Many of us have spent seat time in a vehicle we didn’t choose ourselves. Rental cars, borrowed cars, usually circumstances don’t allow complaint, as the alternative is true punishment for those who love the freedom of driving. A few years ago, as my college career was winding down, my philosophy on a set of wheels was “I’ll take what I can get”. While I was able to beg and borrow my butt into the seats of a few of my relatives’ old cars, eventually the automotive Gods smiled on me, and the opportunity arose to pick up a car I had always wanted for an ATM trip’s worth of money.
The summer before my senior year in college I was working as an engineering intern, performing an array of mindless intern tasks, but mostly testing electrical receptacles and other household wiring devices. I became friends with a tech working there and we would spend a lot of time together testing, talking and hanging out. Inevitably our conversations turned to cars and he told me about an old Chevy cop car he had in his driveway.
He didn’t know much about it; the year, engine, and mechanical condition where all mysteries. He received the car as payment for some kind of handiwork and never got around to registering or driving it. I immediately expressed my interest in taking it off his hands, but my hasty offer must have revealed a tragic weakness; my excitement for cars can overwhelm my sense of reason. He didn’t really want to sell a mysterious old car to a 21 year old in college, even if it was only worth a couple hundred. The rest of the summer I patiently convinced him I could handle the repairs and general responsibility and towards the end of the summer he let me come to his house to check it out.
When I pulled into his street it was immediately apparent which house was his, the one with the huge, dirty, silver Caprice in the driveway. It was a 1991, with thinly sprayed silver paint covering some kind of municipal paint scheme. As I started my walk around I began marking the ex-cop car identification checklist in my mind. Hole in the A-pillar for a spotlight: check. Blue/green silicone coolant hoses: check. Giant, round interior map light: check. Certified speedo: check. With a jump the car started quickly and let out a quick puff of blue. It sounded good and with my foot on the brake seemed to shift into its gears solidly. There was almost no rust, and the body was straight, with the odometer reading around 90,000 miles. The idea of driving a full-frame, 350 powered Chevy was becoming irresistible. I just had to know what the police spec brakes and suspension felt like, I need to see how fast it was, and how solid it felt at 90 mph. Would it peel away from a light?
My friend brought out two Coors Lights and we sat on his porch with his dog. I told him I would buy it, but he wouldn’t accept the 3 or 4 hundred I had in my pocket we had discussed earlier. He wanted to give it to me. I didn’t quite know how to respond; I really wanted the car but felt awkward about it being a gift. My Dad had given me my first car, and my Uncle my third, and while I was thankful, I never felt strange about it. This situation was different, this was a car I would drive around proudly, and I wanted to earn that feeling. I thought about my bond with my car friends dating back to High School; there was nothing we wanted more than a cool car, but we were stuck with what we could get. Would they lose respect for me now that I was being given a cool car? Eventually I was able to put my pride away and graciously accept the gift. The car was falling into loving hands, and the little money I had in my pocket that day would be going right into parts and maintenance.
I returned a few days later to pick up the Caprice with my friend Jeremy who had access to a repair plate. We got it back to my Mom’s house and got right down to business. Will it peel out? Jeremy watched as I pointed it down my street and mashed it from a stop. The car took off with a deep rumble and loud squeal. This was the first time I had a car with some real torque and it brought a smile to my face. Under the trunk lid was a sticker listing the car’s option codes and I immediately recognized 9C1, GU6 and G80, the latter two indicating 3.42 gears and limited slip. This was a performance machine!
Doing some research online I learned more about the L05 350 under the hood. It featured a hydraulic roller cam which I thought was pretty cool, paired with some fairly restrictive heads and throttle body injection. The 9C1 version of the L05 was a little hotter than the others, using a more aggressive camshaft borrowed from an F-body. For 91′ the engine made 205hp and 300 lb-ft of torque. While not amazing numbers, they seemed to stand out from a lot of V8’s of the era. For some reason I cherished the idea that somebody at Chevy said “The normal one isn’t fast enough, the police version will be faster.”
The Caprice was a great cruiser. The handling felt sharp and the ride was smooth. The brakes never felt strained and the engine was willing whenever I pressed the gas. I liked slouching in the blue vinyl bench seat and resting my elbow on the armrest. The seat back had a slight relief that didn’t give very much support, but at least gave a sense of center. I really loved the gauge cluster; the small digital speedometer was to the left of an analog tach, with accessory gauges at the corners for oil pressure, water temperature, amps, and fuel.
