I pointed that out to him. I also emailed him a stick accord wagon.
I pointed that out to him. I also emailed him a stick accord wagon.
The interior in all of the police packages (P71 or otherwise) is pretty horrid. Luckily all of the better stuff bolts right in. My car is a manual seat car and the harnesses for the power seats were under the rubber floor. With NOS seats, new carpet, a non-hacked dash, and a center console it's a pretty nice place to be in my car. Sure it's plasticky and dull but I paid less than $2500 for the car, what do I care? It is all incredibly wear and stain resistant.
I just ordered a new stereo as the factory tape deck isn't cutting it any longer. Got a Kenwood CD/MP3 with built-in AUX in and USB on the front and a separate HD Radio tuner. Should be fun!
As for the 98-00's, they are WAY slower. Stock for stock they are over a half second down on the 01+'s. Not to mention the brakes are smaller, there are less aftermarket mods available, and they aren't any cheaper than the 01-02's. I passed on them, and so should you. The intake/thermostat/shooting spark plugs out should be enough to make anybody run away.
As for these anemic little motors making 100K, no problem. Mine is 40 miles from 139K with no issues. Gets new 5W20 Royal Purple about every 4K. It'll eat a quart if I race it a lot but if it's just street driving it won't. Never gets hot.
I can't speak for all P71's, but Oregon State Police (highway troopers) take extremely good care of theirs. Mine came with all of the service records. Oil every 3K, they did the 100K (plugs, coolant, etc), new tires whenever it needed it (Proxes TPT's), fuel filter was done, trans service every 15K, etc, etc. And they sell them at 120K. That's why I specifically sought one out, plus it's blue instead of white.
I can hook you up. Fly out, drive back. 
Per Schroeder wrote: I pointed that out to him. I also emailed him a stick accord wagon.
Thanks for the suggestions. I'm not sure that this 1992 Accord is more reliable than a fleet maintained 2000+ Crown Vic. I'm not sure it isn't, either, but it's got 100% less push bar.
I need to look at the Camry, but I think the Accord fails by virtue of a timing belt. My goal here is an "oil change only" car for commuting/kid hauling. The ability to generate tire smoke and towing the Miata once in a while are bonuses. We'll see what's available once I get my money right, so it's still a research experiment for now.
The only thing I've done beyond oil changes for maintenance (not counting upgrades on purpose) are two trans services (fluid/filter, once @125K and one last week since I'm driving to Lake Tahoe in 2 weeks) and one axle bearing and seal (which realistically could have been from all of the drag racing and burnouts). Oh, and a serpentine belt.
The rotors, pads, intake, fluid flushes, and tuner were all to go/stop faster
Tom Heath wrote:Per Schroeder wrote: I pointed that out to him. I also emailed him a stick accord wagon.Thanks for the suggestions. I'm not sure that this 1992 Accord is more reliable than a fleet maintained 2000+ Crown Vic. I'm not sure it isn't, either, but it's got 100% less push bar. Atlanta traffic will be so much more fun.
Man, the push bar I consider a feature! If I pick up a P71 I'm going full-on undercover car look. Push bar, blacked out tint, steelies, and 5 antennas on the back. Maybe bolt some non-functional slim fog lights into the headliner front/back for that "undercover car" look.
patgizz wrote: at the track all the p71's 98+ were running the same quarter mile times, PI or NPI engine, didn't matter. don't believe the hype and shy away from a 98 or 99 because ford claims more HP in the newer ones - it's still a puny 4.6 pushing a barge. 2000's are slower than the others though but that can be fixed by swapping in a 99 pcm. i've witnessed that one personally.
