1981-91 Ford Country Squire Special Orders with 351W V8?

Discussion in 'General Station Wagon Discussions' started by ClassicTVMan1981X, Dec 26, 2016.

  1. ClassicTVMan1981X

    ClassicTVMan1981X Member

    Joined:
    Jan 13, 2013
    Messages:
    19
    Likes Received:
    3
    Trophy Points:
    5
    Location:
    Oak Grove, Milwaukie, OR, US
    Has anyone ever special-ordered a 1982 to 1991 Ford LTD (Crown Victoria) Country Squire "Panther" station wagon with the 351W "police" V-8 engine - especially those people who used their Squires to tow trailers?

    To do so, not only did you have to specify the engine itself, but you also had to fork over another $1,000 to cover the EPA's "gas guzzler" tax, which may not have been economical for many in this particular decade. The police version of the 351W (also called the 5.8) may not ever have been technologically advanced even by the time the old Crown Vic was replaced by a new design in mid-1991 (as a 1992 model), but it did have an advantage in torque (285 lb-ft), against even the 5.0 HO SEFI V-8 (1986 specs).

    The reason I ask this question: the 351W's torque could come in handy for those people desiring extra towing power for those Country Squires with the towing package.

    ~Ben
     
    Last edited: Dec 27, 2016
    101Volts likes this.
  2. Krash Kadillak

    Krash Kadillak Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Feb 14, 2008
    Messages:
    20,657
    Likes Received:
    1,845
    Trophy Points:
    798
    Wagon Garage:
    1
    Location:
    Springfield, Oregon
    I believe you could order the 351 in the early Panther years, but I'm not so sure about '84 and beyond. And California may have been a no-no completely.
     
    101Volts and dennis like this.
  3. ClassicTVMan1981X

    ClassicTVMan1981X Member

    Joined:
    Jan 13, 2013
    Messages:
    19
    Likes Received:
    3
    Trophy Points:
    5
    Location:
    Oak Grove, Milwaukie, OR, US
    The 351W was still available for the Panther LTD here in the US in 1981, but it didn't show up in the '82 brochure.

    And the '83 LTD Crown Vic brochure states that a heavy-duty towing package up to 5,000 lbs. was available - but that you'd have to visit your local Ford dealership to find out if the 351W was available with it or not.

    ~Ben
     
    Last edited: Dec 27, 2016
    101Volts likes this.
  4. Silvertwinkiehobo

    Silvertwinkiehobo "Everything that breaks starts with 'F.'"

    Joined:
    Apr 21, 2014
    Messages:
    14,928
    Likes Received:
    2,950
    Trophy Points:
    710
    Location:
    New Braunfels, TX
    I do know, for 'special service' fleet vehicles (read: police and taxi), the 351W with 7200VV carb and MCU controls was available at extra cost to '89, but most police agencies opted for the EFI 5.0L. I once had a chance to buy an ex-WA State Patrol '88 CV, but I couldn't come up with the full amount (owner wouldn't deal, wanted a thou for it with a locked-up engine and someone else had the immediate cash and bought it).
     
    101Volts and dennis like this.
  5. Slidemanic

    Slidemanic Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Dec 10, 2014
    Messages:
    368
    Likes Received:
    23
    Trophy Points:
    45
    Location:
    Northeastern USA
    Having had four of those Panther wagons,I'm here to say the 5.0 was pretty wimpy.
     
    101Volts likes this.
  6. Silvertwinkiehobo

    Silvertwinkiehobo "Everything that breaks starts with 'F.'"

    Joined:
    Apr 21, 2014
    Messages:
    14,928
    Likes Received:
    2,950
    Trophy Points:
    710
    Location:
    New Braunfels, TX
    It mainly wasn't made for towing more than a few thousand pounds; since truck/SUV sales were skyrocketing, I'm sure Ford saw no reason to make the Panther wagons beefy enough to tow a Silver Twinkie or other suitable travel trailer as the previous iterations of wagons could so easily. Ford also did not continue the Ranchero bodystyle on the Panther platform, which made sense from both a sales standpoint (look at just how many El Caminos and Caballeros sold all the way up to '87) and a CAFE standpoint (Rancheros were classed as trucks even though they were always built on a car chassis). A Panther-based Ranchero with a 351W would've been very cool, alongside the 351W-powered wagons.
     
