Anyone Have Experience with a NON P71 Crown Vic?

"JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder!" (jqj213)
05/05/2015 at 10:03 • Filed to: npocp, crown vic, p71, craigslist

Doing my typical CL browsing, I found this rather decent looking !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! for $1600 OBO. It’s not a P71 though. Power wise, is there a big difference? Also, NPOCP? I know parts are beyond plentiful and these are stupid easy to work on.

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DISCUSSION (21)

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder!
05/05/2015 at 10:09

That’s a good price by all appearances. May need a front suspension job (most Panthers do after ~100k miles), but given that that would be a good price for any Panther, I don’t know you should care much about it not being a P71. I think the P71 is mostly a tune and some suspension differences anyway.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder!
05/05/2015 at 10:10

I wouldn’t buy any CV for over a grand, but that’s because I view them as disposable and wouldn’t be looking for a “nice” one. They can be kept running with pennies and a hammer. The main difference other than suspension and brakes is the addition of an oil cooler to let it idle in Dunkin Donuts parking lots for hours on end. The engine’s pretty much the same but, the transmission is set to shift a bit higher and harder, and it has a bigger alternator to handle all of the cop toys. Some of them have LSDs, but that was an option, so not all of them will have it. Standard CVs are floatier to drive than P71s, but swapping out the struts and shocks is easy.

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder!
05/05/2015 at 10:10

Go 2003 or later

crowmolly > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
05/05/2015 at 10:12

Were there changes in the cooling system as well? I vaguely remember that.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > crowmolly
05/05/2015 at 10:14

Maybe, but that would also be to allow it to idle for hours at Dunkin Donuts. It wouldn’t be a problem for 99% of people. These cars are so overbuilt and low-stress it’s not even funny.

CalzoneGolem > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
05/05/2015 at 10:17

Most cars need a suspension rebuild ever 100k or so.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > CalzoneGolem
05/05/2015 at 10:24

Or if they’re W124 Mercedes, about 3.5 times that interval.

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder!
05/05/2015 at 10:30

It’s about 1/1000000 as cool, so there’s that.

JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! > sm70- why not Duesenberg?
05/05/2015 at 10:58

First order of business would be getting a spotlight. Then steelies.

Matthew Phillips > JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder!
05/05/2015 at 11:18

I drive a 93 P72 and I recommend any CV 93 and up. Things to check, same happened to me and my co-worker.

Axle Seals, Intake manifold, T-Valve behind the intake manifold. and rust.... Check for hidden rust. Other than that, solid piece of car.

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
05/05/2015 at 11:55

Pre 2000 the PI’s had better heads.

Opposite Locksmith > CalzoneGolem
05/05/2015 at 11:56

My family has never replaced any suspension component save for a shock in the my dad's 88 supra, and we DO NOT let go of cars until 200k

CalzoneGolem > Opposite Locksmith
05/05/2015 at 12:01

You probably should do that more often then you can keep them past 200k.

Opposite Locksmith > CalzoneGolem
05/05/2015 at 12:09

We sell them at around 220k, and not because of failing suspensions. My 224k mile montero had a three position switch for the shock absorber adjustment that worked on the fly when I sold it

jkm7680 > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire
05/05/2015 at 16:00

^That

jkm7680 > JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder!
05/05/2015 at 16:02

Different gearing, interior bits, suspension, bits, less cool.

The good thing is that those hubcaps come off to reveal steelies!

DisplacementForDayz, ironically lusts after a Honda Grom > sm70- why not Duesenberg?
05/05/2015 at 17:47

But it’s also only 1/1000000 beat to hell as the average P71.

DisplacementForDayz, ironically lusts after a Honda Grom > JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder!
05/05/2015 at 17:50

Powerwise there is a small difference, and the P71s had beefier suspension and better oil coolers, but they also sat idling for long periods of time, and then were absolutely thrashed when chasing perps, so there are some tradeoffs. The P71 will be cooler, but will also have been abused. Personally I would go for the civilian models, because the police versions have front buckets, and I would rather have a front bench.

ranwhenparked > JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder!
05/05/2015 at 19:24

I owned a 2009 Grand Marquis for about 2 years from 2010-2012, which is essentially the same thing. It was too new when I had it to really need much in the way of repairs, other then extensive body work after a tree fell on it (which I wasn’t about to do myself). I traded it on a new Mustang shortly after, since it was never quite the same again.

My takeaways were that the 1996 Cadillac Fleetwood it replaced was a superior design in just about every concievable way, despite being 13 years older and with about 140,000 more miles on it at the time I got rid of it. Killed the B-body was the greatest gift GM could have ever given Ford.

The Compromiser > JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder!
05/05/2015 at 20:54

Neighbor has two and a Grand Marquis. Great shape. Run like tops.

SALfan > JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder!
05/06/2015 at 00:18

Ad doesn’t mention mileage, which doesn’t give me warm fuzzies; with good maintenance, should be good for 200,000 miles. Had a 97 Grand Marquis from new, now have a 96 CV, so have some experience with these. The plastic intake manifold is next to something hot, so it crystallized and broke. The alternator died about 115k, which is not unusual. Window regulators are worst in the world; figure on replacing some at some point. Mass air flow sensor on the GM failed about every 60k, but AFAIK that hasn’t been an issue with the CV (has about 71k on it). GM needed tie rod ends about 110k, not unreasonable. Other than that, just normal things you have to fix on an older car. CV needed a radiator, normal for a car that age. Back seat is surprisingly hard to enter and exit.

They are good solid cars that will last a long time with good care. Fix things when they break, or the list becomes overwhelming. Good luck!