Near Princeton, BC
In March 2016, I was let go by the company that I’d worked for for 11 years. Times weren’t as good as they had been in the past, and the head manager figured the service department would run fine with one person in the office. It was the first time I’d been laid off from a job in 20 years of employment.
I can’t even say that it was a blessing in disguise. With a change in ownership, changes in management, and business system software, it had gotten very stressful. It seemed that one of the primary reasons for implementing SAP was to give the management performance metrics to grade all of the branches and departments on. My co-worker and I had both jokingly debated that when the day came for the downsizing, if it would be better to be let go, or stay. We’d both decided that being given a pink slip and a severance was the preferred option. He ended up leaving not long after I was let go.
They washed it, filled it with gas, and put a windshield in it for $2000!!!
Anyhow, now jobless, I’d wondered what I’d do. Having over 10 years in the heavy equipment parts sales and service business, I needn’t have worried. Our largest customer came to me, and offered me a job. I accepted, with the proviso that I’d be allowed a month off before I’d start. Why? With the new-found time off, and a payout, I decided to do what I’d dreamed about for years…Fly out west, buy a classic car, and drive it home.
I won’t get into the trip here – I’d written about it as I went along:
What I picked out to look at, and what I bought…
The Prairie section of the trip
Quebec, NB, NS, and Cape Breton
The car performed admirably across the country, pulling down an average of over 25 MPG. I put an alternator on it in Banff, and cleaned the mass air flow sensor in Sudbury to get rid of a check engine light. Not bad for a $2000 car.
I didn’t mind the digital dash, suprisingly.
The trouble began when I got home with the car. It started a few days after getting home. The car would intermittently not start. Click, click, click. Luckily, the car, being from out west, was rust free, and I didn’t have any corroded fasteners to deal with. The topmost bolt in the starter was a bear, but I got it out.
Bella checking the starter job.
The solenoid had failed. A replacement solenoid was only twenty bucks, so I fired that on, and it was better. The next, more serious problem was a common problem with the earlier 4.6’s. A friend and I were heading to Halifax, 4 hours away, for a bachelor party. About 2 hours in, I thought I could smell something sweet. I turned to Peter and asked him if the could smell it. The words weren’t out of my mouth when the dash lit up like a Christmas tree, with the temperature gauge pegged and the chime dinging away. We made it to a gas station and opened the hood.
Ouch. Look at the thermostat housing.
These engines used an all-plastic glass fibre reinforced intake manifold. It must have been a good idea at the time. I suppose with the heat cycles and the plastic getting brittle, it was bound to fail. There was no fixing it, so we ended up having to call CAA and get the car floated the 200 KM back home.
The shame!!!
Upon getting it home, I called around for a new intake. One parts store was $450, another one $350. I checked Amazon, and came up with a price of $230, all for the same Dorman intake. The dealer was something astronomical for the new intake…$800 or more. I bought the one on Amazon, and installed it, no big deal. I used the car for a bit afterwards, but with having the F150, I didn’t see the need for this one. I put it up for sale, and it sold to a fellow from Egypt who was in university here. I saw it for about a year after I sold it, but haven’t seen it recently.
I have to wonder how many of these cars were sent to the scrapyard because of a failed intake manifold? Everything else about the car was sturdy, and I can see why people like these. They handle pretty good, they’re comfortable, and not too hard on gas. It wasn’t really what I had my heart set on, so after I’d sold it, I kept my eye open for an older affordable classic. More on that next week.
How much did you sell it for? Those are my favorite wheels for these cars. You sir, got to do what my wife and I have always wanted to do. We live in Georgia and want to fly to out west and buy a car from oneownercarguy.com and drive it home. I got the first part taken care of as I got laid off my job last week! Only problem is the reason I was laid off is because I just found out I have heart failure (at 39 years old!). I don’t drink, don’t smoke, am active, and not over weight! But anyway, I don’t think a cross country trip is in the cards for me right now. I just got home from spending 4 days in the hospital and had difibulator installed in my chest.
Jeez, how could they justify laying you off for heart failure? It seems especially coldhearted at this time of year…My condolences.
If you can ever find a way to do it, do it. I’d love to do it again in a few years.
Oh, man! Sorry to hear of your health struggle. You might want to consult with an employment attorney to see if you have any recourse.
Sorry to hear that Wagonlove. Marc is right, it’s shocking.
That is horrible news about your health.
I will echo JP in recommending you seek legal counsel. While I’m not well versed, and certainly not an attorney, there are sections of the Americans With Disabilities Act and/or American Civil Rights Act that may address your situation.
