Police Package: 1991 Ford Crown Victoria
If you were a child in the 1980s or ’90s, chances are that you recognize the boxy silhouette of a police car from a mile away. Whether it was a Dodge Diplomat/Plymouth Fury, a Chevy Caprice, or a Ford Crown Victoria, these cars defined the look of policing for a generation in much the same way the second-generation Ford CVPI (1997-2011) has for many people today. This 1991 Ford LTD Crown Victoria is located in Ferndale, Washington and here on eBay, with bidding up to $1,575 as of this writing. With less than a day to go and no reserve, this car is destined for a new owner.
The name Victoria has a long association with Ford vehicles, going all the way back to 1932 when Ford offered the Victoria model. The name Crown Victoria first appeared in 1955 as the Fairlane Crown Victoria Skyliner. After 1956, the name was removed from Ford’s lineup for decades, only to be revived in 1980 as part of the Ford LTD model. Available in a two or four-door sedan and four-door wagon versions, the car model was produced from 1980-1991, with a minor redesign to the front and rear in 1988 that also eliminated the two-door version. Regular models only had the option of a 302 cubic inch (4.9L) Windsor V8 after 1982. However, police could order their cars with the more powerful 351 cubic inch (5.8L) HO Windsor V8. This police model was known as the LTD Crown Victoria S or the P72, with S denoting the fleet level of trim.
According to the seller, this featured Crown Victoria was originally used as a police car in California. It was later used in parades in Arizona before the current owner bought it. The seller states it needs a total mechanical restoration for it to be safe to drive. They also say that the mileage has surpassed the odometer reading, which is supposedly 104,000, further reinforcing the need for a mechanical inspection and overhaul. In terms of the exterior and interior condition, the car looks fair. While there does not appear to be body rust or major dents, the paint is pretty bad. This car seems to have been left in the Arizona sun for years, and the paint on the horizontal surfaces is very sun damaged. The interior, apart from the dashboard, seems good. The dash has cracks and separation that would require replacement but elsewhere, a thorough cleaning looks like enough. Everything is there with regards to the gauges and instruments but only some work.
Altogether, this car seems a solid buy for a restoration project, but that is a big job. Not only would there be the usual paint, mechanical and wiring-related restoration stuff, but there would also be the sourcing of the correct police equipment, such as light bar, radio receiver, siren, and other law enforcement-related equipment. The research and then the physical search for those parts will certainly add to the complexity to the restoration if the new buyer wants a correct, restored California Highway Patrol car, for example. Personally, I hope the person who buys this car restores it. I love seeing these classic boxy police cars at shows. I worry unless someone who cares buys it, this car could end up destroyed for a TV show or movie. What do you think, should this car be restored completely?
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Comments
Not much left on this one. Needs way to much work for the value. Hopefully a crown Vic fan will bring it back. You never know, maybe in twenty five years we will be on the crown Vic craze.
There will be.
There already is a Crown Vic craze but it’s primarily focused on the 1998 to 2011 ones. P71 and P7B.
i’m pretty sure there will be a Crown Vic craze…one day, once they’re all gone, suddenly everybody wants them , and these things are a good platform with (relatively) good performance and are currently dying like flies.
Once people get nostalgic for them prices will rise.
It’s already happening. I don’t know if you’ve checked Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace (if you have Facebook, not everyone does) but over the last 2 years I’ve watched prices climb overall. If you check the various Panther platforms forums it’s absolutely mind boggling.
I use a 08 police interceptor as my daily driver, drives great, roomy, with 200k miles. A great buy for $1900. Downside the paint is literally flying off the car.
Performance white?
My first patrol car. Very comfortable inside with the soft velour seat, wasn’t a fan of the carpet. Ran great but power steering pump leaked all the time and the alternator struggled to run the old light bar with halogen take down lights.
I lucked out & got assigned to the only Ford we had, a 1990. I preferred it to the Chevys, it didn’t feel as big for some reason.
Probably because it didn’t look like a blimp on wheels.
Always liked the facelifted square vics. Extra cool with the 351, which should have been offered in civilian models. This one is pretty whipped though and you know the police motors rack up the hours idling at speed traps and donut shops.
‘Hey, what’s this strange hose in the engine compartment?’
That’s not a hose, it’s a long john maple donut.
These cars are a nightmare to drive at speed, especially with the 351. There is no weight in the rear of the car, and they have a tendency to swap ends in the rain, or on the crest of a hill if you aren’t careful. The brakes tend to overheat pretty quick too. I knew an LSP Trooper who lined the fender wells in the trunk with old bowling balls to add a little weight lol!
I prefer the 9C1 Caprice, but this is cool just the same. Hey, it’s an old cop car. What more do you need to say!
If it was a Dodge, the Blues Brothers might be interested…. :-)
This is the model they used in the second movie, Blues Brothers 2000, so there are definitely interested parties in these models, especially with the police package and pain scheme already in place.
Love it almost just the way it is. In my opinion why restore it to a cop car?
I like the look of a detectives car though.
I love that body set up with a performance stance.
It would make an awesome daily driver with the 351 and heavy duty suspension already in place. In NY it’s old enough not to have to worry about emissions so all that crap would be first to go. Go through and make it road worthy, then paint the white black.
These things are cheap.
Nice.
Drive this on the freeway and people will get out of your way!
Ford had a Model A Victoria in 1931.
Big sway bars.
Cloth back seat?
I bought a former Ohio State Patrol ‘89 Crown Victoria from the state auction. 5 years old, 100,000 miles, $2000. Great car. Still had the spotlight. Huge trunk, old school big car. There were still lots of police agencies using these cars at the time. When I got behind people, they would slow down. On the freeway, especially at night, if someone was speeding past they would suddenly slow down and drive the speed limit. LOL. Now, somebody might take a shot at you 😳
Would a real cop speeding w/o his roof lites on slow down too if he saw you? lol
I suppose 1 could get into trouble driving a Starsky Torino around with the temp roof lite mounted on the roof?
Gotta love Hutch’s big junky ford – at 41 sec …
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKzaiMIS0C0
lmao
I would also be afraid to drive a dukes charger around these days. & certainly avoid DC – for the time being.
Reminds me of the Crown Vic cop car the gang used on the Bums: Making a Mess All Over the City episode of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Awesome, but does it come with SCMODS?
In 1997 i was working nights in Nebraska. I was needing a car so after being up all night I went to the Nebraska state surplus auction I was looking around the lot at the cars and I saw 3 1990 CV’s and I ended up buying one for 1700. Not bad i thought for a 7 year old car with less than 90 thousand miles. After getting it home and looking at it the next day i realized why the air cleaner looked weird to me the day before, damn thing was carburated. Never go to auctions with a girlfriend that doesn’t want to be there when you are trying to focus on cars being sold or , when you have been up for 30 hours. It did end up being a very good vehicle that i kept for a lot longer than the girlfriend. It turns out that ford did not have a fuel injection unit that would clear the hood. Thus the carb. Current car is a 2008 CV bought at same auction for the same 1700 in 2015. It even had new tires on it that listed for 400 each
Tim,
Nothing wrong with a well tuned carbureted v-8. Maybe a bit old school now ..
not a thing wrong with a carb except by 1999 there were not a lot of people out there that could cold start one and get it to idle properly
They used this style of cop car in the unnecessary Blues Brothers 2000