Ken Anderson answers to a lot of different names: Barney, Barn, Lt. Fife., Deputy Fife … he’s got a long list of handles. Mr. Mayberry works. But Anderson prefers “Mayberry Guru”, especially when he’s talking about his favorite subject, The Andy Griffith Show, and cruising around channeling Don Knotts in his sweet 1965 Galaxie 500 Mayberry patrol car.
Anderson, a resident of Eau Claire, Wis., has long been a devoted fan of the show and all it stood for, but that connection reached a whole new level in 2010 when Anderson added to his Mayberry memorabilia collection with the ultimate prize — a replica Mayberry sheriff’s car. The ’65 Ford isn’t quite an exact replica of the cars used in the show’s sixth season — when the series finally went color — but it’s close. Anderson’s car is a Galaxie 500, while the car used on the show in 1965 was a base-level Custom sedan. But the car looks great, is wonderfully authentic, and more than fills the bill at the many appearances Anderson makes each in year, in full police uniform, spreading the Mayberry gospel.
“If it was the real thing, it would have the Police Interceptor engine [390 cid, 330 hp], but it’s only got a [352] in it,” Anderson says. “I talked to some officers from here in Eau Claire who said it basically looks just like Galaxies that they had.
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