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.

Tuesday, October 27, 2020

136,735 Mile Update: Start Me Up!

Long time, no update! Vic has been putting along just fine... until yesterday.

I had noticed it sounded a little funny the last time I had started it up. The "funny" seemed familiar. I filed it away in my brain for future reference, and it came in handy not long after... like yesterday morning when I was about to go out and run some errands. Not to mention my mother wanting to also get out of the driveway.

I turned the key, and CLICK. Wouldn't start. Wouldn't crank.

Tried it a second time, DITTO.

All the dash lights went on like normal, and I could hear the fuel pump go on, so when it did start on the third try, I knew it was most likely the starter going bad.

A phone call later, I was on the way to Taxi Guy for repairs. I lucked out and got the job done along with an overdue oil change before the evening rush hour!

Thing is, I swore I had already had the starter done in 3.0. But Taxi Guy said it looked original, so it must have been 2.0. I believe that makes one for each Vic. And given the wide variety of miles on each car, they must wear out with age.


Why share a photo of Vic 3.0 next to some boring office building?  Well, that building is the headquarters of Welch's, as in Concord Grape jam and juice, and those green things behind Vic are actual grape vines growing from cuttings of the original vine!  I knew I was probably on camera so I didn't pick any of the grapes, but I did pick one up off the ground and it smelled just like their juice.

Vic 3.0 Gets Social!

6/15/20:  Vic meets O.J. ... I mean Vic meets a Ford Bronco...

7/30/20:  Vic meets some white and green speck of something that thinks it's smart...

8/10/20:  Vic parks next to a Fiat...