Crown Vic chassis same as stange basically???

[FineLineMtrsprts]

OK yes im going to start on a new project here soon. Yes its odd and yes it will be cheap. 89 Crown Vic with either a 306 short block..or a 331 short block..havent decided yet depends on how money goes. IM getting the car for free it needs a trans but has 76k original miles. I have a donor trans im getting for 200 bucks. I know i can get a "ebay" supposed 340hp 306 short block for 7-800 bucks. with hyper pistons...or i can get a 331 stroker kit for 700 and use the donor 5.0 engine i can get. I can get a brand new converter from summit a 2200 stall for about 180 bucks and then i would add 4.10's and some sort of aftermarket posi. Heads i found worked stock e7's for 500 or gt40 aluminum new ones for 750 ready to go. I will add a 100-150 shot on the car and will prolly find a nice used intake to pick up..either trick flow...cobra...whatever. I am also considering a cam of at least 480 lift on the intake side and something around 490 on the exhaust.

Headers are one thing im not sure of. I think i wouldnt have a problem with basic unequal length stang headers from mac or bbk...anyone know. Also i think it takes the same rear control arms as the same era stangs. Does anyone know for sure. If not i may just get new ones from Ford and box weld them for strength. This will be an everyday car and i dont see why on a 150 shot it shouldnt run low 13's high 12's with a good hook..at least. With aluminum heads the car should come in about 4100lbs. I just need some input ont eh chassis and headers part of the deal. I think the ECU will be fine as it will be pretty lax of the mods and its a MassAir car so i will be fine there

 

[85_SS_302_Coupe]

Chassis wise i believe the Crown Vic/Marquis have full frames, but honestly i've never been under one so that's a guess. I know they're not part of the Fox Chassis platform that the "Fox body" Mustang is a part of, so they're definately different in a lot of ways. IMO, if you're doing a Crown Vic, start out with a 351W....that extra torque will make all the difference on a car that size.

 

[90mustangGT]

The Crown Vics have a frame chassis, nothing even close to the fox chassis. However, what they do share in common is drivatrains. That's a big heavy car, you really need some cubes, but a 306 would work. I really don't understand why you would want to use that platform.

 

[FineLineMtrsprts]

Yeah i forgot they were full frame cars. I think i can mox in the control arms and make them work. Why would i want to use this car....its free....has 73k miles....the donor trans and engine will be a couple hundred bucks...i can fit 4 people in it....it doesnt have any rust....i can build the drivetrains for cheap. So why not have fun with it. I was wrong though....its an 88 so its a speed density car...but i havea complete mass air set-up from a 89 lx 5.0 and i can get a 89/90 crown vic mass air computer for cheap. So i figured what the hell i can build this thing cheap if i want to. The used or like new parts are out there.

 

[Foxfan88]

I always wanted to make a fast old boat
talk about a sleeper...

 

[mustangGT85]

I was wrong though....its an 88 so its a speed density car...but i havea complete mass air set-up from a 89 lx 5.0 and i can get a 89/90 crown vic mass air computer for cheap.

i was wondering if i could take the MAF from a crown vic and hook it up to my 87 mustang? if so what would be needed, the plastic tube from the TB to the air filter, the actually MAF(which is connected to the tube right?) the wiring, and the computer?

~Steve

 

[FineLineMtrsprts]

You couldnt use the zCrown vic computer...just get the swap from a Mass Air stang...the intake on the crown vic is turned around the other way which means the harness is different.

 

[kornchild4life]

You can hold 6 people in that car My mom used to have a 86 crown and if i remember correct the crowns were SD all the way up to like the early 90's along with the intake manifold being flipped around. Probably just be easier for you to do the stang MAF computer into it. I wanna see some pics. if you do this!!

 

[JB66]

I have an 89 Crown Vic with a rebuilt longblock 5.0HO in it. It is not MAF, it is Speed Density. The computer had to be changed due to the different firing order, the different type of cruise control, and the Auto Temp Control A/C. It still has the original AOD and 3.55 TL rear. Never had it to the track, but it's not slow by any means. I did add on the HO upper and lower intakes (upper gets reversed, it fits fine) and throttle body (which needs to be modified).

 

[Darkwriter77]

The Crown Vic and GrandMa(rquis) both stuck with Speed Density all the way 'till '92 when they gave them the aero treatment and dropped in the 4.6L OHC motors and AODE tranny (although some early '92 units carried AOD's). I have a '90 Town Car, which is the one bastardized year that has the newer aero body style like the '91+ models (Lincoln Panther platforms started two years before the CV/GM models) but still carries the 5.0L EFI and AOD. It, too, is speed density. Far as I know, the firing order is more so a matter of the cam and whether it's a non-HO or HO motor, not so much the fuel system; then again, pretty much all of the non-HO 5.0's were running SD, soooo...