Serving as my transportation my last 3 semesters in college, the Caprice offered a good mix of fun and practicality. One of my greatest joys was taking it out on rainy days and power-sliding around corners. I got pretty good at it after a while, where I could carry a little drift in the dry from a slow roll. I remember one occasion driving 4 of my buddy’s to a local Chinese restaurant and kicking it out around a corner. This invited backseat requests for brake stands, stoplight revving, and peel outs, all of which I was happy to provide.
Not surprisingly, my enthusiastic driving pointed out some repairs I’d need to make. First up was a front end overhaul consisting of new pitman and idler arms, tie rods and center link. Not long after getting the steering in order, the 4L60 transmission stopped going into 3rd and 4th gear entirely. I tracked down a used 700R4 on craigslist and installed it in my mom’s garage over winter break. I remember the weekend I chose to install it was unbelievably cold. My girlfriend at the time stopped by at one point with a book and thermos to hang out in the garage and keep my company during the install. She was frozen in about an hour and had to go back home, I gave her major points for the effort though!
As with any other car I’ve owned, I was frequently on Craigslist looking at other ones for sale or parts to improve my own. One day during the next summer I came across an ad for various caprice parts and a few 9C1’s for sale. In speaking with the seller I learned he ran a business buying, restoring and selling municipal vehicles. I made an appointment to check out his shop and see if he had anything I could use.
After an hour or so of driving I arrived at an industrial park and drove around until I spotted another 9C1 parked at a building, this must be the place! Inside were several 9C1’s, Crown Vic’s, and Tahoe’s in various states of repair. I had toyed with the idea of re-installing a spotlight and push bar and picked up one of each. I also went home with four, used Goodyear Eagle RS/A’s picked from a trailer of about a hundred used police tires.
I was curious to hear the seller’s thoughts about my car and Caprices in general. He didn’t seem very interested when he saw my car was a 91, but I wasn’t offended since he had probably seen hundreds of them over the years. When I explained that I had done front end work but it still felt a bit loose, he remarked it probably patrolled a city, as the cars that do highway duty tend to stay tighter, even after front end work. When I asked him if he ever raced an LT1 caprice against a P71 Crown Vic, he explained that they had out on I87 one night, and the Caprices were considerably faster.
Tantalized by his story, I asked to see the LT1 cars he had for sale. There were 2 dark blue 94’s parked side by side in the lawn behind the building. They were both a lot rougher than my car, sitting on flats and wearing dents and faded paint. He wanted 1500 each, at the time it seemed excessive and was totally out of reach for me, but on my drive home I fantasized about the steps I’d take restoring one if I had the funds.
The tires and spotlight I bought went on the car, but I never wound up adding the push bar. The spotlight seemed to give the car some cred on the highway; people were a bit more obliged to move out of the fast lane or would slow down when passing me. I think the fact that it wasn’t a Crown Vic was enough for most people to understand it was just an old car and not an unmarked cruiser. I definitely didn’t want anyone to think I was masquerading as a cop; I always thought of the spotlight as a cool touch that gave the car a little character and pointed out its history.
My last semester in college quickly came and went and soon after I graduated the used transmission I had installed started failing. With the car only fit to drive around at neighborhood speeds, I was left with a tough decision to make. Should I install another transmission or move on to another vehicle? Several treacherous trips in the snow had left me longing for another AWD car like my Dad’s Subaru. The 16mpg average was also starting to sting a little on my long commute to work. I decided to sell the Caprice and replace it with something a little better for commuting. While I don’t regret buying the next car, the Caprice was the first car I ever sold that I wished I had back.
After posting the car on Craigslist with some nice pictures and an honest description, I sold the car to a young guy like myself, who was planning to fix it up. I thought $500 was a fair price considering the car was pretty nice other than the transmission issue and I wound up taking $450. I was pleased a few weeks later when the new owner stopped by my house while cruising around with 4 of his buddies. I felt a moment of regret seeing my car fixed and on the road again, but the new owner’s happiness put my mind at ease. He clearly felt the same joy I had, cruising around with your buddies in a big old Chevy.
Those whales will always leave me misty-eyed. Dad’s last car (which I inherited) was a ’91 Caprice in burgundy (which I named “Moby Grape), 350 with the heavy suspension (F41?). Didn’t keep it long, as I had my eye on a new Daytona at the local Dodge dealership. And it was a lot bigger than the stuff I’m used to driving.