Sorry to hear about your challenges! I can only imagine how events like that make one take stock.
As an RN/paramedic, I’m curious about your condition. If you don’t mind sharing any more, do they have a theory on the cause of your heart problem? Viral? Congenital? Is it congestive heart failure/enlargement or more of a conduction issue?
I agree with the others that it sounds suspect to let you go because of a health condition. Unless you legitimately can’t function in your position (e.g. manual rock breaker, mountain climbing guide), there are laws that protect employees from being let go because of health problems.
Well thank you all for your kind words. I was a roofing contractor and I spent 70% of my time on ladders and roofs. And in the Atlanta area where i work most all the roofs are considered steep and tall. So it was getting to where i couldn’t hardly climb the ladders let alone carry the 32 foot ladder from my truck to the house and get it set up. But with having the defibrillator now, they say i shouldn’t be climbing ladders or be on roofs anyway because if it shocks me while I’m on a ladder or roof, I’d fall off. Jon7190, I to was in EMS for 15 years until about 3 years ago when I made the career change. (I say it was the stress of that job that gave me CHF!) They still don’t know what caused it. My ejection fraction was down to 10% last week. I had a left side heart cath about 4 months ago and my arteries were completely clear, with no signs of ischemic damage. On Tuesday they did a right side cath and found the pressures in my heart to be a good bit better than they had expected with having my EF so low. So no LVAD needed at this time, thank God! They did a cardiac MRI, and another echo on Wednesday and Thursday but still haven’t determined a cause. I got one of the new subconscious ICD’s put in yesterday. It’s a good bit bigger than a traditional ICD but is supposed to be better in the long run because the leads don’t have to be directly touching my heart. It’s pretty weird, you can feel the wire under my skin and the clearly see the big box under my skin on my left side!
What does it say about EMS that you got into roofing to lower your stress?! I’ve been in the field for over 20 years now and it hasn’t killed me yet. After working for a private ambulance company and in the hospital and now for a large fire department, I have to say fire-based EMS is the only way to go for one’s long term sanity.
Your case certainly sounds like a mystery, of the worst kind! I would generally suspect long term untreated hypertension, but that doesn’t sound likely with a medically savvy, otherwise healthy person like yourself. I sure hope you can avoid an LVAD. Roofing does seem like the sort of job that would be incompatible with a major heart condition. Still seems wrong, though, that the company couldn’t find an administrative or supervisory position for you.
Sorry to hear about your health problem. As others have shared, your cheapskate former employer could be trying to protect his group health insurance rates. Go after him.
I still kind of want an LX Sport model.
True comedy would have been the one I saw online from a dealer down in Las Cruces a few years ago. It was a CV LX Sport in Arizona Desert Tan with a chocolate brown aftermarket padded roof, luggage rack, and whitewall tires – contrasting with the dual exhaust, lace wheels, and console shift.
Marc, I just glanced over your adventure and it is still as inspiring as it was originally.
I guess the seller kind of expected the intake is likely to fail. This is not to blame him. The price you paid was right non the less.
All put together it was a very worthwhile thing to do and a young fellow got a great car for his college years out of that. Well done!
I guess I got lucky in that my mother bought a Crown Vic before they switched to the plastic intake. Of course we got the crummy valve stem seals and their extra oil consumption instead.
It is surprising that the intake had not been changed out by that age. When I was shopping with my son every one I came across had the repair. I would have figured that any long term owner would have dealt with that.
I still really like these. But I have been noticing lately that their shape and proportions have started looking odd to me. I am sure that it is nothing more than my mind becoming accustomed to the taller, thicker shapes that have become the norm over the last 15 years or more.
I just got my intake replaced about a month ago in the ’03 CV Sport.
120,000 miles – original.
Had the entire engine tuned up as well.
Cost me $1200.
So – worth it!
I bought my Crown Vic just over 3 years ago. It’s a 09 police interceptor in reasonably good shape. I got it with 97K miles and have added another 40K. Aside from tires and a battery, my biggest expense was a rear axle replacement that cost almost half what I paid for the car.
My main regret is that my last car lacked cruise control and this one also lacks that feature. Obviously I put a lot of miles on my cars and not getting cruise is a mistake. Another mistake was buying this car because it was such a bargain. What I saved at the time of purchase I throw down the gas filler nearly every week.
But….it is reasonably comfortable, handles decently for such a large car, and as this write-up points out, parts, when needed can be cheap and repairs are almost always straight forward.
It’s appearing many of us are have had common Crown Vic ownership experiences.
