Matlock Crown Victoria

Mine looked like a Crown Victoria, but with very little "chrome".
It had painted, body color rims with small "dog dish" hubcaps, and blackwall tires.
I believe the suspension was more heavy duty.
There was a rubber mat on the floor instead of carpet.
Mine had no interior door handles in the back seat. Passengers had to wait to be let out from outside. LOL
It still had a working spotlight on the driver's side. And, there were red lights mounted on the underside of the trunk lid that would "wig wag" when the trunk lid was open. That was for added visibility if the trooper was stopped on the side of the highway at night, with the trunk lid open. There was a quick disconnect on those, so I just kept them disconnected unless I wanted to show someone how they worked.
Mine also had additional round brake lights mounted in the back window, like where the rear speakers would be. That was part of the MA State Police equipment. I don't know that all Police versions had that.
Oh, and the "ticket light". A bright reading light, mounted sort of between the sun visors.
It was repainted in a charcoal grey color, but in a couple of places where they didn't paint, you could still see the two-tone blue MA state police colors; under the trunk lid, etc.
Having been a highway vehicle, it was geared to shift at much higher RPMs. It didn't go into overdrive until about 75 mph.
Despite being a pretty utilitarian vehicle, it still had a couple of "luxury" features. Delay wipers, tilt steering wheel, velour seats. Although, I wonder if a previous owner switched those out from a civilian Crown Victoria. I always thought the Police versions in that era all had vinyl seats. But, maybe the "staties" had a little more creature comfort!
I'm sure I'm forgetting some stuff. I owned it in the late '80s. I've lost a lot of brain cells since then!

Barry


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Post# 456151 8/23/2022 at 20:16 (466 days old) by fan-of-fans (USA)
Checkrate/Likes 1 Andy Griffith driving Matlock-famous Ford Crown Victoria.

Post# 456183 , Reply# 1 8/25/2022 at 07:52 (465 days old) by Kloveland (Tulsa)
Checkrate/Likes 1 That was fun! Thanks for posting. My mother had a 2004 crown vic for awhile. I wasn�t impressed that much to me it was uncomfortable with the seats and not a lot of leg room. For the size of the car it was.

Post# 456216 , Reply# 2 8/26/2022 at 20:01 (463 days old) by huskyvacs (Gnaw Bone, Indiana)
Checkrate/Likes 1 Try the taxi model. The regular Crown Victoria that they sold at dealers was smaller than the Long wheelbase version that was made for taxi use. The taxi variant has more cabin room.

Post# 456217 , Reply# 3 8/26/2022 at 21:14 (463 days old) by human (Pines of Carolina)
Checkrate/Likes *Crown Vic Taxis...* Most Crown Vic taxis I've ridden in have been repurposed Police Interceptors.

Post# 456346 , Reply# 4 8/31/2022 at 06:08 (459 days old) by S31463221 (Frenchburg, KY)
Checkrate/Likes 4 *Crown Victoria* I�ve owned several through the years, some civilian models (LX trim), and some police interceptors. They�re all a blast to drive and own. My 2003 was pushing close to 300K when I got rid of it and as far as I know, it�s still alive and well at the lower end of the state!! I�ve always loved those big body cars, and my current daily is an upscale version of the panther platform�.a 2005 Lincoln Town Car, and an 85 six door Town Car for when I need to haul the whole family! LOL! View Full Size

Post# 456357 , Reply# 5 8/31/2022 at 11:46 (459 days old) by gottahaveahoove (Pittston, Pennsylvania, 18640)
Checkrate/Likes 2 *LOVE that* old Lincoln!

Post# 456372 , Reply# 6 8/31/2022 at 17:42 (458 days old) by JustJunque (Western MA)
Checkrate/Likes I agree. I've always loved those late '80s Town Cars. I think they're so elegant looking. I didn't like the rounded Town Cars at first, but I think they got better looking after the facelift. Actually, I've always liked the LTD/Crown Victoria too. I've owned a '77 LTD Landau and an '85 Crown Victoria that was a former state police vehicle. Barry

Post# 456386 , Reply# 7 9/1/2022 at 09:31 (458 days old) by gottahaveahoove (Pittston, Pennsylvania, 18640)
Checkrate/Likes 1 *Former police vehicle?* I've seen them. But, what were they like? What did they remove? Keep? Were they used hard? I never knew anyone who ever had one of those .

Post# 456388 , Reply# 8 9/1/2022 at 12:17 (458 days old) by JustJunque (Western MA)
Checkrate/Likes 2 Mine looked like a Crown Victoria, but with very little "chrome". It had painted, body color rims with small "dog dish" hubcaps, and blackwall tires. I believe the suspension was more heavy duty. There was a rubber mat on the floor instead of carpet. Mine had no interior door handles in the back seat. Passengers had to wait to be let out from outside. LOL It still had a working spotlight on the driver's side. And, there were red lights mounted on the underside of the trunk lid that would "wig wag" when the trunk lid was open. That was for added visibility if the trooper was stopped on the side of the highway at night, with the trunk lid open. There was a quick disconnect on those, so I just kept them disconnected unless I wanted to show someone how they worked. Mine also had additional round brake lights mounted in the back window, like where the rear speakers would be. That was part of the MA State Police equipment. I don't know that all Police versions had that. Oh, and the "ticket light". A bright reading light, mounted sort of between the sun visors. It was repainted in a charcoal grey color, but in a couple of places where they didn't paint, you could still see the two-tone blue MA state police colors; under the trunk lid, etc. Having been a highway vehicle, it was geared to shift at much higher RPMs. It didn't go into overdrive until about 75 mph. Despite being a pretty utilitarian vehicle, it still had a couple of "luxury" features. Delay wipers, tilt steering wheel, velour seats. Although, I wonder if a previous owner switched those out from a civilian Crown Victoria. I always thought the Police versions in that era all had vinyl seats. But, maybe the "staties" had a little more creature comfort! I'm sure I'm forgetting some stuff. I owned it in the late '80s. I've lost a lot of brain cells since then! Barry

Post# 456412 , Reply# 9 9/2/2022 at 08:46 (457 days old) by human (Pines of Carolina)
Checkrate/Likes They also had certified speedometers, heavier suspension than the civilian models, plus high-speed rated tires. Often, they would have cloth front seats and vinyl in the back. Some even had a rear seat back that was contoured to accommodate a passenger's arms handcuffed behind their back. Instead of a bench front seat, many had two separate seats, leaving a gap between for radio equipment, a printer for tickets, etc. My favorite variant of the Panther bodies, though, was the Mercury Marauder, which was essentially a Police Interceptor in the guise of a 'murdered out' Marquis. I confess I'm not a huge Ford fan but I wouldn't mind having a Marauder..

Post# 456426 , Reply# 10 9/2/2022 at 15:33 (456 days old) by JustJunque (Western MA)
Checkrate/Likes 1 Yup. You're right. I forgot about the "Certified Calibration" speedometer. A friend of ours, who's a huge Ford guy, had a Marauder for a while. When I hear that model name, I still think of the maybe 1969/1970 Marauder that someone from our church had, back when I was a kid. It said something like X-100 or something. It was a rust color. I remember the front looking like a Marquis, but it was a two-door, with a swoopy rear window treatment, and the trunk lid was painted black. I always thought that was a sexy car. Barry

Post# 456470 , Reply# 11 9/3/2022 at 22:21 (455 days old) by human (Pines of Carolina)
Checkrate/Likes Yeah, a buddy of mine in high school had a '69 Marauder. His was pale yellow. I always liked the rear end styling as well. The big block V8 under the hood was pretty scary. I think that was the first car I ever went over 100mph in.