School me on crown vics/Grand Marquis

[MackDombles]

05 had the first drive by wire, 06 got the pcm moved from in the firewall to on the inner fender. That's good if you are doing a manual swap. Trannys swap from the 05 to the 08 but they changed one of the electronic plugs for the 09 then another redesign for the 10-11 so trannys are a littler harder to find for these. Those two years(10-11) were fleet only on the vic for the final two years. No civilian 10 or 11. Hundreds in salvage yards though.

I have an 05 as well as an 09. I've done a Mach 1 engine 4v swap as well as the 5 speed into the 09. Also gears headers and a tune. It isn't a drag car but it is a very fun 4 door. I have my 05 listed at 1500 dollars as of yesterday as I bought it just to daily while the 09 was down. It has 200k and being the Sheriffs Dept mechanic, I've maintained it since mile 0. It will last twice that easy if cared for.
I absolutely love these tanks. I've worked on nothing but cop cars for quite awhile and no patrol car made today holds a candle to these things reliability wise. Slow as molasses but that's one reason they last. They can't break themselves due to power!

I say get one and don't look back. I threw on some 19inch Mustang wheels, lowered it a bit, tinted, and the engine trans swap and it actually gets compliments all the time.
I actually just got home from a 400 mile round trip road trip picking up an Eaton blower to throw on it. Should be..... Interesting.

 

[03Sssnake]

I do love these cars my grandfather used to drive them, so did my old man. These are nearby and look to be decent deals...

https://houston.craigslist.org/cto/6171200188.html
https://houston.craigslist.org/cto/6180270345.html

 

[MackDombles]

Bump em up a couple quads per channel and they are fun cars

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[RedVenom48]

05 had the first drive by wire, 06 got the pcm moved from in the firewall to on the inner fender. That's good if you are doing a manual swap. Trannys swap from the 05 to the 08 but they changed one of the electronic plugs for the 09 then another redesign for the 10-11 so trannys are a littler harder to find for these. Those two years(10-11) were fleet only on the vic for the final two years. No civilian 10 or 11. Hundreds in salvage yards though.

I have an 05 as well as an 09. I've done a Mach 1 engine 4v swap as well as the 5 speed into the 09. Also gears headers and a tune. It isn't a drag car but it is a very fun 4 door. I have my 05 listed at 1500 dollars as of yesterday as I bought it just to daily while the 09 was down. It has 200k and being the Sheriffs Dept mechanic, I've maintained it since mile 0. It will last twice that easy if cared for.
I absolutely love these tanks. I've worked on nothing but cop cars for quite awhile and no patrol car made today holds a candle to these things reliability wise. Slow as molasses but that's one reason they last. They can't break themselves due to power!

I say get one and don't look back. I threw on some 19inch Mustang wheels, lowered it a bit, tinted, and the engine trans swap and it actually gets compliments all the time.
I actually just got home from a 400 mile round trip road trip picking up an Eaton blower to throw on it. Should be..... Interesting.

If your looking at a higher mileage Crown Vic, Grand Marq or Town Car, what should someone look out for thats a no go?

 

[CSCOBRA03]

I was a ford tech for 47 years and I will say they are as trouble free as any car you can purchase. CV & GM after 2003 would be my choice as they where updated with a new frame and suspension and rack and pinion steering.

 

[MackDombles]

If your looking at a higher mileage Crown Vic, Grand Marq or Town Car, what should someone look out for thats a no go?

I would definitely look @ 05 up cvpi first. If you have the opportunity, the 07 was my favorite. No idea why but they seemed to be faster than the older ones and faster than the newer flex fuel ones. Maybe that was just me.

Look for a unit with a 3.55 trak-lok diff.
Best off the line performance. Google the tag codes. They are easy to identify.

Look at the front lower control arm, front frame bushings. When the cops bang into stuff with the a-arms, it can dislodge the bushing and the steel control arm will shift and start eating into the aluminum K-member. Gotta get really up close to see this. It happens often.
Also the cvpi cars will show the engine hours on the odo. Idle hours are just as bad as miles if in excess.
If the suspension is worn out, then the rest of the car probably is too. They are built with very strong suspensions and if it were treated bad enough to wear it out and not maintained then I can only imagine how the engine was treated.





