Getting Back to Panthers

dean1484 wrote: What about town cars. How are they optioned compared to the ford?

I've been watching too much Justified, because I caught myself looking at black Town Cars last night.

In reply to dean1484:

Air suspension in rear. Can be tricked into being lifted or lowered pretty easily (in the rear).

Otherwise, there's what you expect on a luxobarge: power three-way everything.

P71 stuff is cheap and fairly straightforward to swap.

Biggest plus is the Town Car was the last Panther so you can get one that's just a few years old.

https://www.policecars.us is a good place to find general information on each vic. I should probably have something to post in a few days.

my antivirus crap at work doesnt like that link.

but here's a mirror of another site that also had a ton of panther info. http://www.idmsvcs.com/2vmod/

also looking forward to your new ride.

FWIW, I bought an '08 Interceptor a couple weeks ago. I prefer the p71 car because it fits my lifestyle quite well, utility trailer towing, trips to the boneyard, autocross, etc. The challenging part of the search for me was finding an '06 or newer with cruise control and that was not a common police car color (MSP blue or black/white) for my area. I wanted an '06+ because of the updated steering wheel/instrument cluster. And cruise control is a must for me.

I've had it two weeks now and I must say it's everything I hoped it to be. I've put about 2,000 miles on it and have gotten from 18-24mpg. The tank of fuel that yielded me 18mpg was 380 miles of towing my utility trailer at highway speeds, loaded down with about 1200lbs of chevy truck parts. The last tank, 24mpg, was aggressive highway driving through chicago to pickup a caprice wagon with a friend.

Honestly, this may end up being my favorite car. Good luck in your search.

Didn't even see your post until today, gofast...

Picked her up yesterday. 2004 P71.
this is kind of symbolic due to the skid marks leading towards the front from the wreck totaling out my ranger

sweet, both of those look nice and clean.

Are the steelies 17"? How heavy are they? Would look wicked widened to 10-11" with HUGE meats stuffed under the fenders.

After arriving in Ohio from Downunder, I started a cab business and learned to drive in the snow in a P71, even without snow tires they are a tank, with snow tires 3' snow banks are not even an issue.

I did 12 winters in Panther vehicles, usually 40K or more per season

In reply to aussiesmg:

Come on! I keep trying to convince myself I don't want one then you go and tell me they're good in snow too?

Hell, I already know they're good on Moab slickrock!

since you guys both got 03+ models, maybe you can confirm something for me. every time i see one in the wild, it appears like the rear fender lips do not have an inner edge. what i mean is its like the fenders are pre-rolled from the factory. is that the case?

my 99 marquis wasnt like that, there was an inner fender lip that caught the tire (on mustang rims w/ 2" spacers) when we had the car loaded down for camping or whatever.

My steelies are 16". My last P71 had cheap tires and was a bitch to drive in the icy St Louis snow. I just went and checked, failboat. It appears that the rear fenders are pre-rolled. My 99 P71 wasn't rolled either iirc.

Cheap tires are always a bitch in snow

Poll: White out the panel and trim or get some chrome trim?

White. Chrome on cars that don't have chrome metal bumpers, looks tacky.

Pfffft. Needs more 5/6spd.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10206048039746345

In reply to RossD:

The consensus is to white it out. I'm not sure about the front right now. It has a chrome grille and I'm thinking of whiting it out, too. I'm taking the lamp off today and didn't want to damage it. The handle isn't coming off, so I may need to cut it off.

In reply to Ranger50:

Well, that is a hell of a setup. I've seen a very nicely built 5 speed.

Didnt notice anyone say anything but when the suspension changed and wheel fitment did as well in a year I forgot which it was 03 or 06? Idk my panther memory fleets me but I know dads 99 town car can rock mustang wheels but later models need spacers or something. That said the later model is the one you want. Fyi dads car gets 25 with a 3.08 on the highways and its stock 3.27/3.55 obviously won't get as high (unless you tweek things?) But the fun factor is greatly improved.

Speaking of P71s, any idea if the plenum for an 05 mustang will fit a 2010 P71?

In reply to chiodos:

2003 got the revised suspension and wheel offset changed

I had a 2004 P71 and I might just pick up another one. It had the 3.55 LSD and was a pleasure to drive. I needed new tires and I ended up with a set of 2005 Mustang GT takeoffs because it was cheaper than new tires.

So I planned on making it not look like a police car. I needed to put radios in for work and it all went downhill from there.

You didn't grow a mustache too did u?

In reply to paranoid_android74:

Along with the rest of the beard, yes.