Interchangeable parts??

[AGrayson84]

Hi everyone, I'm very close to pulling the trigger on a Marauder that's going to need some work and some replacement parts. I have a few salvage yards relatively nearby that will have Crown Victorias but I'm sure I won't find a Marauder there. Here are some things I know I'll be needing if I get this car:

-Full size spare
-Rearview mirror
-Center Console

I'm sure I'll be needing more, but can I find the above items in a Crown Vic, or will I only find the identical parts from another Marauder? I just heard from another member on the forum that I can use 18" Mustang wheels, but will Crown Vic wheels with a tall enough tire work? Thanks everyone!

-Andrew

[RF Overlord]

The spare and mirror are generic, but the console will be tougher. The only other car that used one was the CV Sport and the GMQ LSE, and those are kinda rare. (IIRC)

[ctrlraven]

Hi everyone, I'm very close to pulling the trigger on a Marauder that's going to need some work and some replacement parts. I have a few salvage yards relatively nearby that will have Crown Victorias but I'm sure I won't find a Marauder there. Here are some things I know I'll be needing if I get this car:

-Full size spare
-Rearview mirror
-Center Console

I'm sure I'll be needing more, but can I find the above items in a Crown Vic, or will I only find the identical parts from another Marauder? I just heard from another member on the forum that I can use 18" Mustang wheels, but will Crown Vic wheels with a tall enough tire work? Thanks everyone!

-Andrew

The Mustang wheels will need to be 2005 to current for proper back spacing.
You can use a 16 or 17" crown vic steel wheel, it will need to be 2003 and up and then figure out a tire size that would work like 225/65-16 or 225/60-17, both of these sizes are equal to the stock front 235/50-18.

Rear view mirror, you'd need to get it from another Ford vehicle that has auto dimming mirror function unless you could care less about it.

Center console, check local yards, ebay or PM "bigcowl-imp" on here.

[RubberCtyRauder]

17 inch and 16 will work , just need to pick tire sizes equivalent to the 18 for traction control not to trip fault. Only crown Vic sport models had center consoles which are rare to find any place. Consoles do come up here and eBay once in a while.

Why looking at one that needs hard to find items? Probably better ones out there for decent prices

[AGrayson84]

The Mustang wheels will need to be 2005 to current for proper back spacing.
You can use a 16 or 17" crown vic steel wheel, it will need to be 2003 and up and then figure out a tire size that would work like 225/65-16 or 225/60-17, both of these sizes are equal to the stock front 235/50-18.

Rear view mirror, you'd need to get it from another Ford vehicle that has auto dimming mirror function unless you could care less about it.

Center console, check local yards, ebay or PM "bigcowl-imp" on here.

Thanks a ton for the clarification on the wheels! Normally I would research all this myself, but kind of in a bind here, trying to make a quick decision on whether or not this $6,200 Marauder is worth it!

I might just get a '03+ Crown Vic wheel/tire combo the is the same height as the front or rear if I pull the trigger on this car. Can't predict which tire is going to go flat if it ever happens, so will just have to live with the TC light for a day until I get the bad tire replaced.

I'd definitely like to keep the auto-dimming mirror, and I see those in junk yards all the time. Explorers and Expeditions mainly.

17 inch and 16 will work , just need to pick tire sizes equivalent to the 18 for traction control not to trip fault. Only crown Vic sport models had center consoles which are rare to find any place. Consoles do come up here and eBay once in a while.

Why looking at one that needs hard to find items? Probably better ones out there for decent prices

Thanks for the help! So finding these parts might take some time, but at least won't be a totally lost cause looking for them from what I'm hearing haha.

Yeah I've only been looking for a few days and just can't seem to find an '04 with black interior and exterior that's in very good shape, under 120k or so miles, and under $11k. Been checking a lot of sites, but it has literally only been a few days.

[RubberCtyRauder]

Traction control fault is more than a light. It pretty much retards the engine thinking a wheel is slipping. You can turn the traction control button off on 04 year. Would have to turn off each time you start car. Keep looking, there are good ones under $11k that won't need hard to find parts.

[Motorhead350]

There are some people here with the center piece that they will sell you.

[AGrayson84]

Thanks for the clarification, it was my misunderstanding after seeing a post about it yesterday that any Marauder with traction control can just be turned off. So you're saying the 300B has TC, but can't be turned off by a button?

I think I'm going to take your advice and pass on this one that needs a lot of work, and just see what comes along over the next few weeks.

Traction control fault is more than a light. It pretty much retards the engine thinking a wheel is slipping. You can turn the traction control button off on 04 year. Would have to turn off each time you start car. Keep looking, there are good ones under $11k that won't need hard to find parts.

