1982 Ford LTD-S 351W Police Car

[P72Ford]

Real nice. My '88 5L P72 parts car (not a cop car) has no rear deforst.

[87vicFIVEO]

I love your car, really cool and kinda rare. Welcome to GMN!

[Brown_Muscle]

yeah pa north of harrisburg just hop on the pa turnpike heading west. where in md did you pick the car up?

In Hagerstown, It belonged to my friends grandfather, he died about 3 years ago and my friends grandmother got it and didnt know what to do with it so we went down there and picked it up for $250! Best deal ive ever made haha.

HEY GUYS, I get about 9MPG around town I was wondering if this was unusually low and there may be some sort of problem I'm unaware of, or is this normal, I got around 23MPG highway on the way up from maryland though.

[86VickyLX]

My names phil and yeah I know Brian, and you may know Greg Horowitz who also goes to my school, I knew they were doing something with an autoshop but I wasnt sure of the details.

Yeah Greg Horowitz, he's also in the program. I thought you would know them. My name is John btw.

[Grand Marquis GT]

Wow, that's a sexy ride!

I smell a future POTM nomination

[Nathan in MI]

HEY GUYS, I get about 9MPG around town I was wondering if this was unusually low and there may be some sort of problem I'm unaware of, or is this normal, I got around 23MPG highway on the way up from maryland though.

Nope, that sounds about right, unfortunately. I'm assuming you have the 2.73 rear end or something similar. I had 2.73s in mine originally, and I got about 9.5 or so around town and 20-21 on the highway. Since then, I've switched to 3.55s, and while my highway fuel economy has understandably dropped to about 17 mpg, city economy has jumped up to around 14.8. Decent trade off considering the increased performance, if you ask me. Honestly, if you're getting 23 mpg highway, I'd say your car is really in pretty nice shape! Either that or you just drive slow. :p

[Brown_Muscle]

hahaha, ok, is there any way for me to tell what gears i got in the rear? That could be handy info later on. I know for a fact that it has posi rear, not sure the exact type im pretty sure its limited slip though.

[Nathan in MI]

If you look on the door sticker (back end of the driver's front door) there should be a spot where it says "AX" and right under it there'll be a letter or a number. Get that number and we should be able to tell.

If that sticker is gone or faded or whatever, get under the car and look at the tag on the rear end. It'll be under one of the cover bolts. There's two lines of information there; you want to look on the second line. The ratio is shown as "2L73", assuming you have a 2.73 limited slip. If it's a 3.08 LS, it'd be "3L08", and so on. If it's not a limited slip, there'll just be a space where the "L" would otherwise be, as in "2 73"
or "3 08".

[86VickyLX]

hahaha, ok, is there any way for me to tell what gears i got in the rear? That could be handy info later on. I know for a fact that it has posi rear, not sure the exact type im pretty sure its limited slip though.

two ways, on the door sticker on the driver's door. If it's still there look to the right side for AX
AX= Rear. It will give you either a letter or a number. Here are the axle codes

Open rear/Trac-Lok/Ratio #
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
G / H / 2.26
B / C / 2.47
8 / M / 2.73
7 / ------- / 3.07
Y / Z / 3.08
4 / D / 3.42
F / R / 3.45
5 / E / 3.27
6 / W / 3.73
2 / K / 3.55
A / ------- / 3.63
J / ------- / 3.85
The second way is to look on one of the bolts on the rear cover. One of them has a tag that tels you what size rear, and when it was made.

[86VickyLX]

You beat me to it Nate!

[Brown_Muscle]

Ok I just checked it, its an 8 on the door so i guess that means its 2.73 right? so how do i know what kind of posi rear it has? If you can tell from just the number, if not i'll just check underneathe tomorrow no big deal.

Also does anyone know about how much a set of mandrel bent tail pipes would cost, im hoping to get 2.5" ones but i could deal with 2" or 2 1/4" if the price difference was crazy. The ones I have on there now are sooo badly crimped and restrictive its disgusting

[P72Ford]

Ok I just checked it, its an 8 on the door so i guess that means its 2.73 right? so how do i know what kind of posi rear it has? If you can tell from just the number, if not i'll just check underneathe tomorrow no big deal.

Also does anyone know about how much a set of mandrel bent tail pipes would cost, im hoping to get 2.5" ones but i could deal with 2" or 2 1/4" if the price difference was crazy. The ones I have on there now are sooo badly crimped and restrictive its disgusting

I paid $400 for a mandrel bent 2.5" cat back system with (2) Flowmaster 40 series mufflers. The stuff is total crap though; its falling apart and its only 18 months old.

You could use '94-'96 Impala tail pipes; others here have used them with great success. I will be trying them out this summer when I replace my exhaust.

I'd say the tails wouldn't cost any more than 200. The Impala tails can be had for between 35 and 50 a piece. They may require some adapting (2" to 2.5") to work with the rest of your exhaust though (depending).



For your diff. 8 means 2.73 open; just like mine.

[Nathan in MI]

8 indicates that it's an open 2.73, not a limited slip.

For your 351, if you're planning on leaving it stock, 2.25" would probably be big enough, but if you want to modify it and get some decent power, you'll want 2.5". The recipe for 2.5" mandrel-bent exhaust off-the-shelf is as follows:

351W swap shorty headers for a fox Mustang (made by BBK)
2.5" Mustang H-pipe
2.5" Mustang mid-pipes
Pair of 2.5"x18" extension pipes
Mufflers of your choice in 2.5" inlet/outlet offset/offset configuration
Impala SS tailpipes for a '94-'95 Chevy Impala
Another pair of 2.5"x18" extension pipes
Pair of 2.5" turndowns

The length of the first set of extension pipes will vary based on the length of mufflers you go with, so that part is up to you. Also, you'll obviously need various clamps and hangers. Been done many times before, and assuming you go with brand new everything, you're looking at around 400-500 dollars.

[Brown_Muscle]

ok thanks for the advice i'll check out the impala pipes. It can't be open I floored it from a dead stop in some loose gravel, moved about 2 feet, the ground was evenly dug up on both sides from both wheels. Unless i'm think of something different from you and sound like an idiot now it definitly has some sort of posi rear, I'll check out the diff tommorow, could be the code is different the sticker says it was "Made in Canada" and labels on this car have been wrong.

[1987cp]

I'd say the tails wouldn't cost any more than 200. The Impala tails can be had for between 35 and 50 a piece. They may require some adapting (2" to 2.5") to work with the rest of your exhaust though (depending). .

Try under $100, not counting shipping and junk. Kink-bent replacement 2" stuff can actually be more expensive (sometimes a lot more expensive). Mandrel bent tails from Walker/Dynomax for either '94-'96 Impalas or 5.0 Mustangs all run around $40 each. If 2.5" is good for you, get Impala pipes; if you must have 2.25", Mustang pipes can be had that can be made to work. Some folks will claim Mustang pipes won't work ... I do have 2.5" Mustang tails on my '87 wagon, but from what I've learned since joining here, I really would have been better served in that diameter to get the Impala bits.