2011 Lifted Crown Victoria

[Over the Crown]

Hello all, I will finally be starting a build thread for my 2011 Police Interceptor! I'll try to keep things detailed and include pictures.




Here are a few photos from some recent trips to get started. This will be my third year owning this car, but only really my second year camping with it. It takes me to where I want to go, but I do have to stop myself sometimes. I have no regrets with my car, although if someone did hit the car and total it, I would likely try a Montero or Isuzu Trooper rather than buy another Crown Victoria. Or, at least, not this generation. An LTD Crown Victoria is something I am very interested in, and I would not be opposed to doing all of this stuff to an LTD if it was my only vehicle. If it was my second vehicle though, I would use this one for off-roading and the LTD as a sleeper build.

Here are the photos.




I have never done any sort of build thread before, so I am not sure exactly how I plan on doing this. I may make a post for each "section."

I also have a couple of short videos that I thought I would share. The video of me driving is not very good in my opinion. It doesn't show how hard I push this vehicle. I am 99% of the time a solo traveler, so when I am doing tough sections I am too focused to try and record a video. They are usually parts that require my full attention, and don't give me a chance to constantly step out of the vehicle to move my phone's camera.

Here are a couple of short videos. This site won't let me embed the videos, so you'll just have to click the links.

Short video of my car on some easy roads, didn't get any shots of my bumper being ripped off or going over huge rocks because I was too focused on driving rather than filming.
Video of the first time I had to use my winch. Tried to back out into a pullout so I could turn around, but ended up being sand and got stuck.
At the bottom of Hole in the Ground. I felt very tiny at the bottom.

 

[Over the Crown]

Under the Vehicle!

Here is my current suspension setup. It is on a 5 inch lift using cups in the rear and spacers above the front struts. I recently replaced my springs with Moog springs for a more stiff ride, and added some Bilstein 5100s. The shocks have an extended length of 27 inches and a compressed of 16. That is perfect for my setup. I am trying to determine if I can remove the cup spacers and just use a spring that is 3 inches longer. If I can, I may end up going that route in the future. I am planning on putting some Bilstein shocks in the front, if I can get a local shop to do that for me. I do not have much knowledge on struts.



As of 5/14/2021, I do not have a locker. I got the ARB diff cover because I smacked my factory one on a rock and it was leaked. I thought if I was going to replace it, might as well go with the best. This cover not only looks great, but is very very durable. A locker is planned for the future when I have the money to do so.

The exhaust is the Stainless Works Cat-back Exhaust system. I changed the mufflers to Magnaflows for a more quiet ride, but still keeping the rumble of a V8. I removed the X pipe, so it now has a true dual exhaust going from the cat to the tip on either side. Plan on removing the tail pipes and going with turndowns, to keep it looking like the original exhaust setup, even though it is larger in diameter.



This is my hitch receiver that I use. It serves as a good recovery point and helps me tow a Uhaul when I move. It is attached to the frame. Although I love this hitch and have used it numerous times, it does make my departure angle poor. If not the (stupidly) large exhaust tips, I always hit the hitch on trips. Might get a local shop to cut off the hitch part and weld it to the top of the bar rather than the bottom, if possible.

 

[Over the Crown]

Vehicle Exterior!

Alrighty, where to start?

Front
I'll begin with the front of my car and go around. The front has a custom winch mount attached to the frame. It uses a 12k lb Badlands winch. It is not the ZXR nor the Apex. I do not think they make this winch anymore, if I'm being honest. I plan on swapping the cable to synthetic line and getting a higher quality hook. The solenoid is also currently not secure, as the bolts just rattle themselves out. The winch itself works and pulls, but nothing more. It does not look nice, it does not want to give you any hugs or kisses. I got it on Craigslist for $250, which included the winch, the winch plate, fairlead, controller, and wireless controller. All in all, I think I got a good deal. The previous owner peeled off the stickers and attempted to spray it all black, so I am in the process of trying to restore it. I have replaced the rubber boots as the previous ones were poorly painted and falling apart. I think I will have a local sticker shop reproduce the stickers. The pushbar used to stick out at l;east 5 or 6 inches, but I had a shop modify it to sit close to the front of the vehicle. I also finally got my headlight guards back recently and put those on with it, because my headlights have been smacked so many times and are mainly held in with hopes, duct tape, and glue.

The front also has my hood louvers. They are made by RunCool. I forget what size they are. I have never had an overheating issue since installing these, plus they look pretty damn cool. (Nice pun, me.)