My ’01 police package had the intake fail at around 130,000 miles. Thankfully it belched coolant in the driveway after a 25 mile trip. Somehow I got the same Dorman intake for less than $200 and changed it out myself.
Like Howard Kerr, I had to replace the rear axle at around 100,000 miles. I bought an axle from a wrecked one that had 44,000 miles and the axle cost me $400. My brother-in-law and I replaced it one afternoon; it was as straight-forward as any job ever was.
Like Marc seems to be, I enjoyed while I had it and don’t really miss now that I don’t.
I just bought a Crown Vic. Blind. I smiled at the first pic – I put it through the car wash yesterday and water poured through the windshield seal.
After having the engine replaced and removing about 60 chewing tobacco tins from the interior I’m quite happy with it – but it’s so lacking in character vs what I expected. I think I was trying to rekindle my Aussie Falcon driving youth. 🙂
The other striking thing is the incredible lack of legroom for such a big car.
Not surprised to hear that. I’ve never been able to muster any Panther love. Maybe it was the crappy rear leg room and bad seating position in all those cabs I rode in over the years. Makes a Camry feel like a limo, by not having to sit so low and have decent leg room.
Ford made a big mistake in planning the 1979 model in going with that 114 inch wheelbase. And doubled the mistake by sticking Mercury with it too.
The Chevy’s 116 made for a much more livable backseat.
114 inches worked on the 49 Ford because the car was so much taller with seats higher from the floor. Even the 62 Fairlane was 115.5.
I never ridden in one of these cars other than a taxi maybe three times. While I like the idea of a full size RWD car the lack of leg room in the back really surprised me.
I had an 04 LX and I did love the car but was also surprised at how low the driving position felt in it. Reminded me of my old 89 T-Bird.
While the rear seat legroom was lacking in these cars, the front seat legroom was excellent. My tall lanky frame always found that these cars were very room in the front. It is one of the few cars that I can stretch my left leg out.
FWIW, in my experience the box Panthers seemed to have more rear seat leg room than the aero cars. On paper, the box Panthers actually had more than a GM B-body. I owned them back to back and I don’t recall one being particularly more roomy than the other, they seemed about the same.
It’s big enough for the kids I put back there.
What I needed when I got this ride was hip width – their car seats could fit three across.
So – yeah – not much leg room – for an adult.
Marc, when your original series on your trip ran on CC, my first thought was that you were a brave man. Driving clear across Canada in a car you’d just bought, without a pre-purchase inspection, when you were due to start a new job. Luckily you had the intake manifold issue when you were back home.
Long road trips aren’t my thing any more, but I’d like to take the train across Canada. My cousin and her husband did it in the ’70s and enjoyed it.
The original plastic manifold lasted over 165,000 miles on my 4.6 Mustang. I replaced it with one from a well known Mustang supply house, Late Model Restoration. This was the updated model with the aluminum crossover pipe. That one lasted another 35,000 miles. It began leaking from the water cross overs along the rear of the block. I replaced that one with a cheapy from Rock Auto, last April at around 205,000 miles. If I have to replace it again I’m going to try the genuine replacement from Ford racing parts. Hopefully the quality would be better. The 4.6 is one of the best and most robust motors that Ford has ever made. Typically Ford they cheapened out on some of the small stuff.
I still love road trips, hopefully I’ll get to take a few this year. I’ve driven a lot of Crown Vics and have always thought that they were pretty tight for rear seat passengers. The proportions do look quite vintage compared to all the bob tail sedans now in production. Either call them old fashioned or traditional, your pick.
Sometime in the next four months I’ll be changing an intake manifold on the GM 3800 V6 in my father’s 2004 Le Sabre. Well it was his and he passed it on to me last weekend which now makes for 10 cars. I have the first he had ever bought in a long time, the 68 Cougar, and now I have the last new car he ever bought in the Le Sabre his pride and joy. Anyway there are also issues with this intake and those plastic coolant elbows by the water pump. Will document this as I go on for a fix and repair it story.
Speaking of road trips I am getting up my nerve to do one along Highway 395, this April, along the back sides of the Sierras from Tahoe down to Bakersfield. My nerve because I want to use the 67 Park Lane now that the suspension has been rebuilt and has new tires.
A lot of folks have commented that the CV and GM are too small in the back seat, considering the overall size of the car. I agree, which is why I bought a Town Car as my daily driver. Problem solved!
Mine is a 1994 which still has the classic looks. (I don’t like the 1998+ rounded cars.) The interior trim is also much nicer than the equivalent CV and GM. The 1995-97 TC is also pretty nice, but I prefer the older-style interior which predates the Taurus-like ovals.
