What's better than a Crown Vic?

[whatnext]

Must have been the mid 90s. Flew into Pittsburgh Pa for business. Go to the car rental counter, pickup the paperwork and head to the lot. It says CVic on the paper so thought Honda Civic. Our company policy is to rent small s#$@ boxes. No, it's a Crown Victoria LTD! It's HUGE! OK my secretary will get a laugh out of this.

Stop to have dinner along the south side of the river at the historic train station, then drive up the steep road going out of the river valley. Come to an intersection with a stop sign and stop. Holy s*&$, the hood is so long and square in the front that I can't see anything but sky! I have to lower the window and lean out to see enough to get through the intersection!

 

[Robster]

Crown Vics are the "Keith Richards" of motor vehicles. . . . i.e., a Crown Vic will be hauling trailers full of Prius' to the the crusher some day!

 

[Ws6]

I'm honestly astounded by this thread. I grew up with these cars. My family had probably 2 dozen of them over my childhood. They are the reason I became a GM fan.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted by Ws6
I'm honestly astounded by this thread. I grew up with these cars. My family had probably 2 dozen of them over my childhood. They are the reason I became a GM fan.


My dad bought a lightly used 1989 Town Car in the early 1990's that he owned up until I ended up with it in the early 2000's. Had the standard lo-po 302, AOD, 3.27's with limited slip and single exhaust. I put duals on it, eventually deleted the airbag suspension and put in all updated PI stuff and did heads/cam/intake on the 302; nothing exotic, a set of milled E7's, 1.7 Crane roller rockers, FMS E-Cam, Explorer intake, 65mm Lightning EGR spacer and a 65mm throttle body. Deleted the mechanical fan, put on a 3G alternator and fitted a Mark VIII fan to it. I converted it to MAF and originally used a spare Mustang ECM I had kicking around, but it would stall going into gear (no provision to raise the idle) and I eventually found one from an AOD-equipped Mustang that worked perfectly. I was even able to rig up the cruise control to work in it.

Car ran 16.2 @ 89Mph, which, for that yacht, with 200,00 miles on it, was pretty decent. It beat an "Xtreme" S-10 at the drag strip

It was a great vehicle for my dad, and for us. It made many, MANY trips to the East Coast and back and about the only failure I can think of off the top of my head was when the TFI module pooped the bed and it took a few cool down periods for me to get it home. Was always planning on doing a remote TFI upgrade, but never got around to it.

I gifted the car to a friend of mine that wasn't in a good way financially and needed reliable wheels. He eventually had the trans done and the Bauhman shift kit I had picked up for it installed as well as the 2,000(IIRC) RPM stall. It was a fair bit quicker after that, as the stock shift points didn't work well with the warmed over 302HO setup. Last I heard, it had 245,000 miles on it and he decided he was going to put a 460 in it. That never really ended up being in the budget and an old boy bought the car off him, sans engine, with intentions of a full restoration. The 302 ended up with her ex, whose current BF is building a 347 out of it.

 

[javacontour]

I don't get the extremes about this car, both love and hate. I have a 1999 Mercury Grand Marquis. It might be rugged, but it's not a good car by today's standards.

As others have indicated, for the size of the car, it doesn't do a good job with the space. I have short legs for my 5'11" height with a 29" inseam and I have the seat all the way to the rear of its travel. I cannot imagine what someone who is actually 6'3" or taller, like I would be if my legs matched my torso.

It's not particularly efficient or quick.

It's good to have around and you can put a ton of stuff in the trunk, so it's a good take the family to the airport car.

I've had this one for over 5 years and it's been in our family since 1999, so I don't see either the love or the hate for these cars.

They are mediocre. Not really bad, not really good, just meh.

If I didn't get this from my grandmother for a great price, I'd not be an owner. But it's not so bad that I want to remove it from the fleet.

Make sense?

 

[emmett442]

^^^This, exactly.

Crown Vic fans are just like the ToyoHondaiCorollAccord fans that they love to loathe: they just like simple basic cheap A-to-B transportation. These cars aren't necessarily great at any one thing. You can pick up OK examples with the change in your pocket, and they're mediocre at everything they do, so they are ok to live with as long as your standards aren't too high.

Not an enthusiasts car by any means: hence the debate by enthusiasts when the topic comes up!

 

[Fordiesel69]

Like the aviation industries famous quotes, "the best replacement for a DC3, is another DC3."

I like a lot of other cars besides the crown vic. But it is the only car that can truly last a lifetime (minus rust and rot) and can be rebuilt back to new many many times.

I own a 1999, 2000, and 3 2008's. All admin one antenna police packages, all with 100k or more, and the maint / repair is almost zero. The durabilty is unmatched by any other car on the road. The cheap crap parts online are decent too becuase they have to be built someone heavy duty to by able to fit on the car. Crap brakes and rotors work fine, garbage radiators and AC condensors work fine, and even 150K or 200K engines can be re-gasketed to run like brand new.

