Cruising old-school style

Andrew Edwards

One of the Police Department’s newest cars is also it’s oldest -- a

restored 1948 Chevy Fleetmaster police cruiser is scheduled to make

it’s debut at this year’s Independence Day parade.

The restoration was a decade-long project undertaken by a four-man

team of mechanics, Craig Hunter, Craig Miller, Frank Davis, Jim Lee

and retired crew leader Sam Campolito. The crew volunteered its time

to transform the rusted-out hulk into well-tuned machine complete

with a rosewood steering wheel and blaring “growler” siren.

“We started 10 years ago and we’ve been picking at it ever since,”

Hunter said.

The siren, which sits on the Fleetmaster’s front fender, sounds

like a sound effect from an 1940s cops and robbers flick. A second

old-school touch is on the door. Instead of Surf City’s famous “HB”

logo, the car is branded with the town’s original city seal which

depicts the ocean and the sun setting behind Catalina Island. Unlike

a modern police car, the Fleetmaster lacks the flashing blue and red

light bar on top.

“Back in the old days, the only thing they ran for lights was the

one right here,” Hunter said, pointing to a red light in front of the

driver’s side of the windshield.

The car was purchased as a dilapidated shell -- it didn’t even

have an engine -- for between $1500 and $1800, Hunter said. Local

businesses donated the cash for the purchase, he said and automotive

companies helped out by providing paint, tires, a radio and other

crucial repairs. With so many parts and all of the work were donated,

it is impossible to say how much the whole project cost, Hunter said.

“If you paid somebody to do it you’d probably spend $30,000,” he

said.

Much of Fleetmaster’s inner workings started out in a police

cruiser. Mechanics transplanted the engine, transmission and drive

shaft from a totaled Huntington Beach police car.

A lot of work went into matching parts from a 1992 Chevy Caprice

to a 1948 model.

“Making that fit was a challenge at times,” Miller said.

But the refurbishment is not 100% complete. Small pieces of chrome

have yet to be attached, and mechanics have scoured the vast reaches

of the virtual auto parts dealers, including the cyber-bazaar, eBay,

in a quest for hard-to-find pieces.

“The Internet helped us a great deal, I couldn’t imagine doing it

without that,” Miller said.

Sadly, when the car is polished up and ready to roll in the city’s

100th Fourth of July parade, the mechanics won’t be there to see

their project make its first public appearance. Independence Day is

one of the Police Department’s busiest days, and the mechanics will

be on duty taking care of officers’ cars and motorcycles.

“I’ll be down here making sure all the equipment we need for the

Fourth of July is working,” Hunter said.