The retail 1991 Caprice only had the TBI 5.0L (305cid) engine. It wasn’t til 1993 that the 350 engine returned to the retail sedans as the TBI 5.7L, but only in the LTZ trim level.
The 9C1 police package had no such restriction.
Did the 92 wagons have the LO5 available? I know 91 wagons were LO3 only.
Yes, the L05 was available in Caprice wagons for 1992, but was rated only at 180 hp vs the 205 hp police engine. In 1993, the L05 became the standard engine for the Caprice LTZ, again though also rated at 180 hp. Early LTZ’s used the L03 305 but with more aggressive rear end gears to improve the performance.
The LO3 was actually not bad off the line or in town. It just kinda ran out of breath at higher speeds. The LO5 was a little bit better but felt like a truck engine. The LT1 had no problem at all 🙂
does any body know if you can put a police speedometer in a civilian caprice 93 speedo in a 92 ltz caprice steve thanx
I still wonder what GM stylists were smoking when I see one of those Caprices, even now I think its a nasty looking thing. The gauge package is pretty cool but the ancillary gauges look a little small and only 205hp with a 5.7? Ford was getting 225hp from its 5.0L–guess it shows that SFI is superior to TBI. Other than those nits cool car to drive around in and a nice read.
Well, Ford got 225 hp from the Mustang setup but the Crown Vics were much lower.
My 89′ Crown Vic was 150hp.
The thing moved though…
The 89 P71 Crown Vic did not have the same engine as the 92 Aero Vic. 351 VV vs. 4.6 modular from 1992-2011
While it us true that the 92 P71 had more horespower than the 91 LO5 9C1; the 9C1 had more torque…torque wins races.
The 9c1 Caprice consistently outperformed the P71s in the annual Michigan State Police Tests.
When the 9C1 Caprices got the LT1 for 1994 they completely dominated until the end of productin in 96.
The P71s were cushier (more comfortable) but the 9C1s were noticeably faster.
In 95 and 96 the 9c1 received bigger stronger ball joints.Anyone install rear wagon springs on the sedan? Wagon springs are wider and shorter,I installed them in 3 caprice sedans. They do require wagon shocks.
The police spec 351W with 2bbl VV carb was rated at 180 hp and was used until 1991 in the LTD Crown Vics. That said, the 350 Chevrolet outperformed the 351W consistently through the late 1980’s until it’s demise.
By the time some later-year models rolled out, a modest refreshing with opened-up rear wheel cutouts lightened up the heavy, awkward, “woman with too-long a skirt” look of the first years’ “Bathtubs.” But it wasn’t enough.
I changed out a transmission on a former cop car under makeshirt circumstances, too. It was the Torqueflite in a 1972 Dodge Polara, in my uncle’s garage, which being in San Francisco wasn’t as c-c-cold, though it was winter. With jackstands and a plywood plate bolted to a floor jack in lieu of a proper transmission jack, it got done, easier than the Powerglide in my 1967 Camaro, which I had to do twice in 50,000 miles. That Camaro had little hand room to reach the bellhousing bolts. I had to buy several extensions and put them together end-to-end to get them from behind. On the Dodge they were easily reached under the hood. Then on the Camaro I had to unbolt the rear crossmember and sledgehammer it out.
I found that if I passed a car like that I could read his speedometer from my driver’s seat.
I could never look at the dashboard and instrument cluster of these things including the Impala SS without throwing up.
Just horrible.
+1 I didn’t want to be the one who said it. 🙂
Hey, come on, just because that instrument cluster would have been better off in a…..Corsica, that’s no reason….
Sorry, I think all the various digital panels and “digital looking” panels GM, and in particular Chevy used (I’m looking at you S-10), were pathetic looking.
I fell in love with the Impala SS’s when they came out and i was and am a Ford man.
I couldn’t believe they turned that fat pig into such an awesome , mean, tough looking machine.
Then one day i sat in a loaded SS and instantly fell out of love.
NO WAY, could i ever enjoy spending time behind the wheel looking at that ocean of cheap plastic!
The steering wheel looked like something from an 80’s Russian built dump truck.
The whole package,,,,,,,it just stunk on ice.
I did however and still do love watching one drive by!
Love that look…….
I was still driving the remains of my excellent and loaded 82′ Ford pickup at the time and the overall interior was
MUCH nicer, to me.
