For several years now, my wife has had the observation about events in life not aligning in a conducive manner. She says the figurative gears grind since nothing meshes they way it should.
Thinking about it, this phenomenon likely started with my purchasing this LTD in late 2000.
Being in a carpool, I was hauling multiple people in my ’96 Thunderbird when we were still living in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. That Thunderbird, awesome car that it was, really wasn’t intended to haul more than about two people for any long distance. Seems there was something about “personal” in that car’s description.
Thus I had been periodically using my ’86 Plymouth Gran Fury for commuting duties. The gentlemen liked it; the sole lady did not. But the rub for me was the Plymouth was produced during, and geared for, 55 mph speed limits. Having no overdrive, it was seemingly revved up like a chainsaw at 70+ mph. Such really took no toll on its 318, but it did on the 318’s fuel economy, such that it was.
So I let my automotive eye wonder. Well, I knew what I wanted; this Ford had been parked at a maintenance building belonging to Southeast Missouri State University which, conveniently enough, was next door to where Marie and I got groceries. The plates had been taken off, always a sure sign of an imminent sale, so I started keeping an eye out for an auction.
In October 2000, the auction took place at an old elementary school the university had purchased in Cape Girardeau. I was there, checkbook in hand. For whatever reasons, my parents and a coworker were there, also.
When the Ford went up for bid, I realized I had never purchased nor even bid on anything at auction before. The quick-talking auctioneer must have sensed my apprehension as he seemed to slow down such that I could easily comprehend what he was saying – or maybe I was being hyper-attentive. My only competitor for bidding dropped out rather quickly.
I purchased this 1986 Ford LTD Crown Victoria with 133,000 miles for the princely sum of $375. As my coworker said, I got the deal of the day.
Another 351 Crown Vic from the web
Except my new-to-me Ford would not start when I went to get it. Thankfully, it only needed a jump and was fine after that; I never had to replace the battery. But that jump start reaffirmed what I had seen prior to the auction, the piece de resistance of this Ford – it was powered by a 351 cubic inch V8. In the United States, Ford only equipped these Crown Vics as such for a very select clientele.
Here’s a secret – I strongly suspect I knew that car. I had seen a remarkably similar Ford many times prior as a marked Department of Public Safety vehicle used on campus when I attended Southeast from 1990 to 1992. From what I could tell, the university had no other Crown Vics of this vintage, Southeast isn’t that large of a university, and all the other university sedans at the time were Chevrolet Caprices or Ford Tauruses. Plus, it was obvious this car had been marked at least once.
This one is a few years newer, but you get the idea…
Also, as I suspected, the university was the second owner of this Ford, making me the third owner. The first owner was the Missouri State Highway Patrol, as evidenced by paperwork found in the car. That didn’t surprise me as I knew the Patrol sold their cars at just under 50,000 miles to various Missouri state agencies and fellow law enforcement agencies around the country. It is currently nothing unusual to find a police spec Explorer or Charger at the Office of Administration’s garage facility here in the state capital; these are invariably sourced from the Patrol.
As an aside combined with a contextual element regarding the prior paragraph…in Missouri, the Departments of Public Safety, Transportation, and Conservation do not report directly to the governor as is so often the case with both other agencies here and in other states. Rather, these three report to their own independent commission that sets their direction. These commissions were designed under the philosophy the department’s mission and purpose should be considered without regard to political affiliation or to party politics.
As such, the Patrol buys, works on, and sells their own vehicles with their former vehicles being found in use by other agencies, such as the Office of Administration – or universities.
As an example of being sold to other law enforcement agencies, a few months ago I followed a marked police Tahoe from, I believe, Calhoun County, Alabama. It was headed south on US 63; the Tahoe was following a Charger that had been purchased from the Patrol as evidenced by the writing on the glass. I have seen convoys of Chargers, Tahoes, and Explorers being driven all directions out of Jefferson City.
After driving my new-to-me Ford the one mile home, I parked it on the street and started going through it. It was needing a bit more than I realized. This was in October 2020. I was still sorting it out in January 2001 when I learned we were moving 400 miles away to St. Joseph, Missouri. It seems I had once before moved while having a bunch of cars to relocate. Sometimes one needs to learn from history so it doesn’t repeat itself. It seems I had not yet learned that lesson.
At this point, my Crown Vic was good to go except for the upper control arms being shot. And, being a police spec unit, these were not on the shelf of the auto parts store. I truly don’t remember how I got it all sorted out (I’m thinking I ordered them from an obsolete Ford parts dealer in Memphis) and the car relocated to my in-law’s house in the St. Louis area. There was a lot going on during that period over 20 years ago.
Once the control arm issue was corrected, that Ford was an awesome cruiser. In comparison to the Plymouth, the Ford was not as nimble nor was it as snappy on take off (it’s 2.73:1 rear gears helped stunt that) but it always had a much more solid and planted feeling than did the Plymouth. Plus, the Ford would more comfortably cruise at 75 mph. Overdrive transmissions are wonderful things.
So, as life and fortune would have it, I got my long distance commuting car ready just in time to move away only to ultimately buy a house that was two miles from work. So I tended to drive this Ford around town and only irregularly on the highway. Such is life.