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[offroadkarter]

Someone should have tagged me in this thread.

2001 is when they got PI heads, 04 is when they got 8 thread plug holes. However, if you actually torque the plugs to spec they shouldn't come flying back out.

Look for a 03+, major chassis improvements. I honestly would not buy a P71, P71's are a meme at this point. People buy them because they want "uh cop car". You'd be better off spending 30 dollars more and finding a clean civilian car or a grand marq. 03+ town cars are selling for a bit more as livery services are still buying them up.

Here is a question, what is your budget for buying a panther?

My '99 CV has over a 1/4 million on it and still going strong. Had to replace a few things, but love the car.

traktrbeam bought his car off a friend of mine, was formerly owned by a CVN Moderator as well. Real nice HPP Crown Vic especially for how many miles are on it and considering it lived in Michigan.

 

[Gravik]

Someone should have tagged me in this thread.

2001 is when they got PI heads, 04 is when they got 8 thread plug holes. However, if you actually torque the plugs to spec they shouldn't come flying back out.

Look for a 03+, major chassis improvements. I honestly would not buy a P71, P71's are a meme at this point. People buy them because they want "uh cop car". You'd be better off spending 30 dollars more and finding a clean civilian car or a grand marq. 03+ town cars are selling for a bit more as livery services are still buying them up.

Here is a question, what is your budget for buying a panther?






traktrbeam bought his car off a friend of mine, was formerly owned by a CVN Moderator as well. Real nice HPP Crown Vic especially for how many miles are on it and considering it lived in Michigan.

Yeah if I buy another one it won't be a p71.

I want one with leather interior.

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[MackDombles]

I put the front and rear leathers out of a Lincoln LS in mine. Super comfy

 

[snakedoctor]

What about a Maurauder

 

[nxhappy]

03 04 would be the best. I'm sure you can find one a "granny" drove with low miles haha. That 4.6 is a stupid reliable motor.

 

[offroadkarter]

What about a Maurauder

Which is why I asked for a budget, I have 5500 into my black car and its been a great backup car. My father and I split it between his f150 and my mustang. In the winter I throw snow tires on it and hit the road. Need to rebuild the limited slip this year before winter hits and rebuild the front end (154k miles and counting).

It's clean enough that I'm not embarrassed to park it somewhere, but its not so nice that I'm afraid to park it somewhere. (If that makes sense).

I also know people on here bitch about how slow they are because they don't run low 12's out of the box, IMO a canned tune is literally the only thing you need to make these move around in traffic. A tune and nothing else will make this a low 15 second car to a low 14 second car. On the highway the 4v is at home. My car with the stock 3.55's and LT's + full exhaust moves out just fine, I have a feeling I can get it into the high 13's on a cool day. Some day I might try, I'm curious if its faster than my 04 was with headers, a stock exhaust and 4.10's.

 

[BigPoppa]

Love Marauders! Like driving a 4 door Mustang.

I remember my first ride in one owned by an enthusiast and was amazed about the build. Stock higher stall converter, but the handling was amazing. Ford even used thinner washers in places to reduce weight.

 

[black99lightnin]

My budget is cheap. 1500-3500. This will be essentially a car that sits until something else goes down.

Lot's of good information. I had found a clean 99 GM, but it looks like that might not be that great of a car?
https://neworleans.craigslist.org/cto/6191459977.html

 

[MackDombles]

I'd pass on it. You can get a newer one for that price. And I also wouldn't be scared of a p71 properly maintained. I'm driving one that you would swear has never been on patrol.

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[offroadkarter]

My budget is cheap. 1500-3500. This will be essentially a car that sits until something else goes down.

