If you find that your conversational partners don’t understand your cultural references, you might be a 21st-century fan of the Jack Webb holy trilogy: Dragnet, Adam-12, and Emergency!. Webb’s shows sometimes included dialogue that was, to put it mildly, a bit preachy (I sometimes find myself commenting that “this episode’s script has the light touch of Jack Webb.”). But in general, he provided some entertaining television, always involving a dynamic duo: Friday and Gannon in Dragnet, Reed and Malloy in Adam-12, and Gage and DeSoto in Emergency!. Those guys drove a bright red Dodge truck to fight fires and save lives in the greater Los Angeles area, but if they had a wagon for mundane chores and drives to the store, this would have been it.
Emergency! ran for six seasons, from 1972 to 1977, and unlike the other shows I’ve previously mentioned, episodes were an hour long. To me, this led to some needlessly protracted scenes and sideshow shenanigans, but I’m no expert in television production. The main characters drove a Dodge Truck-based unit for “Squad 51,” and its color looks uncannily similar to that of our featured Satellite, which I recently found while scanning Facebook Marketplace.
Here is the ad: 1971 Plymouth Satellite Wagon-good solid car that was painted about 2 years ago (original FE5 Rally Red) will need the rest of the trim installed and the fuel gage (sic – but appropriate for the subject matter) addressed. The original 6 cyl. in this car runs like a watch $7500
Wait, what? Yes, this big B-Body is powered by the familiar Slant Six and its corresponding 904 Torqueflite. Remember, many trucks and large Chrysler Corporation cars used the Slant Six as standard equipment, so it isn’t a particularly out-of-the-ordinary find, but I can’t decide whether it’s more desirable as a result of its quirkiness or less desirable as a result of its miserable power-to-weight ratio. A Slant Six is good enough in a Valiant or a Dart, but a Satellite? This might be a good opportunity for a mechanically-minded buyer to plumb in a turbocharger, which is a not-unpopular pastime among diehard fans of the Slant Six.
Regardless of your take on the color or the powertrain, anyone must admit that this is a nice-looking wagon with (if the pictures don’t lie, and they sometimes do) a good paint job and straight panels.
The first-year of this bodystyle is awfully clean and probably somewhat unappreciated today, and it earns extra styling credit for the front side-marker lights. Without a roof rack, this Satellite looks long and low, but it would be less practical for carrying large items at the fire station.
The interior hasn’t received the same attention as the body has, with a cracked dash pad and a ripped front bench. This is where a reasonable asking price becomes dangerous: A cursory search for 1971-74 Plymouth dash pads resulted in the more-common-every-day “out of stock” disclaimer. There are a couple options through Classic Industries, ranging in price from $400 to about $700, which is about a tenth of the purchase price of the entire car. Upholstery for the front bench is likely to suffer from a similar state of either unavailability or expense.
At least the back seat looks salvageable, and one could always resort to the time-honored blanket over the front seat and carpet over the dash pad until that glorious future utopia when the supply chain coughs up its early-’70s Mopar parts.
The seller’s injunction that the trim would need installation is less deflating than it sounds; if this is all the trim on the car, why would the seller not just set aside an evening and do it? As an aside, it appears that the Mopar tradition of plywood wagon load floors was still going strong in 1971.
The seller included this less-than-instructive picture of the undercarriage, but in reality, it’s enough to show a potential buyer that the car is (a.) not from Michigan or (b.) hasn’t been driven in the winter. That torsion bar crossmember would be an unidentifiable hulk if neither (a.) nor (b.) were true.
The original Emergency! Dodge “Squad 51” was powered by a 440 RB engine, so Gage and DeSoto might have a hard time growing accustomed to the lack of oomph provided by a 225, but if you’re in a mood to reenact your favorite Jack Webb heroes from the 1970s, this would be a good place to start. And you don’t need any preaching from me to do so.
Would be a start to convert to a Fire Chief “buggy” as some FFs call the Chiefs assigned car. No doubt the 225 slant six was typical for fleet cars back then.
Your last picture – This is the first time I’ve seen a picture of the cast and can no longer say that anyone, even Bobby Troup (Dr. Joe Early aka Mr. Route 66) looks old to me. I guess that while time marches on, I’ve finally caught up.