The irregular highway use was also a good thing; that Ford loved gasoline. After our daughter was born in 2002, my wife needed some help from her mother, so I met my in-laws in Macon. St. Joseph to Macon is a straight shot on US 36, a roundtrip of around 260 miles. I had a full tank upon departure; I had to stop on the way back in Cameron, 30 miles east of St. Joseph, to get fuel. I’m thinking it got maybe 11 or so miles per gallon on the highway. Those 180 horsies were some gluttonous creatures.
This Ford was quite active in my life during this stage of my career in which my eyes were fully opened to the self-serving and mean-spirited mental workings of entirely too many people. My Ford did not stay with me throughout this personal journey (one could effectively argue such a journey is never ending) but it was there for the beginning of the process. In that regard alone, that Ford is forever stuck in my mind.
In a way, this Crown Victoria provided me a guiding light to work my way through the lingering shreds of my youthful innocence and naiveté, helping me work towards a more enlightened era of my life.
If one looks at the Merriam-Webster definition of “enlighten” there is vast room for subjectivity in regard to what constitutes one’s knowledge and insights as these are going to vary based upon a person’s experiences. In my case, enlightenment should be considered as becoming more deeply aware of the true ways of the world, realizing idealism generally gets diffused by realities.
A vintage picture for now vintage events
My new job in St. Joseph was as a supervisor. I had seven direct reports, with one of those seven being a supervisor himself, having roughly twenty people reporting to him. I was twenty-eight at the time.
As an aside, I did not grow up in a sheltered environment. Long ago I wrote about a Trans Am and an experience I had on the school bus. This school bus experience is but a drop in the bucket of the butt-brained antics I was subjected to during primary school. In addition to the bra-sailing incident I wrote about, my many hours on the school bus contained countless goings-on with all unfortunate manner of sexual, racial, religious, and other disparagements. So I had first-hand insight into how some people behaved.
But that was just scratching the surface. What I had seen was behavior; I had not to delve into the roots of the behavior, specifically the workings of minds focused on simple, raw duplicity.
I will also say I have encountered many other weird situations since that time. Personnel situations wore on me early on, as addressing situations that would likely compromise somebody’s livelihood were troubling. However, long ago a now counterpart gave me some sage advice…the outcomes of such rare and unfortunate situations are simply granting the wishes of those performing these acts. They know the playbook and they choose their behavior, so the outcome is self-inflicted as they are being granted their indirect request.
Somewhere along the way, I also discovered the weird personnel situations managers often encounter as having some degree of innate humor.
Isn’t it amazing how we can evolve in our lives? Currently I manage 350 people and the occasional unsavory situation bothers me only in the fact it is time-consumptive and disrupts my schedule. But it truly is experience that leads one to this evolutionary conversion.
These philosophical musings lead me to a story about Felicia, my first example of one (of ultimately many) being granted their wish. She was one of the twenty who reported indirectly to me at that time. Felicia was also a schemer.
Felicia had started as a seasonal worker, supervising a crew of incarcerated workers on a work-release program. Evidence strongly indicated Felicia had been giving multiple male inmates hand-jobs with regularity, which was, not surprisingly, frowned upon; for some reason Felicia was still hired full-time. Don’t ask why as that was just before my time.
Once full-time Felicia was now my problem. On December 23, I believe in 2003, Felicia called me, saying her ex-husband was at her house, breaking things, and threatening to kidnap their son. She acknowledged her leave balances were marginal, but was asking if she could leave to attend to the problem. I told her to take care of business.
The next day, December 24, I drove down to her building to wish her and the others a happy holiday. When I arrived about 10 am, the clerk asked me if I had talked to Felicia. I said I had not. Upon returning to my office about an hour later, I had a voicemail from Felicia. She said the cops had just released her from jail.
That was an interesting twist. So I had some sources look into this further.
It seems Felicia had indeed been truthful about the activities and whereabouts of her ex-husband. However, she had neglected to mention the trivial matter about her having locked her ex-husband in the basement that morning before she left for work.
Felicia was fired a few months later for job abandonment. She had really wanted to use FMLA (Family Medical Leave Act, a federal law which allows job security despite being being gone for an extended period due to specific extenuating circumstances) as, supposedly, her dog required cataract surgery. Canine cataract surgery was not one of the specific extenuating circumstances, nor was it anywhere in the vicinity. When Felicia called me about her leave request, I informed her of her precarious situation. Perhaps she thought my statements served as her termination. Despite further messages left, Felicia never called back and that was that.
Fast forward ten years…I went to a retirement party in St. Joseph one day. Julia, the human resources manager, with whom I had worked extensively and who was quite familiar with Felicia, asked if I knew about Felicia being in prison. I told her I did not, and was somehow not surprised, but was curious what got her there.
Detecting from Julia’s facial expression this story had a few twists, she told me Felicia’s father had been charged with sexual assault. Not wanting her daddy to go to prison, Felicia drove the hour south to Kansas City to hire a hit-man to eliminate the woman who was pressing charges. In turn, Felicia had unknowingly hired an undercover Kansas City cop and she was arrested for, and convicted of, conspiracy to commit murder.
Julia and I got a good chuckle out of that.
It was this 1986 Ford LTD Crown Victoria that accompanied me on the path to always consider what underlying motives there may be, what parts of the story have been conveniently omitted or minimized, and to always be on the lookout for weak links among the details. It was also a reminder to not fall prey to emotional pleas – which rarely work on me anyway. This weary looking old Ford was my tried and true companion during a time of great personal growth. That Ford was my cocoon of sorts; I thought about and pondered upon all manner of things while driving it around town, often taking the long way home from work. It was definitely a good automotive partner for this period of my life.
