Watching ADAM 12 as they are driving around in a 1967ish Plymouth police car. Reed says it must be 100 degrees and they have the windows down. Didn't they have a/c in the cars back then, especially in LA?
When did police departments start ordering their cars with A/C?
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Yes they did not have them back in the day.
Not sure when it became affordable for departments.
Working ina car in an LA summer with no AC must been hell.
Not sure when it became affordable for departments.
Working ina car in an LA summer with no AC must been hell.
Heat is a potential safety issue. For example, in Israel, a car with a 1.5 liter or larger engine must be equipped with AC
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And a black car too.
I couldn't order my 1979 Volkswagen Rabbit Diesel with A/C. It wasn't offered. It's the only reason I sold it when we moved to Arizona. It was not uncommon to see many new cars in the late 60's and early 70's without A/C.
In the 60's many didn't have power steering or power brakes either.
In the 60's many didn't have power steering or power brakes either.
It's only an issue now because A/C is common everywhere. Before people just lived without it. Central A/C in homes wasn't common until the late 60's. Even then many homes in temperate climates were built and sold without it. Before that people went to the movies when it was hot to cool off.
In fact that's how John Dillinger got shot. It was in the upper 90's the day he was killed. So he went to the Biograph Theater in Chicago with 2 women to enjoy the theaters air conditioning, and cool off. It turned out to be a big mistake.
Top was white.
I imagine most departments would order A/C when it became available for patrol cars. HOWEVER, most patrol guys and gals in the trenches probably never saw them as the brass took first dibs. My first patrol car was a 1977 Dodge Monaco 440 with a single red trashcan light. Had A/C, but would vacuum cut out when the pedal was floored. Was fast as he!! in a straight line but wouldn't turn or stop to save it's soul. Fast forward to modern time and I'm currently in a 2022 Ford PUV Explorer that has an icebox for A/C. Good thing too because the plastic sandwich I wear that doesn't breathe (bullet resistant vest) gets pretty dang hot. I can dump a cup of rice down the front during summer months and have lunch in a few minutes. Fortunately, I have a vest vent that connects a hose from the car's vent into the open space at the top of my vest to keep cool. Even so, I still drive with the windows down so I can hear things that are going on. Old school.
They would have had the windows down in the tv show because it removed glare and made the actors easier to see and reduced the potential of seeing the reflection of any cameras, lighting, and rigging during production.
Go watch some old Brady Bunch reruns where the kids are in the back yard. Notice when they open and close the sliding patio door that it doesnt have any glass in it. Same deal.
Using the windows up or down on a tv show is a bad way to ascertain whether or not a car had a/c. Though in fairness less than half of cars in the 60's came with it. Before I moved into wholesaling cars in the 90's, in the late 80's I worked at a Hyundai dealership and the a/c came in pieces in a big box in the trunk or rear hatch, and if the buyer wanted it, we had to install the compressor, condenser, hoses, switches, and everything else and add an addendum sticker to the window sticker to account for it. Some people wanted to keep the price as low as possible and didnt want it, so that box of parts went into the service department inventory as spare parts.
Go watch some old Brady Bunch reruns where the kids are in the back yard. Notice when they open and close the sliding patio door that it doesnt have any glass in it. Same deal.
Using the windows up or down on a tv show is a bad way to ascertain whether or not a car had a/c. Though in fairness less than half of cars in the 60's came with it. Before I moved into wholesaling cars in the 90's, in the late 80's I worked at a Hyundai dealership and the a/c came in pieces in a big box in the trunk or rear hatch, and if the buyer wanted it, we had to install the compressor, condenser, hoses, switches, and everything else and add an addendum sticker to the window sticker to account for it. Some people wanted to keep the price as low as possible and didnt want it, so that box of parts went into the service department inventory as spare parts.
We had mid-70s LTDs when I started with our Fleet Dept. they had AC. AC was an annual repair back then. They wouldn’t hold Freon very long even when new. The under hood heat and vibration took a toll on those systems quickly. What was even more “fun” (sarcasm) was the ambulance AC systems back then. When it worked it was faint but when it didn’t it would be like a toaster oven in the patient compartment.
My father purchased a used 1968 Pontiac Catalina police car from a Pontiac dealer somewhere around 1969 or so. It had a 428 with chrome air cleaner and chrome valve covers if I recall correctly along with a red badge on each front fender with "428". All of this was from the factory.
It was a station wagon which the department also used as an ambulance which was common then. The city it came from had about 25000 people and was a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio.
The one thing it did lack was a factory air conditioner but one had been added by the dealer before it went into police service. I remember the big hunk of metal box containing the controls and vents hanging from under the dashboard in the front center.
It was a station wagon which the department also used as an ambulance which was common then. The city it came from had about 25000 people and was a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio.
The one thing it did lack was a factory air conditioner but one had been added by the dealer before it went into police service. I remember the big hunk of metal box containing the controls and vents hanging from under the dashboard in the front center.
I'm surprised how many people drive around Phoenix with their windows open now!
I see many people in Texas heat driving with their windows down, and it’s not just old beaters, plenty of people in newer cars do it. I figured they don’t feel that hot.
A/C broken?
I remember looking at houses with my parents in the 70's, and 20 years old was the max. All of them had central air, even those built in the late 50's. I would imagine in the Phoenix area, the take rate would be even higher.
Shel_B
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Some didn't have heaters. I recall seeing an early Mustang in a museum that didn't come with a heater. it was a Florida car.
A lot of them have bad A/C, and can't, or won't get it fixed.
Yes that 428 was a 390 horsepower engine. It would pass everything but a gas station!
I remember when I was a kid, car dealerships advertised a car on TV as "loaded" when it came equipped with a radio, heater, and whitewall tires.
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