I searched first, but could not find any info for this. I recall a few threads over the years where folks have outlined the pros and cons of the different eras of the police interceptor models. Would on of you gurus give me a quick rundown on what years to look for when shopping?
2003-2004. Sweet spot. Got all the suspension upgrades. Throttle body was still cable actuated.
Major update in the 03+ cars. A few small changes post 03, nothing significant though.
Perfect. So 2003+ is the way to go.
Now, on to performance. Thinking manual swap, go fast parts, suspension, etc. With the understanding that they are heavy cars, can they be made to dance?
Manuals are doable, but the Trans is on the raged edge of tolerances. Power shift it and it's likely to go explodey. I think the 2008 and ups got the flex fuel option. Great if E85 is available in the area.
I'm working with a 2005. I got it for $500. I'm hoping to twin turbo it for dirt cheap. These cars are begging for forced induction.
https://topeka.craigslist.org/cto/5192312446.html
'05 and up have 31 spline axles.
T56 has been done pretty easily. Get one from a Mustang and make a crossmember. There will be tunnel hammering.
From what I understand, suspension geometry isn't the greatest and hard to change without altering mount points, but I have no experience with it first hand.
My nephew did a T5(?) swap on his, on a budget. I can ask for details.
Excellent. Thanks for all the info so far.
2003-2004. I'm selling my LX sport here in Raleigh, if you are interested.
Great cars, enjoy.
Check the rear quarters, they are usually rusty if it is a Mid-west, Northeast car.
curtis73 wrote: T56 has been done pretty easily. Get one from a Mustang and make a crossmember. There will be tunnel hammering. From what I understand, suspension geometry isn't the greatest and hard to change without altering mount points, but I have no experience with it first hand.
Doing it on the cheap, will the M50D-R2 out of a 4.6 F150 fit with just hammering?
Coldsnap wrote: 2003-2004. I'm selling my LX sport here in Raleigh, if you are interested. Great cars, enjoy.
Not ready to pull the trigger quite yet. GLWS!
Places like crownvic.net are great for info, but don't stick around their too long. Before you know it you'll be considering wigwags or building a faraday room.
just buy the nicest one you can find. they're too common to settle for a tired/ragged example.
From research, I've seen mention of 'idle hours', buying a detective car, etc. Any way to tell those things when buying from a private party?
I've heard you can read em through the dash by dong a starting procedure, though I've never seen it.
P71s are nice for a car to just beat to hell and enjoy. If you're going to put \money into it, I'd get a clean well taken care of civilian car.
curtis73 wrote: T56...from a Mustang
T56 only came in the mustang COBRA, and are lots of money. ..just had to update that. Normal mustangs got t45, t5, 3650, maybe another I forgot? I think thats it as far as manual mustangs go.
I DD a 2004 p71 that I swapped a 5 speed into. It is great. I turn wrenches for a local municapilaty and was lucky enough to buy one I know very well. Find one that has had thorough services and you will be set. 2003+. Look for a p71 admin package car if you want nicer, I am not a fan personally. If you want a manual I have had great luck with the Tremec 3650 from a 01-04 Mustang GT. Cheap, easy swap. Tuning by SCT 4. Great mpg and a blast to drive. Depends where you are but ,I can let you know the ones we sell that are worth it.
Thanks Ross
Any chance you could do a thread detailing the swap? CrownVic.net has one that's 4 billion pages long and doesn't seem to talk about the post 2003 cars much.
In reply to Appleseed:
Yup. I was not able to take pics when I did it, but it will be on the lift this week at work. I'll shoot some and make it happen.
Thanks Ross
dyintorace wrote: Perfect. So 2003+ is the way to go. Now, on to performance. Thinking manual swap, go fast parts, suspension, etc. With the understanding that they are heavy cars, can they be made to dance?
I owned one for maybe 8 months, they can be made to dance, but they will require performance shocks (performance springs, too) and summer tires. There should be a good selection of aftermarket cylinder heads, headers, cams, etc. to increase the power N/A, supercharger options, or you can do some research and throw a turbo on it. The seats aren't that good, so if you really like the chassis, don't be afraid to buy a Corbeau/Sparco/Recaro seat(s). A manual trans swap is the way to go.
I found that besides the cheap Ford interior, the rear leg room is disappointing for a car that size.
chiodos wrote:curtis73 wrote: T56...from a MustangT56 only came in the mustang COBRA, and are lots of money. ..just had to update that. Normal mustangs got t45, t5, 3650, maybe another I forgot? I think thats it as far as manual mustangs go.
All T56s (viper, camaro, ford) have the same center case. Get a cheap camaro box, swap out front plate and input shaft, done. Seriously... completely interchangeable. And its hard to argue that a T56 is much better than a T5WC. WAY better.
I have two T56s sitting in my garage. One started out as a TNET1247 (viper) and is now ready to go into my Impala SS. I had a GM front plate and input shaft on it, then had the GM tailhousing bored out for the beefy viper output shaft.
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