At $9,750, Does This Manual-Swapped 2007 Ford Crown Vic Interceptor Rule?
When Ford put the Mustang into police service it offered the car with a manual, but that was never the case with the Crown Vic. Today’s Nice Price or No Dice Crown Vic rectifies that omission, but will that make it worth its nearly ten-grand asking?
Titles are important. After all, without titles how would you know where to stack your royals in order of succession, or figure out what damn movie you wanted to watch? When it comes to cars, the title is doubly important because not only does it legally signifies present ownership but also any and all evidence of past malfeasance.
In the case of yesterday’s 2004 BMW 330i, that title was in fact rebuilt, meaning that something bad had happened to the car somewhere along the way. As the seller wasn’t forthcoming with the explanation as to the reason behind that tainted title, other than to say it wasn’t owed to an accident, few of you were willing to go the $8,500 that was being asked for the title’s transfer. In the end, that resulted in a 76 percent No Dice loss despite the car’s six-speed stick and the ZHP performance package.
It’s funny how the presence of a manual transmission can transform a car. Driving a stick is a much more intimate affair than can be found with most automatics. And, there’s much to be said about the pride involved in being a member of the three-pedal club.
One group of individuals that you don’t really think of as members of the manual transmission crowd is the police. Of sure, back in the day cop cars were all stick shift since that’s all that was around. Then, sometime around the 1950s, most of them went automatic. That freed up the cops to do other things like shine their spotlights into the dark crevices of the criminal world and eat donuts while on the prowl.
This 2007 Ford Crown Vic P71 Interceptor is claimed to have once been a Portland Police Department detective’s car and it evidences a lot of the expected indicators of that life — a puke-proof rubber floor, mounting holes for anti-escape fencing in the rear doors, and a speedo that has been “certified” for accuracy.
This Interceptor also has a Tremec TR-3650 five-speed manual transmission for all your shifting pleasure. Yes, that’s a post-police duty hack and no, that’s not the only thing this Crown Vic has going for it.
According to the ad, this 114,000-mile clean-title Ford has been imbued with a ton of go-faster stop-harder and corner-better parts. As assembled, the seller claims the car will “keep Miatas, Mustangs and BMW’s on their toes!”
Out the factory door, the P71 Interceptor Crown Vic managed 239 horsepower out of its 4.6 liter V8. This one should do a bit more than that seeing as it has a custom Marty Ochs tune and a somewhat less restrictive exhaust after the cats. A King Cobra clutch mediates shenanigans between the engine and that add-on five-speed gearbox. Also helping here are a custom shift lever, plus some not-installed extra ones that may have been less successful prototypes. Keeping with the more is better theme, the car apparently comes with three sets of wheels/tires, including the original set of steelies (albeit with crap tires on them).
The bodywork appears straight as does the underside. Down there, you’ll note no evidence of leakage or the trans install looking like anything other than stock — even if it isn’t.
Inside, things are a little crazy, with Sparco buckets in front and the world’s tiniest suede-covered steering wheel to make you appreciate the car’s power steering. An aftermarket double-DIN stereo is housed in the dash, and overall, everything looks tidy and clean.
The car is turn-key, although the seller does note a few items on the honeydew list. These include a weepy rear axle seal, a clunky balljoint up front, and an odometer that doesn’t take its job too seriously. None of those should be deal killers, however.
What might be though is the seller’s set price. That’s $9,750 and you now need to weigh in on whether or not that’s a good deal. What do you think, is this manual-swapped P71 worth that $9,750 as it sits? Or, does that price mean this car won’t even be able to get arrested in this town?
You decide!
Seattle, Washington, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to dramenof for the hookup!
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