MILLS — When Hurk Wahl gets behind the wheel of his 1964 Ford Galaxie, it either feels like he’s on parade or patrol.
The 60-year-old black-and-white police cruiser with the round bubble cherry light looks like it drove out of a TV set from an “Andy Griffith Show” rerun. It even has a “Re-elect Andy Taylor for Sheriff” sticker on the bumper.
The side-door emblems proclaim it’s part of the “Mills Police Department” instead of Mayberry.
Wahl, 72, who has lived in Casper and Mills all his life, said the car became his after he bought a $50 raffle ticket in 2019 as part of the Mills Summer Fest.
“I was going into the town hall to pay my water bill, and they had a (raffle) sign up,” he said. “I bought one ticket and won it.”
An advertisement from the 2019 Summer Fest in the Casper Star-Tribune labeled the vehicle a “Mills Car 54 police cruiser.” There were 250 tickets at $50 each. Wahl said he bought one to support the community. He had no thoughts of winning.
While home barbecuing with friends, the phone call came that his was the lucky ticket.
When he picked up the car, Wahl saw that the police cruiser had a radio, functioning siren and a rack for a shotgun mounted in the front next to the passenger seat. The car even came with a billy club and police leather sap.
The siren and lights worked. The radio was disconnected — the old frequency and system were obsolete.
Siren, Lights ‘Legit’
“I figured they would take that stuff off. I checked with the sheriff when I first got it to see if everything was legit,” Wahl said. “And it is, unless you pull somebody over.”
Wahl said he believes the car was something the city had restored and used in parades or for special occasions.
He doesn’t believe it was an original Mills cruiser, and when he questioned the police department, no one seemed to know. When a new police chief arrived, he apparently wanted to get rid of it, Wahl said.
The raffle wording called it a “Car 54” for the 1961-63 police comedy “Car 54 Where Are You?” that had officers played by Joe E. Ross and Fred Gwynn driving a 1961 Plymouth Belvedere.
But it’s really a Mayberry town police car.
Sheriff Andy Taylor on “The Andy Griffith Show” drove new Ford Galaxie cruisers each year, as the show was sponsored by Ford. And in 1964, the fourth year of the show, it was a 1964 version similar to the one Wahl has parked at his house.
Wahl said when he got the car, he removed a Reagan-era “Just Say No” to drugs sticker that was on it and replaced it with the bumper sticker calling for Andy Taylor’s re-election to office.
While the car’s restoration seemed true to original condition, there are a few features that weren’t.
“It’s got a lift kit. You just push a button and it lifts the whole rear end up,” he said. “It’s hydraulic, it looks better up.”
The car also came with a device to delete the muffler to “get that engine real loud,” he said, noting it would not have come as standard issue for a police cruiser.
The 390-cubic-inch engine that was part of the Ford police package in 1964 still hums down the road. Wahl said he replaced the carburetor with a modern electronic one. He’s tested the old machine’s ability on the highway.
“I’ve done 120 mph, just to see if it would do it,” he said. “It’s a sweet running vehicle.”
One feature he has upgraded is a sound system with a CD player and radio.
Hurk Wahl, of Mills, said he was surprised when his $50 raffle ticket became the keys to a classic police cruiser. (Dale Killingbeck, Cowboy State Daily) 
Hurk Wahl kept his winning raffle ticket. There were 250 tickets issued for the police cruiser prize. (Dale Killingbeck, Cowboy State Daily) 
Hurk Wahl found the right bumper sticker to place on his 1964 Ford Galaxie. (Dale Killingbeck, Cowboy State Daily) 
Hurk Wahl takes his prize 1964 Ford Galaxie to car clubs around the Casper region. (Dale Killingbeck, Cowboy State Daily) 
The classic cop car will stay preserved during the winter months. Hurk Wahl said he intends to put in in the Casper parade in 2025. (Dale Killingbeck, Cowboy State Daily)
Now A ‘Car Guy’
Wahl said he never considered himself to be a “car guy” before winning the vehicle, but now he enjoys taking it to car shows and turning on the siren and lights for the kids. He said he’s driven in a Mills parade and plans to put it in a Casper parade this year.
A Casper-area movie maker included the car in a film about Shoshoni-born actress Isabel Jewell.
While he has covered and winterized the car for the winter, Wahl said he enjoys taking it out for a drive in the spring through fall.
He’s found that when he pulls up behind people, they typically slow down. He gets a lot of honks and waves driving around.
Wahl bought an old police hat with a badge on it that he put in the rear window and purchased a shotgun that could fit in the rack.
The odometer was frozen when he got the car, so he has no idea how many miles are on it. He calls the body “prime.”
“I baby it,” he said. “I’m going to keep it forever if I can. If I have to, I will rebuild the engine, but so far, so good.”
When he drives it around town, he said he gets a lot of comments related to “The Andy Griffith Show,” especially the remark about being allowed to have only one bullet, like Deputy Barney Fife.
While he never thought or intended to win the raffle, and he’s not the only guy in Wyoming with a classic police cruiser, he has enjoyed the blessing of his classic ride.
“It just always feels like you’re in a parade,” he said. “Whenever you’re driving, everyone is checking it out.”
Dale Killingbeck can be reached at dale@cowboystatedaily.com.
