Ford stopped making “big” station wagons in 1991 with the demise of the LTD Crown Victoria, though they did continue making the smaller Taurus wagon until 2005. This Town Car is somebody’s version of “what if” the bigger wagons continued; this puppy is now a nine passenger car! As modified as it may be, this Town Car only has 59,000 actual miles. There are many good aspects of this creation, and also many questionable aesthetic choices. I’ve seen this floating around the internet this past week, and it was only a matter of time before I wrote it up! This car can be found either here on Hemmings or here on the Ft. Lauderdale Auction site. It will be auctioned off in Florida on January 5th-7th, 2018.
The majority of the interior is very standard for a Panther-platform vehicle of this era. With only 59,000 miles, it is not surprising that this car is in good cosmetic condition in the forward area of the passenger compartment. The shift lever in Ford products of this era, especially Town Cars, is notorious for getting off track. This causes park to read as reverse, drive as neutral, etc. Fortunately, based on another photo it looks like this gear indicator still reads properly. Since that common issue is not present, it is probably safe to assume that there is very little wrong with the interior.
Speaking of things wrong with the interior, here’s the addition! It would appear that the rear half of this Town Car was transplanted from a 1990s Buick Roadmaster, as evidenced by the shape, hatch, and design of the storage area. While perhaps a Taurus transplant would have been more appropriate, it is clear that whoever built this car was going for a large cargo area. This was a good idea, and very well-executed. With a little bit of color matching this could almost pass for factory to the untrained eye.
Here is where things get odd. Although the fitment between the two cars looks to be really nicely done, the creator made some aesthetic decisions that many people of the internet seem to dislike. The most obvious is the addition of early 2000s F-150 taillights. They look okay from the sides, but when viewed from the back they are too far apart and break up the natural curvature of the wagon. I could not perform such a transplant, so I cannot criticize the craftsmanship that this took. It is well done, and I love it because it is weird. This is exactly the type of oddball to either sell for very little because nobody is interested, or sell for a lot because multiple people are very interested!
It is very nicely executed and the build quality is very good. My question is why? This had to cost 75k to build on top of the price for the car. It is cool in its weirdness but probably has very limited appeal on the resale market.
I’d never be able to find this car in a parking lot if it was mine. Is that the front of my Lincoln or the back of my Buick…?
I guess you could call this a case of carfusion…
Maybe more could have been done on tailgate. Slightly more horizontal chrome and some reflectors to match and blend with the taillights. Similar to maybe Navigator style
The talent of some people just blows my mind.
Looks like factory work and yet it isn’t.
I had a Lincoln like that, but to imagine a wagon , the thout never crossed my mind.
Just amazing.
The tail light choice is trivial, and pales in comparison to the irredeemably awkward and unresolved missmatching of the door cut to the C pillar.
…and third side window.
Taurus Bulbous.
Total waste of time, effort and a lot of cash IMHO.
Then there was the ‘Power-Burban’ that the royal family of a very sandy country overseas, who commissioned a builder to take a Dodge cab and chassis 4×4 and the remainder of a Suburban box and graft it onto the back. That came in at over $150,000 US. They had several.
What’s a little disposable income that’s as deep as an oil well?
While this is not a station wagon I would want in my garage I still appreciate someone who has a vision and the skills to actually build it. I have plenty of visions but not many of the skills or $$$ to have it built.
Beautiful is the word I use to describe this vehicle it takes real talent to do something like this the Lincoln Town Car has always been one of the finest rides that has ever been built in to make it into a station wagon this is my kind of car
Curious to know the background on this build, certainly would be appropriate as a commercial vehicle, in the funeral or limousine industry perhaps. If I wanted such a car for personal use, I’d be more inclined to resto-mod a mid ’70s Mercury station wagon. Kudos however to the builder and owner for executing their vision.
Always wished Ford hadn’t stopped the crown Vic wagon because their sedans are way better looking than caprices or impalas.
And ride better, look better, and are much more durable (says the guy with an 05 CV)
This is the result of the automakers’ decisions not to offer what the buying public desires. Blame them, not the builder of this creation.
A beautiful job. Probably started with a Town car that was hit from behind. “We’ll we have to put anew rear on this thing…wait a minute…isn’t that old Buick wagon still out back……”
Marvin, my first thought to your post was ‘here-hold my beer whilst I plug in the Sawzall’… …but I must admit, the quality of work shows quite well in these photos. Who knows what a close inspection will find but from here it looks like somebody did some really nice work! And yes, I even like the tail lights!
What size engine and trans?
I think I would have used something other than F-150 tail lights.
I am pretty sure they made a late model Crown Vic wagon in Mexico for local sale only. I will try to find where I read that before.
There’s a lot of room in that wagon. Who cares how it looks as the functionality is what it was built for.
Ha! Just noticed this old thread.
I ended up buying this car at auction. Some issues, like leaking when it rained, but overall a sweet build!
The previous owner said his wife was an artist and couldn’t fit her paintings in the trunk of the Town Car. So he grabbed a Sawzall and a blow torch. Found a Caprice wagon in a junkyard and did the deed. $75k? Nope. Probably less than $1000 for the build.