Ford began selling the Ford Crown Victoria in the 1992 model year, and its incredible two decades of sales success with law enforcement organizations and taxi companies tended to overshadow its popularity as a civilian vehicle. Naturally, plenty of Crown Vics have been customized, with highlights including tank engine swaps, Police Interceptor lowriders and so on, and today’s Junkyard Gem is a first-year car that I found in a North Carolina car graveyard a few months ago.
Ford began using the Crown Victoria name in the middle 1950s (no doubt inspired by the 1953 coronation of Queen Elizabeth II), as a trim-level designation for the upscale Fairlane. It was revived on the LTD Crown Victoria for the 1980-1991 period, only becoming a model name in its own right in 1992.
Enthusiasts of these cars generally identify them by the numbers in the fifth through seventh characters of the VIN. The stretched-wheelbase taxi models are P70s, the Police Interceptors are P71s, the ordinary taxis are P72s, the base civilian cars are P73s and the upscale civilian LXs are P74s (for 2010 and 2011, the final numerals in these sequences were replaced by A, B, C, D and E). This car is a P74.
Every production 1992-2012 Crown Victoria was powered by the 4.6-liter SOHC Modular V8 engine, in this application rated at 190 horsepower and 260 pound-feet (single exhaust) or 210 horsepower and 270 pound-feet (dual exhaust). The Police Interceptor versions for 1992 weren’t more powerful than their civilian counterparts, but they had beefier cooling systems, a balanced aluminum driveshaft and an ECU that wouldn’t go into limp mode in a high-speed pursuit.
This being a top-of-the-civilian-line LX Touring sedan, it has the four-spoke steering wheel with leather trim.
The MSRP for this car was $23,892, or about $54,417 in 2024 dollars. That was quite a bit more than its $20,644 Mercury Grand Marquis LS sibling, but cheaper than the $31,211 base 1992 Lincoln Town Car. The entry-level 1992 P74 Crown Victoria started at $19,563 ($44,557 after inflation).
The paint still looks pretty good, considering where this car resides now, but the lack of shaved door handles is disappointing.
Fortunately, I found another P74 with the door-shave treatment at a different Charlotte yard the same day.
If you care about your loved ones, you’re a bad person for buying any other vehicle.
Who’s got the last laugh now?
The Police Interceptor commercials are a lot more fun.