Talk to me about the Panther Platform. My friend is in need

>>16017004
Town car beat but expect no power and when you put your foot down you can see the gas needle moving

>>16017004
>any other comfy landbarges in mind?
LS400?

>>16017016
This is a good choice, although I wish it had front bench seats like the town car. I guess it's a little bit sportier though

Assuming you're talking about 1998 onwards (because the older, boxier/aero style ones exist but are getting rarer), the Panther platform covers four cars: Ford Crown Victoria, Mercury Grand Marquis, Lincoln Town Car, and Mercury Marauder.

Crown Vics and Grand Marquis are basically the same car with different front and rear fascias; most Crown Vics you'll find are probably going to be P71 (Police Interceptor) models that were beat to shit and then sold for cheap. Look for a Marquis. Vics and GMs both have tons of options for the interior- bench seats or standard seats, center console or no, column shift or floor shift, leather, vinyl or cloth interior, analog or digital dashboard (Marquis only), etc. Go look at some cars in your area and see what options are available. Note that most cars of this generation don't have cigarette lighters in every door, just ash trays- go for an earlier car if you want that.

Town Cars are still on the same platform and share lots of parts but tend to have weird unique little things here and there because it's a "luxury" car. Both it and the other two can come with air ride suspension in the rear; it's trash and will always shit out after a while. If you can find one with normal shocks in the back, go for it.

The Marauder is a unicorn that you'll never see so we won't talk about that.

>>16017248
con't

All Panthers (aside from the marauder that we're not talking about) come with the 2-valve 4.6 modular V8 (same engine as the late 90s/early 2000s Mustang GTs) that makes 200 and who cares horsepower (a bit more if it's a late model with the upgraded airbox and/or dual exhaust) and almost 300 torks. They're not fast but they're torquey as hell so you won't have any trouble going up hills or whatever. They don't float as much as you'd expect them to going down the road, but the steering will often be kind of loose on the older ones because they use recirculating ball steering instead of a rack and pinion. Turning radius is wider than most roads. Visibility is fantastic, controls are sensible and easy. Glovebox, trunk, and hood all have lights to see what you're doing when the situation arises. If you want to rip hektik skidz, find a gravel road and turn off traction control, they're pretty tail happy if you throw its weight around. Some models came with a limited slip differential in the back (with either 3.27 or 3.55 gears), but there's no easy way of telling if a car has it or not other than checking the axle code on the door and/or jacking it up and looking for the tag on the axle housing.

Things to look for: body rust (the frame will probably out-last the body panels), lack of maintenance due to its reputation, and the intake manifold. Earlier ones have a garbage plastic manifold and the alternator bracket mounts onto the front of it, which causes stress on the plastic and will eventually cause it to crack, warp, leak, or etc which will throw coolant everywhere and probably kill your engine. Theft probably, if you live in a shitty area (dindus LOVE taking Crown Vics and putting them on 24" wheels). Everyone will think you're a cop if it's a Crown Vic.

File: 98-02-Ford-Crown-Victoria-Mercury-Grand-Marquis-cup[1].jpg (17KB, 400x225px)

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>>16017266
Also, one point for the Town Cars: they usually have a jillion cup holders including in the front armrests. The cup holders in earlier (98-02) CVs/Marquis fucking suck dick and don't hold shit.

>>16017248
>>16017266
>>16017291
Just the kind of reply I wanted. Thanks man. Also, all models come with leather seats right?

>>16017349
Yes and no; there's the POSSIBILITY of having leather seats, but it depends on year, trim level, and if it was actually ordered with leather seats or not.

IIRC Town Cars always have leather, Crown Vics and Marquis are a toss-up.

>>16017004
It's heavy
It's slow
It gets bad fuel mileage
It's comfy

File: article-0-1D4F97DC00000578-856_634x416[1].jpg (71KB, 634x416px) Image search: [Google]

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How about a party bus?

You will eventually need a new intake manifold and the coil packs will eventually die.
Other than that, and my squeaky-ass suspension, I love my Grand Marquis. The cupholders are pretty useless though.

I'm thinking of getting some JB weld gasket maker and DIYing something to seal the very slight coolant leak between the manifold and the thermostat housing...

>>16017349
Really all you need to know is 2003-2011 Panthers got a chassis upgrade and rack/pinion steering. So get those if you want the most "modern" car feeling, a little more predictable ride. I'd avoid 1998-2002 since they look the same as the newer ones but are shittier. Get the older ones if you like the styling and they will have the ashtrays. All makes had leather available, you'll just have to look around. The Lincoln air suspension woes is exaggerated imo but you can always put in regular crown vic or mercury coil springs in its place if it does. The 1983-1989 Lincoln does not have air suspension.

>>16017719
Didnt 2003 and up have even worse electrical problems?

>>16017813
I don't see how. 2010-11 supposedly have worse build quality since they started getting assembled from spare parts by people who know they're losing their jobs.

>>16017373
>It's heavy
No shit
>It's slow
There is absolutely no reason you should by a CV to race traffic light to traffic light. Their speed isn't that terrible compared to other 4,000lbs full-size sedan
>It gets bad fuel mileage
16 city and 24 hwy isn't bad for a 4000lbs V8
>It's comfy
Yes.

>taking car advice from a furfag

>>16017016
meh it's a little downgrade from Op's idea and he should really stick to american

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>CAPRICE
>WAGON

>>16019808
Lmao chill out you dumb fuck, nothing I said was wrong
>fuel mileage isn't bad
http://www.fuelly.com/car/ford/crown_victoria
Ok.

>>16017004
I have a 1990 box Vic and I've abused it because I thought it was just a short time hold over car but I've had it three years water pump gave out and ran water in it..rusted but still held up..valve cover leak..ran it low in oil but still runs strong..tranny starting to shift hard at high speeds

>>16017016
OP here, did some more research and I'm actually starting to like this better than the town car. LS400s are kind of rare around here, but they seem to be better priced than panthers. I definitely like the looks and interior better. Is there anyone here that has owned an LS400 and a town car/grand marquis and can compare them?