    101Volts likes this.
  7. Slidemanic

    Slidemanic Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Dec 10, 2014
    Messages:
    368
    Likes Received:
    23
    Trophy Points:
    45
    Location:
    Northeastern USA
    When I had my '89 Crown Vic wagon,I fantasized about putting in a 5.0 from a Mustang. That would've been 65 net hp increase.
    I did tow with that car,a pretty big U-Haul full of musical instruments,and it was OK.
     
    101Volts and ClassicTVMan1981X like this.
  8. ClassicTVMan1981X

    ClassicTVMan1981X Member

    Joined:
    Jan 13, 2013
    Messages:
    19
    Likes Received:
    3
    Trophy Points:
    5
    Location:
    Oak Grove, Milwaukie, OR, US
    Especially if that 5.0 was the bygone 1969-70 special, 290-hp (SAE gross) "Boss 302"!

    ~Ben
     
    101Volts likes this.
  9. Silvertwinkiehobo

    Silvertwinkiehobo "Everything that breaks starts with 'F.'"

    Joined:
    Apr 21, 2014
    Messages:
    14,928
    Likes Received:
    2,950
    Trophy Points:
    710
    Location:
    New Braunfels, TX
    Well, Hell, you gonna go that far, drop a 385-series 514 CID with aluminum CJ heads, etc., etc. But his idea for a Mustang 5.0 was something I was mulling over earlier today.
     
    101Volts likes this.
  10. Slidemanic

    Slidemanic Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Dec 10, 2014
    Messages:
    368
    Likes Received:
    23
    Trophy Points:
    45
    Location:
    Northeastern USA
    Well,at least my 2004 Mustang GT is working well. Somebody put in 3.73 gears before I bought it 8 years ago,& I even had to have the selling Ford dealer correct the speedometer,but boy does this little car move! So I have all the High Performance I need.
    But wait! As long as I'm dreaming,why not my old 1956 Country Squire with a side oiler dual quad 427? & three in the tree with overdrive!
     
    101Volts likes this.
  11. joe_padavano

    joe_padavano Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Feb 9, 2010
    Messages:
    786
    Likes Received:
    135
    Trophy Points:
    117
    Wagon Garage:
    5
    Location:
    Northern VA
    Because the engine you want in a heavy wagon is a high-winding small displacement motor that has no low-RPM torque?
     
    101Volts likes this.
  12. Silvertwinkiehobo

    Silvertwinkiehobo "Everything that breaks starts with 'F.'"

    Joined:
    Apr 21, 2014
    Messages:
    14,928
    Likes Received:
    2,950
    Trophy Points:
    710
    Location:
    New Braunfels, TX
    Somewhere I have a few copies of my CP's registrations; I should find them and look to see what the car's original scaleweight was. I'd swear it was around 4K pounds.
     
    101Volts likes this.
  13. KevinVarnes

    KevinVarnes Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Apr 11, 2010
    Messages:
    3,028
    Likes Received:
    310
    Trophy Points:
    195
    Wagon Garage:
    1
    Location:
    Grand Rapids, MI
    The 351W is really not that impressive in the stock form that they installed in these cars. It has been a while since I was into the Panther scene so I don't remember all the specifics. You could get the 351W in fleet cars (police/taxi) up to '91 in the U.S. I believe the 351W was an option in the wagons only in Canuckistan up to '91. I don't remember the official cut off date when a regular guy could walk in off the street and get one in the U.S. Of course there are always exceptions to the rules. I recall one guy on CVN years ago had a special order '91 Crown Vic LX four door sedan that had a 351W, but it was allegedly ordered by some fire chief or something like that.
     
    101Volts likes this.
  14. Silvertwinkiehobo

    Silvertwinkiehobo "Everything that breaks starts with 'F.'"

    Joined:
    Apr 21, 2014
    Messages:
    14,928
    Likes Received:
    2,950
    Trophy Points:
    710
    Location:
    New Braunfels, TX
    The fact that you could score one if you were an official is beyond galling, but what really boils me is that Ford missed an opportunity to put an EFI 351W under their wagons' hoods but did not. Even applying CFI to those would've been better than carburetion.
     
    101Volts likes this.
  15. ClassicTVMan1981X

    ClassicTVMan1981X Member

    Joined:
    Jan 13, 2013
    Messages:
    19
    Likes Received:
    3
    Trophy Points:
    5
    Location:
    Oak Grove, Milwaukie, OR, US
    What about the 1971 Boss 351 engine? How would 330 hp and 370 lb/ft of torque (both SAE gross) sound here?

    ~Ben
     

Share This Page