The 1994-95 Impala SS dash was the same as the current Caprice’s. 1996 models got a ful set of analog gauges as well as a console mounted shifter.
http://www.autofrenzy.net/autofrenzynet/still-rolling-the-chevrolet-impala-ss
You are SO right.
I have a thing about interiors, dashboards, instruments etc…
It’s the thing you are seeing 99% of the time about your vehicle and really 99% of all GM interiors after 1985 up til just a few years ago are horrible.
Technically i could go back to the mid 70’s with most GM interiors except some Pontiacs and Caddy’s.
The interior on my neighbors LOADED 78′ beige Caprice Classic was FUGLY…
It had literally 20 different shades of beige-brownish plastic in there, all of it the cheapest possible.
EVERY surface was a different color.
The mid 70’s Pontiac Grand Prix and Grand Le Mans interiors were VERY nice.
GM has only very recently got their act together on their interiors.
In 87′ my dad got a loaded F150 and it had a good looking layout with illuminated needles on REAL gauges and it had a quality look and feel to it.
It was SOLID too, with NO squeaks or rattles of any kind and that stayed true for 10 years and 180000 miles.
My 96′ F150 wasn’t as solid. More hard plastic than the 87′.
Also in 87′ a buddy got one of the NEW for 88′ Silverados with the fake digital speedo and that weird dash.
On rough roads that whole dash pod assembly would bounce and shimmy around with accompanying noises and it just seemed like junk to me.
It was a damn good truck though. Mechanically.
The esthetics of a police car instrument cluster aren’t worth spending money to make it pretty, if it’s readable. In a low-bid selling environment, extra money spent on designing a pretty dash might LOSE sales.
My ’01 Crown Vic police package car had the same dash and instrument cluster as a retail Vic or Grand Marquis; the only difference was a 140 mph speedometer in lieu of the standard 120 mph unit.
I would venture a guess these mimicked the retail Caprice mighty heavily or else GM had to spend money to dumb down an instrument cluster.
The base retail 91-93 Caprice had a simpler dash. Very 1962 with a large horizontal speedometer dominating the space flanked on either side by a fuel and temp gauge. If you wanted the police dash you had to order the LTZ version.
For a write up of a retail 91 Caprice, see my COAL here:
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/cars-of-a-lifetime/coal-1991-chevrolet-caprice-living-up-to-a-legend/
Here is my COAL of my 9C1 LT1
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/cars-of-a-lifetime/coal-1995-chevrolet-caprice-corvette-power/
Ford was remarkably consistent with the dash in the Vic/GM. It looked pretty much identical from 1995 (updated partway through the aero generation) to the end of the line in 2011. There were a handful of instrument panel variations–the “primary” civilian IP, the P71 piece you mention with a different callibrated speedometer, the Marauder version which added a tach, the full digital dash of the mid-late 90’s, and the final instrument panel that added a tach and a small digital speed readout across the board. But the main dash stayed the same throughout.
I’ve never loved the look of the Panther dash (the Marauder especially deserved something nicer-looking, I thought) but it’s worlds better than this odd-looking Caprice unit! Goes to show that when a dash is designed for a ribbon speedometer, you’re going to have to work mighty hard to reconfigure it for round gauges. This…was not the result of hard work.
According to jerseyfred, it’s not police only, but the IP that came with the high trim LTZ too.
+2. And I thought I was the only one……
The cluster definitely looked like an after-thought, they just kind of sprinkled round instruments onto a big rectangle. At least the early 9C1’s had a tach, I think 94+ didn’t have one at all. But I liked all the little things that distinguished the car from a civillian model, the dash was def one of those items.
Correct no tach in the 94-96 Caprice.
One of my favorite mods to the 1994 – 1996 Caprice instruments is to replace them with the similar-vintage Z28 cluster. Non-disappearing odometer digits and nice large tachometer are worth it alone.
The dashboard this car should have had.
That has to be one of the worst-looking instrument clusters in a car, ever. The only thing I can figure is that the instruments were chosen from parts bins of other vehicles, then arranged for ease of production, and nothing else. The word ‘haphazard’ comes to mind. It’s also worth nothing the huge amount of blank, hard plastic real estate on both sides.
It’s one of those rare instances where a base instrument cluster with fewer (but better designed to fit) instruments would actually be preferable.