I forget exactly when I sold this Ford, but I suspect it was sometime in late 2004. The buyer was the son of a local truck stop and tire shop owner, the friend of a friend. It is rumored he was doing doughnuts in this Ford thirty minutes after purchase and soon thereafter he fitted a four-barrel carburetor to this Ford’s 351 along with a few other tweaks.
There was one last interaction with this old Ford. Needing tires on my wife’s car (which will soon be covered), I had dropped it off at the buyer’s father’s tire shop. The buyer gave me a ride back to my house in the Crown Vic, but told me to drive so I could feel the improvements he had made.
While I complemented him on the changes, I fibbed as I really couldn’t tell any difference from when I had it. But if he was happy, that is all that really mattered.
It’s hard to gauge how much longer that Ford stayed on the road – starting off as a highway patrol car, then sold to a university in which it slogged around campus for years, followed by a several year stint with me, it had not been blessed with an easy life. Yet mechanically, Ford built a really good one with this car. Despite all the (ab)use it had seen, other than swapping out the variable venturi carburetor, I had no mechanical issues during my ownership and everything, except the heat, functioned beautifully.
That alone says a lot.
(Author’s Note: The Guiding Light, also called just Guiding Light after 1975, aired on NBC radio starting January 25, 1937, before switching to CBS radio on June 2, 1947. It then transitioned to CBS television on June 30, 1952, and stayed there until it last aired on September 18, 2009. The radio and television show overlapped for exactly four years; Guiding Light is the fifth longest running program in broadcast history.)
I can see how a solid-feeling full size sedan would be a sanctuary during challenging times. Was likely overbuilt because of its original purpose too, and would have made a great taxicab if not for the mileage.
11mpg highway with an overdrive and 2.73 gears? Cripes! That sounds like a carb or a timing problem, but I imagine you’d already considered that. Was that normal for these? I wonder how later versions with EFI made out.
I had an ‘85 LeSabre with the 307 and OD, and though the power was puny compared to a Ford 351, it regularly got mid-20s mpg highway (imperial gallons mind you).
Nice rig though. I liked them a bit better after the later ‘80s refresh, and even more so the Grand Marquis.
Thanks for the Saturday morning read Jason.
The 351s in these never did receive fuel injection. I suppose production wasn’t enough to justify any changes as they continued to be built with the variable Venturi carburetor through the 1991 model year when the new aero cars with the 4.6 were introduced.
The ones with a 302 did receive fuel injection around 1985 or thereabouts.
A sanctuary it was. While it rode firm that CV did an amazing job of smoothing out rough spots – literally and figuratively.
One minor nit. The 302’s got CFI fuel injection in 1983 on the Ford/Mercury Panthers. Then in 1986 the 302 got MPFI fuel injection, which was by far the best setup on these 79-91 Panthers. In comparison, GM stuck with carbs until 1988, when the 305 and 350 got TBI in 1989. The 307 Olds stuck it out with the electronic Q-jet until 1990.
Thank you. The specific details were sketchy, so I had to buy some wiggle room!
A mate had a 351Cleveland in a F150 Ambulance driven gently it got 13mpg imperial driven hard you could see the gauge moving my late brothers 351 XE Falcon wasnt very stock but he was hoping it would get double figures great engines but thirsty.
While the presence of toxic people in one’s life can cause both physical and mental damage, it is sometimes hard to avoid them if they are family or co-workers.
While the concept of “family” is celebrated (e.g., Fast and Furious et al.) reality often deals a difficult hand. That’s why many people in the USA dread the Thanksgiving holiday. Neither race nor religion can excuse one from this one all-encompassing holiday.
But hey, it’s once a year; be a man (or woman) and bear it. Just say you need to leave early because of “traffic” on the Cross Bronx Expressway (or whatever is your home bound route).
OTH, co-workers and org chart subordinates are a harder nut. Some family can be held at arms length, but if you want to make a decent living and pay the rent, toxic co-workers must be dealt with every day.
Felicia sounds like an extreme example, but there are many mini-Felicias out there just waiting to get others wrapped up in their drama laden lives.
And the Ford… back in the mid-1980s a NYPD officer told me that he can jump curbs and some road medians and not fear severe damage in a rear wheel drive cruiser (Ford, Chevy, or Mopar) but any front or all-wheel drive vehicle has to be treated better. Limo drivers treasured their Town Cars and often racked up impressive trouble-free miles on NYC’s mean streets.
Body on frame may be inefficient, cramped, and antiquated technology, but there’s a reason trucks still use that design.
Thankfully many of the toxic people I encounter I have been able to keep at arm’s length. It certainly makes things more manageable. But that’s work.
While I won’t delve into family, I will say some are easier to be around than others. But isn’t that a nearly universal thing? Marie and I have successfully maneuvered Christmas (we have left home only once the past 22 Christmases and then only due to her mom being ill) but Thanksgiving is a different story.
I agree with you about body-on-frame vehicles. They are simply more forgiving of abuse.
Great story. I think that there are basically two types of people in this world, those that seek/attract drama, and those that manage to avoid it. I’m sure with the numbers that you deal with, there will be continuing drama with some that belies belief. As I get older and more cranky, I find that I tend to run away from people that set off my drama meter at the first break in the action.
