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The Ford Crown Victoria is a Majestic Couch on wheels that most parents wish their kids wanted. However, there is a catch… These things are basically Mustangs with a sweater on.

The Crown Vic was sold to civilians between 1992 all the way into 2007 and finished its production in 2011 as a fleet sale, or basically for the police.

But guess what, they all contain the same source of power as the ford Mustang GT between 1996-2004, the 4.6L 2v engine. Of course, ford had to give the Crown Vic three siblings, the Mercury Grand Marquis, Mercury Marauder and the Lincoln Town car, yet they are all just slower than the police interceptor Crown Vic, besides the Marauder.. which utilizes the engine from the 03 and 04 Mach1.

Today, I will be going over exactly why the Ford Crown Victoria is the best first car and why you should buy one.

Let us get started!

 Crown Victoria vs P71

Let us start off with a brief overview of these 4-door beasts. Sure, in 1992, the Victoria only had 190hp, and in 2004 the police interceptor made the peak power of the Crown Vics with 250hp due to its upgraded air intake system.

Before people start going a bit crazy, the police interceptor and the civilian Crown Vics are kind of the same besides the police interceptor, or the p71, has a higher rear end gear ratio and final drive which gave the car a quicker start, allowed it to reach a higher MPH, and, of course, the minor hp gains. There is no Police Interceptor Chip.

But wait, there is more.

The p71 has a heavier duty suspension, different rims that allows the heat from the brakes to be ventilated better, power steering cooler line which allows the car to go through rougher terrain, a front bash bar, you know, to bash things with, and finally the interior. The p71 has more of a gutted interior with different materials lining the seats to allow for easier clean up.

Overall, the civilian model is much more comfortable, but you can buy the p71 for much cheaper compared to a well-kept civilian one.

The Potential of the Ford Crown Victoria

Now we know the slight differences of the models, how can we make more power N/A?

Well, since these engines are 2vs, the bolt-on n/a modifications are somewhat limited, but you can still see close to 300rwhp instead of its stock 250 crank hp, which with the 15% drivetrain loss, you are looking at about 212hp to the wheels.

What does It take? Well, a good amount of money. And long tube headers, upgraded intake manifold, upgraded heads, a cam and of course a tune. That’s a pretty penny, however, if you can build the stock motor to push the max it can naturally aspirate, then you’ll be setting up your car for more power when you turbo it.

If you decided to turbo your car and wanted to reach 1000hp, you will have to do several things and one of which is get a teskid block because the stock block can only handle 600hp before it starts getting a bit sketchy.

The weak points on the cast iron Romeo or Windsor blocks are the flywheel, which can only handle around 450hp. The cast iron crankshaft can only handle around 500hp, so you will need to install a forged steel crank that came in the Mustang Cobras that can handle 1500hp.

But, in general, 6-10 psi of boost is safe on these stock motors. The biggest deal is how your car is tuned. So, do your due diligence on finding a good tuner. But, these motors, contrary to what 4v owners think, can be built, and built well. It may just cost a bit of money to reach the big numbers. And if you are going for 600hp and up, you will need to upgrade the rear diff, brakes, and suspension.

THESE ARE CHEAP USED

You can buy this dirt cheap. I am talking about saving money over a summer with a basic job kind of cheap.

If you want one that runs well but looks a bit ran down, you could find them for about $1500 with 150k miles. Sure, you will need to fully remove the decals and clean it up, but well worth it in my opinion.

You could find one somewhat beat up but can still look nice for under 1k

All three of these vehicles would be fantastic to start working on cars as well.

Or, finally, you could spend 2500 on one in great condition, the paint looks great and the interior looks good for what it is. That is the material I was talking about. Imagine cleaning throw up from drunkies with ease.

If you have $2500, maybe you could afford a Lexus LS400, which is also a fantastic first car!

Either way you like your Crown Vic a p71 or not, these things are built to last. If they were not dogged on its entire life, you should see near 300k miles and I have actually seen quite a few with about 500k miles with the original drive train. So, it is all down to how well you maintain it and take care of the car, and of course the previous owners.  So, if you buy yourself a 1500 car with 150k miles, you will be paying $1500 for 150k miles if the car lasts 300k miles. That is pretty sweet. Most used cars you will be paying 3k for 100k miles.

Common Issues

Finally, let’s talk about its reliability.

What are the issues with these near bullet proof Crown Vics?

MAF

–  The MAF tends to start to malfunction which would cause erratic idles, lack of power, and a no start. Try to clean the MAF with some MAF cleaner, but if that does not work, you may need to buy a new one.

Spark Plugs

–  The spark plugs have been known to pop out of the engine, so please use a proper procedure to replace the spark plugs with proper torque specs. IF this happens, stop driving it and you will have to re-tap the hole which is not the easiest thing to do. A shop should charge around $200 to fix it.

IAC Solenoid

–  IAC Solenoid causing a high idle and or a hanging idle. You can install a restrictive airflow plate to relieve the hanging idle and you’ll have to replace or clean the IAC Solenoid if its causing a high idle. Try cleaning it first.

Intake Manifold

–   The intake manifold on the Crown Vics up to 2001 has a plastic cross over pipe which will end up cracking and causing a coolant leak behind the alternator. So, the first thing you should do if you buy one of these years is get an upgraded one with a metal cross over pipe.

Exploding Gas Tanks

–   Exploding gas tanks on the 1992-2001 Crown Victorias due to a rear collision causing a spark near the gas tank. This is a fatal and dangerous issue. It is more of a rare issue, though. There was a recall, so most of these should have been fixed. However, I would take the safe route and get a newer year.

LCM Recall

–   There was also a recall for the Lighting Control Module due to bad soldering joints within the joint. So, that should have already been fixed. Its located under the dash and its an easy replacement.

The crown Victoria, in my opinion, is fantastic and one of the best first cars you can get. The insurance should be cheap, they are insanely reliable, budget friendly, mod worthy and overall a great car to get into working on cars.

If you do not want to read all of this, watch this instead: