New member here, current SS owner - looking for upgrade...

[nick_danger]

Since GM has left me without a suitable upgrade from my 1996 SS, I am now approaching 130,000 miles and am in need of an upgrade. The Ford Blackhawk concept first caught my eye several years ago and its ultimate fruition in the form of the Marauder won me over. I have joined this fine looking board in order to gain from the collective experience of all of you. Any advice you can offer me - as a first-time Ford and Marauder owner - would be greatly appreciated. I'm looking forward to a July purchase date, so I need to prepare with a host of upgrades to get closer to that 400HP mark. Thanks much and I look forward to being one of you soon!

Here's me and my car (as it was 2 years ago).
http://home.comcast.net/~nick_danger/impalass_me.jpg

[UAW 588]

I'm looking forward to a July purchase date, so I need to prepare with a host of upgrades to get closer to that 400HP mark. Thanks much and I look forward to being one of you soon!




Better make that purchase like now, if you want to find one new and the options you want. Unless you buy a pre-driven one, then time is really up to you. Good Luck and you have come to the right site for info. This place rocks. :rock:

[03SILVERSTREAK]

Welcome aboard Nick-Glad to have you on this site . there is a lot of stuff here and plenty of mods to consider so sit back and take your time reading many of the threads that are posted in the forums . :up:

[Cobra25]

Since GM has left me without a suitable upgrade from my 1996 SS, I am now approaching 130,000 miles and am in need of an upgrade. The Ford Blackhawk concept first caught my eye several years ago and its ultimate fruition in the form of the Marauder won me over. I have joined this fine looking board in order to gain from the collective experience of all of you. Any advice you can offer me - as a first-time Ford and Marauder owner - would be greatly appreciated. I'm looking forward to a July purchase date, so I need to prepare with a host of upgrades to get closer to that 400HP mark. Thanks much and I look forward to being one of you soon!

Here's me and my car (as it was 2 years ago).
http://home.comcast.net/~nick_danger/impalass_me.jpg First of all welcome to the site, So you know as of next week or so you won't be able to order a new one from factory any more. As far as the listed hp from factory 305 HP it's from the crank not the rear wheels. In order to get to 400 rwhp plan on spending around $7000 for a Super Charger.You could send Dennis Reinhart a message and he will tell you what the up grades are and what it will cost you .Thats your best bet.

[Logan]

Welcome aboard! Like others have said, the easiest road to the 400hp mark is bolting on a charger. Delivers you right there. Whether it be via Reinhart Automotive or Trilogy Motorsports, the two most popular solutions.

PS - Love the wheel choice, what are they?

[CRUZTAKER]

Nice looking car, always loved those.:rock:

Just not in my reach at that time of my life coming off an awfull divorce.
The MM came available just in the nick of swollen wallet time.

You'll like it I assure you, and you'll be able to mod this one far more than 400 hp. How's somewhere around 490 hp sound?

Get one while they're cheap and available. In one respect, this is great timing to pickup an '03 new for around 25k or so...take it to trilogy and get a blower...and you still spent less that a few of us who bought in '02.

[woaface]

I agree with Logan, first thing I noticed were the rims...those look great on that car!

Hey, can we know some about your car now? Mod's and what not.

[RF Overlord]

Welcome, Nick Danger (Third Eye)...

"There I was, sitting in my office, reading my name on the glass in the door: Regnad Kcin"...

"All out for Fort Stinkin' Desert!"

:lol: I love the Firesign Theater, too..

[Smokie]

Get one while they're cheap and available. In one respect, this is great timing to pickup an '03 new for around 25k or so...take it to trilogy and get a blower...and you still spent less that a few of us who bought in '02.Great advise ^^^^^^. Welcome aboard !!! You have excellent taste in cars, SS and MM. Solid!!!:rock:

[bigslim]

Welcome Nick. As you look through the site you will find that there are several owners running over 400hp at the rear wheels. As stated before, Reinhart and Trilogy Motorsports are two ways to go. We just had a member run 12.05 in his MM in 80 degree weather while maintaining drivability. Feel free to ask any questions about our cars. By the way, that is a nice looking SS you have. Keep it as a second car.

[Black 04]

Welcome Nick, I also loved the Impala SS when they came out, couldn't swing it then, but when I seen the MM at the auto show it was love at first site.