Lot's of good information. I had found a clean 99 GM, but it looks like that might not be that great of a car?
https://neworleans.craigslist.org/cto/6191459977.html

That has the Handling & Performance Package which is a redeeming quality in the older cars. My uncle had a 01 HPP crown vic and a 08 grand marq GS, I preferred driving the vic as it had more punch and cornered better.

it looks like a GS (instead of an LS) which is kind of funny since most HPP's were on higher optioned cars.

Its not terrible, but you can do better if you look more.

I'd pass on it. You can get a newer one for that price. And I also wouldn't be scared of a p71 properly maintained. I'm driving one that you would swear has never been on patrol.

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I'd love to hear your reasons for wanting a P71 over a civilian car

and please don't use the following:

"Fleet Maintained"
"Take home Detective car"
"Tougher suspension"
"cop chip"
"people get out of your way on the highway!"

 

[MackDombles]

I'd love to hear your reasons for wanting a P71 over a civilian car

and please don't use the following:

"Fleet Maintained"
"Take home Detective car"
"Tougher suspension"
"cop chip"
"people get out of your way on the highway!"

I am speaking only from the experience I have as the fleet(can I @ least say fleet) supervisor of a pretty large Sheriffs department.
I've maintained (crap I can't say that) dun werked on these things for years.

My thoughts and advice come from the viewpoint that all former service vics aren't trash as some would say. I'm making sure he doesn't bypass a good deal due to the people who say all cvpis are worn out garbage. But They practically give these things away.
My OPINION is also that these things look like "grandma cars" with all the chrome and funky colors. Old service cars are generally a few solid colors with no chrome and just look meaner.

Again, fwiw some departments don't fool around when it comes to proper treatment of these cars. I happen to also teach the driving class @ our academy as well as a a quarterly refresher on how not to abuse the equipment. We install cameras as well as GPS units that also monitor obd2 logs. I can compare hard driving to weather the guys are actually running code or just goofing off, review the video, and reprimand accordingly.
My point here isn't my life though, it is to throw some advice not to pigeon hole these cars as nothing but worn out trash.










And COP CHIPS

 

[offroadkarter]

I am speaking only from the experience I have as the fleet(can I @ least say fleet) supervisor of a pretty large Sheriffs department.
I've maintained (crap I can't say that) dun werked on these things for years.

My thoughts and advice come from the viewpoint that all former service vics aren't trash as some would say. I'm making sure he doesn't bypass a good deal due to the people who say all cvpis are worn out garbage. But They practically give these things away.
My OPINION is also that these things look like "grandma cars" with all the chrome and funky colors. Old service cars are generally a few solid colors with no chrome and just look meaner.

Again, fwiw some departments don't fool around when it comes to proper treatment of these cars. I happen to also teach the driving class @ our academy as well as a a quarterly refresher on how not to abuse the equipment. We install cameras as well as GPS units that also monitor obd2 logs. I can compare hard driving to weather the guys are actually running code or just goofing off, review the video, and reprimand accordingly.
My point here isn't my life though, it is to throw some advice not to pigeon hole these cars as nothing but worn out trash.


And COP CHIPS

Most people who are selling not beat to ass sub 100k mile P71's aren't asking 3500 or under though. They want 5-7 grand for the damn things and that is ridiculous IMO. Finding a 03+ P71 that isn't a ragged out car for his price range is next to impossible, unless you go to the auctions yourself.

It's also plenty easy to get a crown vic that isn't all chrome, you just get a sport

 

[MackDombles]

Thats a great looking car man, and IF you can find a sport, i agree it would be a great option. Not too many around here though. YRMV.

Also, I admit im a bit jaded on prices as I wouldnt even consider buying from a reseller of these cars. Its too easy to go to City,county and state auctions and pick them up cheap. Ive bought 5 very proper 06+ vics ranging from 50k to 250k miles. Most ive spent is 1800$ and that was on an 11 with 120k. It was black with no holes. If I could say "detective car" I would tell you what it spent its life as. Least was 350$ and I just took it on a 400 mile road trip and it did me well. Only issue is it was a state trooper car and has holes galore.

 

[LogiWorld123]

my 2004 Town Car has nearly 200k miles and there's only cosmetic issues