Crown Victoria P71 Police Interceptor

Rob R. wrote: ↑

Sat. Aug. 07, 2021 10:26 pm

Don, the reason for the one way clutch on the alternator is so that it does not chirp the belt on firm shifts.

Wow! that's interesting, good to know. I figured it had something to do with the rotating mass of that big 200 amp armature. The old one looks original and it still charges fine so the coils and voltage regulator are still good. It just makes mechanical noises.

And, Thanks for the OBD2 info!

Rob R. wrote: ↑

Sat. Aug. 07, 2021 10:26 pm

but you are wise to focus on getting it stopping good first.

That is an absolute must whenever you buy a car from Maryland! The only time a car gets inspected there is when they sell it to another Marylander. And even then it is only at the time of sale. You would be amazed at the amount of crashed and abandoned pickup trucks I see on the side of the road because of simple ball joint failure. And the annoying amount of cars driving around with 2, 1 or no brake lights.

People may complain out our PA state inspection but IMO most people are just to distracted and/or irresponsible to be trusted with vehicle safety.

-Don

Don, i hate to be the one who brings it up but I wonder how many people puked in the back seat.

Benny wrote: ↑

Sun. Aug. 08, 2021 2:56 pm

Don, i hate to be the one who brings it up but I wonder how many people puked in the back seat.

We already covered that one on the first page Benny!

Answer = None.

It's not very likely that this was a regular patrol car. The interior is all very nice and clean, not all beat up like normal patrol cars. I'm 90% sure it was a department of corrections car and possibly somebodies take home car. -Don

StokerDon wrote: ↑

Sun. Aug. 08, 2021 1:40 pm

That is an absolute must whenever you buy a car from Maryland! The only time a car gets inspected there is when they sell it to another Marylander. And even then it is only at the time of sale. You would be amazed at the amount of crashed and abandoned pickup trucks I see on the side of the road because of simple ball joint failure. And the annoying amount of cars driving around with 2, 1 or no brake lights.

People may complain out our PA state inspection but IMO most people are just to distracted and/or irresponsible to be trusted with vehicle safety.

-Don

I have often heard that a Maryland vehicle cannot be sold to another Marylander if it won't pass inspection. Your info explains a lot. You do see a lot of older MD. vehicles marketed to Pa. or sent to Pa. auto auctions.

Depending on which source you believe, there's only about 7 to 15 states left with safety inspections. I agree that many people will not fix anything that doesn't stop their car from moving. I do think that the older days of twice a year safety inspections in Pa. were ridiculous. ( pre-1982?) It sure added resale value to anything with a PA. inspection sticker, out of state though. What is crazy in Pa. is the visual emissions inspection of any vehicle newer than 1974. It's part of the regular safety inspection, so living in a non emissions inspection county doesn't do anything for you. Even the subjects of Mass., NY and NJ only have to go back to OBD I, or else have a blanket 30 year old exemption. Typically no vapor canisters, smog pumps, etc., available for cars of the 70's to 80's.

About 50 years ago, in Fla., it was not unusual to see cars with no doors. Alabama would sell anyone a license plate in the mail for about $5.

hank2 wrote: ↑

Sun. Aug. 08, 2021 11:30 pm

I have often heard that a Maryland vehicle cannot be sold to another Marylander if it won't pass inspection. Your info explains a lot.

I lived in Maryland for about a year. They get an emissions test done by the State every 2 years but safety inspections are only done by the seller when the car is sold. Other than that, it's up to the Police to pull over and inspect suspected safety issues. These days the cops don't really have time for that so the system is pretty ineffective.

This week I put new rear pads and rotors on the back and new rotors on the front. Its at the shop now for inspection. There shouldn't be anything else wrong with it, I hope. If the check engine light is a simple fix, they will just fix it and call me when it's done. -Don

We Lucked Out!!!

The safety inspection found no problems. The check engine light was caused by a leaking $20 thermostat. Easy Fix! They replace the thermostat but the car needs to be driven 50 to 100 miles without throwing a code before it will pass the emissions test. My job this weekend is to drive it more that 50 to 100 miles.

