Chrome-heavy police wheels from the past unearthed, restored

Most people try to avoid police cars. But veteran Seattle police Officer Jim Ritter is cruising the streets in one that attracts attention.

Ritter's ride is a vintage 1970 Plymouth Satellite that was restored to its original glory a few weeks ago and is making a return to Seattle streets. The same car was driven as an unmarked patrol vehicle by a Seattle police officer in the early '70s, it was rear-ended and auctioned off to a private buyer.

That's where most police cars end up after their three years or so of service.

"This car is really part of Americana," said Ritter during a recent spin around the city.

The Satellite, with about 300 horsepower, hails from the era of long, chrome-heavy sedans with powerful engines that earned them the nickname of "muscle cars."

Restored with the paint scheme and light bar from that era, the Satellite is appearing regularly at community events and car shows to help promote the Seattle Police Department.

"It brings a whole new outlook in terms of perception of police," said Ritter, who has been a Seattle police officer for 27 years. "Just look at the people's expressions when you're driving this thing."

Seattle Metropolitan Police Museum

A nonprofit educational facility, the museum is at 317 Third Ave. S. and open to the public. The collection includes antique firearms, badges, uniforms and photographs.

Group tours: available Tuesday through Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Information: 206-748-9991.

At one intersection, two little girls erupted into giggles. From a supermarket parking lot, a teenager screamed, "That is so cool!"

A man driving behind him took a picture with his camera phone, and two women walking in a park couldn't help but stare.

"Did you pull that out of the mothballs?" one asked.

Ritter previously recovered and restored a former King County sheriff's vehicle, a 1967 Plymouth Fury, which had spent about 25 years in a Nebraska cornfield.

Community donations, the Seattle Police Officers' Guild, Seattle Police Foundation and Ritter paid for the restorations.

Both cars belong to the Seattle Metropolitan Police Museum, a nonprofit educational facility in Pioneer Square. The vehicles will be featured Saturday at the Greenwood Classic Car Show in Seattle.

To locate the Satellite, Ritter dug up auction records and discovered it had been sold again to someone in Los Angeles.

Initially, the owner didn't want to part with the relic, but with some persuasion, and $8,000, Ritter won him over.

"It didn't even dawn on me to get rid of it," said Dave Melton, the car's last owner and a collector of vintage Dodges and Plymouths.

"But good old Officer Ritter wouldn't take no for an answer. He very nicely kept contacting me, and he just broke me down."

Restoring the car with authentic parts was the real challenge.

"Tires, spark plugs, oil — that was the extent of my experience," Ritter said.

Fortunately, about 100 merchants and private individuals agreed to work on the car, donating parts and labor. Everything from the olive-green upholstery to the license plates to the door decals were either repaired or reproduced using period materials.

"It's definitely out of the ordinary. You generally don't see someone restoring a police car like that," said Randy Hubert, owner of Auto Interiors of Bellevue, who redid the upholstery.

"A lot of people had saved a lot of old things that they were told to throw away years ago," Ritter said, explaining how the restoration was possible.

"Thank goodness for people who save old stuff," he said.

Roxana Popescu: 206-464-2112 or rpopescu@seattletimes.com