1977 Ford LTD

This head turning Ford Ltd is presented as a genuine Los Angeles Cop Car. Allegedly the car began life with the Ohio Police Department before being professionally prepared by ‘Cop Cars By Rick’ from Cleveland in 2007.

Rick’s aim was to create an authentic LAPD car with sirens, lights, decals and calibrated speedometer. This we gather was authenticated by Tom Newman, an American car specialist par excellence, based in Colchester, shortly after the car was imported into the UK in 2007.

Much as you may wish to drive the car in all its glory on UK roads, doing so will get you into hot water with our boys in blue. The Police decals and lights must be covered up when driven on the public highway, but what fun there is likely to be had at destination end.

Sirens, the searchlight and aerials need not be covered, so most will gather what it is you are driving.

We gather the car has been extensively used for weddings. Something different without a doubt and of course the police decals can always be covered up with more wedding orientated signage.

In 2014 the car was sold to a naval officer in Spain and used privately, but latterly reverted to its wedding car role once more. The seller has lost the storage for his cars and this has led to us offering the car for sale.

We should mention that it has just been driven 1,100 miles to our facility from Barcelona. To say it attracted a lot of interest along the way would be a huge understatement, with thumbs up all the way.

She cruised happily between 65 and 70mph, mainly to try an eke out a few more miles from each gallon of expensive French motorway petrol. However, there were stretches when she was allowed to up the speed, with 80mph happily maintained.

Not only is there fun to be had with this eye-catching police car, but there are very clear business opportunities for it too, not just wedding hire. It could be rented out for general hire and could do well as transport for hen and stag parties too. The possibilities are endless!

Look away from the livery, sirens and decals. We are assured these are authentic…

The bodywork is in good order and polishes up rather well. The dry American climate will have helped, as will the car’s time in sunny Spain.

Look closely though and there are some signs of ageing, such as some small rust bubbles on the top of the nearside front wing. The black paintwork does have some swirl marks to it, but we think these could be improved with some professional detailing or some enthusiastic home T-Cutting.

We have also spotted some rust bubbles to the door bottoms in various places.

The extensive chrome looks pleasantly shiny and has doubtless been either replaced or replated. Wheels look fine and each is fitted with an almost new Nankang Toursport tyre. They’re made in Taiwan if you’re asking.

The car comes with a full exterior cover that protects all the lights and sirens as well as the vehicle. Useful as this is unlikely to be an everyday driver.

A sea of brown velour, how very ‘70s! That rear bench seat should accommodate a good handful or ne’er-do-wells, whilst up front there’s room for two or three at a pinch to travel. The seats have certainly been retrimmed and are in good condition – comfy too though perhaps not terribly supportive.

The colour brown extends to much of the rest of the cabin too. Door cards, dash top etc…

There’s some fake wood on the dash and taking pride of place is the instrument panel with an oversized speedometer taking pole position.

The automatic gearbox is controlled by a column mounted shifter, easy to use once you get the hang of it.

The boot, or should be say trunk, is commodious and houses amongst other things a full-size spare wheel with a new tyre.

We always include plenty of pictures of a car’s undersides and that is the case here. Visible is some surface rust to some of the components, with one patch that would cause us a little concern.

We would get the Ford up on a ramp and spend some time with a wire brush and lashings of underseal. The latter will now be paramount, the car having now been repatriated from the dry Spanish climate.

Lift the hood, ok then, the bonnet and that 5.8-litre V8 sits proud. We are told that it runs well and pulls as well as could be expected for a car of this age.

The engine compartment is somewhat tired in places and could doubtless be improved without difficulty.

From working police car, to a police car put to work, there’s no doubt this car has led an interesting life on both sides of the Atlantic.

There are invoices accompanying the car, which show some of the more recent maintenance carried out. Some are in Spanish, so good luck with Google Translate….

Before the recent journey back to the UK, the car was given a thorough check over, which included the brakes and major mechanical components.

The carburettors were overhauled too as the car had been stood idle during the period of lockdown.

The fuel pump was showing some signs of fatigue, and this was bypassed with an electric pump. Problem solved.

If you fancy a bit of DIY, there’s a Haynes workshop manual. It’s a relatively simple old-school sort of car so very much within the remit of the skilled home mechanic.

The car was MoTed when it first arrived in the UK back in 2007, passing with just some minor advisories for lighting. The MoT history continued up until 2018 and during that period no further advisories were ever recorded. The car is now classified as a historic vehicle and therefore does not require a current certificate.

In 2007 the odometer was reading 34,062 miles and now sits at 42,230.

The possibilities are endless. Here’s an eye-catching car that can be enjoyed at leisure and would doubtless be a huge attraction on the summer car show circuit.

However, should you be that way inclined, there is money to be made from weddings or other events. What could be more fun that chauffeuring a bride to the church on her big day, then slapping the happy couple in handcuffs and whizzing them off to their reception.

Presented in generally good order, with just a few small areas that need attention, we urge you to come and take a look at LAPD’s finest.

We estimate that this fine cop car will sell for between £11,000 and £16,000.

Viewing is always encouraged, within government guidelines of course. The car is located at our Abingdon headquarters; we are open Mon-Fri 9am-5pm and to arrange an appointment please use the ‘Contact Seller’ button at the top of the listing to make an appointment. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’