Woah – is this Jersey? I work with a guy from New Jersey, which he tells me is the Attitude Capital of the U.S.A. I’m not sure if this is a bit of Jersey attitude in Indianapolis, but I like it.
This series of Lincoln Town Car has not been getting much love this week, particularly after Paul Niedermeyer caught one with some decidedly non-stock wheels (here). If a guy were to replace wheels on his final-gen Townie, here is another direction he could go. Personally, I think this is just what this car needed. An exhaust system with a bit of a grumble to it would complete the package. Bada boom, bada bing. This Town Car is definitely not parked for an early bird special at the cafeteria. You gotta problem with that?
I thought the 98 looked pretty good when it came out but now I prefer the look of the 03 up much better and don’t think the 98-02 models aged all that well.
These wheels do look good though very similar to the Mustang Mach 1 wheel which I’ve run on my CV.
Jersey attitude, huh?
Tony Soprano: I gotta be honest with you. I’m not getting any satisfaction from my work either.
Dr. Jennifer Melfi: Why?
Tony Soprano: Well, because of RICO.
Dr. Jennifer Melfi: Is he your brother?
Tony Soprano: No. The RICO statutes?
Dr. Jennifer Melfi: Oh
I did this the day or two before the news hit about the death of James Gandolfini. The CC effect is starting to become dangerous. It must . . be . . controlled . . . . .
I agree, I prefer the 03+ Town Cars to the 98-02. This one below looks nice, at least to me…
I’d like it better with proper thin whitewalls instead of the Vogues that also seem to be rather troublesome and of much lower quality than their price tag suggests.
I don’t like it. I’m pretty opinionated about what cars look good with 5-spoke wheels, and this one doesn’t. At the very least, the spokes look too slender for such a large car, due in part to sections of the wheel being painted black.
I agree; too delicate looking for this type of car.
I’ll third that sentiment. The car is too formal and stodgy for these wheels. Kind of like wearing athletic shoes with a tuxedo.
Dittos. The low profile tire contributes to the delicate look. If the wheel is going to be a performance aftermarket type make mine a vintage 15″ Crager or “Rally” style, with the taller blackwall tire.
Very few full-sized cars can pull off 17″, even in a vintage wheel design. The 60s Continentals could and so could the Mark III. Cadillac Broughams look surprisingly nice with 17″ Impala SS wheels.
Can’t put 15″ wheels on the 98 up Panthers, 16″ are as small as you can go. 17″ look good on Panthers as long as you put a decent sized tire on them. Here is mine with 255/50 and 235/50. Too many run 225/55 which is what the subject appears to have.
Oh I did say “make mine” with 15 inch so by definition that would never be a Panther 😉 FWIW I have seen Cragars on box Panthers but now that you mention it never remember seeing them on newer models.
I don’t know what tire size guys are running on their Impala rims, I believe they are 255/50R17s. It’s a wide wheel (8.5?) and can carry a large size well. Even with a 50 series the 255 tread converts to a tall enough looking side wall for me. The oddball bolt pattern on Caddys limits the choice on rims.
I like the size relationship of your tire/wheel combo to the big body and also like your ride height.
Thanks it’s been dropped a bit and yes the 235/50 & 255/50 still makes for a decent sidewall height so the tires don’t look like rubber bands. It does have a bit more rake since the height sensor was set when it was running 255/45 18 all around.
There is a guy around here with a 80 CV that has 255/60-15 and 275/60-15 on Cragers that were probably put on it when it was pretty new and it looks pretty good.
As luck would have it, I spotted this CV in the parking lot at Home Depot later today. If you’re going to go with 5-spokes, these “chunky” wheels look better on this bodystyle to me.
Those are Marauder wheels complete with Marauder Center caps. There was a Mustang version but since it uses a different center cap the center hole is finished slightly differently so the Marauder caps don’t sit flush.
Always wanted to buy a late model Crown Vic ex police car and put late model Mach 1 wheels on it after you got it painted a single color. Was thinking about getting antique chrome looking stickers for the lower panels and the decklid with “BACON 500” written on them. Guaranteed to get you a ticket in a random small town.
I had late model Mach 1 style 18″ wheels on my CV and I think they look pretty darn good. Unfortunately I don’t have any pictures of the entire car with them on but here is a shot of the rear.
