The year was 1983, I was 7 years old. We lived in the far North part of Phoenix, and at the time there wasn't much developed in the area. Deer Valley airport was two or three miles away, and we were close to the flight path. It wasn't unusual to hear low flying aircraft and helicopters, with the occasional jet or two. A few weeks prior to the event I remember going to the grocery store, and on the paper bags were these jets. It was an advertisement for an upcoming airshow at Deer Valley airport. I had never been to one, and I really didn't know what it was. My parents didn't seem interested to go, and I can't remember if they had even mentioned a thing about it. However we were going to be witness to this fine act of aerial acrobatics whether we liked or not. I can't recall the the exact day, month, or hour. But I was amazed to see these beautiful blue jets come streaking over our house. The Blue Angels were in town and they were practicing over our house. I was in for a time of pure joy I often wish I could relive over and over. I didn't know it at the time what or who they were. But I was in love with aviation from that point on.
The Blue Angels flew low and fast over our house, and at times so low you could see their yellow helmets in the A-4's cockpit. The sounds these Skyhawk's made were hypnotising, and live on in my memory. One day after school while riding home I watched number 5 go upside down, and he seemed to be just feet off the ground. There was a lot of open space in North Phoenix back then, and these guys just let loose. They did stuff I'd never see fighter pilots do again in an urban setting. I wish I could of recorded it to watch over and over again. The Blue Angels became my hero's, and I loved the A-4 Skyhawk. It looked so good in the Blue and gold colors. I was sad to see the A-4 go, and even though today I still see the Blue's every chance I get. It's not the same with out the Scooter's. The Blue Angels eventually left to go perform elsewhere. But they would return again next year. Sadly though after that, the urban sprawl of 1985 in North Phoenix put an end to the Blue Angels performing at Deer Valley airport. Too many people were complaining about the noise. Noise ? What some consider noise I consider divine music from above.
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Chevy Caprice Identification 1990 - 1996
To the untrained eye one Caprice looks like the other. But if your a fanatic like me you know what to look for to identify the year of the car.
1990 was the last year for the classic box body on the Caprice. The 87-90 Caprice models were virtually the same. I believe the 90 Caprice had a redesign of the driver and passenger seat belts. It was given the dangerous shoulder belt in the door design. Which if your door flung open in a crash your going to be flying as well.
1991 was the beginning of the bubble, tuna boat, jelly bean, Caprice. Total body overhaul with a slick modern design. The 91 Caprice had rear skirts over the back wheel wells, and the center door pillars were black on all the models. The front grill didn't have the CHEVROLET molded into it. The 9C1 police package had the 5.7 ltr 350, with a certified calibration speedometer both analog and digital.
1992 Caprice body was the same but the center door pillars were now painted to match the body color. The CHEVROLET name was molded into the front grill, and as for that I'm not aware of any other distinguishing changes.
1993 Caprice was made easier on the eyes by removing the rear wheel skirts. This gave the Caprice a better look in my opinion. The rest of the interior & exterior remained the same.
1994 was a good year for the Caprice. The new 5.7 ltr LT1 350 was available as an option. This motor was standard in the 9C1 package. The speedometer went totally digital with only fuel, temp, oil, and battery as analog. The dash was redesigned due to the addition of a passenger side airbag. This was also the year the Impala version "Fancy Caprice" was available for sale. Basically a fancy police package caprice..
1995 the Caprice saw some minor exterior changes. The rear quarter panel windows were changed to a crescent shape. The side view mirrors were relocated higher into the door, and were now black on all cars. This is my favorite year for the Caprice, especially the 9C1. 1996 Caprice is a clone to the 95 as far as visual recognition. I'm sure throughout the 91-96 time there were changes unseen. But I'm just writing about the visual appearances. I f you have anything to add please feel free in your comments. I'm not an expert, and I don't claim to be I just love big old cars.
1990 was the last year for the classic box body on the Caprice. The 87-90 Caprice models were virtually the same. I believe the 90 Caprice had a redesign of the driver and passenger seat belts. It was given the dangerous shoulder belt in the door design. Which if your door flung open in a crash your going to be flying as well.
1991 was the beginning of the bubble, tuna boat, jelly bean, Caprice. Total body overhaul with a slick modern design. The 91 Caprice had rear skirts over the back wheel wells, and the center door pillars were black on all the models. The front grill didn't have the CHEVROLET molded into it. The 9C1 police package had the 5.7 ltr 350, with a certified calibration speedometer both analog and digital.
1992 Caprice body was the same but the center door pillars were now painted to match the body color. The CHEVROLET name was molded into the front grill, and as for that I'm not aware of any other distinguishing changes.
1993 Caprice was made easier on the eyes by removing the rear wheel skirts. This gave the Caprice a better look in my opinion. The rest of the interior & exterior remained the same.
