I have a 1966 F100 long bed.. I've been doing research on the Crown Vic for the cross member swap. Problem is I'm having a hard time locating one that I could actually get. Which got me to thinking. I know where there are a few Thunderbirds. Would the cross member and all the suspension from a Thunderbird fit like the crown vic's would? Just an idea that I thought about.

thanks

 

You might check for county auctions. The latest county auction, where I live, had cv's aplenty. Most likely pretty worn out, but they had cv's from the late 90's thru 2004. I have no idea if the T-birds are similar. Good luck.

Kurt

 

TBird is different. What you are looking for is '03-'07 Crown Vic. The entire suspension along with rack is mounted to the crossmember and it bolts into anything with a 34" wide frame. Search for CarCrafter, JG100 or me here and on Fordification.com. We all have threads on doing the install. Feel free to shoot me any questions you may have. I paid $250 for my front suspension. You can do the entire install including 1 1/2" drop springs for just under $1000 & get 6 - 6 1/2" drop. You get close ratio rack & pinion steering, 12" rotors, dual piston calipers & sway bar.

 

2003/11 Ford Crown Victoria is the same as 2003/10 Mercury Grand Marquis. 2003 was the first year these two cars have R&P steering.

1979/81 LTD (name changed to Crown Victoria in 1982) / 1982/2002 Crown Victoria / 1979/2002 Mercury Grand Marquis used Ford integral P/S.

2008 to date: Crown Victoria only sold as a fleet vehicle (Police Cruisers, Taxi's). All Mercury's were discontinued in 2010.

 

Thanks for that info Bill. Opened up the window to look for now. I wondered if the '08's and up were the same. Did the Marauder die in '07 since CV went fleet in '08? I had heard it also had the same front suspension.

 

1979/2010 Grand Marquis (in fact all Mercury's since 1961) are nothing more than reskinned/rebadged Fords. So...most of the chassis parts, some body parts are the same.

Marauder died for two reasons: Overpriced, FoMoCo and the L/M dealers failed to promote it.

The Marauder was supposed to be Fords answer to the Impala SS, but it didn't sell worth a hoot. 'Course with Mercury discontinued in 2010, that's now a moot point.

I test drove a new '07, the trans slipped badly...the salespeep said..."Oh, we can fix that." Uh huh...I passed.

 

Fix a new car? Right. What has happened to America. They honestly want us to pay outrageous prices to buy broken products with a promise of fixing it?

 

In 2004, I test drove a new Tahoe...drove it to my home to see if it would clear the garage door since my driveway slopes down at a 45 degree angle.

I live at the top of a very steep hill, and when I arrived, the Tahoe's transmission fluid smelled like a pack of skunks. The trans had fried its guts...on the test drive!

And, since I drive like Uncle Fudd...came up the hill at no more than 35 MPH...t'wasn't my fault.

The salespeep said... "We can install a trans cooler." I said... "It's too late for that now...and considering what just occurred, it should have one as standard equipment!"

 

^^^^^^^^^


Isnt that why most of here buy Fords, Drive Fords, Talk,Eat and Sleep Fords? Plus no bailout for them. Our current Pres can put his thum on their advertising all he wants but we know the truth. Sorry about the thread Hijack.

 

Well as long as it's hijacked I buy Fords because they have been good to me. Every GM I have ever had has let me down in the middle of coming and going. Fords with the exception of 1 time in 33 yrs have broke at either home or where I was going. Chrysler products have been good to me as well with again 1 exception which happened on a bitter cold day. Idler pulley gave up the ghost at 3 in the morning. I was stuck with no heat for 5 hrs. I had another 1 that had a curse but that's different. I bought it wrecked. It got hit twice sitting in the parking lot at work where I was doing the body swap. One morning on the north side of Indianapolis sitting at a light got rear ended by a guy doing about 65 or so in a K Car wagon. While I did drive that truck another 130 miles home I was done. It had to go. Not sure why but I just don't trust Chrysler products unless a late '60's early '70's Mopar muscle.

 

Most people are unaware that the reason why FoMoCo didn't ask for a bailout is:

In 2005, FoMoCo put up all the company assets including rights to the blue oval to secure a 23.8 BILLION DOLLAR loan to stave off bankruptcy.

By the time GM & ChryCo needed loans, the credit had dried up. So first Bush (at the tailend of his 2nd term), then Obama gave them bailout money.

Now what is occurring is...that FoMoCo is paying high interest rates on their FAT loan, while GM is not. ChryCo (now owned by FIAT-Fix It Again Tony!) paid off their loans

And, what most people are also unaware of, is...that when the automakers met with Obama, Alan Mulally...FoMoCo's Prez and CEO asked if FoMoCo could get bailout money...if they needed it.

