Showing off my Crown Vic

[4WD]

Looks brand new! I put 300K miles on my 2005 Crown Vic. No major issues whatsoever.

The Crown Vic was the best vehicle I ever owned! I actually cried after I sold it. I should have kept as it owed me nothing.

Never owned one - but had a few as company cars - white cars - whip antenna - company shirts had flags on the sleeves - so yeah sometimes they’d react in a manner good for a smile …
I was doing 5 hour drives twice a week - so ideal for that …

 

[AutoMechanic]

I’ll occasionally see a cop around my area still have one. I’ve talked to a few they said they keep them around as spares when the normal cars are down but it’s only one or two they still have around. Personally I’d love to own one but everyone I’ve looked at has been worn out. I like that color. A guy at my work has one he is actually one of our Ford techs and he loves his but his was never an interceptor there is also a guy in my area that drives around one of the retired state police ones that is grey and blue. I really like the wheels on yours too. Most of them I see still have the spotlight on them which is cool either way cop or not.

 

[Lubener]

Oh, indeed there is a great deal of life remaining in the CV especially in police spec. IDK what a manufacture does differently in police spec'd vehicles that make them different over the pedestrian version. Does anyone know?

I know the braking system (rotors/pads) are larger, springs are stiffer, heavy duty cooling, maybe an external transmission cooler, stabilizer bars may be larger, there maybe more. What I wouldn't like would be the vinyl seats.

 

[Blinker]

To date, the most favored police cruiser by law enforcement officials is the ‘94-‘96 Chevy Caprice 9C1 w/5.7 LT1 engine.

That Caprice had better brakes, better handling, better suspension, better driving characteristics, more power, and more room, than any Crown Vic Police Interceptor.

The Crown Vic’s started getting better around 2003. Ford did considerable work on the braking and suspension performance. They also received an engine performance upgrade for the ‘04MY I believe. I’m not sure of all the changes, but in defensive driving courses it was observed that the 2003 Crown Vic was much improved. Lots of other improvements throughout the years as well. The 2004+ Crown Vic was good enough that most officials quit complaining about it’s lack of performance compared to the LT1 Caprice 9C1.

 

[Lubener]

To date, the most favored police cruiser by law enforcement officials is the ‘94-‘96 Chevy Caprice 9C1 w/5.7 LT1 engine.

That Caprice had better brakes, better handling, better suspension, better driving characteristics, more power, and more room, than any Crown Vic Police Interceptor.

The Crown Vic’s started getting better around 2003. Ford did considerable work on the braking and suspension performance. They also received an engine performance upgrade for the ‘04MY I believe. I’m not sure of all the changes, but in defensive driving courses it was observed that the 2003 Crown Vic was much improved. Lots of other improvements throughout the years as well. The 2004+ Crown Vic was good enough that most officials quit complaining about it’s lack of performance compared to the LT1 Caprice 9C1.

In 2003, I believe the steering system was changed to rack and pinion and the springs were stiffened to a more sporty feel instsead of the soft floaty feel the suspension had pre-2003.

 

[Snagglefoot]

You can get the cop car wheels caps on EBay and Amazon.

 

[Malo83]

Pick one up here.

Wild Rose Motors - PoliceInterceptors.info - Used Car Dealership - Anaheim CA

 

[JustinH]

I had a loaded Grand Marquis flex fuel. Liked it a lot, averaged about 14.5mpg in mixed driving. No problems with it, sold it for more than I paid for it after driving it for a few years.

 

[Bird's_Garage]

Besides the suspension, cooling, and brake upgrades already mentioned there were a few power upgrades over the "civilian" models as well. CVPIs came with dual exhaust with h-pipe. A different ECU tune that provided higher shift points (500 rpm higher) and 130mph governor (in the 3.27 cars) was also used. The CVPIs usually came with 3.27 or 3.55 rear gears compared to the 2.73. Overall they had about 25 more hp. I think the biggest limiting factor in these cars, as far as performance goes, is the 4 speed trans. I think the 4.6 would be well suited for the 6r80 6 speed auto, and would have much better acceleration.

No I don't want to put any sheriff stickers on it for parade work. I want to drive it.

It currently has the exact wheel center caps it has had from the day it left the assembly line, so those are the "cop car wheel caps." I'm glad it has all 4, because I've seen them go for ridiculous prices.

I think my favorite thing about this car is it can have 190k+ miles and have everything work and be in great shape. I get in every morning and there's never any surprises. I've been looking at a few other cars, ranging from a 120k mile Altima to a 200k mile Accord and they've all been piles of junk.

Second favorite thing about the car? The sound of that 4.6 at 5700 rpm. I don't run it up there very often, but when I do...

