By 1988, Ford’s LTD Crown Victoria had become ubiquitous, patrolling North America in taxicab and police interceptor form, and haunting any destination favored by retirees clinging to their taste for large rear-wheel-drive sedans with V8 engines. At the top of the heap sat the LX trim level, and this 1988 LTD Crown Victoria LX left the factory with front curb lights, air conditioning, leather interior, and more. A facelift for ’88 gave the “Crown Vic” a more aerodynamic fascia. You could barely notice it slicing through the wind except for the completely vertical grille, bumpers, and box-shaped exterior. Thanks to reader Rocco B. for spotting this full-sized cruiser in El Dorado Hills, California.
Practically identical to the mill in Ford’s Mustang GT, the High Output 5.0L (302 cid) V8 made 160 HP and 280 lb-ft of torque. A rabid aftermarket makes the 5.0 easy to modify, and 3.73 gears will wake this barge up without breaking the bank. Even with that change, the four-speed automatic overdrive transmission will keep RPMs reasonable for highway cruising.
Queen Victoria herself (may she rest in peace) could hardly imagine a more luxurious throne than one made of supple blue leather with power adjustment. The claimed 42,000 miles seem plausible, or it could be 142k. Either way this highline Ford should have plenty of life left to give. Decoding the option packages in the factory brochures at Lov2xlr8, the presence of a power passenger seat in the listing photos pins this as a top-trim 113A car. If that is true, it should also have the Tripminder Computer and leather-wrapped steering wheel. The latter looks as sun-dried as the tomatoes on your SoCal lunch menu.
Elegant crests decorate each tail light, while chrome trim and pin striping rival fine sedans of the 19th century, none of which could attain this one’s top speed of 109 MPH except, however briefly, following an undignified leap into a chasm. The padded vinyl top and Deep Shadow Blue Metallic paint may have seen more than their share of Golden State sun and/or automatic car washes, but let’s not pick nits on this survivor. Thanks to a fuel tank safely tucked near the axle hump, the LTD Crown Victoria’s Deep Well trunk swallows 22.4 cubic feet of groceries, luggage, or yard sale finds. Thanks to Wikipedia for some details. Running condition escaped the description here on Craigslist. Thanks to severe duty use in the taxi and law enforcement worlds, these cars prove super-durable and cheap to keep on the road. The $12,000 asking price for this slice of late-’80s luxury may give the average octogenarian pause, but it’s hard to put a price tag on memories. Plus, that’s about one-quarter the price of the average non-luxury car today, according to CarEdge. Can you see yourself enjoying the royal treatment in this LTD Crown Victoria?
Good job Todd. Looks to be in reasonable shape; it could be 42k miles, who knows. In any case, these (along with their platform-mates) seem to have taken their historical place as the high-water mark for the American full-size rear-wheel-drive vehicle. Inoffensive styling, quiet and comfortable, had enough of the bells and whistles of their day, not expensive, exceptionally durable.
And, I’d say this market segment has proven to be popular even today, if you admit it has morphed into the full-size four-door pickup.
Agree 👍 Bob. Good write up as usual by Fitch. And great call on the gear swap ⚙️ Todd to wake up this boat with the 302. Love the front end. One of Fords best. Along w the aforementioned gear change, I’d throw all the affordable Ford cop car goodies on here too, dual exhaust, swaybars, coolers. 😎
Not a fan of 4 door pickups. They were created to get around Corporate Average Fuel Economy requirements. This car will do 90 percent of what a pickup will do without blocking all of the other non-pickup drivers vision around them.
No doubt that the manufacturers exploited the federal regulations to build current crop of crew cab pickups. The market responded as much to the advantages of the truck but also to the lease incentives. Chrysler reinvented the full size car with the 2005 LX body and gave people both rwd and AWD to go with it. Now the whole market is comprised of pickups and taller haulers. Chrysler will introduce the next generation of two and four door performance sedans in 2025 with AWD in both EV and gasoline models. The “car” is not dead yet.
The driver’s seat is worn, and look at the steering wheel, I’d say it’s a 140k mile car. The condition, the mileage, this clown is dreaming.
If not for my 4 door truck I certainly would be driving a panther frame blue oval or a whale shaped GM but let’s not forget a Chrysler 300 SRT which due to longevity & horsepower remains the sensible option nowdays to remind battery powered foolishness how they went wrong!
Yadda yadda yadda. Gas and electric will coexist for awhile, but once gas is five bucks a gallon here in Ohio and the wheels fall off my 91 Mustang I’ll be going electric. You’ll see gasoline engine cars for the foreseeable future but they’ll be like Model T’s now. Everybody will be like what is that and how could they drive that?
this is a run of the Mill 5.0, no High output in these, huge difference to the 5.0 GT mustang. Intake is completely different for one, and not an easy or cheap engine to hop up. I have one in my 89 Colony Park. It is a good cruiser, but no beast.
I had an 84 crown vic. Police package. Great car. Could fit 4 kegs of beer on the trunk. 3 if you wanted it to close.😂🤣
Finally, a trunk capacity rating I can understand.
The rear seat is even worn. It’s got 142k miles.
What Zen said. That leather wrap wheel is toast. Due to two things, natural oils in human hands and sun. Untreated leather turns to dust.
Picked up a ’89 Sheriff’s car when on vacation visiting folks in IA in ’92. Drove pretty much straight thru coming back to PA. Had just crossed into PA around 6AM, No one on roads so with fuzz buster on decided to see if that 135 spedo was possible. Dropping down a curved hill the fuzz buster went off. At 125 I wasn’t going to dynamite the brakes so figured he already had me. As he appeared on an approach, so him look at radar gun, then me, then gun again. Then he just smiled and waved. We had identical cars less light bar. Over the next couple years that car saved me money on maintenance and no speeding tickets. Loaned it to a employee for a date, got the call at 3 AM that my Crown Vic was under the bumper of a pickup in another town. 253,000 and was running strong until the end. Wonder if could get a chip to give this one new life?