Welcome to the Crown Vics ETC blog!

On April 6, 2000, I purchased a 1998 Ford Crown Victoria LX HPP with 23,490 miles. I decided to start a little website for it featuring a running log of my experiences with the car. Vic 1.0 was retired in 2015 due to rust and electrical issues. Vic 2.0 was a 2006 P71 in Blue Pearl that belonged to my boyfriend. It was a Ford demo and never saw actual police use. It was damaged in September of 2018 with well over 186,000 miles. It was replaced by Vic 3.0 in October 2018, a 2008 P71 in Silver Birch with 120,971 miles. To read posts prior to 2010, click a link at right, or go to Crown Vics, ETC.

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Fixing a 1999 Lincoln Town Car Mirror

My mother's 1999 Town Car is equipped with the heated, electrochromatic driver side mirror.  When she got the car not long ago, the glass was rather dark, and had some strange scratch-like marks on it.  Finally, it got to the point where she could barely see anything in it.

She asked me if I could find her a new mirror.  There are lots of aftermarket mirror setups, but they would need to be painted to match the car.  I have no hands-on experience with heated mirrors, so I wasn't sure if any old used mirror glass would work, and I couldn't find used ones online anyway. 
What I ended up doing is ordering a custom cut mirror from http://www.automirrorglassonly.com/. The glass itself is made by Burco Inc, here in the good old USA.  There are lots of different items available for different cars, but all Mom wanted was a mirror she could see out of.  She didn't care if it was heated or not.  So for he car I got the simple glass overlay.
All I had to do is clean the existing mirror, affix the four self stick pads to the new glass, and apply it to the original glass.  It was a perfect fit, and you can hardly tell it isn't original.  The directions state that the heated option will still work, though not as efficiently.  Thankfully, as stated before, Mom doesn't care... So far, she is very happy with her mirror, and I am a hero.

Saturday, August 20, 2011

UPDATE: Bilsteins Finally Toast?

This week I took Vic on a roughly 170 mile ride.  When I got home, I realized something: Vic needs some attention.  The car seems to be rocking/weaving/swaying side to side a tiny bit, enough that I semed to constantly be correcting the steering wheel.  The tires are fine.  None of the wheels seemed any hotter than the others (brake caliper?).  Yesterday I went for another ride, and I think I may know what's up.

The last clue is how the car feels going over bumps: BAD.  I am even getting rear wheel-hop.  Meaning?  I think the rear Bilsteins are finally toast.  A peek at the WUWV? pages show that the rear shocks were installed on 4/27/01.  That is over 10 years ago, and they are only now worn out.  The fronts were replaced only recently by Taxi Guy with police shocks. 

Since I am still a member of the unemployed (thanks Obama...) I don't think I will be going with Bilsteins again.  I would LIKE to, but for now I will go with two more Ford police shocks.  I think I will also have the front end checked, then get an alignment, just to make sure everything is set for the winter.

Are my theories correct??  Tune in later and see!!

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Emergency 9-1-1 Show, Springfield MA 8/14/11

Emergency 911 Show
Part of the 27th Annual Tune By Tuna Car Show
Smith & Wesson, 2100 Roosevelt Ave, Springfield MA
Sunday, August 14, 2011 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM

AWARDS FOR:
ü       Best In-Service Police Cruiser 
ü       Best Out-of-Service Police Cruiser
ü       Oldest Police Cruiser displayed
ü       Longest Distance Driven Police Cruiser
ü       Police Cruiser with Most Emergency Lights
ü       Best College Police Cruiser
ü       Best Police Department SPECIALTY VEHICLE
ü       Best Police Motorcycle
ü       Best Fire Apparatus In-Service
ü       Best Fire Apparatus Out-Of-Service
ü       Best Out-of-Service Ambulance
ü       BEST IN SHOW!!!