The 1994-95 Impala SS dash was the same as the current Caprice’s. 1996 models got a ful set of analog gauges as well as a console mounted shifter.
http://www.autofrenzy.net/autofrenzynet/still-rolling-the-chevrolet-impala-ss
Trawling the parts bin for gauges, its only luck they landed in front of the driver.
That instrument cluster looks like it belongs on a stationary generator.
Now that’s funny.
And accurate.
Replacing that transmission in that cold garage warmed me with nostalgic memories of my youth. It’s amazing the amount of perseverance a young person can learn when, it’s your only transportation, you’re broke, and walking until spring is’nt gonna be any warmer! Back in my day I went through a prodigious amount of used powerglides and rear ends, replaced in the driveway regardless of weather, largely attributed to my driving style. Of course a date that night could be a very motivating factor.
It was definitely a lesson learned, was under the gun but made it happen. A quick spin around the block to make sure it works then a 3 hour drive to school. Gained some confidence but still had some things to learn. Wouldn’t be my last bath in ATF!
Great writeup on a pretty good car .
They called them ‘ whales ‘ with very good reason , they made terrific Police cars , both radio and metro units .
WAAYYY too big for me to ever fully appreciate but very sturdy god handling barges none the less .
-Nate
Although no one in my family ever owned this generation Chevy Caprice/Caprice Classic, I’ve always liked this generation Chevy Caprice. Probably more so than what has replaced it.
Nice story, reminds me of driving my father’s 1993 LTD which had the 220hp 302 and 3.23 with LSD, and also a digital speedometer with analogue tacho and 4 ancillary gauges. I remember launching it from a light one day stalled up to about 1500-2000 rpm and the rear kicking out. It was pretty fast, it impressed my uncle pretty well who’d had 6-cylinder BMW 5-ers and M-B 300E.
93 Crown Vic had the 4.6 modular
He’s presumably talking about the Aussie Ford Fairlane thingy.
Correct tonito, I should have made that clear. They actually did a run of 302s before ending production that was enough to let Ford Australia keep using them until 2002. Mind you not in large quantities because the standard 4.0 six was not far behind in performance.
The LTD was the top model for Ford Australia, the local dealer would pick them up for my dad from the Ford dealer auctions at a huge discount off the original price. The 1990 model had stereo controls and headphone jacks for the rear passengers to listen to different music from the main speakers. The 1993 didn’t have that but had a CD changer and subwoofer in the parcel shelf, I used to crank it up to listen to music while washing the car, could hear it perfectly clearly. Had to quickly cut the volume when opening the door though!
Except for the age part, this write-up comes very close to being how my latest car purchase went. I had a 97 Civic with over 283K miles on it and which looked like a refugee from a junkyard (cracked windshield, bent up front bumper and hood that seemed to threaten to pop open at any instant). I didn’t feel I wanted to spend a lot on a car, even though I was about to receive an inheritance of $20-25 thousand. I found my ’09 P71 on a local charities car lot along with about 4 or 5 others. The one I chose had the lowest miles (somewhat coincidentally just over 90K), and the least abused looking exterior and interior but still wearing it’s white paint it was obviously an ex-police car.
And now, like you did with yours, I am “prowling” Craigslist to parts to personalize my latest ride.
Not sure how fast it will go, but have had it close to 90 for a very short time recently.
Okay, I gotta know: what’s that reddish car in the background of your first photo? It looks sorta GM circa 1965, but I can’t quite place it. (BTW, thanks for a great story about a cool car.)
Good eye, it is from 1965, it’s a Chevelle 300 deluxe. Was a true “old lady car” from my neighborhood. Although it was all original it needed a lot to be road-worthy. The project never got off the ground, but i sold it to a guy who sent me pics as he restored it, so happy ending.
I was wondering too. I’m guessing a 64 or 65 Chevelle 300.
You got it! It’s a 65.
When I was working at Champion Chevrolet, someone traded in a 1993 Caprice LTZ in that funky metallic teal that was available back then. I still regret not being able to buy it, ugly dash or not.
It can be said and considered that even though it was 15 years late (since I would not even consider the 2000-current Impala unless it was the 1995-96 version of the Impala SS that it immediately replaced the last Chevrolet Caprice made in 1996.) the 2011 Australian GM based Holden Caprice which became the Chevrolet Caprice PPV here in the U.S. exclusive only for Law Enforcement Department and not the General Public was actually the delayed replacement for the GM RWD B-Body BOF version of the Chevrolet Caprice Classic. Its the actual original’s “spiritual successor”. The 2000-current Impala actually replaced the North American version of the Chevrolet Lumina. The Holden “scaled down” version is still a RWD but this time with a unitized body and chassis construction unlike its U.S. predecessors and its only several inches longer than the 2006 Impala.
