFG's off the shelf. I have all that & more from FFi (actually talked to Dick a few times, we know each other), also doing subframe connectors, torque boxes, and a core support reinforcement- car is being used for the laser scanning. As far as the driving comment- you don't have to "Drive like a mad man." I've had 2 instances where deer jumped out of the woods into the road. I struck a pair at about 40-45 mph, no time to do anything- but was in my F350 that has a Warn bumper/winch combo. Flung one back into the scrub brush & pushed the other under the axles. 2nd time? I was in the D4 Quattro and was able to hit the brakes & steer around. Doubt but a few of stock or slightly improved ''60's- '80's cars could have pulled that maneuver off without losing it. It not just about "Driving like a mad man"

[@donwest5387]

440 HP?

[@rocketresto]

Yes 440 HP but think it was only around 250 horsepower with the low compression motors in 74.

[@donwest5387]

@@rocketresto ?

[@loualiberti4781]

It’s Gone. Maybe part it out

[@rocketresto]

Guy in California is going to restore it.

[@wbwilliam4034]

Not 440 hp. Dont you know ci

[@rocketresto]

Uh don’t know what you’re talking about, it’s a U code 440 HP.

[@BlooMule]

I don't care for any movie clone vehicles. If you need to customize, be (bee?) original.

[@williamdozier5190]

Not Bees WASP

[@rocketresto]

Paper wasps, they are everywhere around here. Annoying and aggressive.

[@jamesdamron2065]

You sold it , after you bought it & did nothing with it! Who cares. Cooler as a blues mobile anyway

[@rocketresto]

Well we tried to get it running and failed. Just too many projects in front of it.

[@tonyb3864]

I'm really not into 4 door cars. Just not my thing. Unless it's something special. Unfortunately that car is not special enough for me.

[@rocketresto]

More doors more fun!

[@TireSlayer55]

cool bro