I totally understand your motivations for beefing up a "lead sled." Heck, I was VERY seriously entertaining the same idea with my '90 TC until I handed it off to my lady and picked up my '89 notchback 'Stang. Why tinker with a geezer mobile? Because the very reason I wound up with the Lincoln was because my last car ('87 Fireturd Formula) got destroyed by one of the countless old out-of-state snowbird geezers that can't see/hear/think for squat. I liked the idea of having 4,200 lbs of steel to shield me from these cotton-tops blindly driving diesel trucks and Cadillacs, and the fact I managed to talk my girlfriend into the safer Lincoln instead of a soda-can Honda gives peace of mind.

I can post a full parts list for converting the non-HO block over to HO specs, if you're considering keeping the stock block, although I'd strongly recommend swapping in a MAF conversion in that case, as the mods you'll need to do to get those 4,000+ lbs of weight up and moving properly are going to make that Speed Density system freak out.

Oh, and let us not forget the cavernous trunk ... which can hold up to three good-sized dead mobsters (four, if you remove the spare and stuff him up on the parcel shelf).

 

[FineLineMtrsprts]

Well this is gonna happen..one way or another..lol. Something i thought of today...i need ot find out what year efi trucks went mass air...edelbrock makes a intake for 351w trucks which face the "wrong way" Im sure it will fot a 302 as well and i may be bale to use the correct front acessory set up and not have to move the a/c system around...yes it will still have a/c. But im not sure what year trucks went MAF...if any..right now im jus exploring options..but it will happen...worst case ill do a maf swap...and a cheaply built short block with ported stock heads or gt40's.

 

[larrendeuce]

I'm not sure how much room you have to fit that truck intake, they are huge.

 

[JB66]

Nothing has to be changed over as far as brackets or accessories on the front of the engine. Just bolt up all the Vic stuff. You will have to get the 'normal' rotation water pump for the Vic though. There are plenty of aftermarket Mustang intakes and they all fit in either direction. The major problem is the throttle body and pedal linkages which can be solved in a variety of ways. The only way you can tell mine is not a stock 5.0 EFI when looking under the hood is by the firing order and my '5.0' plate is upside down!

 

[Michael Yount]

If you're getting it for free, sell it, and buy something else to put your money into.

If you think it's gonna take torque to move 4100 lbs. (with the Lightning, you clearly know about moving heavy vehicles), imagine the torque it'll take to move it with 6 people. Do you really know 5 other people that want to ride around with you in that?

 

[NKau]

If you're getting it for free, sell it, and buy something else to put your money into.

If you think it's gonna take torque to move 4100 lbs. (with the Lightning, you clearly know about moving heavy vehicles), imagine the torque it'll take to move it with 6 people. Do you really know 5 other people that want to ride around with you in that?

Of all people, you did a 5.0 swap into an '82 Volvo and are ripping this guy for hopping up a crown vic? I'd LOVE to see a 331 powered 'vic on juice yanking the wheels at the strip and beating up on some mildly modded stangs sometime. Is it an ideal platform for going fast in a straight line, or doing anything performance related really? No, but it would certainly be a nice cruiser that could be made to haul, and I'd give anyone props for taking on a challenge like that.

 

[Michael Yount]

"Of all people, you did a 5.0 swap into an '82 Volvo and are ripping this guy for hopping up a crown vic? "

Dang right NKau - what's your point?

 

[SPEED FREAK]

I have me a crownvic in my back yard (88) and I have been toying with the idea of a boneyard 351w turbo with a c4 just for fun.

 

[JB66]

Anyway, me being the old guy that I am, I think it's a fun ride just surprizing some people some of the time in my 'old mans' car! (plus the improvement in mpg) Even in my bone stock Town Car, when the 4.6 gets revvin' it's a fun drive. The real killer was a 4 dr CTS-V that I drove a few times, but that's a little pricey for me.
Have fun with your project! That's what it's all about! Need any help, give a yell. And take pictures!

 

[Michael Yount]

You guys have to know I'm with you in spirit - I'm just suggesting there's more fun to be had for less money/HP if you start with something lighter/smaller.

 

[emeraldcoupe]

do it. at the nmra race at bradenton either last year or year before there was a new body cv, 4.6/supercharged. if i remember right it was running 11's.