I agree. Good to see a new Caprice in the US again. It seems to have taken the 91-96 Caprice and updated it with even more power and modern safety and technology. But still V8 powered rear wheel drive!
Unfortunately, it may be short lived as Holden is ending production soon. I have not heard anything positive about the Caprice PPV being saved.
Its also unfortunate that Chevrolet let alone GM would not sell these Caprice PPVs to us the General Public. The only related model which was also another Holden based which we are allowed to purchase besides the related Camaro was the $40K slightly smaller Nova sized Chevrolet SS 4 Door Sports Sedan (which ironically was the same car as the Pontiac G8).
Used ones may be available in the next few years as they are retired from police service.
Maybe at local municipal government auctions much like what these law enforcement agencies do after they retired their police car fleets.
I believe 2012 was the first year they entered service. The first batch may be ready for retirement. I think the early models had console mounted shifters which were later relegated to the traditonal steering column position.
That’s very interesting to know. I hope that if someone perhaps a reader of this article was finally able to acquire one within the next year or so, that he or she would be able to share it with us here if not write an article about it.
Here is a story of one not in police service:
http://www.automotive.com/news/2012-chevrolet-caprice-owner-opens-up-about-purchasing-rare-super-sedan-50073/
Very interesting that a few were able to escape the Law Enforcement Agency markets and wind up in one dealership in Gaithersburg, MD until General Motors was made aware of this and put a stop on these kinds of practices under revised policies.
There were a a few dealerships in Maryland that were selling the Caprice PPV to regular customers. GM did put an end to the dealers selling a “new” car to civilians but here is the rub. While GM made dealerships sign a agreement to only sell the cars new to fleet companies, they said nothing about selling used cars to John or Jane Public. While that generally means cars that are a few years old and sold originally to a customer, most states require a car to be sold used if the car has already been titled. So if a dealership titles a 2016 car in the name of the dealership (for a long term loaner car or a demo) then the car is considered used even if it only has 20 miles on it before being offered for sale again. Some dealerships have been doing this with the Caprice due to no law enforcement interest and the fact that each day a new car is sitting on the lot not sold cost the dealer money in loan fees from GM. It is a losing proposition to a Chevy dealer selling the PPV in a state where law enforcement is buying Chargers.
But if you want a new one, you have to 2017 to get one as Holden is closing up shop and the Caprice will not be made anymore(unless GM decides to shift production here or to Mexico, but that is unlikely for such a niche vehicle. They also sell a Police version of the Tahoe too.
NJ State Police is replacing their Crown Vics with the Caprice…I’m wondering what will happen after 2017.
I heard that the Chargers are deemed too small and the Taurii too expensive
Maybe they might switch back to the recently redesigned Impala, Malibu (might be too small for NJ Police) or even the Ford Fusion (also too small for NJP). The expensive Taurus might also be going away within two to three years from now unless an exclusive marketing arrangements like Law Enforcement Agencies just like with the last of the larger BOF original RWD Crown Victorias several years back. The only larger size logical car of choice for the present would be the newly designed Impala. Jury is still out with foreign sedans as police cars like the Toyota Camry and Nissan Altima since these are in the same size class as the Chevrolet Malibu and Ford Fusion which are too small for NJ Police specifications for fleet additions or replace older and larger models. NYC’s NYPD does have the Nissan Altima, Ford Fusion and even the much smaller Toyota Prius Hybrid in their mixed fleets of cop cars which were all smaller than their Chevrolet Impala, Ford Taurus, Dodge Charger and their numerous Ford Crossovers and SUVs.
I have a strong soft spot for the old body on frame, full size, police cars. My daily driver for a few years was Police Spec Crown Vic that had been a government use car. With only 23k on it when I bought it, and with an interior that did not seem to indicate a bunch of seat time idling, it was an excellent general purpose vehicle. I made a couple of minor modifications, painted it, and never got a ticket, which was rather surprising given that I regularly took it up over 100 on the Baltimore Beltway. Never had any mechanical issues it 80k of fairly hard use.
recently bought a 92 Caprice wagon, love it. also have a P71. In my opinion, the last gen of BOF RWD V8 cars was the peak of car design. Comfortable, handled well enough, easy to fix, 20 mpg, reasonably simple FI systems that make enough hp for normal use… just perfect cars for daily use.
