By Tim Odell
Most accurately, it’s because I spent my whole evening sprucing up my Wagoneer for a buyer, so I’m just grabbing the first two interesting cars I found from SF Bay Craigslist. They share one thing in common: both have had engine swaps. Searching for “swapped” yields some entertaining results.
In one corner we have an ’86 Crown Vic that may or may not have been a police car a former life. Under the hood, a swapped-in, mildly upgraded ’89 302/5.0 H.O. motor motivates. Unfortunately, the A/C system has been sacrificed to free several horsepower. The Generic Municipal Grey means it’ll blend into the background of the urban environment without notice. There’s plenty to gripe about, but that $999 asking price ameliorates some concerns.
Heading to our state’s capital, we find this Mitsubishi-cum-Dodge-cum-Mitsubishi with a 4G63 swapped in. To this day, my college roommate’s boosted-to-hell Eclipse (or was it a Talon?) is one of the most incredible and terrifying vehicles I’ve ever driven. Subtracting weight and wheelbase could only make for vehicle both more terrifying and incredible. Its got the typical collection of mods you’d expect (thankfully the boost gauge is on the column, not the A-pillar) and a $2700 asking price.
Where would you spend your money?
Jeff Glucker
Unrelated , but cool……………..
and
They call it a rat rod, but I think those videos were taken before the car was painted.
Both?
But if I had to choose one, I’d probably go with the Colt. I also had one of those terrifyingly fast experiences in a turbocharged first generation Talon. I’d paint the intercooler black and put on some steelies or smaller alloys for a more stealthy look though.
I don’t think an ’86 Crown Vic would fade into the background as much as you say. Although I call my truck The Unremarkable White Pickup, it does actually stand out in a crowd, due to it being a 25 year old GMT400. If you try to do some crimes (like getting sushi and not paying, for a period correct infraction) in that Crown Vic, the cops will be all over you, as you’re the only 30 year old Ford Sedan for miles around. Your sealed beam dual headlights will betray you.
The Eagle version of the Colt was the Summit.
It looks like the Crown Vic shows the scars of losing a landau top, so maybe not an ex-cop car? Also, I’m not sure why they switched to the older LTD grille. Still, it’d be fun to play around with (I don’t know about more fun than the Mitsu, but plenty of fun for a grand).