(Photo: Greg Bunch) An avid car enthusiast in Watson, Louisiana has restored a police cruiser from the 1970's to provide on-lookers around town with a motorized time capsule. Perry Rushing is the proud owner of a 1972 Ford Custom 500 429 Police Interceptor, a car only seen these days in reruns of TV cop shows from 50 years ago. Greg Bunch has seen the car in person and says it's an amazing piece of auto history. Bunch says,"I absolutely love to see a well-preserved classic car. This car is absolutely beautiful, and truly special because it not only retains the original features of the car itself, but all of the equipment specific to its use in law enforcement." He adds, "It's a lovingly preserved time capsule on wheels." Heartbeat Films got a peek under the hood while documenting Rushing's humor and love affair with buying, restoring and selling squad cars through the years.
Rushing researched his patrol car's past after he picked it up from a seller in Ohio. He tracked down documentation, factory diagrams and even original photos from one police officer who actually drove the vehicle while patrolling the highways in South Carolina in the seventies. Rushing says back then, it was the best car you could buy for the job at hand - and it still rides well. He says, "There's no substitute for driving a big block Ford, with a four-barrel carburetor, in a car with big chrome bumpers and four doors on it. No comparison to today's cars." Rushing says he takes his time capsule car out for a spin a couple of times a month as long as the weather is just right for cruising.
Leave a comment