The answer was yes, but FoMoCo didn't need it. But, the bottom line is: FoMoCo is mortgaged to the hilt, still owes over 20 billion dollars on their loan.

Y'all that own ancient old rolling piles of misery aren't helping Ford's bottom line...so my qiuestion is: How many new Ford vehicles have y'all bought since 2005?

I've bought two: 2008 Fusion, 2011 F150 Stupor Crew. I've bought 8 new Ford trucks since 1965, 4 new Ford cars since 1979.

 

Bill,
I have had a vehicle payment once in my life and I swore I would never do it again. The price of new vehicles one is way over inflated. I can buy a house for what they want for a new vehicle. Why in the world would I buy something that goes down in value when I could use the same money to buy real estate that can generate income for me, I can depreciate it out over 18 yrs & within reason I will be able to sell it for a net gain at the end of depreciation. Next would be depreciation. The first two years are the worst. If you did take a loan at the end of two years you owe more than it is worth. The old rule still stands true. If you are going to mortgage a vehicle do not do more than 3 years.

My '70 brings me pleasure. My '90 works just fine. If it were not for those who bought used vehicles would have no resale value. No resale value would drive the price of new vehicles down or the buyers of new would just take a larger hit than they already do. A friend of mine has a truck like yours but a 4x4. I have never been able to get it set to comfortable for me. I came to the conclusion it was designed for a woman. Seems to fit her just fine and she is very happy with it.

So just because my '70 is an "ancient old rolling pile of misery" I found myself miserable trying to get comfortable in her wonderful new truck. If it weren't for those who keep these older vehicles on the road companies like Dennis Carpenter would cease to exist. Without DC who would Ford sell their old dies to in order to recoop some revenue? No thank you to big brother being able to know my every move at any moment (OnStar and like programs) and on top of that I am supposed to pay for that loss of privacy.

The rest of us do not get Ford preferred discounts either. Did you buy both of your new vehicles with no discounts just like the rest of the world?

Have a happy day!

 

Ford Dealer employees get discounts, depending on the dealer, ranges from $50.00/$100.00 over invoice.

Retired Ford Dealer employees also get discounts, the same figures apply.

But, today...rebates can play a major part, so...the price usually works out to 1000's of dollars under invoice.

The last truck I financed was a new 1971 F100 RangerXLT, paid the puppy off in 1974, haven't financed a vehicle...used or new since.

I should point out that my family were new car dealers for 80 years (Oldsmobile, then Cadillac. then Mercedes-Benz), so I "know the score" don't get tripped up by salespeeps BS during the negotiations.

A NotaFord I bought new in 2006 had an MSRP of $30,110.00 + tax & license (minus a "$1500.00" rebate). When all was said and done, I paid $24,500.00 out the door including the tax and license.

 

As much as I think it should all lie as everyone has their own opinions and nobody's is any more valid than anybody elses I did have a few thoughts I failed to mention in the last post. It is not my responsibility to help Ford fix what Ford created. I also think handing money to GM and Chrysler was wrong and should not have been done. I understand why it was done though along with why the government wanted so badly to get Ford into the mix. What was the first thing Hitler did after being elected to office in Germany? Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

Separate from that I would be hard pressed to enlist the advice of any person who resided in a state that allowed their government to run them into bankruptcy. A group of people who believe that the government should be so far up our a** that they allow them to enact absurd laws just to further criminalize the very citizens who elected them. I cite the law mandating children wear a helmet while riding a bicycle as an example. So now if your child doesn't wear a helmet while riding their bicycle the process of a lifelong record criminalizing them begins. It's as bad as the lesbian who pressed sexual harassment charges against a 5yr old boy for kissing a girl in his kindergarden class on the cheek out east.

Legalization of drugs. Keep the people stoned and the government can further strip away every right we have. Lest we forget the outstanding job CA is doing to stem the flow of illegal aliens. Intentionally doing nothing to help stop the flow into this country of criminals. Yes criminals. If a child is a criminal for not wearing a helmet you can bet you a$$ anyone who sneaks into this country is one as well. Then let's give them schooling, welfare and the same rights as any citizen. Where is the incentive to live by the rules? Without laws (enforced) a civil society will cease to exist.

I have nothing against anyone who resides in CA. This is America and I for one swore to give my life if need be to protect the freedoms of each and every AMERICAN. Everyone should be free within reason to live their life as they see best. CA chooses to live life the way they do and are reaping all of it's benefits. They should have that freedom just as I should have the freedom to choose not to.

Have a happy day

P.S.
Still love ya Bill!