If you had a '97 Town Car...

And wanted to "have fun" with it on dirt roads/tracks and say, wanted to put the biggest AT/MT tires on it and build a tubular front and rear bumper and rear-mounted spare (yes, I saw some pics of Baja-prepped cars here on GRM but I'd been wanting to do this for a while), how would you go about it grassroots-like?

I'm thinking a few inches of lift if it's mostly bolt-on and a rear locker, mini-spool or LSD. Anyone seen this done that WASN'T a "Donk" on 28" wheels?

Just found a CV. It was on "cups" which I have yet to look into but read it was 7" of lift... Not a TC but still a Panther platform.

do what the drifters do, just weld the diff. of course on loose surfaces, the rear end will want to break traction on every turn....but thats fun.

I dont see how you couldnt just lift it like a mild donk and just put knobbies on it instead of 30" rims.

If you don't do it and shoot video, I vote to ban you.

I have some crazy friends. A couple of them took a 60s Belvedere, cut the rear fenders off and mounted some 44" Super Swampers. They then entered it in the local mud bog. Much to the dismay of the local truck crowd they came in second. After a couple of months, it ended up wrapped around a tree in the national forest.

Not satisfied with that, they took a Fleetwood body and mounted it on a lifted 4X4 Suburban chassis. Funniest thing in the world to watch a Fleetwood go bouncing down a powerline in the middle of nowhere.

I wish I had pictures of them.

Stop by the local junk yard, pick up a set of wheels and tires. Then take a welder to the diff.

I LOVE Super Swampers from Interco. Had about 6 sets for daily driving and love 'em. I see they make a 27" size. Those would look right at home under the back fenders don't you agree?

Always had a "Lincoln Locker" in my mind but so far have only used spools, mini-spools and Detroits.

I daily drove an XJ with a Dana44 and a mini-spool and loved the heck out of it. Fun in the rain and snow and very predictable actually.

Oh my goodness!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHvXi_HejnI

And that E36 M3 was stock!

Did you see Top Gear US last week?

Gearheadotaku wrote: Did you see Top Gear US last week?

No, what did I miss? I did see the episode where the guys met at a mud rally and drove off-road... That one?

I have 3

can a guy just convince the factory air suspension to go full lift? or is that just in the back, i've never had the pleasure.

I know you can adjust the sensor location to lower it, might be able to do the opposite. Yes, its just on the back axle.

Probably easier/better to score a set of used P71 rear springs and some cheap shocks for the rear. I THINK, it was 1998 P71 springs had the highest ride height.

Tanner did a good job with his stock. You could have a machine shop fab some tube frames or panels up. I'm pretty sure Bigfoot out here would do it. I'll talk to them about it if you want.

I'd just weld the diff, add some knobbies in the rear, and fab up a sheet metal shield for underneath. Definitely build thread.

If you want P71 springs, 99 was the only year they were lowered. I'm not sure if 98 is any higher than 00-12, though.

It might have been 2000, not 98. There were a few springs that sat higher than others in the rear, I forget all the codes. crownvic.net has all that info if you search carefully.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkX8Pb3PDJE

Use donk parts to lift, P71 parts for beef.

Mine all ride on P71 springs, sorry absolutely no lift with the heavier body.

Looks like a set of 3" cups sell fo $120. So I take it this idea passes the GRM feasability test. I'm used to being looked at like I escaped from an institution when I discuss this anywhere else. I shouldve known!

I had previously discarded the later Town Car, wasn't my favorite bodystyle but I do LOVE that picture above.

ebonyandivory wrote: Looks like a set of 3" cups sell fo $120. So I take it this idea passes the GRM feasability test.

I wouldn't take silence as acceptance...I think most of us don't know what a "cup" is as it relates to lifting a taxicab.

I believe cup is donk slang for coil spacer?

What rear is in it? If it's an 8.8 Ford, why not grab a junkyard limited slip from an Explorer or Mustang?

ClemSparks wrote: I wouldn't take silence as acceptance...I think most of us don't know what a "cup" is as it relates to lifting a taxicab.

If you don't see acceptance in the above posts, you may need to say an opthamologist

Plus, I didn't make up the term "cups". It's apparently the most popular mod with these cars. I simply Googled it.

http://universalcarlifts.com/product_info.php?cPath=30_42&products_id=43

I'm sorry, but if you need to have neg. camber defined in the description, you don't need to be buying and installing these. I know the intended customer base, but still.