I know that some CVs could handle much better than the TC, but I suppose you could swap in CV Sport suspension bits to a TC if you really cared. Personally, I like the TC’s boulevard ride… if I want to carve corners, I’ll borrow my wife’s Mustang.
I like that style TC best too probably. Although I like the updates on the exterior of the 97’s. But I agree, if you want something that handles corners better, you aren’t looking for a TC.
Thanks for the update on your Crown Vic saga. I still love these Crown Victorias, even though I now have mixed emotions about them.
Just last month, I sold my 2006 LX Sport, which I had bought new, and had less than 80,000 miles on it. Why? Because it started nickel, diming and dollaring me to death. The most expensive problem for me was the dreaded climate control blend door failure, but there were other smaller things too. Since we recently bought a new minivan, I decided to sell the Vic and make our older minivan my daily driver. I just couldn’t justify keeping the Crown Vic, regardless of how much I liked it.
But that car was great to drive. I’m glad I could spend over 10 years enjoying it.
Thanks for the update Marc, but I’m curious did you mean that it was a blessing in disguise to get out of that situation, or that it wasn’t?
The car looks good, Ford used that same colour out here too. They used the same wheels on a sports edition of the long wheelbase Fairlane too (115″). No problem with rear seat legroom with those!
Its no much the cost of a new part that puts cars in the scrapyard its the cost of diagnosis and having the part replaced if you cant do it yourself, locally thats $100 per hour minimum, it doesnt take long to equal the cost of another cheap replacement car.
Why the hell would anyone design an intake manifold that’s made of plastic?? Aluminum is pretty durable and light. Edelbrock has been making them forever. That’s pitiful.
Weight and dollars
Better performance. Aluminum will transfer a lot more heat from the heads to the intake air than plastic will. The coolant crossover is divorced from the intake tracts.
Great write-up Marc. A friend of my had the nearly identical car to you and he really enjoyed it. It made a few big cross country treks, including one pulling a Uhaul. I am glad you refreshed out memory about the cross Canada trip, that was a great series.
Last year I had the chance to drive a 2009 Crown Vic over a good long trip. It was great to drive one again, like putting on an old pair of shoes. I noted though that it felt more a similar to a 1970s car with exra refinement, than it did a modern car. I was also surprised at how slow it felt. These 4.6s felt peppy when they first came out, but not so much anymore.
Great comment. I own two of these, both loaded Grand Marquis, a 93 and a 98 with the Touring package. I agree they do drive like the ultimate 1970’s car, because that’s what they are. Body on frame and live rear axle limitations, but with every practical engineering refinement possible.
But I’m a big fan. These cars are a tremendous used-car value, because plenty of nice ones have survived, thanks to the aged clientele, and prices are low because no one wants them.
Roomy, reliable, affordable, comfortable strong, and durable, with solid performance makes them among the best budget-minded cars available.
Special mention for my 93 GM, which has superior assembly and material quality, especially for its medium price when new. Ford really put a lot into it. Frankly, my 98, which is the equivalent model shows Ford cheapened many of the minor details throughout the car vs the 93. Certain materials are inferior or less durable and some neat little features are simply missing. For all the improvements the 98 redesign gives, the cheapening takes something away.
“For all the improvements the 98 redesign gives, the cheapening takes something away.”
Every owner of a Ford-built vehicle from the first half of the 90s experienced this when looking at the same model from later in the 90s. Each model had “The Year” where all the great, thoughtful (and expensive) features went away. That year was 1997 on the Club Wagons.
Ah yes, good, old decontenting. A pet peeve of mine and all manufacturers seem to do it. A new model vehicle is very nice and well appointed when introduced, then it’s slightly cheapened every year to to maximize profits. Niceties such as courtesy lights, map pockets, under hood lamps, cornering lamps, oil coolers, lumbar supports, etc. all start disappearing. The quality of interior leather and vinyl also slips. They think we don’t notice.
When the intake failed on my ’03 – I was fortunate enough to make it six blocks to my preferred garage. That saved the car.
After three years, I’m still thrilled with the cruiser. The older it gets, the cooler it gets. It goes like nuts. Gas mileage is acceptable. Couldn’t be more comfortable. Huge leather bucket seats.
The car was completely original when I got it, so I have had to take care of all the normal maintenance. While the car was 13 years old, it still had the original tires, battery – everything. So I’ve had to pay for these items. I’ve probably dropped about $3000 into it – including the tires, etc.