I like my fusion and AWD taurusceptor but when they break, it is big bucks and a mechanical nightmare to access the areas to be repaired.

 

[CKN]

So basically-they are great cars because used parts (for inevitable repairs) are cheap.

OK-there are lesser reasons to buy better cars than these dinosaurs.

 

[emmett442]

Originally Posted by Fordiesel69
But it is the only car that can truly last a lifetime (minus rust and rot) and can be rebuilt back to new many many times.



Accidents, insurance values, rust, rot are the death of the vast majority of vehicles on the road. Not mechanical limitations. Everything can be repaired on any vehicle...

Take a walk through your local junkyard. Nearly every single vehicle in there was totalled out or rusted in half, and ran and drove up to that point.

Crownvic.net has survived for decades hosting repair questions and answers that are common to all other vehicles on the road. No magical Crown Vic durability. It's prone to the same problems as everything else.


Originally Posted by Fordiesel69




I like my fusion and AWD taurusceptor but when they break, it is big bucks and a mechanical nightmare to access the areas to be repaired.



Yes, this is usually the bottom line for Crown Vic lovers. Cheap. Nothing wrong with that, but that doesn't speak to how great the car is (a great car won't be cheap. Supply/Demand). NOBODY likes dealing with car trouble. If a car of truly "unmatched durability" and reliability was produced, I can assure you it wouldn't be one of the cheapest cars money could buy like the Crown Vic is.

 

[atikovi]

Originally Posted by Fordiesel69
But it is the only car that can truly last a lifetime (minus rust and rot) and can be rebuilt back to new many many times.


Yea, but who would ever want to drive one for the rest of their lives, unless you're maybe 95.

 

[brages]

Originally Posted by emmett442


Take a walk through your local junkyard. Nearly every single vehicle in there was totalled out or rusted in half, and ran and drove up to that point.


I was at the ol' pick n pull the other day getting some Ford Windstar parts... funny thing, all the 3rd-gen Odysseys they had there had obvious accident damage, but the Windstars from the same era were undamaged and not rusty. What's that say about Windstar durability, lol.

I'll say this, Windstars have a fantastic mid row cupholder design...

 

[Ws6]

Originally Posted by OVERKILL
Originally Posted by Ws6
I'm honestly astounded by this thread. I grew up with these cars. My family had probably 2 dozen of them over my childhood. They are the reason I became a GM fan.


My dad bought a lightly used 1989 Town Car in the early 1990's that he owned up until I ended up with it in the early 2000's. Had the standard lo-po 302, AOD, 3.27's with limited slip and single exhaust. I put duals on it, eventually deleted the airbag suspension and put in all updated PI stuff and did heads/cam/intake on the 302; nothing exotic, a set of milled E7's, 1.7 Crane roller rockers, FMS E-Cam, Explorer intake, 65mm Lightning EGR spacer and a 65mm throttle body. Deleted the mechanical fan, put on a 3G alternator and fitted a Mark VIII fan to it. I converted it to MAF and originally used a spare Mustang ECM I had kicking around, but it would stall going into gear (no provision to raise the idle) and I eventually found one from an AOD-equipped Mustang that worked perfectly. I was even able to rig up the cruise control to work in it.

Car ran 16.2 @ 89Mph, which, for that yacht, with 200,00 miles on it, was pretty decent. It beat an "Xtreme" S-10 at the drag strip

It was a great vehicle for my dad, and for us. It made many, MANY trips to the East Coast and back and about the only failure I can think of off the top of my head was when the TFI module pooped the bed and it took a few cool down periods for me to get it home. Was always planning on doing a remote TFI upgrade, but never got around to it.

I gifted the car to a friend of mine that wasn't in a good way financially and needed reliable wheels. He eventually had the trans done and the Bauhman shift kit I had picked up for it installed as well as the 2,000(IIRC) RPM stall. It was a fair bit quicker after that, as the stock shift points didn't work well with the warmed over 302HO setup. Last I heard, it had 245,000 miles on it and he decided he was going to put a 460 in it. That never really ended up being in the budget and an old boy bought the car off him, sans engine, with intentions of a full restoration. The 302 ended up with her ex, whose current BF is building a 347 out of it.

My first car was a 1993 P71 interceptor. The engine was blown (messed up), so we put a 5.4L Triton in it, and slapped the 4.6L intake on it. It actually ran just fine. I never did race anything in it, so I have no clue if it was faster or slower than the 4.6. I never really loved the thing though, and the only thing I miss about it are the memories of building it with my Dad and Grandpa.

 

[Ws6]

Originally Posted by atikovi
Originally Posted by Fordiesel69
But it is the only car that can truly last a lifetime (minus rust and rot) and can be rebuilt back to new many many times.


Yea, but who would ever want to drive one for the rest of their lives, unless you're maybe 95.