Geez, I am really wanting a Panther body now. That looks cool.
Thanks. Get out there and get one then. One thing if you want a look similar to mine do yourself a favor and start with an 03+ car. Since that body was used for the Marauder and it was supposed to have even larger tires, before the bean counters got at it, the front fender lips are already rolled and the rears are folded. Since the 05+ Mustang also uses the same 45-50mm offset wheels you can bolt on and go with a wide variety of take off or cheap new wheels. Or you can get an 03 up LX-Sport or Fleet LX that already has 17″ wheels that will take 255/50 tires. Plus the 03+ coil over front suspension is much easier to change or cut the coils on.
Of course mine was done when the 03 cars were brand new so I had to stick with my 92 which required a lot of work and a bit of money. Front and rear fender lips are rolled and 1/2″ and 3/4″ hubcentric spacers along with some Moroso wheel studs were required to fit the 94-04 Mustang wheels with 255/45 and 275/45 in back. The 02- Panthers are set up for 0-8mm of offset while the 94-04 Mustang uses 26-30mm.
I’m thinking it needs different wheels too………along with a supercharged Mod motor and some suspension bits. Kind of like a Lincoln version of the Mercury Marauder. Only I’d call it the Town Cobra.
“Always wanted to buy a late model Crown Vic ex police car and put late model Mach 1 wheels on it after you got it painted a single color. Was thinking about getting antique chrome looking stickers for the lower panels and the decklid with “BACON 500″ written on them. Guaranteed to get you a ticket in a random small town.”
When I was living in FL, one day on my way to work I got pulled over by FHP and recieved some “citations” for being a good citizen. I was so pissed off that I vowed I was going to get some type of revenge in return for the money I kindly donated to the court and FHP for doing such a fine job. I decided on a vanity license plate. It would read DIAL*347(FHP). I figured dumbasses following me down the road would pull out their handy cellfone just to see who would answer,thereby clogging the FHPs driver helpline. The furthest I got with that idea was one of those phony license plates you buy at a vendors booth at the car shows. In FL you only needed a rear plate to be legal so I mounted the fake on the front bumper. Needless to say that didn’t last too long as the first time I had it on one my better cars a trooper literally tore it off when I tried to get into the infield at a car show at Daytona speedway. Threatened me with a whole lot of other niceties too. I also worked with a guy who bought an ex-FHP Caprice at the state auction. FHP painted their cars to look like half baked dog turds laying in the hot FL sun. Light brown trunk lids over a black body and hood. Anyway the state would take black spray paint and paint the cars to make it hard for anybody to mistake them for a legit cruiser. Anyway my buddy just took some graffitti remover and buffed it all off. They didn’t like that either but there was nothing they could do other than hassle him on occassion thinking he was trying to impersonate a cop. Hard to prove with no stickers, no lights,no radio,etc.
In NC, other than jurisdictional decals, the only thing illegal police related on a car is wig wags. Most cop cars here are white except for some state trooper cars which may be silver or gray.
In the absence of rust and with prodigious municipal maintenance, there are a lot of people riding around in their favorite very hard to distinguish PERP COACHES.
Wig wags?
Alternating flashing high beams.
Between the Black Town Car the lead character on “Justified” uses and Mr Van Burens Crown Vic I’m thinking of something along those lines. Oh, 225/60R17 fills in the fenderwells just fine.
Of course, it’s a “donation.”
Because extortion is such an ugly word.
I liked the factory deep dish alloys popular on the 98-02’s
Are these the ones you are thinking off. I’ve got a set of those for my winter tires. Yes they look good, but they are a nightmare to keep clean. I spent probably 3 hrs getting them perfectly clean when they came off this spring. Each and every opening with a tooth brush is the only way. They actually were used on the 93-97 HPP cars too.
I think it would look a bunch better with the body lowered just a bit and a bit of a rake to give it a touch of attitude. The wheels dont fill out the wells and that always makes a car look a bit odd to my eye. No Im not saying stick some huge wheels on it , just that when fitting wheels you need to think of the stance. Again, no Im not talking about slammed,cambered or streached, just the right fitment.
I think it does really need a taller tire and a touch of rake would do wonders.