I have the same basic car, an ’85 C/V with the 351 and 2.73 axle, true duals and 14 inch wheels. They were sold in Canada for a number of years after being discontinued in the US for civilian use circa 1981 or so. Mine had the Variable Venturi carb that would either give great mileage or dismal mileage, depending on mood, so I had it converted to a 2bbl Ford carb early on. I think that it lost some power in the process, but mileage was a consistent 18US in suburban driving and around 23-24US if driven at 70 on a highway run. I must confess that I don’t notice a huge difference in acceleration between this car and my various 307/305/368 GM’s, and my Dad’s ’90 Marquis with a 302 F/I does a bit better mileage with the same power. I think that the Ford’s are let down by their transmissions, in that they don’t kick down as easy as the various G/M’s and don’t shift as smoothly. The box panthers are getting very scarce up here, and even the later aerodynamic ones have all but disappeared or rusted out.
Glamour shot of the ’85
That’s a nice CV. The colors do a lot for it.
The other day Joe Dennis wrote about a wrecked Acura in which he touched upon a number of really good things. In my comment I talked about turning off emotion, which is what I do when I encounter drama. It’s amazing how turning off emotion is almost like wearing teflon, where the crap does not stick. Plus, I get to encounter a fair amount of drama at work at times. That is far from the norm, but with any large group of people there will always be the dramatic ones. A while back I opined how 55 year old men can have more drama than a 4 year-old girl.
That said, I do get cranky about having to be exposed to such things and really don’t mind telling people how I feel about it.
My Ford also lost power when converting from the VV to a 2 bbl Holley.
The one trend that I’ve noticed in recent years was the sheer amount of lying and exaggeration done on the part of folks, usually for self-aggrandizement, but told so often that eventually they tend to believe their own porkies. It’s one thing to say that you’ve seen the Beatles or Stones at Woodstock, but to say that you witnessed everything happening on the Grassy Knoll or invented a cure for Cancer is completely over the top. I can’t retain a poker face at that time, so I usually provoke some kind of “What, you don’t believe me?” response.
A tidbit about the 351W was that the overdrive kicked in around 50mph, whereas my 302FI kicks in around 35mph, giving much better mileage around town in addition to the other benefits derived from F/I. I don’t doubt that Ford was continually refining the Panther in the 80’s, whereas GM was coasting with it’s B Bodies.
Dean, nice machines as always. The transmission complaints seems to be a common with these early Panther’s. Much of the reason for it is the weird operation of the AOD versus most other transmissions. GM’s 4-speed Autos had an electrically operated solenoid that controlled a lock-up clutch in the torque converter. Typically they would operate 1-2-D-OD then lock-up. However, they had the ability to lockup in Drive too, in particular if locked into the D range. To control this lock-up, GM utilized either an ECM on CCC equipped cars or a vacuum controlled switch for CDN emissions cars (which didn’t have an ECM).
The AOD on the other hand used an entirely different design. Instead of a lock-up clutch, the AOD has two input shafts, one connected to the torque converter output and one connected to the engine flywheel which is the “lock-up” (really a direct drive mechanical connection like a manual transmission). The torque converter only works normally in the 1st and 2nd gears. Once it shifts into 3rd or the the drive range, it uses a torque split setup where about 60% of the power goes through the direct drive lock-up input shaft and 40% goes through the torque converter input shaft. In OD or 4th, 100% of the power goes through the lockup direct drive input shaft. The operation is 1-2-3 with partial lockup-4 with full lockup. This dual shaft setups is one of the weak points in the AOD, and most performance builds eliminate the “lock-up” by substituting a one piece input shaft and with a conventional torque converter (losing all lock-up ability). This modification also considerably smooths out the AOD operation.
So unlike the GM setups, where if you hit a grade in OD, the torque converter can unlock, in the Ford setup it stays locked, unless you down shift to third. GM has the option of running third with an unlocked torque converter, or locked, while Ford only can run the 60/40 torque split. This made the GM transmission sometimes feel more busy, but also prevented the lugging that the Ford’s seemed to experience. Ford also was able to use this setup without any electrical controls like the GM transmissions required. The AOD design was rudimentary and Ford updated the AOD-E to have a conventional lockup control like the GM and other transmissions.
I had little or no experience of these transmissions in RWD cars, but my mom’s ’81 Escort automatic had the same torque split, and it was a rather clunky and jerky thing indeed.
I truly despised that AOD transmission in the one car I had with it. Thanks for the technical background on what it did and how it did it, this makes perfect sense now.
So, too, some cars attract drama, and others avoid drama. I used to love Mustangs and other somewhat flashy rides. Now I prefer to blend in and be left alone on the road, not calling any attention to myself.
Great COAL Jason. I too have long had an keen interest in police sedans, but haven’t had the opportunity to own as many as you have. I also agree, my interest in current police vehicles has dropped to near zero. I have driven numerous police sedans over the years and they are built like a sedan should be built IMO. For me, the lack of gingerbread and the firmer riding (but far from harsh) of the police cars were far better than broughamtastic softly sprung non-HD versions of these full-sizers from this era.
