2011 Crown Victoria Police interceptor Build and Suggests

[Sasquatch SC]

Not a good way to start a build. Since you use the car as an everyday means of transportation you will never learn mechanics.
You cant afford the down time that it takes to do your own work. The locker you posted is more than half the value of your car but will not increase it's value if you sold it. IMO... I would buy another car with the (+ -) $800, use it for your daily while you work and learn on the cop car. Or, if the cheap rig you buy happens to be a truck or SUV, SINK YOU MONEY IN IT AND USE THE COP CAR FOR THE DAILY DRIVER. Any truck or SUV would carry a higher value if you sold it than the cop car. Your going to have to learn mechanics st some point or you will always be spending money on labor instead of investing in your rig. Best advise I can give, hope others will give us their .02$ on my opinion.

@Lanlubber is giving some solid advice, but I think he may be overlooking the vision. Correct me if I’m wrong - but you’re goal w/ the Cop Car Overlander is for the novelty of it? Doing something you haven’t really seen before & it’s fun being the odd duck. I totally get it. I think w/ shop space, tool access, some more mechanically inclined assistance you could probably do the swap in a weekend. I know you’re in college, so this probably a good time as any to tinker on a project like this - 1 that is gloriously impractical & hilariously unexpected. Especially when it conquers and becomes the trail sheriff.

 

[Sneaks]

The downside to not being mechanically inclined is your dependency on others when things go sideway. Outback recovery costs are not cheap. Yes, the Panther is a solid and reliable platform, but stuff breaks. I respect the “go your own way” spirit but I suspect the costs will climb the more you add to it and have to pay someone else to do the work. I second (third?) the notion to pick up a cheap POS for a DD and learn to wrench on this beast.

 

[Lanlubber In Remembrance]

@Lanlubber is giving some solid advice, but I think he may be overlooking the vision. Correct me if I’m wrong - but you’re goal w/ the Cop Car Overlander is for the novelty of it? Doing something you haven’t really seen before & it’s fun being the odd duck. I totally get it. I think w/ shop space, tool access, some more mechanically inclined assistance you could probably do the swap in a weekend. I know you’re in college, so this probably a good time as any to tinker on a project like this - 1 that is gloriously impractical & hilariously unexpected. Especially when it conquers and becomes the trail sheriff.

Your right Sasq , I overlooked the vision because of my practicality, but I gave him two choices or paths he could take. I just know that he will never get the Sheriff on the road if he has to drive him all the time. If he can learn to do things himself which might require some down time, it would be nice if he had something to drive in the mean time to relive the pressure to get the Sheriff on the road quickly. A beater car is a good way to get around while updating the main rig. Just a thought to throw around. Money wise I would like to see him put it into something that will have MORE capability over time and give him the mechanical experience of building the rig himself.
Another suggestion since you are a student. Get a part time job in a wrecking yard as a parts chaser in the yard. You will learn fast and get paid doing it. The boss may let you work on your car as well on Sundays using his space and his tools.

 

[Buzzard13]

All I see is the start of a Clean Gambler Build. Look up Gambler 500. They off road Miata and Toyota Corollas.

My truck is my Daily and so with him been down for nearly a year, I have riding a bike to work or, more recently, using my parents spare car. We do what we can with what we got. Good Luck.

(Locker and winch in my opinion)

 

[PatricL]

Current one I'm looking at is a locking rear diff. Here's a link:

Auburn Gear® - ECTED Max™ Rear Limited Slip Differential

Ford Crown Victoria Flex with Ford 8.8" Series Axle with 10 Bolt 2011, ECTED Max™ Rear Limited Slip Differential by Auburn Gear®. With Selectable Full Locker.

www.carid.com

I don't think a locker should be that high up on your list of priorities. I would get tires and clearance then start working on the stuff you want to make it functional and look the way you want. With a locker you can go a few more places without any trail modification. Without a locker you just have to get out and stack a strategic rock. I wheeled many many years with open differentials. Never found a place I could not take my Land Cruiser following my friends locked jeeps. I just had to work a little harder and pick better lines and occasionally call on my friends to stack some rocks and guide my tire placement. I took that rig through the Rubicon a few times and never had to spool out the winch.

