Comments: 1-15, 16-24
Nothing serious, only minor squeaks and rattles. May have to do some front end work.
My car was Police used, and had a huge heavy guy driving, driver seat leans to the right.
The second I drove this car I had to have it. It has 93000 miles now, but engine and drivetrain are like new.
This thing is unbelievable! The gearing at highway speed is wonderful - full throttle passing is like launching a rocket. It was faster than a'96 Impala SS on the highway. You can literally throw the car into corners at nearly any speed.
I can't think of another car that does everything this car does - maybe a BMW 740? Well I'll take the Interceptor for $ 3500. If you don't mind buying an older car Get One!
Former police car... I wonder how many high speed chases it
was in?
Doesn't matter how many chases it was in, it can have 1000 and she'll run like a million.
Faster than a 96 Impala SS?? I beg to differ, You've got to be kidding. A 96' Impala SS would eat that Crown Vic alive!! I know this for a fact because I drive Crown Vics and Caprice 9c1 (Imapala SS) same thing. Now a 2005 Crown vic with the 250 HP would be a much better challenge.
I have a 97 Crown Vic Police Interceptor and they are just the best fun that you can have. Cheap, fast, fun, loads of fun to drive and best of all - they have great air con. The Crown Vic is a great deal.
In response to the SS / 9C1 comment - I never claimed the Vic would be faster 0-60, but I can only say this car will do over 135 MPH, and the SS would not keep up to it on the TOP end.
The 1997 is much lighter (and aerodynamic) car than the latest CV's, and the 4.6 is overhead cam, which gives you more on the top end. I wouldn't think of beating an SS in a stoplight dual, but let me get you at 85 MPH +!!!
In response to the Crown Vic (police version) pulling away from an Impala SS is highly unlikely even at 85mph. I own a 96 Caprice with the LT1 BU4 (2:93 Rearend Ratio) and found out last summer that a 2002 Ex-Crown Vic Police Cruiser was unable to pull away from me; in fact I was pulling away from him at 70mph. But, the Crown Vics are still very good dependable cars, but do not meet the power of a Caprice or Impala SS LT1.
Guess the guy was just hypnotized by my tail-lights then...
Each car is different - maybe mine runs a little stronger than average CV? Maybe his was not properly tuned - who knows? Here is a good example from Car Craft.com:
They have a 96 with 70K miles on a 9C1 / LT 1. It dyno-ed out at 217 HP, but was running reliably. With the extra weight of the Chev (4200lbs vs 3950 for the Vic and 220 HP) the HP to weight ratio now is in Crown Vic's favor. Do the math. And again the 2002 is much heavier than my 97 at 4200 lbs as well.
http://carcraft.com/techarticles/116_0402_trick/
Regarding the Crown Vic vs. the SS, just check out streetfire. net and there's a clip of a stolen impala ss leaving an entire fleet of O.K. state police Crown Vics in the dust. In fact it the SS was even pulling away from the news helicopter at over 140 mph. Ultimately the guy gets caught only because the impala ran out of gas. Seeing is believing. I own a former FBI admin. caprice 9c1 and have had it up to 127 mph and it was still pulling hard. I had to slow it down because I was running into a pretty sharp bend in the highway. I've heard the estimated top speed to be between 145 and 154 mph.
Let me tell you something I have a 97 crown vic with a Roush racing supercharger and it will blow a camaro ss off the road let alone an impalla ss.
Responding to the post on Mar 3rd, regarding the Impala SS "leaving the cops in the dust" during chase: Police are trained to stay back at a safe distance during high speed pursuit. They simply wait for the subject to screw up, or eventually have one guy sneak up and tap him sideways. Watch COPS tv show, commonly you see a pickup truck, or a P.O.S. chevy cavalier speeding far in front of police. It is not because they can't catch up. By the way according to Chevrolet, the top speed of 1996 SS, (or your 9C1 is 138 MPH -same as the 1997 Vic P71). I can say my 1997 P71 keeps up with my brothers Hemi Magnum (340HP) from 60 to 120 Plus- Good enough!
Believe it it or not the impala ss Do Not top out at 135.I got my aunts up to like 150 and it has 160 on the dash.
Not that we doubt you or anything, but how did you calculate your mph? Your speedometer is not accurate at that speed, so did you measure mile markers?
The SS does have a speed limiter. Quick fix with a hypercrap programmer though.
I have a 97 Crown Vic with a rebuilt 4.6 and I'm planning on putting a flowmaster, chip and intake on it, but my buddy says it won't pass emissions cause I live in Mass. Is this true?
I've driven several of the P71 CVs and a couple of the older Caprices. They're both pretty capable considering their heft and the size of engines installed. They are also both pretty quick given their power to weight ratios, but unless all of you drove these cars in high school, I can't understand your back and forth arguments about whose car would beat whose.
Apart from a direct challenge between vehicles that have had equal care and maintenance along with virtually identical service histories, there is no point in saying, "Mine's faster than yours." What I'm hearing in this argument is a lot of Ford vs. Chevy stuff that is probably neither applicable nor appropriate to this forum.
Without benefit of a radar gun or timing against mile markers (as one of the more intelligent remarks suggested) in a direct comparison, there is really no way to say whose car is faster since none of you appear to believe the as-tested top speeds or the manufacturers' own claims for performance.
These are all good vehicles and if purchased in good condition after use in police service can provide years of very reliable civilian service.
If you want something really fast to brag about buy a used motorcycle.