I'm having a really, really hard time with this whole post. You're disputing the advantage of P.I. over N.P.I. , and then you're talking up an oem pcm swap on a n/a car?
slefain wrote:Tom Heath wrote:Man, the push bar I consider a feature! If I pick up a P71 I'm going full-on undercover car look. Push bar, blacked out tint, steelies, and 5 antennas on the back. Maybe bolt some non-functional slim fog lights into the headliner front/back for that "undercover car" look.Per Schroeder wrote: I pointed that out to him. I also emailed him a stick accord wagon.Thanks for the suggestions. I'm not sure that this 1992 Accord is more reliable than a fleet maintained 2000+ Crown Vic. I'm not sure it isn't, either, but it's got 100% less push bar. Atlanta traffic will be so much more fun.
please don't do that stuff. at least not the last two.
belteshazzar wrote:slefain wrote:please don't do that stuff. at least not the last two.Tom Heath wrote:Man, the push bar I consider a feature! If I pick up a P71 I'm going full-on undercover car look. Push bar, blacked out tint, steelies, and 5 antennas on the back. Maybe bolt some non-functional slim fog lights into the headliner front/back for that "undercover car" look.Per Schroeder wrote: I pointed that out to him. I also emailed him a stick accord wagon.Thanks for the suggestions. I'm not sure that this 1992 Accord is more reliable than a fleet maintained 2000+ Crown Vic. I'm not sure it isn't, either, but it's got 100% less push bar. Atlanta traffic will be so much more fun.
Too evil?
oooooh, idunno. I just think people can take the pretending-to-be-a-cop game too far.
belteshazzar wrote: oooooh, idunno. I just think people can take the pretending-to-be-a-cop game too far.
This thread almost makes me want to look at P71s as a second car..........
aahhh yeah.
P71 wrote: I can hook you up. Fly out, drive back.
I might take you up on that. My 9c1 is getting long in the tooth. Does Oregon use salt?
No salt. My car doesn't even have surface rust anywhere on it. Free test ride in my P71 from the airport to the purchase 
Appleseed wrote:P71 wrote: I can hook you up. Fly out, drive back.I might take you up on that. My 9c1 is getting long in the tooth. Does Oregon use salt?
I was going to ask the same thing. Field trip!
My local police department buys "slightly used" interceptors from the Kansas HP(54k miles or less) and then runs them for about 300k with incredibly strict maintenance. Any car that is wrecked is stripped of parts and sent to salvage. They have complete drivetrains waiting to be inserted if necessary. They then sell the surplus car(300k +) on govdeals.com. They even repaint the cars because they dont like releasing a car with the black/white paint scheme.
Several officers including the Chief has bought the Kansas cars for their own private use with upgrades using better seats etc.
mine was a Wyandotte KS car. Mechanically it was a gem. Inside the oil cap looked brand new. Unfortunately it had marginal quality respray after some hail damage, but some sanding and buffing has helped somewhat.
Hey Tom, I found a white 2005 P71 today with slightly over 100k. Asking $5k obo. Three plugged holes in the roof and very clean. No push bar (is that a + or -?). Problem is you'd have to come back to MI for it as it's a ways north of Imlay City. I didn't get pics but can if you'd like.
Todd
P71 wrote: I can hook you up. Fly out, drive back.
Please shoot me an email the next time some nice ones go up for sale.
This is kind of thing that makes me want to sell the S52 E30, drive a P71 and save money for the car I've always wanted.
What about souping them up? Does the supercharged Cobra engine just drop into the 2003+? Can I hook up a Tweecer to the PCM and reprogram it to recognize the boost generated by a pair of hair dryers resting on flipped manifolds?
In reply to berettaman:
Completely possible.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Ford-Crown-Victoria-Interceptor-Lightning-Supercharged-Police-Car-P71-Mercury-Marquis_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp3286Q2ec0Q2em14QQhashZitem20ad445128QQitemZ140345889064QQptZUSQ5fCarsQ5fTrucks
Whats the hot set up for suspension budget friendly? What about better front seats?
Tom Heath wrote: In reply to berettaman: Completely possible. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Ford-Crown-Victoria-Interceptor-Lightning-Supercharged-Police-Car-P71-Mercury-Marquis_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp3286Q2ec0Q2em14QQhashZitem20ad445128QQitemZ140345889064QQptZUSQ5fCarsQ5fTrucks
"consistent quarter mile times in the 14 second range"
I think they would have been better off omitting that info...
2002maniac wrote: "consistent quarter mile times in the 14 second range"
Funny...that was my exact thought. Aren't P71's in that (rough) range to begin with?
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