 

[The_Jed]

I'll be following along to see how this pans out. I'm debating as to whether I should do a light "build" on my '09 Marquis for road trip/dirt road/Boondocking or get a proper 4WD truck or SUV. Any long trips I take will be with the entire family, me, wife, two kids so I will be avoiding any hardcore "wheeling". So far all I've done besides the usual catch up on deferred maintenance (brakes, filters, fluids) is max-out the negative camber up front (there are cam bolts in the forward mounts of the lower control arms), slap on a 2" receiver hitch and a 1" rear sway bar. Later, I might slap on some P71 springs and shocks and possibly fab up some skid plates, ditch the 2.73 gears for a higher ratio, and toss in a traction lok diff. They're just over $200 and rebuild kits are right around $100. Then, of course, there are tires...it just keeps going. :)

Lately, I've become infatuated with the idea of snagging another Panther and using the rear 2/3 of the car to make a small, enclosed trailer/camper type thing. I think that would be functional and hilarious; spare parts, sleeping area, auxilliary fuel tank, etc.

 

[Over the Crown]

I don't think a locker should be that high up on your list of priorities. I would get tires and clearance then start working on the stuff you want to make it functional and look the way you want. With a locker you can go a few more places without any trail modification. Without a locker you just have to get out and stack a strategic rock. I wheeled many many years with open differentials. Never found a place I could not take my Land Cruiser following my friends locked jeeps. I just had to work a little harder and pick better lines and occasionally call on my friends to stack some rocks and guide my tire placement. I took that rig through the Rubicon a few times and never had to spool out the winch.

Noted

 

[Over the Crown]

@Lanlubber is giving some solid advice, but I think he may be overlooking the vision. Correct me if I’m wrong - but you’re goal w/ the Cop Car Overlander is for the novelty of it? Doing something you haven’t really seen before & it’s fun being the odd duck. I totally get it. I think w/ shop space, tool access, some more mechanically inclined assistance you could probably do the swap in a weekend. I know you’re in college, so this probably a good time as any to tinker on a project like this - 1 that is gloriously impractical & hilariously unexpected. Especially when it conquers and becomes the trail sheriff.

I like the idea of an overlanding cruiser. I could have bought a truck or used my step-dad's jeep for overlanding, but I wanted to make something unique.

 

[Sasquatch SC]

I like the idea of an overlanding cruiser. I could have bought a truck or used my step-dad's jeep for overlanding, but I wanted to make something unique.

Yeah man. Personally I dig the oddball, unexpected rig off-road. I went w/ a Subaru for my build bc it was the underdog. I bought it new off the showroom floor so it wasn’t like I didn’t have options for a more common rig. In college, before I even knew the term “Overland” I drove a hand-me-down Oldsmobile Bravada (basically a Chevy Blazer w/ different body moldings, Smart Trak AWD & all the more luxurious features a retiree would want). I beat the ever living shit out of it & drove it everywhere. 1 summer I followed the Widespread Panic tour up the east coast & then kinda hung out in the northeast for a few weeks & then followed the Phish tour back down south. I had a bunch of thrift store sleeping bags piled on top of each other for cushion w/ the back seat laid down & I pretty much lived out of the back of it. My friends coined the name “Bravadabego” for it. It was my own poor man’s post-Grateful Dead-hippie version of a Winnebago. I would always hit the parks for the free dispersed camping on the gravel roads & trails. The AWD system in it was super unpredictable. It would put itself in low range for no reason at red lights on a hot day or when I was getting bogged down it wouldn’t send power to the front. It would just dig me a nice hole to sit in. I finally got rid of it for my first Subaru when I got my first job. It had over 400k miles on it & was extremely unsafe if you tried to go over 50.

You’re being smarter about it than I was back then. You’re utilizing the awesome power of the internet & making modifications to what you’ve got. If it shits the bed on you - you can part it out & get another vehicle. Rinse & repeat. After you graduate & get a good job then you can pick & choose your rig. Until then, use what you’ve got. Have fun. Learn new stuff. Make connections w/ people who can teach you more about mechanics, off-roading, & overlanding as you go. I’m still learning new stuff every time I go out on a ride w/ folks. Send it! Drive it like you stole it! It’s not the legendary 1974 Dodge Monaco that the Bluesmobile was, but you can carry that spirit on w/ the Vic. You’re on a mission from God. The overlanding god. “There are 106 miles to Chicago (or Pisgah), we have a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it’s dark, and we’re wearing sunglasses.” Queue the music & treat the pavement like lava. Get that thing dirty.

Happy trails buddy, we’ll meet up soon & find some shenanigans. We can always find a local Jeep club meetup we can roll up on in a police car on knobby tires & a station wagon w/ a lift kit for some laughs.