I used to would side with you, but the more burned out I get with my career, the more it appeals to me to have something that will never really cost me much to get me from A to B, even if it does so in a wallowy, slow, depressing manner. If "Me" pulled up at the pump in a crown-vic next to "me" now and said "Nice vehicle, sucks to have to pay for it though. I quite my job more or less and am loving life." I'd be so butthurt at that crown-vic owning "me" as it wallowed off into the sunset. If I did not live in an area that required AWD, I legit would be looking up Marauders on AutoTrader right now.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted by Ws6

My first car was a 1993 P71 interceptor. The engine was blown (messed up), so we put a 5.4L Triton in it, and slapped the 4.6L intake on it. It actually ran just fine. I never did race anything in it, so I have no clue if it was faster or slower than the 4.6. I never really loved the thing though, and the only thing I miss about it are the memories of building it with my Dad and Grandpa.


Those memories (with family) are some of the best

The 5.4L would have been 230HP versus the 215 from the 4.6L, so it should have been a bit quicker. Did you guys fab up an adapter plate? The 5.4L has a higher deck height than the 4.6L, just like the 351W vs the 302, so the intake wouldn't just bolt on.

 

[Ws6]

Originally Posted by OVERKILL
Originally Posted by Ws6

My first car was a 1993 P71 interceptor. The engine was blown (messed up), so we put a 5.4L Triton in it, and slapped the 4.6L intake on it. It actually ran just fine. I never did race anything in it, so I have no clue if it was faster or slower than the 4.6. I never really loved the thing though, and the only thing I miss about it are the memories of building it with my Dad and Grandpa.


Those memories (with family) are some of the best

The 5.4L would have been 230HP versus the 215 from the 4.6L, so it should have been a bit quicker. Did you guys fab up an adapter plate? The 5.4L has a higher deck height than the 4.6L, just like the 351W vs the 302, so the intake wouldn't just bolt on.

I was not present for all of the things, but the intake did seem to bolt right on, now...did I miss out on some step done without me? Mayhap so. But I did see the intake on the former engine, had long truck runners. Also, had t o get some adapter something to bolt the flywheel to the trans, or a new flywheel, or something. This was nearly 20 years ago and I was a kid who just "wanted to drive it" and wrenching on it wasn't something I appreciated then, as much as now. It seemed similar to our other Crown Vic P71's honestly. Nothing noteworthy in any way acceleration or mpg-wise.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

Shouldn't be too hard to find a vehicle which doesn't burst into flames when rear ended.

 

[bullwinkle]

I like my MGM because it's pretty hard to find a full frame V8 that is capable of 25 MPG highway, is reasonably rust-resistant, and can tow a sub-5000 pound trailer in a pinch. The low cost of buying one from an estate, generally with low miles, that tends to be garage-kept & maintained is a bonus. Yes, it's a grandpa car,but the newer ones have the same 4.6 as the CVPI, and it actually flies down the interstate with the 2.73 gears.

 

[emmett442]

Originally Posted by Ws6
Originally Posted by OVERKILL
Originally Posted by Ws6

My first car was a 1993 P71 interceptor. The engine was blown (messed up), so we put a 5.4L Triton in it, and slapped the 4.6L intake on it. It actually ran just fine. I never did race anything in it, so I have no clue if it was faster or slower than the 4.6. I never really loved the thing though, and the only thing I miss about it are the memories of building it with my Dad and Grandpa.


Those memories (with family) are some of the best

The 5.4L would have been 230HP versus the 215 from the 4.6L, so it should have been a bit quicker. Did you guys fab up an adapter plate? The 5.4L has a higher deck height than the 4.6L, just like the 351W vs the 302, so the intake wouldn't just bolt on.

I was not present for all of the things, but the intake did seem to bolt right on, now...did I miss out on some step done without me? Mayhap so. But I did see the intake on the former engine, had long truck runners.



Because the 5.4 deck height is greater than the 4.6, the heads are also farther apart. 4.6 intake does not simply bolt on to a 5.4.

 

[nthach]

Originally Posted by Robster
Crown Vics are the "Keith Richards" of motor vehicles. . . . i.e., a Crown Vic will be hauling trailers full of Prius' to the the crusher some day!

Both of those are cabbie favorites. There was a point in time the main Crown Vic shop in SF, funny enough it was named Crown Vic Auto sold and serviced both. The Prius and Crown Vic ruled the streets of pre-Uber/Lyft San Francisco as well as Chicago, Vancouver and LA painted in taxi colors.

Uber banned the Crown Vic for their drivers in the Bay Area. They didn't want people going to the auctions and buying P71/P72s and using them for UberX.

 

[nthach]

Originally Posted by Falcon_LS
They've always been popular in the Middle East because they were extremely durable, had ice cold air conditioning and priced so well, it blew midsize Japanese sedans out the market - the Crown Vic started at $16,000 for a base model. It was a huge monopoly for Ford after GM killed off the Caprice and Roadmaster in 1996.



I've read that GM did bring over the Holden Commodore in Calais or Brougham trim from Australia to the Middle East and called it the Chevy Caprice - much like how the US export from Oz was called the Caprice PPV or SS. I'm guessing the Crown Vic/Grand Monkey provided a better value proposition than the Holdens did?