[nick_danger]

Thanks for all the info guys. For those inquiring about the wheels in the picture, they are 20" KMC Stealth wheels. At the time I bought them, I owned the only four commercially available - only Snoop Dogg had another set. :D Now everyone's got them, but I'm on my second SS now, except now it's just a white 96 Caprice with the LT1, leather, and all sorts of other options. The car pictured was totalled a while ago by a drunk driver who rear-ended me while I was cruising in Minneapolis. :bigcry:

I don't have a picture of my current SS, but you wouldn't want to see a picture of my mangled SS. Not much was salvageable off my beauty. Here a list of mods on the pictured ride (mods moved to the new car in bold, everything else was damaged too badly):

-Hotchkis Swaybars
-Cold Air Intake
-Borla Cat-back exhaust
-Bilstein Shocks
-Sprint Lowering Springs
-Engine and Trunk Braces
-Baer Pro + 6 Piston Braking System
-European Caprice SS Headlight Conversion

I'm shooting for a July purchase because A ) I want a sweet birthday present, and B ) I need to pay off some debts first. I'm not too worried about finding one - it might be challenging, but there's always one for sale somewhere for a good price. I've seen a lot of them here in the Minneapolis/St. Paul (Minnesota) area ranging from $26-35K. I only want a black one with heated leather and a sunroof. Brand new, of course.

While it may seem that the Marauder is my fall-back car, I am getting excited to get it. Test-driving the new Impala SS (a dishonor to the name, IMO) and seeing nothing in the GM lineup at the Auto Show this weekend has confirmed in my mind how much I need the Marauder. The Ford guys at the Show said that the Marauder is phasing out and the Crown Vic will officially have a "Blackhawk Edition", but the didn't say when and I see no point in waiting when such an exceptional vehicle is available now.

I'm rambling now. It's late and I'm over-stimulated looking at MM pictures... I'll shut up now.

[Bigdogjim]

Hello! Marauder was a planned two year run. As far as I know their has been no talk of the Ford Blackhawk?

Ford is pulling SVT for '05 and be back in '06 word is that the program will extend to L&M with a "hot rod Lincoln" and Mercury.

Powerpalant for our cars is the Mach 1 engine.

Watch the boad for a Marauder meet in your area.

Better yet stop by our National meet in Indy this July 29!

[jgc61sr2002]

Nick - Welcome to the MM site. This site is definitely addicting. As others have stated you only have a short time frame to order a Marauder before they go out of production. :D

[RCSignals]

Nick, welcome.

Anything you'd ever want to know about a Marauder has been posted here.

If you don't mind a "used" one, check out the cars for sale section. "Mrsmarauder" has a pre-decontented 2003 300B with only 250 or so miles on it, for under $23K.

As for Ford going to come up with their own "Blackhawk" edition, I wouldn't hold your breath. I suspect a Ford salesman who can't sell you a Mercury Marauder said that.

[BillyGman]

Hey Nick. Welcome aboard. Since the only two things in the way of performance that you did to your Impala was the cold air thing, and the cat back exhaust, then I can tell you that a bone stock Marauder will get through a quartermile run in aproxamately the same time as your car did, but it will feel a bit different .

The Impala SS has more low end torque because of the bigger engine, but because of the high tech cylinder heads that the marauder has, it has better mid-range and top end HP than the SS had.

What state do you live in? if it's my homestate, then I'd be glad to meet w/you to give you a ride in my car to give you an idea of what a non-supercharged but modified Marauder can do.

[01 Interceptor]

Welcome Nick! I too, am a proud owner of an SS looking for an MM to compliment it(when funds permit.). You won't find a better group than those on this board.

If you sell your car to get the MM, would you consider selling the export caps? :D Just a thought.


RC, I thought the LX Sport was the incarnation of what would have been the Blackhawk. :confused:

[RCSignals]

RC, I thought the LX Sport was the incarnation of what would have been the Blackhawk. :confused:

That may be, but it's certainly not a Marauder equivalent, nor called Blackhawk.

My impression from this discussion was that some fordy was intimating that "Ford" would soon have their own Marauder equivalent and call it the Blackhawk.

[nick_danger]

What state do you live in? if it's my homestate, then I'd be glad to meet w/you to give you a ride in my car to give you an idea of what a non-supercharged but modified Marauder can do.
I live in Central Siberia (a.k.a. Minnesota). I'd love to take a ride. One of the dealers at the Auto Show said that he has an '04 fully loaded black model for $31K. I'm gonna check it out and test drive it, but I know I can't buy anything until July, so I'll probably miss out on that one.


If you sell your car to get the MM, would you consider selling the export caps? :D Just a thought.
Sorry, I'm keeping that baby until its doors fall off. In the land of 8-month winters (lots of salt), you have to have a winter car... it might as be one that can do donuts until the gas tank runs dry. ;)

[jobrien8]

With all the others I say welcome. Have a number of Impala SS's around this area, SE Michigan/GM Warren Tech Center is close by. Enjoy the M/M when you get it.

[dflynn5]

I own a 96 Impala SS and bought a silver 04 MM in January. I would definitely recommend. The cars have very different characteristics but both are a ton of fun to drive.

[BillyGman]

I own a 96 Impala SS and bought a silver 04 MM in January. I would definitely recommend. The cars have very different characteristics but both are a ton of fun to drive.

well, ya gotta respect that opinion coming from a guy who owns one of each.