No surprise in the front end stuff. The B Body had a notoriously weak front end, which was made all the worse from the extra weight of the Whale body. The same for the brakes.
In my family taxi business, we only tried one Whale, and it was very hard keeping the brakes and front end in good order.
In your taxi use, was there a preference for any specific brand of front end replacement parts (center link, inner and outer tie rods, idler arm, ball joints) and brake components (pads, rotors, calipers) ?
My dad had a ’91 as a company car…civilian spec of course, but other than a metallic powder blue paint job it looked just like this down to the wheel covers. I remember asking him if the blowhole on Shamu was fully functional. He just mumbled something about how its on the company’s dime, so whatever.
While the mechanicals were solid, everything else about that car was rickety crap. The wheelcovers all left the car within 6 months. Dad said he hit a rough set of tracks and all 4 flew past like he was being strafed by UFOs. Apparently the front bench was a total penalty box after a few hours on the road. Numerous interior parts rattling loose, a dead wiper motor and a few other odds and ends. The 305 motor was gutless but adequate and turned decent mpgs, considering it was lugging around a few hundred pounds of weight in the trunk. He was happy to be rid of it in favor of a ’95 Crown Vic which was a better car all around. Then FINALLY he convinced the bosses to let field service reps have pickups.
“I heard that the Chargers are deemed too small and the Taurii too expensive”
Indeed the Chargers are too small , often our Boys in Blue have to call for a B Wagon to transport prisoners plus the view out in any direction is so miserable I consider it unsafe .
I’m laughing reading the usual comments about how cheap Chevrolets are ~ Chevy has always been GM’s # 1 ‘ low cost ‘ vehicle albeit with style so whining that they rattle and squeak and are worn out by 100,000 miles doesn’t make a whole lot of sense .
If you want a better quality vehicle , pony up and buy a Buick or Import .
FWIW , L.A.P.D. has ‘A’ and ‘B’ checks , the Chevies always get new pads & rotors then , new calipers at the ‘B’ check . this regardless of condition or amount or wear when they roll into the shop .
The first generation of panther Police cars couldn’t make 30,000 miles before the front brakes were metal to metal and the rotors junk , warped from the heat .
No Chevy Police / Taxi ever did that .
Many cheapo Taxi outfits bought Civilian Chevies for taxi work then complained , their own fault for not buying the Taxi version with is heavier front end .
-Nate
Technically, a G80 is a locker NOT an LS. It uses a center section with counter weights to lock up.
Hey, I had one of those! A ’91 9C1 Caprice, still wearing the white paint of its service—several owners back—with the Scituate, Massachussetts cop shop. Me, I picked it up in September of 2000; at that time I didn’t yet see anything stupid about buying a car located a plane ride away sight unseen on eBay, minor chord here.
I was living in Michigan when I bought it; I flew to Massachussetts with a duly-registered Michigan plate in my briefcase (emission tests? Safety inspections? Pshaw, not in Michigan!), put the plate on the car, and drove it, in as-bought condition, from Massachussetts to Toronto to declare my love for my now-spouse-of-16-years.
The car was quite a bit very used. Its 350 TBI engine had no power at all until I put the ignition timing where it was supposed to be (i.e., not 10° after TDC). It came to me with a hollowed out catalytic converter with cracked housing, and useless-by-design headlamps made even(!) worse(!!) by fogged lenses and broken aim adjustors that had one pointing on the bumper and one up in the sky—if you know me, the irony is stunning. There was also a water leak in the left taillamp that caused brake light bulbs to blow immediately the brake was applied if it was raining (more irony), some rips in the rubber floor mats I fixed with RTV silicone, and it made a weird putrid smell whenever I would turn on the backglass defogger grid (later discovered to be the plastic electrical plug on the switch, gradually melting to death—GM had apparently installed a timer, but no relay).
Nevertheless, it was a fairly reliable barge to commute back and forth from Ann Arbor, where I was finishing school with a lot of absence, to Toronto where I was building the foundation of what would eventually become my marriage. In December 2000/early January ’01 I had a few concerns regarding the alternator. Its bearings had begun making a slight bit of noise, and I was wondering if it’d get me 500km home to Ann Arbor. I gave the front bearing a little squirt of Tri-Flow, and by the time I got back to Michigan, it’d stopped making noise. I was busy, so…out of earshot, out of mind, and I paid no further heed to the alternator.