It’s interesting your comments on the 351 being not overly peppy and thirsty on fuel. I never owned one of these 351-2V Panthers (despite being more common in Canada), but that was always my impression of their performance. When Ford introduced the 302 with MPFI in 1986, that to me was the best engine in this 1979-91 Panthers. It was pretty peppy (in relative terms), got great fuel economy and bullet proof reliable. Going solely by memory, I recall in Sanow’s Police Car books, the late 80’s CVPIs with the MPFI 302 nearly out performed the 351-2V engine in tests, at least up to 100 MPH. The 351 still had a significant advantage on the top end. If I were a municipal Police fleet operator buying a Ford in the 1980s, I would have chosen the 302 over the 351 for police work as there would be far less need for high speed operation.
It was also interesting that you compared the M-Body and Panther body experience. For a period of time, I owned a ’88 Grand Marquis and ’85 Olds Delta 88 while we also had a ’86 Fifth Avenue in the family that I frequently used. It was really interesting comparing the three cars. I agree with your assessment that the M-body, even in 5th Ave format, was more agile than the Panther. The Ford had the best riding characteristics (even with the HD suspension mine had), but I thought the GM B-Body was the best overall chassis, feeling the most planted at speed and having excellent chassis dynamics. The 318 was great peppy little engine, but the 302 MPFI was the fastest, and the 307 was the slug, but was very economical and the torquiest down low (it loved to lug at low RPM). For us, the Mopar had the least reliable drivetrain, with the ECM on the air cleaner often causing issue. I actually towed it home with the Grand Marquis numerous times when it would die on the road.
I haven’t commented on all your COAL posts as my busy schedule often means I get to them about a week later. Nevertheless, I have thoroughly enjoyed the series so far and look forward to reading more.
You’ve got even broader experience in these. I once test drove an ’89 Caprice 9C1 and it was really nice driving.
As luck would have it, I dug out a copy of one of Sanow’s books. As per Michigan, in 1986 the 4bbl Diplomat had a 2.94:1 rear axle, the CV the 2.73 as stated, and the 350 4bbl Caprice had a 3.08 axle. Weight ranged from 3897 pounds for the Dodge to 4,092 for the Ford.
The 0-100 test results were interesting, but nothing rapid. Dodge (36.07 seconds), Ford (38.49), and Chevrolet (37.96) were all rather close. Go downscale to a 302 Ford and it was 46.57 seconds, which was slower than the 2bbl Plymouth (43.11) but faster than the 4.3 liter V6 Caprice (55.40).
The VV carburetor went away rather soon for a 2bbl Holley. Throttle response just wasn’t as good with the Holley but it didn’t take fits of goofiness like the VV did. I can’t help but wonder if the Holley was part of the fuel mileage issue. That said, the EPA rated these at 11 city, 17 highway, 13 combined which is nothing to brag about.
Thanks for reading. I have one left to finish, so these will be running through late October.
Thanks for checking that out Jason. I checked the 1989 MSP test results and the 302 Crown Victoria actually out accelerated the 351 Crown Victoria up to 50 mph. From there, the 351 pulls ahead and both cars have similar 0-100 times your quoted 1986 results. Also interesting is that the lap times around the track are very close, with the 351 Crown Victoria doing it in 1:28.24 while the 302 was 1:29.49. The Gran Fury with the 318-4bbl split the difference at 1:28.63.
On the carburetor conversion, I wonder how well that Holley was tuned/calibrated to run with your 351. It might have been too rich causing the loss of power and poorer MPGs. I am working on an article now about tuning carbs and how much improvement small changes can make in performance and MPGs. I guess I am a couple of decades too late for you! These days tuning a carb with a AFR gauges it makes it much easier.
Vince
I’m thinking that mine was a motorcraft 2100 or 2150. The firm that did it in Windsor (Horseshoe Battery) apparently used to convert many fleet cars in the 80’s from VV to the 2 barrel set-up due to the problems with VV. I think that many of their fleet customers were cigarette producers, as the story was that they could fit many cartons in the trunk and not have them showing in the open. The Horseshoe folks did confirm that the power would be down from what the VV was rated at, but that I “wouldn’t notice the difference”.
Dean, the Motorcraft 2100/2150 carbs were one of the best that Ford used, certainly an improvement over the VV. If jetted and tuned correctly, it should have made at least the same power as the stock carb. I am wondering if the conversion company just used a generic off the shelf 2100 for an early 351 that wouldn’t have been calibrated 100% correct for the newer 351s, but ran well enough that no tinkering was required.
I wish I could find someone who could tune the carb I bought for my Chevy’s Inline 6. It’s a 2bbl Weber and it honestly hasn’t ran correctly since it was installed. It’s current issue is flooding, and two trips to a shop yielded 0 progress other than a significant drain on the bank account. Very frustrating.
John ;
What was the year of the Chevy i6 ? .
That later ones used a very good Aluminum bodied Rochester that’s hard to beat .
It seems very few people much less shops and Mechanics ever bother to learn how to properly set up carbys .
I’m woefully under trained at it but have learned what a massive difference it can make .
I remember changing 2V Chevy 350’s to 4V carbys and having them get *much* better fuel economy as long as you kept your foot out of it .
-Nate
1974. The stock 1bbl was replaced and rebuild and replaced and….so on. The intake was also cracked slightly, so I went with an aftermarket intake (Clifford) to accommodate the Weber. Big money spent, little results achieved.
Oops .
So much of that aftermarket crap is crap .
Or, needs serious fettling before being any good .
