Pro-commuter? My budget 5sp swapped Crown Vic

Looks like a fun project, people must to a double take when they see the shifter and 3 pedals lol.

I can dig it

One of my buddies loved Crown Vics when we were younger and loved the idea of doing a manual swap. I would definitely consider rocking a manual one as a daily, they are good cars and can take some serious abuse.

My first car was a 02 p71 and i wouldnt have hesitated to drive it anywhere in the country. Now i rock a grand marquis and its great with my son etc. Its a shame they dont make them anymore

Nice work OP. Still getting over that there was a "sport" version of the crown vic. I think your wheel set up is described as "Polish staggered."

Klaus said:

I think your wheel set up is described as "Polish staggered."

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Hahaha, Polish staggered!! Love it!! Probably going to go back to stock 235's shortly, this thing in current form just isn't going to be a burnout machine with my level of mechanical sympathy...

Its been together since late spring and I've put 4,000 miles on it so far. I've been tracking down clunks & rattles as best I can...but its a 17 year old car with 165K on it....its ALWAYS going to have clunks & rattles.

I did have to yank the trans back out...the throw out bearing failed around 2000 miles..? Not sure if I didn't have the firewall adjuster adjusted correctly or just a bad bearing.
I did have the cheap flywheel resurfaced (even though it was NEW the machine shop said it was "dished") my clutch chatter is much reduced.
Also, installed a new clutch fork & pivot stud. I should have done that the first time. The clutch action is a lot easier and smoother now.

Its fun but, still slow as hell. I've gotten a bunch of seat time in some S550 cars lately...we'll see if the Vic sticks around another summer...or finds a new home next year.
Car was clean today, so I grabbed a couple more pics

Its cold & I'm bored... Cleaning out some leftover GT500 parts I found these!
YEARS ago I hand polished these 1st gen GT500 wheels.(if you're really bored...you can read the thread)
https://www.svtperformance.com/threads/trying-to-restore-beat-gt500-wheels.845013/
They didn't turn out good enough for widening back in the day...but they're good enough for the commuter!
Unfortunately since I have an '02...I have to run spacers, but that means I can alter the track width & fill out the rear fenders...1.5" F, 2" R.
I'll probably have to trim the pristine quarter flanges for tire clearance...hehehe...like thats a concern on a $2800 car! (although...notice its stored for the winter...while I daily a F150 worth 17 times as much...never said I was smart!)


Also scored a 2010 Cop spec P71 aluminum driveshaft for 20 bucks!
I LOVE the junkyard...but buying driveshafts is tough...usually they all have damage from overzealous fork lift operators that dent the tube...
I was very fortunate that this one was MINT!


I wasn't aware at the time that in '05 all panther platform cars moved to 1350 series U joints. So I had to use a 1330-1350 conversion joint to reuse my tr3650 slipyoke.
The difference is noticeable, 1350's are BEEFY!
Hopefully this new shaft will cure the little driveline vibration I had at 75mph after the 3.73 gears

Finally had some decent weather for spray bombing...
Because this is a daily driver, I wanted to clear the polished GT500 wheels.
I hit them with a coat of Bulldog adhesion promoter & a few coats of rattle can 2K clear.
Meh, up close they're not perfect, but from 5 feet, they look good!
Since this is a 2002, it takes older SN95/new edge offset wheels. To use these S197's, I had to run bolt on spacers.
Because of the body shape, the rear wheels sit tucked, so I used 1.5" front spacers & 2" rears to fill out the wheel wells.
The 9.5" wheels in the rear were a little close to the wheel flange, so I trimmed 3/8"s off for just a touch more clearance. But at basically stock height, I don't think there would have ever been an issue.


Its still just a big & slow old man 4 door, but its fun to tool around in.
Someday when 7.3's become LS money...that would be a cool swap!

the gt500 wheels look good on there, nice.

i like what youve done. great job! i think a 5 speed swap is a brilliant thing. a low buck PD supercharger setup would probably be the penultimate version of that car. i like the gt500 wheels on it too.

Holy Hell man... outstanding work. Love this build.

Better hit that metal with some paint!

Did any newer years come with back up sensors...or did only Towncars get that?

Time to drop a 7.3 in it.

This car is just too cool as a daily. IF you decide to sell please let me know. Would go good with my blown marauder.

Joe

So Awesome

You can find a 2V Vortech setup pretty cheap nowadays. Thats what I'd be on the outlook for to stay budget themed and gain 120-140 hp.

Like a good twin screw on a modular but there aren't really any cheap ones out there.

The 5 speed swap looks factory in there, I love it. I wish ford would have offered this from the beginning.

MachME said:

Better hit that metal with some paint!

Did any newer years come with back up sensors...or did only Towncars get that?

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town cars only, they had a lot of options the lesser panthers didn't get, like factory HID's, memory seats (I think memory seats were a stupid rare option on some aero panthers) and factory sat nav

I still get terrified when I see the infamous amber lights behind me on the freeway when it’s dark out.


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Do it....