USED POLICE CARS

[Islander]

On 11/30/2021 at 5:29 AM, Seadoc said:

HEHE.  Look under the back seat for someone's stash !!!

 

Also look for stashes hidden in the washrooms at the courthouse, lol.

[Islander]

I drove a 1983 Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Impala 5.7 litre for 8 years, after buying it in 1985.  Then I got a 1990 OPP Caprice in 1993, and drove it happily for 3 years, until I got injured and had to switch to a minivan.  I was in the process of shopping for a 1992 or 1993 police Caprice at the time, because the body on the 1990 was a bit rusty.

 

The OPP sells off their patrol cars when they hit 130-140,000 km (about 85-90,000 miles), but they accumulate that mileage in just 2-3 years.  I was putting as much as I could into paying down my mortgage, so the idea of getting a 2-3 year old performance car for around $3,000 seemed like a great idea.

 

The rear end on the Impala failed at around 250,000 km, but I was able to buy a used Cadillac rear end and get it installed for around $900 IIRC.  The downside was that I had to go to 17 wrecking yards to find it, since many taxi companies bought those cars and put extreme numbers of miles on them, therefore needing differentials for many of their cars.  The Caprice had apparently been used for towing a heavy boat on dirt roads, and its diff. was shot.  I had a shop swap in the rear end from the Impala and away I went, while the Impala went to the wreckers.  Due to having a defective rear end, the 3-year-old Caprice cost me only $2500 to buy, so I didn’t mind the added cost of the rear end swap and the towing to the shop from the auction yard.

 

In daily operation, the parts are dirt cheap relative to a Japanese or German car.  “White box” brake pads cost only $17, while the much smaller pads for the girlfriend’s Nissan 200SX cost $240.

 

The Caprice’s oil looked like mud, which concerned me, but after an oil change and oil and air filter replacement, the oil stayed clean and the throttle body injected 5.7 ran great.  Those 5.7 Chevy engines are really good and they evolved over the years, making more power and using less fuel and oil over the decades.  That car had great handling, and would land evenly on all four wheels, which was great.  And when you get pulled over, the cops tend to be a little friendly when they see what you’re driving.  Sadly, those big B-body Chevys are no longer being produced.

 

One other thing:  the transmission on the Impala failed on the highway on one Christmas Day, which was inconvenient.  That component should be carefully checked, as they may have been abused.

 

The minivan didn’t fare so well.  After being spoiled by the heavy duty cop cars, the minivan ended up with bent front suspension, broken rear suspension, and a broken driver’s seat mounting in the first 3 years.  I moved West and drove it for another 13 years.

 

Now I have a 2012 Grand Caravan R/T, with the big 330 mm (13”) HD brake discs, which are miles better than the long-suffering 282 mm (11”) brakes on the 1998 Grand Caravan.  Those discs were undersized for the weight of the minivan, and would get heat checked and even cracked, while eating pads every 45,000 km (28.000 miles).  Nothing has failed on the newer van, so I expect to drive it happily for a long time.  It also has the R/T-only performance suspension, so it corners pretty flat.  Flat for a minivan, that is, but much better than the old van.

 

As for the Fords, the Town Cars seem to be the best bet, often reaching the million-mile mark in limousine service, something no other Ford model manages.

 

Almost forgot:  the space between the front bucket seats where the computer used to go makes it easy to hop in the back seat with your girlfriend at the drive-in.  There were still some drive-in movie theatres left in 1993. 

[Bubo]

New Ford Bronco is on a Truck Chassis

and completely sold out at $3-5K premiums

over list the Dealers are asking

 

The baby Bronco is something else in a cammo skin

[OO1]

17 minutes ago, Bubo said:

New Ford Bronco is on a Truck Chassis

 

 

6x6