Bummer, that .
A ’74 had the nasty, poorly engineered E.G.R. valve and that caused all manner of headaches .
-Nate
I’d say it all depends on the Holley chosen. At one time Holley made emissions legal replacements for the VV and there were a few different part numbers depending on the application. If the correct one of those was used it should have been properly calibrated for the application.
What’s interesting about the 2VV Crown Vics is their top ends fluctuated for years–115-118 up through 1988, then 119 in 1989, 120 in 1990 and 121 for the last 1991 model year. Were the later 2VV 351s changed? They seemed to have the same 180 hp and 285 lb./ft. of torque the others had!
Same with the Impala–the ’82 350 4v only did 107, but the ’81 did 114 and the ’83 did 115-116. That stayed the same until the ’87 with the revised roller cams (but the same carb) got that Caprice to 118. Then the ’89-’90s finally got those Caprices to 122-123 mph for the first time since the ’70s.
Indeed. A friend had a ’85 CV with Central Fuel Injection equipped 302. Loved driving that car and was surprised how peppy it was for its size. Didn’t I see Felicia on one of those crime TV shows?? 🙂
For those such as myself, who were lads when “The Blues Brothers” was current,
police cars had a magical allure. By the time I was old enough to consider purchasing
one of the legendary 440 Mopar police units, they had basically evaporated, and
of course we’re too outdated to fly below the radar.
My own police unit was a 2003 Crown Vic P71 purchased around 2011 in super low mileage (23k) and it had led any easy life, having been a Dept Of Customs unit
With no evidence of hard use or extended seat time. With a bit of massaging it became the
best high speed cruiser I ever owned. If you did about 20 over the speed limit in the left lane, it cleared out fast! Only issues in the 60k hard miles I put on it were a window regulator and some inexpensive module I don’t remember the function of. Even tuned it got between 17 and 20 mpg. Fond memories, but driving fast is in the past for me.
Our family almost purchased a similar (civilian) unit likely containing the other engine. All went well on the test drive etc until my Dad pulled the transmission dipstick and pronounced the fluid obviously burnt. I think we ended up with the Fox-LTD soon after, which wasn’t remotely the same or similar but I suppose did its job for the next however many years.
Yours seems like a good buy (and a good car). I was solidly on Team Panther for many years, CC somehow has had me rethinking that long-standing preference and nowadays I’m more Caprician in my feelings and not Limiting my likes as much but Diplomacy is important as well when conveying these thoughts to others…
My parents did have a white ’85 Crown Vic. However, it was far better equipped and had the aluminum turbine wheels. It was not a good example of the Panther platform after it hit 50,000 miles. It got to the point my father packed the title with him if we went anywhere in it.
The LTD I bought was oddly equipped. Bench seat, power windows, no power locks, no tilt wheel, AM/FM stereo. It had a very blue interior.
Your last statement leaves me in a gran fury. Some people are just so fickle. 🙂
Sadly, Felicia’s dad being arrested for sexual assault, her peculiar predilection with the work crew, and willingness to commit murder for her father likely explains everything you need to know about why she behaves the way that she does. Her life was likely doomed from the start.
There is some definite truth to what you say. She did have some redeeming qualities although there were other events I omitted, such as seeing her at the license bureau soon after all this went down. That was awkward.
Since then I have encountered a few events that challenged this one for bizarre.
And sometimes people wonder why the pay scale for managers ramps steeply. It ain’t easy being a mid-level manager. Their direct reports bring the worst-case indirect reports’ problems to them. Hours spent talking with corporate attorneys and HR, occasional time spent testifying in court in frivolous EEO/OSHA/other agency cases. Yet few of the prerequisites of executive-level managers.
I owned two box panthers when I was in my late 20s – an ’87 Grand Marquis and a ’91 Crown Victoria. This was in the mid to late ’90s, and both cars were civilian spec with far fewer miles than yours. Oddly, the newer Crown Vic was less robust, less reliable, and had significantly less driving character than the older Marquis, as wallowy as it was. The Marquis looked a lot sharper with its straight lines and turbine wheels too.
Great road trip cars that I still remember fondly!
While my Panther was softly sprung in 1987 MGM LS trim, I would agree with the sanctuary these cars provided. Basic, practical transportation with an emphasis on comfort and convenience. A workhorse when needed, great for 4 passengers, 5 or 6 in a pinch. A generous cargo hold out back.
These cars were really a great size. Big enough to offer a lot of utility without making themselves feel big in tight quarters.
I saw the picture but then got surprised by the police trim. I always found the unmarked police versions as the most attractive versions of these Ford ever made, with little trim, no vinyl roof and plain hubcaps or those flat, simple wheel covers.
I had an 85 Crown Vic in civilian trim, sort of the opposite of yours and more like your father’s. I used to say that there was nothing wrong with it that a 351 or a C6 automatic wouldn’t cure. But from reading these comments it doesn’t sound like the 351 did much for yours but make it drink gasoline. But I truly hated that AOD transmission. And no, that is not too strong of a word.
I hate managing people. I have always worked in small offices and spent too many years being the guy who dealt with the personnel stuff. My favorite thing about my current situation is that I have no management responsibilities. I doff my hat to you for the skills you have developed in this area.
In regard to managing people…for several years now I have joked about how I must be quite fluent in German as what I say is simple, succinct, and to the point. But the outcomes often seem as if some had heard something hard to fathom and just sort of assumed things.