The wagon’s a great find and would have rounded out the station’s fleet very well; as much as I liked and watched all of those shows, I think Emergency was/is probably my favorite. A few years ago it was back on Netflix in hi-def and made all the better for it, I think we watched most of them again, still pretty good although the car spotting and location spotting (having lived in that area) were large aspects of the enjoyment.
As coincidence would have it, Facebook provided me with a current picture of the two leads the other day. Randolph Mantooth (what a memorable name) is obviously an older version of the same guy. His cohort was unrecognizable.
To be fair, I only recognized Mantooth due to having to wait in line at Walmart while in college – I would scan the periodicals and remember seeing “Soap Opera Digest” with him on the cover periodically. Looks like his career took a turn for daytime and the rag would have him and his character’s latest conquest on the cover.
As for that Plymouth…that’s too much red. And while everyone seems to love a slant six, I can’t see the affection continuing if one had to regularly drive this Satellite. However, part of me finds this car quite alluring. A while back I saw an article somewhere about a ’71 Satellite wagon with a factory 383 and a four-speed…that sounds much more tantalizing and far less stressful to drive.
“Emergency” is now on every night, two episodes, on FETV at 700pm-900pm Pacific Time. Consult your local cable or satellite program listings.
That color combination is, quite literally, the same as that on the used 1968 Fury 1 sedan my family owned. It was originally a beige, stripper, local government fleet car, but my father was briefly a temporary shop teacher at a local vocational school and he let his students repaint it in that same Rally Red shade. I think it was from a 1968 Charger color chart and the results pretty much turned out the same as the feature car, i.e., an Earl Scheib job.
Throw a set of dogs on this baby and it’ll look kewl.
They’re right in the back!
That car is as austere as Jack Webb reading a perp’s rap sheet.
A more common Custom, in green as shown, was part of my junior high car pool rotation. I thought that car was a bit lacking in polish. Little did I know.
The basic styling of the ’71 Satellite wagon is actually quite attractive to me. Trimmed like an Oldsmobile in the rare Satellite Regent trim, it stands out very nicely.
I think the green car is a ’72 (glue-on front fender marker lights).
But, yeah, the Regent trim looks nice, and highlights a styling feature that isn’t often noticed on the ’71-72 Satellite sedans and wagons: they have the same fender bulges as the coupes.
And it’s a no-brainer why many weren’t sold; a fancy Plymouth is still just a Plymouth. Most people, if they were going to spend more money for a car, would have went with an more prestigious brand, if not a Dodge or Chrysler, than Mercury, Pontiac, or Olds.
Those side marker lights aren’t/never were glued on.
I have saved pictures of that Satellite Regent in the bottom picture. I LOVE that wagon ! The two tone with all the trim just Hooked me.
This car is truly a unicorn, being not only one of the few Slant Six-powered Satellites of this generation but also the one car that made my mother’s 1971 Coronet wagon look well-equipped by comparison. Our car at least had the 318 V8 with Torqueflite, power steering and brakes, and an AM radio, but was otherwise a stripped base model in electric blue, complete with a cheap black vinyl interior, rubber floormats in lieu of carpeting, and that plywood cargo deck covered with a thin sheet of vinyl. Our Mopar stripper really stood out, and not in a good way, from the GM-dominated streets of Fort Wayne, IN, where we lived at the time.
Devoid of all trim, as shown above, the basic shape of the early 70s B bodies was very clean and actually quite attractive. I also find the high-end Plymouth versions to be better-looking than the Coronet Crestwood top-of-the-line model, with the fake wood accenting the flowing lines rather than covering them up in their entirety.
Same here. That Regent is Gorgeous. I Want it.
“Acceleration” would be too strong of a term for this loaded down station wagon.
Perhaps “gathering momentum” would be more apt and appropriate?
Much like the VW bus in my day.
Everyone loves a slant six, but I can’t handle a red paint job over what was obviously a gold or beige car originally. Chrysler needed to add side trim to this body style, because without it, like this red wagon, the body style isn’t attractive. I was never a fan of this “intermediate” styling. The front end sits too high and the overhang is tough to look at.
WHY didn’t Chrysler make a Valiant/Dart wagon during these years? Without one, all the Chrysler products in wagon form look alike, and not in a good way.
