Warped9
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• Brockville, XX, Canada |
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• Registered on 5/4/2018 |
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• 1 post |
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 Posted:5/4/2018 08:56 |
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Hi.
I'm new here and I'm hoping to learn from some who are more knowledgeable than me regarding this car.
When my father passed away last fall I inherited his 2004 Crown Victoria (Spruce Green Metallic with Charcoal leather interior). It is in exceptional condition given its age as Dad took good care of it. It helped that he had been retired since before he bought the car and therefore he put very little mileage on it and it was garaged every night. That said Dad didn't have a light foot when on the highway and most of its mileage is highway.
This is a Canadian car with only 108,700 kilometers (67,800 miles) on it. When Dad bought the car in late 2004 it already had maybe 15,000 kms. (9.300 m.) as it was a Ford executive car. While not perfect the body, interior and mechanicals are in exceptional condition. Now that winter is over I soon intend to have the car detailed.
I must say this is not a car I would have chosen to purchase for myself--it's bigger and not the kind of vehicle I would normally be interested in. That said, though, I like driving the car with it's good ride and not bad handling for its size. Way back in the day I learned how to drive on Dad's 1973 Mercury Meteor (a Canadian cousin model to the Mercury Marquis). That car drove like a beached whale and the '04 CrownVic drives like a sports car in comparison.
Of course the CrownVic was never meant to be a sports car or anything remotely similar, but I would like to make some improvements to make it a bit more my own.
Three weeks ago I picked up some proper colour correct Ford touchup paint to treat some stone chips on the front end. I have already ordered a new set of upsized wheels and tires to replace the stock 16" alloy rims (which I will keep for whenever I trade or sell the car someday). I am going with 17" alloy wheels (Mach ME.7) with Michelin 235/55R17 tires to make the car look a little sportier while not going for something that looks inappropriately too "out there" for the car.
I recently got a chance to look under the car where I saw it has a 26.5mm front stabilizer bar, but no rear bar. I know that in 2004 Ford started phasing out the rear bar on these cars while some still had a 17mm rear bar. I would like the car to have more neutral steeering and to be more stable in cornering--to that end I am considering upsizing the front stabilizer to 31mm and adding a 26.5 mm bar to the rear.
Is this feasible or am I overdoing it?
Today I installed a K&N air filter to replace the stock item. I'm not sure, but I think I felt a slight difference in the car's response. At any rate I am looking into the idea of eventually replacing that with a Cold Air Intake system. Any thoughts about that and/or suggestions regarding what I should watch for or consider? I want to keep the engine sound output reasonably moderate.
Other areas I'm thinking of addressing are shocks, brakes, exhaust and headlights. I am willing to spend some money but, of course, this isn't a cost-no-object project. It's a balance of cost with noticeable but not radical improvement.
Any effective suggestions appreciated. |
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