This is cool! never new it... W2 police

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mbaird

mbaird

mbaird
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I have actually only seen one engine. Saw it several years ago in Alabama (greazy, obviously out of a car, thermoquad carb, dual snorkel air filter, stock type exhaust manifolds, hydraulic cam, non bushed adjustable rockers, short valves). The guy told me it came out of a Texas Highway Patrol pursuit car. Apparently Texas and Arizona purchased several for special duty.

I was trying to help some local Mopar racers get the W2 head approved for the Bomber class. Wrote to Dick Maxwell at Mopar asking about the engine. Got a response from an assistant. The letter confirmed there were some built as special order in late 70s and early 80s. I may have the letter around here, haven't seen it in some time. Something like 350 (memory may be bad) cars were equipped with W2s.

That engine I did the oiling modifications to (pictures were posted) had a set of early W2s like the ones I saw. And the heads came out of Texas about 10 years ago (along with about 10 other sets). The heads had been updated with long valves, pedestal rocker arm stands, etc. But the heads had only the exhaust bolt pattern of the stock X or J heads, not the dual pattern of other W2s (aftermarket) I have seen.

Unless there is a special reason you want the early heads I wouldn't get real excited about trying to find those heads. I suspect someone is ten years ahead of you finding the heads and the later heads are really better flow wise and have a better combustion chamber.

And, unless you really knew what to look for, the engine would look like any other 360.

There are several Moparchat contributors from Texas and Arizona, maybe they can shed some light on the subject; OR, maybe they want to keep it quiet!
 
Never seen any other info to suggest that. They originally tried to get a W-2 combo approved for the Little Red truck because of the less restrictive emissions standards for pick-ups. But it didn't make it. Interesting story is out there somewhere. Cop cars needed to pass emissions laws as well.
 
Mopar had to certify the emission for 5 years or 50k miles back then....so the w2 LRT never made it...
 
You never know what you will find in an old police cruiser.
In high school I pulled a set of heads of a 71 360, the owner of the junk yard said the bottom end was bad, $50 for the heads.
I pulled them off "J" heads with 2.02 valves and adjustable rocker arms.
I bet I could have bought the whole engine for the same price, there was something going on under the hood of that old junk.
Funny thing was there was a wrecked GTO that showed up there the same day sitting beside it, I am wondering if they were playing and everybody lost.
 
Nothing other then the adjustable rockers strange about j heads on an early 360. Even the big valve ones.
 
I know, just a weird find.
The long block out of the GTO ended up in another friends car.
Good day junking
 
I'm not saying it is nessacarily true.....just don't think for a minute that the manufacturer won't break the rules. Especially if doing so might ensure a lucrative contract for a few fleets of squad cars.
 
Any profits would have been lost many times over from EPA fines.

There have been a few proven examples of some big valve and/or high compression '71 340s in '72 and 440-6 cars in '72. (Leftover parts.) But fleets would have been too obvious.
 
I have a set of very early W2 heads with a casting number of 3418915 on them. They would qualify for your bomber class.
 
Darts, Valiants, Aspens, Satellites, Furies, Belvederes were all part of the police package family & could be had with anything from /6s to 440s & a VERY FEW had Hemis. N.M. State Police even had a Superbird for a "courier car" for a short time. I was lucky enough to start my law enforcement career just as the big-block cars were getting phase out, so as a rookie I got the "old" (& BB powered ) cars to drive since they were pretty used up by then. They still ran like a scalded ape, though. The seats, while firm were so slick that a sharp turn required you to have a death grip on the steering wheel otherwise you'd slide out from under it. The odd/interesting thing with these cars is that many of the big motors had the same parts or engines as their musclecar relatives, so essentially I was getting paid to drive a musclecar 40hrs/week!
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When the small-block cop cars came out there was such an inconsistency in the fleet purchase, some were REAL good (like a 360 Aspen with W-2 heads & 4bbl) while others you were actually embarassed to drive. However they were equipped they were FAAAAAAR better than the current crop of police cars we're stuck using. All the manufacturers seemed to have forgotten the abuse these cars take & for the most part only upgrade the electrical & cooling systems......
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Post from Moparts.... NOT BY ME.... THIS IS A SEPERATE POST FROM THE START OF THIS THREAD.

I can't say it's true but several different people seem to say it is.
 
W2 stuff was basically aftermarket made by Chrysler. So what intake did it use? It would have had to be some kinda aluminum piece, which they never would have done. Never happened. I'd still like to find out different......it would be cool, but it didn't happen.
 