1994 was a good year for the Caprice. The new 5.7 ltr LT1 350 was available as an option. This motor was standard in the 9C1 package. The speedometer went totally digital with only fuel, temp, oil, and battery as analog. The dash was redesigned due to the addition of a passenger side airbag. This was also the year the Impala version "Fancy Caprice" was available for sale. Basically a fancy police package caprice..
1995 the Caprice saw some minor exterior changes. The rear quarter panel windows were changed to a crescent shape. The side view mirrors were relocated higher into the door, and were now black on all cars. This is my favorite year for the Caprice, especially the 9C1. 1996 Caprice is a clone to the 95 as far as visual recognition. I'm sure throughout the 91-96 time there were changes unseen. But I'm just writing about the visual appearances. I f you have anything to add please feel free in your comments. I'm not an expert, and I don't claim to be I just love big old cars.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
2007 Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor, pinion seal leak.
I have a 07 Crown Vic with the P71 police package. This is by far the best car I've ever owned. As we all know Ford discontinued production of the Vic this year. Big mistake in my opinion, and it's now going to be replaced with a front wheel drive Taurus. What was Ford thinking ? Why not upgrade, redesign, the Vic ? Give it a 5.0 and a fresh new look, and off it goes. Ford has made the same great mistake Chevy made back in 96, when they discontinued the Caprice. Now this year we see the return of the Caprice, and even though it's not an American made car. Our friends down under have built a solid vehicle that I would love to own. I believe we will see the return of the Crown Victoria in a couple years.
Now for those of you that are the proud owners of P71 CVPI's, here's a tip if you happen to come across oil dripping from your rear differential. This happened to me a few months ago and after googling the possible cause, it seemed to be a bad pinion seal. The oil was leaking from where the drive shaft connects into the differential. But as I was inspecting the area my automotive sixth sense kicked in. I just felt it had to be something other then a bad pinion seal. Honest to God I never knew there was an axle vent on the car or any vehicle.
So I googled axle vent and found that the Crown Vic has an axle vent on the driver side rear axle. If this vent tube or vent bolt becomes clogged, or just stops working it can make your pinion seal leak. Now depending on the year of your Vic it may be a vent tube, or as on my 2007 it was a vent bolt. The bolt is a hollow tube about an inch 1/4 long with a springy top. I removed this bolt and cleaned it, blew air through it, and placed it back on the axle. The leaking stopped for a couple days but then it started again. I was bummed out. Because now I gotta pay to have the pinion seal fixed. But I wasn't ready to give up so fast. I removed the bolt again to see if it was bad. I found it in what seemed to be working order. I wasn't convinced so I took it apart by prying off the metal top. This will expose the spring, and a little rubber disc which is used as a gasket.
Everything seemed fine with the bolt. But I felt that maybe the rubber disc wasn't working as it was. So I put the bolt back together without the rubber disc. I replaced the bolt back on the axle and it hasn't leaked since. I've put a few thousand miles on it, and it's still not leaking. I may eventually replace the bolt, but the only place you can get one is from the dealer. They charge around $20 for this little bolt. I feel as long as mine isn't leaking it's doing it's job.
Now for those of you that are the proud owners of P71 CVPI's, here's a tip if you happen to come across oil dripping from your rear differential. This happened to me a few months ago and after googling the possible cause, it seemed to be a bad pinion seal. The oil was leaking from where the drive shaft connects into the differential. But as I was inspecting the area my automotive sixth sense kicked in. I just felt it had to be something other then a bad pinion seal. Honest to God I never knew there was an axle vent on the car or any vehicle.
So I googled axle vent and found that the Crown Vic has an axle vent on the driver side rear axle. If this vent tube or vent bolt becomes clogged, or just stops working it can make your pinion seal leak. Now depending on the year of your Vic it may be a vent tube, or as on my 2007 it was a vent bolt. The bolt is a hollow tube about an inch 1/4 long with a springy top. I removed this bolt and cleaned it, blew air through it, and placed it back on the axle. The leaking stopped for a couple days but then it started again. I was bummed out. Because now I gotta pay to have the pinion seal fixed. But I wasn't ready to give up so fast. I removed the bolt again to see if it was bad. I found it in what seemed to be working order. I wasn't convinced so I took it apart by prying off the metal top. This will expose the spring, and a little rubber disc which is used as a gasket.
Everything seemed fine with the bolt. But I felt that maybe the rubber disc wasn't working as it was. So I put the bolt back together without the rubber disc. I replaced the bolt back on the axle and it hasn't leaked since. I've put a few thousand miles on it, and it's still not leaking. I may eventually replace the bolt, but the only place you can get one is from the dealer. They charge around $20 for this little bolt. I feel as long as mine isn't leaking it's doing it's job.
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