 

[slo town]

To date, the most favored police cruiser by law enforcement officials is the ‘94-‘96 Chevy Caprice 9C1 w/5.7 LT1 engine.

That Caprice had better brakes, better handling, better suspension, better driving characteristics, more power, and more room, than any Crown Vic Police Interceptor.

The Crown Vic’s started getting better around 2003. Ford did considerable work on the braking and suspension performance. They also received an engine performance upgrade for the ‘04MY I believe. I’m not sure of all the changes, but in defensive driving courses it was observed that the 2003 Crown Vic was much improved. Lots of other improvements throughout the years as well. The 2004+ Crown Vic was good enough that most officials quit complaining about it’s lack of performance compared to the LT1 Caprice 9C1.

My now retired police friend used to drive one of those Caprices. I remember him telling me how surprisingly well it handled. They called those cars "Shamu".

Scott

 

[Bird's_Garage]

My now retired police friend used to drive one of those Caprices. I remember him telling me how surprisingly well it handled. They called those cars "Shamu".

Scott

The LT1 Caprices really were some great cars. If I could find one or an Impala SS in good shape, that wasn't overpriced, I'd buy one. The optispark sucked, but the low end torque was really good.

 

[CKN]

A Crown Vic-the pinnacle of automotive excellence on BITOG. Let's see how many pages this thread about a dinosaur gets!

 

[slo town]

The LT1 Caprices really were some great cars. If I could find one or an Impala SS in good shape, that wasn't overpriced, I'd buy one. The optispark sucked, but the low end torque was really good.

As a side note, I remember my police friend always used to check tire pressures before heading out.

Scott

 

[manicrodder]

I have no idea about the age of the transmission internals. I do know mine is a 4r75e. It shifts better than I expected for its mileage. I usually get 15-17 mpg, but that's a lot of city driving.


Around here, very few even react. They're probably too busy looking at their phones to notice while driving.

It really surprised me how many people want to come up and talk to me at gas pumps and in parking lots about the car. I've owned a couple expensive luxury cars, a nice sports car, nice pickups, and somehow a Crown Vic has gotten the most attention. My wife always asks, "why do they like that ugly car so much?" I don't know, but I like it, too.

I don't find them ugly at all.

 

[ssaaff]

I have the 2.73 rear end on my panther and it gets 24 mpg at 90 mph, almost as good as my brothers 4 cylinder camry lol.
These cars are really strong and cheap to fix,plenty of parts new or from the junkyard.

 

[FZ1]

View attachment 91353
Here's my 2008 Crown Vic Police Interceptor. It's the same car I posted "under the valve cover" pictures of. I originally bought it from my dad for $2000 last April to use as a backup. My other 2 vehicles were my daily driver 2019 F150 and my wife's daily driver 2015 F150. Over the first 6 months I began to drive the Crown Vic more and more.

It got to a point where I began to wonder why I had 2019 F150, so I sold the F150 last week. I ended up getting 6k more than my "out the door" price was new in 2019.

Now the Crown Vic is my daily driver, until I find a car I'm willing to pay cash for. Only problem...none I've looked at have been as good as this Crown Vic. I've always liked Crown Vics, but a majority have been worn out and hobbled together. Not this one. Everything works as it should, and it looks good too!

Smart move! Sedan =better ride, better drive, better mpg vs. truck. Look around for a one owner Vic; You don't need an interceptor.

 

[ollie]

I am not a ford guy at all. But boy a Crown Vic would be a very cool addition to my toys!!

 

[Aredeeem]

Fell behind a Crown Vic going thru a neighborhood years back with the drivers side spot light lighting up front yards. My first impulse was to hold back, turned out to be a pizza delivery guy.

 

[4WD]

I know the braking system (rotors/pads) are larger, springs are stiffer, heavy duty cooling, maybe an external transmission cooler, stabilizer bars may be larger, there maybe more. What I wouldn't like would be the vinyl seats.

High amp alternator etc is standard fare on LEO units …

 

[Bird's_Garage]

Smart move! Sedan =better ride, better drive, better mpg vs. truck. Look around for a one owner Vic; You don't need an interceptor.

It actually gets worse mileage than the truck did. I'm getting 15 around town and 20 on the highway. Truck regularly got almost 20 city and 24 or more highway.

And there's no way I'd get rid of this car and buy a regular Crown Vic. LOL. Kinda counterproductive in my eyes. Too many things I like about this car to start over with an unknown Crown Vic with less performance and possible problems, though more comfortable.

No matter what I also buy. This car is staying.

I know it seems crazy, but the truck was bigger, faster, more capable, and more comfortable than the Crown Vic. But it lacked the character. And the cost for how much I used it just didn't make sense.