RustyRatRod said:
W2 stuff was basically aftermarket made by Chrysler. So what intake did it use? It would have had to be some kinda aluminum piece, which they never would have done. Never happened. I'd still like to find out different......it would be cool, but it didn't happen.
Click to expand...
Tulsa bought 2 440 pursuit Plymouths in 1968, were gauranteed to do 186 mph if kept tuned. I got pulled over in 1968 by a hiway patrol in a 68 Plymouth fury, had to set in his car while he wrote the speeding ticket(90 in a 65), his car set and shook and loped like a race hemi about to die, don`t know what it was, but he was on me quick-after passing him at 90, w/ him setting parked on a side road. COST ME A HUNERT DOLLAHS !
 
mbaird, With all due respect, the nice thing about these forums is that we can share information and learn things we otherwise wouldn't have known and seeing things from different perspectives. I've been into Mopars for decades and I'm still learning. But just like anything else on the internet, it's too easy for someone to change history or alter the facts, especially decades after the fact without hard facts. It only takes a few people who might believe it to start spreading misinformation without realizing it. It happens all the time and has been in the news. Please don't take it personal because I'm sure you meant well. Your disclaimer is appreciated and understood. It's a great story which "might" be possible, but not probable. With the wealth of info and experience on these forums, there would have been more info over the years to back up the police W-2 story. The higher performance cop cars used bigger & better engines, but they were already certified and EPA legal. (However some local police mechanics may have done some of their own mods.) Please continue to share anything interesting you may have to offer. But I would like to take a peek at the original source if you'd like to PM me. I'll check back next week because I have a race to go to.

Rustyratrod, Actually, Mopar did make a cast iron W-2 dual plane for a short time. I guess it was to satisfy some circle track rules. A few have been circulated in ads over the years. I don't have time to look it up at the moment, but it was likely well into the '80's when they did.
 
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I'm going to tell my story and its ok if some of you don't believe it. I know what I saw. The year was maybe 1980. I was working at the local Exxon station. We get a lot of snowbirds down for the winter so I would see a lot of out of state plates. One day a little red truck came in from out of town, 3 people jammed in the cab and the truck was not well maintained. I was asked to check under the hood and I was treated to a greasy, un maintained engine. While going through my routine I noticed a Holley intake with the distinct round shaped W-2 runners. The intake was unpainted and topped with a Thermoquad. the stock air cleaner and exhaust manifolds were in place. I don't know the story of the truck and it never came back in. I don't in my heart, honestly believe this truck was modified by an owner.
 
Soooo, the next unkept dirty engine driven by someone who looks like they know nothing about nothin is driving a all original untouched engine/car?

I need to meet more people like you. I love your heart!

P.S. I have a great biz opertunity here.
For sale is a bridge that goes from Brooklyn, N.Y. Into lower Manhattan. It was my Grandfathers from back in the day. He charges a toll and nadenmoney off of it in tha fashion.

I'm selling it because I just live to far away to be bothered with it now. Light repairs needed. I'm not doing them, so I'll sell the Brooklyn bridge cheap. It just wanna get rid of it, make a reasonable offer. PM me here for counter offers and info on the bridge.
 
No one here has said that this is absolute truth . It's just interesting speculation.

However... When 4 dr hemicars turned up it surprised everybody... when 72 440-6 turned up it was said to be false..
383 magnums/commandos in wagons complete with aircleaners/windage trays/correct manifolds and VIN...
hemis in cop cars.... Superbird driven by highway patrol... Street raced factory backed Hemis on Woodward...

The EPA did not wield that much power back in those days and very few states did emmision checks.
There may even have been exemptions for Law Enforement / Military etc... Hell they didn't even start requiring 3/4 ton
trucks to have cats until 1987. They didn't require Monroneys on them until 89 IIRC....
I know they nixed the W2s for Lil Reds but that was destined to be a regular production vehicle.

The author of the first post was a guy named Sanborn and he was heavily involved with Chrysler racing as far back as the 70s.
And worked with some of the first w series heads . Unless he is a total con artist I would tend to take what he says to some level of legitimacy.

It may be a bunch of BUNK.... but to think that the factory would not break or bend the rules is naive . I've been in the business for 30 yrs .. this stuff happens. Again... look at the VW diesel fiasco going on right now. And that includes 100 of thousands of vehicle.

Just sayin....
 
This should bring back some memories for some.

I found the original thread:

Dual plane intake on W2 heads? - Moparchat - Home of MOPAR enthusiasts worldwide!

Here is a related one that Sanborn suggests that the Texas cars may have been modified after delivery:

http://www.moparchat.com/forums/showthread.php?t=89383&highlight=patrol

As for the letter from Mr. Maxwell.....there have been instances of factory people submitting letters of authenticity to get rules changed in favor of their brands. This includes Ford & GM as well.

Still no hard facts, but hope this can continue as a "friendly speculative debate". The more info we can find, the better, even if a definitive answer isn't found.

As for the Little Red Truck with W-2 heads at the gas station, 2 questions come to mind for either side; 1) In 1980, the truck would only be a few years old, but it was apparently "beat". 2) Does anyone know what happened to the original W-2 test truck? Cars & trucks that were suppose to be destroyed after the factory was done testing with them have been known to get out into the real world.
 
Entirely possible they could have been added after the fact. Most likely the fact on the Express truck.

We sold a brand new 89 SWB 4x4 Ram LE to a guy and he took it straight home and disassembled it / modded the motor and tricked out the suspension like a Baja truck. Bright Red ! Awesome looking truck ! I remember seeing him out in the desert blasting around (beating on it) while I was dirtbiking.

We dropped a 440 in a fairly new 3/4 ton 4x4 for a customer.

The first Cummmins that came in in 89 were a fleet of 35 Cab & Chassis Dually 5 sp with special equipment for the Inter Agency Fire Center to be used as wildlandfire trucks... all painted BRIGHT green.
 
As far as the intakes... they actually made some W2 cast iron intakes. I've seen several references to people having them or remembering them.. now theres a sleeper !


Not trying to start another dispute...
 
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