I think a look under the hood tells us that this car was always very, very red.
What are you basing the assumption that it was a gold or beige car originally on? In my opinion, it looks like it was originally red based on the appearance of the underhood and door jamb areas. Also the ad seems to claim it was originally Rally Red, FWIW. The tan interior isn’t a great pairing with bright red paint, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t come that way originally, especially if it was a fleet car.
Why didn’t Chrysler make a Valiant wagon in those years? Ah, but VD, they did, they did! Available with a wonderfully effective Chrysler 4.3 straight six, too (or V8’s).
It’s a lot smaller than the Plymouth here, but we all thought they were huge. It was that styling. It’s enhugening.
What is that? Is that an Aussie Valiant wagon? Wow. I’m thinking this…
It is. They ran from ’71 to ’81, with a few changes, till the end of Chrysler Aus.
They did—in South Africa.
I’ll say it because I grew up with these cars – the “fuselage” style language Chrysler used was not attractive on large cars. The 1969-1974 Chrysler products, with the exception of the Valiant/Dart/Duster, wasn’t a winner. To pull off the fuselage look, the front ends were too long and high and the trunks were too long, creating a car that looked plain and at the same time, too big.
Ford did itself no favors during this era either, but at least their cars had interesting character lines. The fuselage look prevented this. It needed to stay clean. Even the Imperial at this time was not visually dressy. In a way, this era’s Chrysler line reminds me of the first generation Kaiser and Frasier cars – big and plain.
Somehow this article reminded me of LAFD’s American LaFrance Duplex pumpers. What could be better than a fire engine with a 12 liter V-12? A fire engine with TWO 12 liter V-12s.
https://www.hemmings.com/stories/article/l-a-s-one-two-punch
Or Google “LAFD Duplex Pumper”.
You want to know how slow this car would be? I can tell you. In 1978 my college roomie’s father bought a strippo 74 Charger for a kids’ car. It was just as red as this, but black inside. Not one. single. option. That slant 6 charger was not at all fast, but at least it had a 3 speed. It was geared pretty tall too, so it was at least a good highway cruiser once you finally got it up to 60-65 (in those double nickel days). Getting to 60 took awhile. And it was really easy to stall when trying to get moving from a dead stop – the slant six was a decent torquemaker, but it was badly overmatched by that big Charger.
That red paint gives me flashbacks, because that miserable red Charger simply demanded regular waxing if you didn’t want it to start turning pink from oxidation. As mentioned by a commenter above, that’s a LOT of red. I also recognize that pebbly rubber floor covering.
I think those seats have either been reupholstered or got some seat covers installed. Chrysler used that “Insta-Split” vinyl with seams about every inch (for more places to split). The headrest color looks more like what this should have looked like. And no Chrysler of that era ever used contrasting piping on the seats. I found the brochure page with seat styles – Presuming this is a 2 seat wagon, the black seat on the bottom right is the right one.
I’m quite sure the three seat wagon only came on the higher trim version(s).
As to slowness, having driven both a 1970 and 1971 Biscayne taxi with a six and PG in San Diego, I still managed to pass every car on the freeway, up to 85 mph (not with a fare). It’s like driving a city bus: you just stomp it until it gets to the speed you want.
The Slant Six in my Dart was plucked from a ’74 Charger with a three-speed. Apparently, the shop I bought it from swapped in a 440, which is certainly more appropriate for a Charger.
There could not have been that many of those. Did you see it? The one I knew was red with black interior and was last seen (by me) in Muncie, Indiana around maybe 1986 or so. It had been a relatively low mile car in relatively good shape at that time, with some rust but not as much as most of them had. I have long wondered if my friend’s Charger eventually ended up as the starting point for a resto-mod.
No, I just took the word of the shop owner who sold it to me. I decoded the engine, however, and it’s from 1974. It also came with a clutch and pressure plate attached, so it’s from a manual transmission car. I just scuffed up the flywheel, installed a new pilot bushing, and used the whole thing!
Oh, I had to change the oil pan and pickup to the Dart’s originals so the engine would clear the k-member. I know there are several Slant Six oil pan/pickup variations, but I don’t remember the differences.
Either way, it would have been interesting to see the Charger as it came into the shop.