Monday it will go back to the shop, get tested and then they can put stickers on it.



-Don

That is a very unusual failure. Glad it was a cheap fix.

Rob R. wrote: ↑

Sat. Aug. 14, 2021 8:49 am

That is a very unusual failure. Glad it was a cheap fix.

Yah, I never heard of that one before. If I remember correctly he said it was a "P" Four Thousand and something code. But, I'll take the cheap and easy fix!

-Don

The code was P0128, "thermostat below temp". I took it back to the shop on Monday and got stickers! While they had it in the shop I had them balance to 2 rear tires. It had a noticeable vibration that moved from the front to the back when I rotated the tires. Turns out one was out pretty bad. Another cheap fix! So now its all fixed up, running good and its legal!

Not much else to do but drive it.


At some point in the future we will add some suspension upgrades to make it handle even better. But then we will want more power. Maybe we will LS Swap it!

Wait,,, I already have an LS swap that I need to get back to...

-Don

Don, where would you say this car falls in comparison to the mercury marauder ?

Thanks
steve

KingCoal wrote: ↑

Sun. Aug. 22, 2021 5:54 pm

Don, where would you say this car falls in comparison to the mercury marauder ?

The P71 is probably much easier to maintain for a car you need to depend on every day. It doesn't make as much power but unfortunately they did the typical Ford thing and made a special engine for the Marauder. It's a DOHC 4.6, V8 and it's more complicated, limited production and has it's own set of problems.

Also, the Marauders are older cars. If I remember correctly they were made before the front suspension and steering were changed to rack and pinion. I wouldn't want one of these cars without the rack and pinion steering and the parallel 4 link with the Watts link rear.

The other potential problem area for the Marauder is it has the digital dash and a bunch of automatic stuff that just makes life more complicated on and older car. The P71 is very analog. There is an On/Off switch for just about everything and it has nice analog gauges.

Bottom line, the Marauder is a special luxury car that is pretty cool. The P71 is a common, heavy duty car that will easily do what I need it to do. -Don

Don, the panther chassis went to rack and pinion in 2003. Watts link rear axle started in '98 I think. The biggest difference between the two cars is the engine, interior, and price tag. I think the Mercury also came with air ride.

Rob R. wrote: ↑

Sun. Aug. 22, 2021 9:31 pm

The biggest difference between the two cars is the engine, interior, and price tag.

Yup, yer right!

After a little Googling it looks like the Marauder got all the same suspension goodies of the P71 and a bunch of other P71 goodies. You get the fancy, slightly more powerful engine, the fancy interior and the fancy price tag!

All that fancy stuff is pretty rare these days. They only made 11,000 Marauders and it looks like they only made them in 2003 and 2004.

For me, the P71 is a better option. I do like the Marauder wheels though. Maybe we will get a set of those in the future.

-Don

A good compromise is a Crown Victoria with the "Handling & Performance Package". Those cars are usually loaded, and have dual exhaust, air suspension, and a performance gear ratio.

Not much to report this week. Just been driving it every day with no problems. I did find out something interesting about the Ford 4.6 engines today. It turns out that they made them in 2 different plants, one in Romeo MI and one in Windsor Ontario. The crazy thing is even though these engines should be interchangeable, they are not quite the same. Must be a Ford thing.

I think mine has a Romeo engine in it. It has 11 bolt valve covers. From what I've read the Windsors have 13. I actually bought the Crown Vic to replace my beloved Chevy 3500 pick up truck.

Sadly, now that the Crown Vic is all fixed up, inspected and running good it is time to try to find a home for my truck. It's sad because I've had this truck for more than 10 years and it has been on just about every coal stoker adventure I've gone out on. It's a really good, not rusty, everything works, 2WD, Big Block truck. At this point in my life I really don't need to have 4 vehicles to register, inspect, insure and service.

Here's the video.


-Don