1982 CHP car oddities.... ??
 

My 82 CHP car unit 0594 has a couple of strange modifications that have been done to it. One is a bracket welded to the right rear sub-frame and the other is a big steel plate welded to the drivers side rear floor area. There is no rust or damage so this it not some sort of repair. Some sort of reinforcement but for what? The car shows evidence of being a fully marked car with two spots on it. Here are a couple of pictures.

any ideas?

one more and no Mike this is not a tail hook for carrier landings..... :)

last one. maybe this was used to attach a test wheel of some sort?

Maybe it was a 1 of 1 carrier-based, Federal test vehicle for high-seas enforcement?? ;)

I think someone discussed this before....that the bracket was for a wheel mounted there to measure braking distance (for actual testing).

Hopefully the CHP Trooper who's a member here will have some insight on these. :southpark:

That last one looks like a home made tow hook. This type of hook could be used without crawling under the car to hook or unhook a strap or chain. Just what it looks like to this farmboy.

I'm inclined to agree with the tow hook idea, the testing wheels are really suction mounted along the quarter panel or a door with maybe a trailer hitch attachment or strapped on. But let's see if there is a resident expert trooper member available to assist on this one.

I am pretty sure that my car has that extra steel in the floor pan. I will have to get over to the storage unit and take a look.

based upon this picture I don't think the "tow hook" would be very strong to pull alot of weight. Not much welded surface there, but possibly enough to pull a car out of a ditch etc.

Maybe a place to secure a rope for mountain rescue?? :)

Hard to say. Maybe Steve can shed some light on this one.

Hasn't it already been shown that the CHP added fifth wheel attachment brackets to some vehicles?