My Dad loved wagons so I grew up riding in and driving them. He also hated base straight six motors and manual transmissions. So every wagon I knew had the base V8 and auto. He was opposed to having his kids ride in the camper shell covered bed of a pick up. Parents up front, three boys in the backseat, and stuff behind them in the cargo area. He found the wagon useful for his part time TV repair business and once you get used to the utility and flexibility of a wagon, it’s hard to go back to a sedan.
I think that the appeal of the six in a mid size wagon was just a lower buy in price. I imagine the fuel economy was not that good if you constantly had to floor the accelerator to get any performance. Maybe it had an advantage in around town and 45 mph. highways. I had an Explorer for a time and now have a Flex, it’s a wagon to me, though three row CUV is probably the proper term.
Strangely enough the first L.A. County Paramedics drove around in a red Fury wagon during the pilot program. Their main focus was coronary care, so a truck was not used. When the program proved successful the paramedics were combined with the rescue squads which drove the familiar service body type trucks the County still uses to this day.
This car is really, really cool! Count me as a fan of the Mopar fuselage look. I can understand the criticisms and I’m not saying they are the most fantastic designs ever, but they are unique and set themselves apart from the crowd at the time, in a way that on the best models was easy on the eyes. The 71-72 Satellite was one of my favorites. The front end doesn’t look as high as the Dodges. The way the front wheel openings sit over the wheels give it a low and mean look. The stance on this wagon is just killer.
The slant 6 is appealing for its rarity in a wagon. I would love to get this and make it into a replica FD vehicle, as the article suggests, but the 6 is really not appropriate for an emergency response vehicle. I would like to put a 440 in, which I think given the aforementioned stance and it’s plain jane trim would give it a muscle car look, but muscle with a life-saving purpose!
If it’s as rust free as we hope, it would make a good mechanical/interior restoration project. I’m also a little suspicious of it. If it was painted two years ago, why haven’t they got around to putting the hubcaps and little bit of trim on?
Emergency! is one of my favorites. I was able to get all the seasons on DVD from various places at reasonable prices a few years ago, so I’m not dependent on Netflix or METV or anybody having it at the time I want to watch it. I’d like to get Adam-12, too, but haven’t tried to make that investment yet. I think maybe in the early seasons the Chief vehicles were Satellites but strangely I’m not sure if they were wagons. I usually would remember that!
Nice to see this slant 6 survivor. It seems that fans of Emergency!, remember Julie London as Dixie McCall on that show and not much else, but she had an acting career going back to the 40’s and started a singing career in the 50’s and recorded over 30 albums. I’d recommend “Fly Me To The Moon”, “Warm In December”, “Cry Me A River” and “The End Of A Love Affair”. Much of her music is on YouTube. She had the beauty of a goddess and the talent to match.
Both Julie and one-time husband Bobby Troup had some serious music bona fides.
That looks incredibly like the Aussie Valiant wagon in size and layout the outer styling is different obviously and the slant six was out in 71, but the dash and door shut lines are very familiar, I wonder if the structure migrated for a new skin down under.
No. “Our” 71 Vals were the old Valiant underneath, believe it not. It’s why the tracks seem narrow at the front. Also unbelievably, the sedan Vals are SMALLER than an HQ Holden.
This behemoth here has a 5 inch longer wheelbase, 12 inches more length and 5 inches more width than the local wagon. It’s gigantic.
Can’t help but love the styling, which, as so often, is hardest tested when unadorned. (That is, if it’s ugly in that base state, it’s just an ugly car). I am a sucker for fuselage-iness – even on one the size of actual fuselage like this. It is not a small car.
One glance inside brings reality back, though. What appalling passenger space utilization! And shapeless, sticky vinyl seats not very far off the floor. To have to sit it out, knees raised, in THOSE conditions would remove all the fun of waiting for the old slant six to wind up to speed. On that ground alone, it needs a giant V8.
That and the fact that emergencies generally need a timely arrival, which this combination seems unlikely to be able to provide, especially when the power-to-weight was further diminished by the insertion of actual firefighters. And a bucket.
It is indeed a rare find. It’s in good shape in and out, all it needs is a pair of lightbars, some California plates (City-issued), and an L.A. County a seal on the side doors. And some radio equipment in the car.