When it comes to police cars in this country, we’ve gotten downright boring. Now I know, the Dodge Charger and lightly-disguised Chevy (Holden) Impala are bright spots, but c’mon – we used to slap light bars and decals on Camaros and Mustangs. That Charger may have a Hemi, but it’s lacking the cool factor of specimens like this 1984 Ford LTD 5.0 police car here on eBay, where it’s listed with a reserve and bidding is active. It’s located in Sarasota, Florida.
Originally delivered to the Greenville County, South Carolina sheriff’s department, this LTD was loaded up with just about every iconic piece of police regalia you can think of: dog dish hubcaps, huge roof-mount lightbar, strobe lights on the dash, CB antennas wherever they could stick them, gigantic spotlight on the sideview mirror, and of course, a big, honkin’ V8 under the hood. Specifically, this LTD is what some have lovingly referred to as the “four door Mustang” because Ford dropped the venerable Mustang mill into its otherwise boring family sedan. They are few and far between today, and even fewer that wear original police decor.
This police-spec LTD benefitted both from the additional horsepower as well an enhanced suspension package. Coming from an era when performance was second or third down the list after fuel efficiency and cost cutting, the fact that this LTD could still hustle to 123 m.p.h. is downright impressive. When the engineers at GM were trying to eek out another measly mile per gallon on former halo cars like the Camaro, the skunkworks behind the cop package sedans seemingly didn’t get the memo that they were supposed to find ways to crossbreed an Escort with a Fairmont.
Of course, the other bonus with the cop package LTD is the presence of seemingly all of the original radio equipment. Street Thunder – what an awesome name! It’s missing a knob, but I’m sure you can find a replacement. With an old K40 CB radio just waiting for installation in something I own, I can only imagine the fun you’d have testing out all of this vintage communications equipment on the first drive home. The seller calls this LTD a restored example, but it also seems it survived in largely original shape, as it’s said to have been spared a life of hard use while on duty. Personally, I think this example is worth a fair price both for the notoriety and the relative scarcity of 5.0 LTDs. What do you think it’s worth?
Nice ride. Take it from a guy who made some bad decisions and spent an evening in the back seat of one…
Sell the old police stuff and it would be cool keep the bars your grounded kid go to the car 🚔
English, please. LOL
The civilian version was called the LTD LX, and it was a 4 dr. Mustang GT, as they both had the same chassis and drivetrain. I don’t think you could get the 5 speed in the LTD, however.
1st, I don’t think this is an actual patrol car.( just blue, no red and blue lights, anyone?) I believe, the “Traffic Safety” was more of a “watchful eye” over events and, of course, traffic. They had all the gizmo’s the real cop cars had, but real cop cars weren’t this fancy. I don’t think they can arrest you, but will have a real cop there lickity-split to do so. Also, before buying and driving, you might want to check state and local laws. In Wisconsin, it’s against the law to have blue lights and police details on the private cars.
Some communities or agencies use only blue lights on their police cars. In my neck of the woods, the police use blue or red/blue and firefighters and EMS use only red. In other states, it’s reversed.
I live aND work in Greenville County. It’s blue lights here on police vehicles.
Too bad it’s not a few years newer. In 1984, the “central fuel injected” (throttle body) 5.0 was only rated at 175 hp or so. 1985 had port fuel injection and 210 hp, and 1986 or 87 had a roller cam and 225 hp….
No fuel injection in 1984 for the 5.0.
Not true. A little research will show you that “CFI” or throttle body injection was available in 1984.
I had an 85 gt in 1990. It was not fuel injected. Four barrel from the factory. 86 is when the gt 5.0s got fuel injection.
This car sold a few years ago out of N. Carolina (R.K. Motors) for $14900. It will be interesting to see how the bidding goes and what the reserve is. For me, I would take off the police stuff and store it for later, and then take it out on occasion for a fun drive to car shows and such. Perhaps even improve the performance with some easily reversible bolt-ons.
http://topclassiccarsforsale.com/ford/274045-1984-ford-ltd-50-police-cruiser.html
I had an ’85 LTD LX,& I loved it!
These never came with manual transmissions,
but,as the same basic floorpan as a Mustang,
you can get all the cool stuff to modify it.
I’d lose all the Police stuff,modify it a little,
& drive it!
Rare car Ford only made about 800 with a police package.
I remember this generation Ford LTD, I found it more attractive than other LTDs around the same time.
For those fans of the Chev (Holden) Impala, you should grab one while you can. GM Holden are ceasing all local production in Australia in early October of this year. The Aussie V8 will die on that day, as Ford Australia has already ceased local production of the Falcon and all of its performance variants.
LOL? The Chev Impala is not related to the Holden at all. It’s not even a V8. You’re probably thinking of the Chevrolet SS which is a re-badged Holden Commodore SS.
Also known as the Caprice when put into fleet duty. Those usually have the (3.6?) V-6.
Sorry mate, I just had one of those awful senior’s moments. Definitely the SS, and the Australian Monaro was rebadged as the Pontiac GTO I think. Either way, the Monaro is out of production, and the Australian Commodore ceases production in the first week of October this year. They will be a future collectable, so I’d be grabbing either an SS or a GTO now while they are affordable.
A fortnight after Holden ends local production in Australia, Toyota will follow suit. That will signal the end of vehicle manufacturing in Australia. It will be a very sad day for us.
I think everyone is means the new Caprice police cars not the older FWD Impala. The Caprice is built on the Holden Statesman platform which is a little larger than the Chevy SS / Holden Commadore. The Caprice is available with V6 & 6.0 V8.
I just wish we had the Holden Maloo here. That ‘chicken tax’ is in the way yet.
Hey Andrew, sadly the Maloo is yet another Australian product that will face the axe in October. It’s a crying shame, as even though I’m a Ford man, they are an amazing car.
I had an ’85 Unmarked one of these. White with a blue vinyl interior, dog dish caps etc. Back in the mid ’90s i would take retail customers to the dealer only car auction in Bordentown, NJ with an ID a dealer friend got for me. i charged $200 and split it with him. Anyway, my guys got their cars and I was hanging out in the lanes when it came across the block. I liked it and won it for $800. Had a blast with it for a few months till a car service guy offered me a grand for it and it went.
I remember these cars were plentiful and all over the place. With the efi v6 they served pretty well as a simple family sedan at the time. Never drove one with the 5.0, must be quite a little rocket.
Leave it the was it is, use it to pickup your kids at school!
It’s got a cop motor, a 440 cubic inch plant, it’s got cop tires, cop suspensions, cop shocks. It’s a model made before catalytic converters so it’ll run good on regular gas. What do you say, is it the new Bluesmobile or what?
We got them at our Police Dept. with the V-8 and they were fast out of the box (at least faster than the 6 cylinder Fairmonts we had). But the brakes would fade out when chasing someone by the third time you had to use them. And they were also bad about over heating and bottoming out.