[MM in MN]

Seems kind of odd that you can't find one for less than 11K with that high of miles. You should come to Minneapolis. We currently have 7 listed on Craigslist, ranging from a high of $20,000 for a flawless 15K mile black, my favorite, $10,900 for a very nice 36K mile black, 3 others for less than $10,000 all with less than 100K miles, and 2 for less than $8,500 including a nice looking DPB...

[RF Overlord]

it was my misunderstanding after seeing a post about it yesterday that any Marauder with traction control can just be turned off. So you're saying the 300B has TC, but can't be turned off by a button?

You didn't misunderstand.

'03 300As do not have TC at all. '03 300Bs and all '04s have TC and it can be turned off. What he was saying is that if you left TC turned on and had mis-matched tires, it does more than just light a light. It will actually prevent you from traveling more than a certain speed.

[AGrayson84]

Seems kind of odd that you can't find one for less than 11K with that high of miles. You should come to Minneapolis. We currently have 7 listed on Craigslist, ranging from a high of $20,000 for a flawless 15K mile black, my favorite, $10,900 for a very nice 36K mile black, 3 others for less than $10,000 all with less than 100K miles, and 2 for less than $8,500 including a nice looking DPB...

Sounds like some GREAT options in your state.... but just a bit too far for me to drive, and shipping costs from there to here would be $800+. I reached out to a member on here with a black 300B in Jacksonville, FL last night... just waiting to hear back. Florida isn't close either, but I at least have family in the area down there so I can probably visit them for a couple days before driving back up to Maryland.

You didn't misunderstand.

'03 300As do not have TC at all. '03 300Bs and all '04s have TC and it can be turned off. What he was saying is that if you left TC turned on and had mis-matched tires, it does more than just light a light. It will actually prevent you from traveling more than a certain speed.

Thank you for explaining that, that definitely makes sense. For the '04-'06 GTO's there is a relay that someone sells, called a "Chimp"... basically turns the TC off as soon as you turn on the ignition. I've done some work with relays in the past... I can probably wire the same thing up behind the TC switch on this car if I get one of these and not have to worry about the TC and tire sizes. Just a thought though.

-Andrew

[ctrlraven]

Thank you for explaining that, that definitely makes sense. For the '04-'06 GTO's there is a relay that someone sells, called a "Chimp"... basically turns the TC off as soon as you turn on the ignition. I've done some work with relays in the past... I can probably wire the same thing up behind the TC switch on this car if I get one of these and not have to worry about the TC and tire sizes. Just a thought though.

-Andrew

If you run a smaller tire than the stock rear you'll need a tune to correct the speedometer otherwise it will read faster than you are actually going and will add more miles on the odometer than what's actually really being driven.

Mine was daily driven for years, still run staggered directional tires. It's just one of those things that sets the car apart from it's sister vehicles the Crown Vic and Grand Marquis, having that 60's era muscle car rake stance.

If being able to run all same size tires and rotate tires, get an 03 without TC or even a Crown Vic LXsport.

[AGrayson84]

If you run a smaller tire than the stock rear you'll need a tune to correct the speedometer otherwise it will read faster than you are actually going and will add more miles on the odometer than what's actually really being driven.

Mine was daily driven for years, still run staggered directional tires. It's just one of those things that sets the car apart from it's sister vehicles the Crown Vic and Grand Marquis, having that 60's era muscle car rake stance.

If being able to run all same size tires and rotate tires, get an 03 without TC or even a Crown Vic LXsport.

Yeah having to have staggered height tires isn't a deal breaker for me by any means, I'm just not sure at this point what I would do when it comes time to replacing all 4 tires and not finding the exact tire I want in both sizes. If turning TC off eliminates the problem of same size tires, then I'll just wire it to stay off or cut power to the TC module if that's all it comes down to. I do want the factory heated seats (I know you can add heated seat kits to ANY car these days) because I like the clean look of the factory buttons on the door panels. If I can find tires I like in the right sizes, I'll keep the staggered height... otherwise I'll just disable the traction control

I do like the rake, so we'll just have to see how things go if I end up getting one of these. I backed out on the one in Illinois... too risky after reading a ton of bad reviews about that dealer.

-Andrew

[RF Overlord]

...or cut power to the TC module if that's all it comes down to.

Nope. TC is not a separate module, it's part of the PCM and there's no way to shut it off permanently. Your best choice is to wire the relay like you mentioned.

[AGrayson84]

Ahhh, yeah I'll just wire it to stay off, IF I go the route of non-staggered tires. I run staggered width (not staggered height) tires on my GTO.... but I always turn the traction control off when I want to play, because otherwise I'll just roast the rear brakes lol. But sense the tire height is the same, I have no issues with the TC.