Further, I am quite open about what’s going on and give people lots of information so I don’t know what is so hard to interpret.
The 351 needed to breathe better as it seemed a tad asthmatic. Otherwise it was a delightful engine in that car.
I’ve decided that after I retire I shall write a soap opera about my experiences. It will have all sorts of drama, sex, bowel issues, and other conspiracies.
I meant to ask, is the 351 license plate purely coincidental? Or does the NSS part stand for “No Shi% Shafer” or something?
The plates were entirely coincidental. But they did work out pretty well, didn’t they?
Great article. I don’t have much experience with these panthers, and the ones I did ride in were not overly impressive. The build quality of one of my neighbor’s cars was terrible. We had another neighbor with this style in LX trim. She loved it and still had it in 1993ish when we moved away. I never cared for the styling, my eye was on the Taurus since it had showed up on the scene.
My partner’s father has an 80s MGM and he absolutely loves it. He’s quite old and never drives it far, but he keeps it in running/driving condition.
My mom had a 2008 MGM LS Fleet, it was a big disappointment after her 1997 Mercury Sable that she loved. The materials, general build quality, everything was off. I also hated the way it drove. The floaty ride caused me to tense up and it made back pain worse than if I’d ridden in a damn Mustang all day. I sold it for her to a vehicle exporter in 2012, who gave us top dollar, and exported it to Saudi Arabia along with an FJ Cruiser (this was before their values spiked here). Good riddance.
I found her a 2012 Ford Taurus SEL that she’s still driving. And the leather, dash and door panels STILL look nicer than the MGM when we sold it, almost like-new.
Since your eye is on Taurii, stay tuned. :).
I can’t help but wonder if Ford’s de-contenting played a role your mother’s Mercury.
Yeah, it was just cheapness everywhere. The leather, the electronics (both the radio and the EATC failed in less than 100k). Very disappointing for a Ford guy.
I also drove a 1997 Crown Victoria for a weekend at my boss’s insistence (worked at a GM dealer, he had his eye on selling it to me). I did not like the car and on the way back to work Monday morning, a lower radiator hose blew and the car went back to the dealer on a tow truck. Perfect end to my experience, as if I wasnt convinced already.
An ’89 Taurus had come in on trade and I should have bought it (I drove it around a lot before they had a clearance sale and it was sold), but I had a 1994 Tempo already and an older car didn’t feel like the upgrade I was looking for, despite the fact that it was a V-6 + O/D and larger. I later split the difference and bought a loaded V-6 Tempo LX, that I truly loved and drove many, many miles in. I’ve considered writing a COAL on it. Here it is shortly before it left my life.
I should clarify that I meant good riddance to the MGM, not meaning the Toyota FJ Cruiser included (I never saw it, the exporter just mentioned it going with the Mercury to S.A.). Wouldn’t want to get any toyotaphiles upset thinking I was happy a neat SUV was being exported.
I remember these, great cars that I always thought looked stodgy .
When Ford decided to stop supplying the A-Frames with ball joints we had to dump all of the L.A.P.D. Panthers whenever they needed the routine front end work .
felicia was and I’m sure remain trash ~ I know trash, wish I didn’t but they are what they are across all socioeconomic lines .
I come from a soap opera screwed up family, I keep them all at a fingertip distance ~ they’re on one coast with their endless drama and I live as far away as I could get without getting my feet wet .
One _chooses_ to live a decent life or be drama filled, no excuses .
-Nate
My only direct experience with a Panther is the 1992 Crown Vic my employer bought for use as a shared company car. It was silver with a black cloth interior, had the LX handling package, dual exhaust, and (woo-hoo) 210 hp as I recall. It was a great driver and the trunk was huge. I still love the no-grille look of the first-year Aero Vic.
As for dealing with less than honest people, in my long-ago grad school days as a teaching assistant, I taught a summer course in introductory astronomy for non-science majors. There was one young woman student who failed to show up for any classes or tests. Then, on final exam day, she comes in with a sob story and asks me to pass her. Sorry, no can do, an F for you!
For anyone interested, I ran across a picture of a prototype for a 1988 LTD Crown Victoria coupe, that never got made (they dropped the coupe after 1987).
Thanx John ! I like it .
As far as management ~ it sucks plain and simple .
Many flat refuse to be told what to do and then are upset when you let them go .
Many others look for jobs in management so they can tell others what to do and are hostile about it .
Then there are the ones who seek management and do nothing except blame others .
-Nate
My partner is a manager at a local non-profit, and I’ve been a retail manager before as well. I try to give people a break, every chance in the world, and they’ll take everything you’ve got ask for more, insinuating you’ve given so little in the process. It’s certainly gotten no better with the labor shortage. People show up when they want and do what they want.
It’s a wonder how these people get on in life. From one job to another, taking advantage of people’s good nature as much as possible.
@John ;
I hear you .
I’ve had high schoolers forced upon me during Summer break, I’d not mind but they’re told all they needs do is SHOW UP to collect a paycheck…..
We had to frog walk one to the curb after we caught him setting fires in the warehouse .
I can remember only three who were interested in learning about working .
No worky – no payee .
I recently read that many Americans say they won’t take any job that pays less than $76K !?!? WTH ?! .
I never made $50K and many of my jobs entailed standing hip deep in shyte, mostly bovine but once in a while human .