Sides
Passenger side has a ladder. Why? Because at 5'10"* I can not reach the top of the rack. I would have to lift items well above my head, which is really just not ideal. I installed the ladder before the lift, and everyone thought it was goofy. Who's laughing now? (Nobody.) The ladder is for an FJ Cruiser, but I attached it to my door. The door still opens normally without any issue, and the ladder is also fine to stand on if you're not too heavy. I plan on remounting it in a better method to allow it to support more weight. On my Summer 2022 cross country trip I ended up removing the ladder. I will try to make a custom one when have the time so it conforms with the side of the door, but for now I'll just deal with the back pain. I also plan on putting one of the over priced shower tents on the roof rack in front of the front passenger door. I think it will be perfect.
* Citation needed



The driver side has my awning. The new Rhino Rack raises the awning slightly more than the previous Amazon roof basket. It is just high enough that I can fully stand under it without slouching. Although, if you're any taller than me.... That sucks I guess!

Rear
The rear has my fake MaxTrax bolted to the trunk lid. I plan on moving them to the rack now that I don't have a basket. I'll need to get a new trunk lid though. There are two holes in the back you can see. Those are from when I had the tire mounted there, but it made the lid so heavy it was awful haha. The lid also has my two antennas mounted. I've got a bit more detail on my plans for them in the future in another comment. Currently, the left one is a BR 1180-B for my Baofeng that I use for listening. The right one was for CB, but I have recently replaced it to be my GMRS antenna. My GMRS radio is made by Midland and works well.



Tires
The tires are 245/75R16 General Grabber ATX's. They are 30.5 inches tall, but we can round that to a 31, right? I use all terrains over mud terrains because 1. I avoid mud, and 2. better mpg. These are amazing tires. Perform great off road, quiet on road, long warranty, and look great. I love the way these tires look. I did have to have some of the fender trimmed in order to.... turn the car. I will need to go back and trim more of the fender liner, as it got caught on the tire a couple of times while I was in "Hole in the Ground," Oregon. I don't mind the small cut, and it isn't incredibly noticeable most of the time. I plan on cleaning it up a bit with a sander. I need to trim the rear bumper slightly, but it is not a priority. It only rubs on sharp turns at high speed, or when off-roading on heavy bumps. The tires are perfect size. They look great, and aren't too big to where my tires will get stuck when pushed into the car. I always carry a full size spare. I used to keep it in the trunk, but it took up so much usable room that I moved it to the roof rack.

 

[Over the Crown]

Above the Vehicle!

I am currently using a Rhino Rack on my roof. I used to have an Amazon roof basket, and it worked fine for a while. It started to rust though, and it really limited my options of what could go on the roof. Once I got my tire in, there wasn't much room for anything else. Maybe 2 stacks of fire wood and a duffel bag.
With the Rhino Rack, I can store a lot of different items up there. I plan on maybe getting the Gazelle T4, and that being a long packaged item, it will sit perfectly on the rack. It will still leave me room for extra chairs if I'm out with a friend, and other potential that is severely limited with a basket. It also gives me more secure mounting of accessories. I currently have one Apache 3800 on the top. I do not need a Pelican case, which is completely water proof to a degree. A case that keeps rain out is more than enough for me. Why would you need a case that can be submerged under water, on your roof? I think you'd have bigger problems if the water was that high haha. Also, not having the Pelican logo makes me think that the chance of theft may be reduced, even if it is securely mounted. I use it for quick access to recovery equipment.

The lightbar is one I got off Amazon about 2 years ago. The listing for it is deleted, so I literally know nothing about it haha. It is just generic cheap 42 inch lightbar, but it has helped me a few times. The biggest problem is the light reflecting off my hood, although I am hoping that is reduced when I start the processing of painting it "battleship grey."



I also plan on putting one of those over priced shower tents on the opposite side of my awning. Me and a friend will attempt to make a DIY shower system connected to the back of the rack.

The light bar wire is hidden on the side of the windshield using the KC HiLites Wire Hider. I've not really seen many people (in my experience) utilize this. I got it for $20 at AutoZone. No drilling or running through the headliner or weather stripping needed. Runs right into the hood to my aux fuse box.

 

[Over the Crown]

Inside!

I need to get more interior photos honestly. For now, here is my current ham radio setup. I do not have a ham license, I have been busy but I would like to train for one. For now, I just listen. I have always solo traveled so far, so I haven't actually needed to use any communications. I have a CB radio as well that I need to grab a picture of, it is a Uniden unit and is self enclosed in the microphone. The GMRS radio is a Midland unit and is also self contained in the microphone.



I also have a fire extinguisher mounted right on the driver's seat. This gives for easy access if I ever need it. It can be quickly removed. I believe it is ABC rated. It uses the Brackateer mount on Amazon, which uses my factory seat bolts.

 

[Sparksalot]

Sweet! Another cop car.

 

[Sparksalot]

Be sure to check out the 2wd forum.

2WD Rigs

Doing it in two wheeled drive!

www.overlandbound.com

 

[Over the Crown]

Sweet! Another cop car.

haha, yes. I've had this stuff for a while now but never bothered to post on here, as I mostly use reddit.