Noisy bearings don’t fix themselves, though. The morning after a prolonged birthday weekend in Toronto, I hit the 401 to drag myself back to Michigan. About 56 klicks Southwest of Toronto, the smells of deep-grease-frying metal and insulation permeated the car, and a hair-raising grinding noise began—like a Saginaw steering pump gone very bad or a buzz saw chawing on tool steel.
At first I thought the power steering pump had locked up and lunched the (new) serpentine belt. The P/S pump had been working OK but making noise on cold mornings. Or, at least, I thought it was the P/S pump making noise. But then it occurred to me that I still had steering assist and the engine temperature wasn’t climbing, so I supposed the alternator to
have locked up. Then it occurred to me that everything else was still turning and I wasn’t smelling burning rubber, but hot metal, so I supposed the alternator bearing to have failed. As if to confirm my driver’s seat diagnosis, the “AMP” light came on, the voltmeter dropped, and the grinding noise grew more horrendous.
I hit the first exit, found it completely devoid of any services, and so got back on the 401, still grinding and discharging. Went to the next exit a couple kilometres along, grinding and stinking, found an Esso station, parked, and flipped open the hood. The front half of the alternator was that nice cooked-metal colour, and absolutely spotless (cf self-cleaning oven) except for some flakes of ash that had been engine compartment grease. Also, a great deal of smoke was pouring from the alternator. I went in the C-store, bought a litre of water, sprinted back out and poured it over the searing-hot alternator, upon which it flash-vapourised. It had the intended effect, though, cooling the internals down enough that nothing would catch on fire (though I think the C-store clerk wasn’t so confident on that score). He pointed me to a Canadian Tire a block away, so I started the car and made a gonzo run for it. I’d figured that once I allowed the alternator to stop turning, it would weld itself solid, particularly with my water cooling, and I was right. Goodbye, new serpentine belt; rubber smoke wafted in through the dash vents.
I nonchalantly told the Canadian Tire folks I had a Caprice with a dead alternator. An indifferently “remanufactured” unit at retail parts and labour prices, snarl, but the funny part was they gave me the core charge. I’m here to tell you, there was absolutely nothing re-usable on or in the alternator they removed. It might’ve made an acceptable doorstop or heavy-duty paperweight, but that’s it.
There were other failures; the “rebuilt” 700R4 transmission’s front pump gerotors, normally a 2-piece set, became something like a 27½-piece-set while I was on my way up the spiral ramp of a parkade one morning (or: how to get a sizeable chunk of Ann Arbor’s car-commuting population very upset with you in one easy lesson). That backglass defogger switch eventually melted into a rivulet of electric goo. The ECM pins developed terminal (heh) corrosion. Et cetera.
But there were fun times, too; Caprices were still recent enough at the time that people went out of their way to defer to me in traffic. And nobody so much as blinked when I used the “AUTHORIZED VEHICLES ONLY” turnaround to exempt myself from an awful traffic jam on the interstate one day. Eventually I sold it to an Asian-American young man whose family had only ever had practical small Japanese cars. Things got off to a bit of a rocky start for him (starter motor at the 1-week mark) but once that was replaced and his parents’ nerves calmed, he enjoyed the hell out of it; I saw him hooning around town now and then.
All in all I’d rather it had been a high-spec, low-miles ’77-’79 unit, which is why I’m still kicking myself for failing to pounce on just such a ’79 that went by in Hemmings for stupid low money a few years later.
I owned a ’91 Crown Vic that was about as diametrically opposite from yours as a full-size Ford and a full-size Chevy of the same year could get–whitewalls, alloys, vinyl roof, and non-HO 302. But they were both silver, and I also owned mine while in college, just short of age 21! I wrote a COAL about mine as well, a couple months ago.
When I was a teenager I went with Dad to check out an ’89 9C1 Caprice that was for sale locally. He didn’t end up buying it (top of their budget, plus it needed some body work) but that thing felt pretty strong with the 350. Remembering that experience, and having owned three Panthers over the years, I can completely understand the appeal of this car to you. Sounds like a fun ride for a 21 year old, and the price was certainly right!
Mommy, please make the ugly car go away!