If you don’t want to work, get outta here .
I had a clean and well dressed bum asking my Sweet and I for spare change last week, when I said ‘no, he looks good to work’ he began yelling at me “I’M A VETERAN !” .
So, I’m crippled and I still worked my butt off since I was a pre teen and never asked for a dime .
-Nate
Yes, it’s like they expect the easiest path to he handed to them, no questions asked. Right out of high-school or college, they expect management positions and top pay. What about working your way up? Oh that’s for suckers! Lol yeah okay buddy.
I’m 40, so it’s not like I’m that far removed from the ones who are acting this way. I’ve worked through pain in horrible conditions and showed up every day, because that’s what you do. If I take a job, that’s a commitment on my part to do that job.
I love hearing “well that’s not my job”. I want to say “your job is to do whatever the hell they tell you to do.”
When I was an industrial contractor (I got burned out in retail, took some courses and went a different path), I had to listen to welders complaining about how hot it is or how cramped up the hole is or how they’re having to do this extra step, and I’m thinking, you’re getting paid probably $10 more an hour than I am yet you’re 10 years younger, and you’re complaining? Yes, it’s hot, it’s a freakin paper mill/power plant in Louisiana/Arkansas/Texas/Florida/Alabama (we worked all over the southeast in maintenance), what the hell did you expect when you hired on?! A comfy air conditioned office and satellite TV? You picked the wrong profession, dumbazz. Go back to your mommas couch and let her take care of you. Oh but you got 3 kids (by 3 different baby mommas) you never see to support, and that $999 truck payment because you needed a lifted Silverado HD 4×4 Duramax crew cab with knobby off-road tires on paper thin wheels to run the highways in. Suck it up, butter cup, let’s get back to work.
Lol end rant mode. Here’s a random car pic to ease the mood.
What an experience with Felicia! I’m sure many of us have had similar experiences, but perhaps none with as much adventure.
I’ll borrow the same name to tell my short story. The Felicia that I had working for me was in an open extramarital affair with a colleague in another department. Trouble was, her husband also worked at the same company. The pressure of this situation eventually got to her, and she had a nervous breakdown at work, right in the department. Prior to this, she had also sought another solution by cutting her wrists. Fortunately or unfortunately, the marriage ended, and the affair led to a child.
Years later I had an Alicia working for me. After a sequence of poor performance reviews, I had the unfortunate task of calling her in for a performance discussion. This was to be followed with a short period of :performance improvement” (in corporate speak). Hoo boy, I got to witness another nervous breakdown right in that meeting room. Not pleasant. Upon later reflection, I thought about the similarity of the names of the two people.
In any event, my situations eventually resolved themselves, as did yours
Another good read, Jason.
I knew many “Felicias” during the first half of my career, which revolved around work in the public sector, aka, “the state” (public higher ed administration, specifically). Dealing with the employee drama – including domestic abuse, random encounters with law enforcement, and the like – was a fairly constant feature of life among the various folks who I had to manage. All of that is actually part of what drove me out of the public sector into work that has become increasingly over time for-profit, private sector. Not to say that stuff doesn’t still happen to employees as they are after all human beings, but the drama (as several here have called it) has just been much less after leaving the state system. Nowadays, I have the luxury of running my own business and only working with those who choose to work with me and (more importantly) who choose to and are passionately interested in doing the work. That’s a whole different thing than working as a part of a giant public organization where at times I felt (correctly so) that managing a social services agency was as much a part of my job as anything related to the actual content focus of the work. (not that there’s anything wrong with managing a social services agency…if that’s what you actually want to do. And power to the people who do.)
OK, finally, here’s a plug/reminder for something that I hope you get to at some point…probably toward the end of this COAL. I get, and enjoy all of the soap opera connections. But (unless I missed it somewhere, which is entirely possible given me being me), tell us about your particular interest in this genre of popular culture entertainment. As the magazine slogan goes, Enquiring Minds Want to Know. 🙂 (says someone who had a deep and abiding childhood connection to The Secret Storm, Another World, Days of our Lives, and of course, General Hospital)
Here’s some rationale behind it all. And there are chapters for each of the shows you have listed.
Years ago my grandparents watched The Young & The Restless. Naturally, I watched it with them. It was hilarious. All the stupid, all the miscommunication, all the bad behavior. I then watched Days of our Lives in college, remembering I remembered episodes from back in the 70s from when my mother would watch it while folding laundry.
Yet it occurred to me a few years ago…these people are cranking out a one hour show daily. There has got to be an overwhelming amount of work involved with that at all levels – writers, directors, producers, actors…really, can you imagine memorizing (or writing or directing) that much dialogue daily? There is a lot of talent involved with the soap industry that is generally overlooked. Further, the genre is slowly dying.
Plus, there is the drama. Life is full of it whether we seek it or not. Looking back over my life during the time I owned these cars, the connection between that period and various titles was rather startling. It just seemed to fit. So I went with it. Just like every car has a story, every series needs a theme!
Random trivia: Dave Grusin, who did the St. Elsewhere theme song (Grey’s before Grey’s), also did the OLTL theme song! They sound very similar. OLTL was a great soap created by Agnes Nixon. 🙂 I enjoyed how you tied in the soap operas to your situation and the Panther platform. Very clever!
Still running! 106k. Never part with my Vic~