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| Police Car Tech |
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Some of the people at Vorshlag have had a number of police auction vehicles over the years, including many examples of the B4C/1LE Camaro (3rd generation F-Body), police package Mustang (Fox generation), Crown Victoria interceptor, and 9C1 Caprice. These police package vehicles were made for and sold to for public safety departments by Ford and GM, but they also got into the hands of private individuals as new or used cars. The cars that passed though the hands of Vorshlag or our racing friends were mostly purchased directly from Texas DPS auction but also thorough other individuals. We used these vehicles for street cars as well as race cars. The '92 B4C/1LE Camaro was especially popular among autocrossers and road racers, as they shared performance parts with the 1LE package Camaros. Vorshlag's Terry Fair had several of these that he raced over the years, including the white and green ones pictured below.
Much myth and mystery has surrounded "police packages", with most commonly held beliefs proving to be false. These police package cars had so "special camshafts", superchargers, or other secret horsepower generating parts. Mostly they had the heaviest duty parts from either the Taxi versions or the highest performance models of a given line, but usually with the cheapest interior/exterior trim levels and wheels. Police cars go through flat tires on a very rapid rate, so they typically get steel wheels that use the cheapest, high speed rated tires money can buy. These cars also sit idling for long periods with the a/c on and sometimes with lots of electrical loads, so they can have higher capacity alternators and additional oil and/or transmissions coolers. Much of the extra equipment was added outside of the factories, such as the spotlights, push bars, and shotgun racks.
The 9C1 Caprices were equipped with many of the parts that made it into the 1994-1996 Impala SS cars, and Terry converted a number of our 9C1s into Impala clones and sold them as such. The Police Mustangs had very little different from an ordinary 5.0 LX, except a floor pan seat reinforcement to hold up the extra mass of donut laden speed enforcement officials. Terry also had some of these and raced them for many years in the SCCA. The Crown Vic Police cars were the least pumped up of the models listed, but did have a few heavy duty/performances bits. Below are some pictures of the cars that have run through our stables as well as some links to information on some of these packages/conversions we have performed. We DO NOT buy or sell these cars anymore and are no longer up to date with the specifics of these models. Please do not send questions to us about these cars, as we've provided everything we know about them below.
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B4C/1LE Camaro
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You can see the factory code sheet (above) from a B4C. Note that the 1LE package is also shown - so these are truly 1LE cars with just the RS trim level to become the B4C package. The 1991 B4C/1LE Police Package was different, in that it included all of the 1LE items except the bigger 1LE front brakes (the most important part!) and aluminum driveshaft, and only the 1992 B4C included the front 12" PBR brakes. The 1992 model B4C/1LE Camaro is the sought after year as it had the bigger 1LE brakes. Many hundred were built for both model years (approx 500 in 1991 and as many in 1992), with about half of all those built coming to Texas where we were able to pick them up for great prices at auction. The 12" This PBR front brake system on the '92 was also copied by aftermarket companies like Baer Brakes for use on cars that see track duty. The nice thing about having a real 1LE car is that you can find rotors, calipers, hoses and brake pads at just about any auto parts store. Side note: not only does the aftermarket offer copious brake pad selection for these calipers, front brake pads can also be sourced from all of the cars that use them, like the 1989-1996 Corvette, 1987-1992 1LE, 1993 Cobra R Mustang, and 1994-1998 Mustang Cobra.
The '91-2 B4C/1LE Camaros came with the RS trim package unlike the 1LE cars, which were all Z28 trim level (with tacked on hood bulges and rear wing). The B4C was essentially still a Z28, in all but trim level, with the two best Z28 drivetrain selections (5.0L + T5 World Class 5-spd manual or 5.7L + 4-spd 700R4 automatic). The 1LE could come with the same 2 drivetrain options. The B4C also shared the rearend with the 7-5/8" limited slip differential and 12" rear disk brakes. The B4C and 1LE came with the gargantuan 36mm diameter (1.4") hollow front swaybar and 24mm diameter rear (0.94"), as well as the stiffer 1LE springs and bushings.
Some may argue that the B4C was not available to the public and therefore not legal for homogulation in certain racing classes. This was proven to be false, as many of these cars were in fact sold direct to the public by more than a few dealerships. Also, the 1LE proved to be much harder to order than a B4C/1LE in many cases, with the B4C having production volumes 4-5 times larger annually. The two small differences in the 1LE and B4C/1LE were that the B4C could come with air conditioning, and many B4C's had the less desirable steel driveshaft. Many B4C owners simply bought the 1LE aluminum driveshaft (that later came in almost all 4th gen Z28 Camaros) to the tune of about $250, and swapped it in after 30 minutes work. To complete the Z28 look some would even swap the "RS" badges for "Z28" and add the Z28 wing and hood bulges - then the B4C really became a Z28 1LE, in look and function. The mythical "1LE baffled fuel tank" was merely internet folklore, and neither the B4C nor 1LE came equipped with this non-existent fuel tank (extensive searches in GM catalogs and underneath numerous 1LEs has proven this). The white '92 B4C (2nd from left, above) won an SCCA Solo National championship in the F Stock class with Chris Ramey at the wheel, and the car was considered a 1LE due to the addition of the aluminum driveshaft alone. The 4th gen B4Cs, shown above right (California Highway Patrol), are functionally no different from any garden variety Z28 of the same year, other than the RS trim level with Z28 drivetrain/suspension, so they are not covered here.
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9C1 Caprice
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9C1 Police Pursuit Package for the 1994-1996 Chevrolet Caprice includes these performance components, most of which match or were above the standard Impala SS parts:
- 260 hp LT1 engine, iron heads (same as Impala SS)
- 12" front and rear disk brakes with ABS
- Dual engine oil coolers
 - Dual transmission fluid coolers
- Lifetime silicon coolant hoses
- Heavy Duty 4L60E transmission
- Heavy Duty Police springs/shocks
- Impala SS swaybars and bushings
- Thicker frame rails
- Remote trunk release
- Separate interior lighting On/Off switch
- Digital speedometer with Certified Calibration
It seems as if half the people on the Vorshlag Forums have owned a 9C1 Caprice in the past, and Duck scanned in these pages from the factory 1995 Caprice Police Package manual from GM (below).
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Crown Victoria Interceptor
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Fair had a couple of these, but he would like to forget them. Dismally slow cars compared to the 9C1s. The Crown Vic Police Interceptor Package did include several heavy duty parts. You can read more about these in the Crown Vic Police Supplemental Manual, just click on one of the thumbnail pictures of the scanned pages below.
- 12" diameter front and rear disk brakes with ABS. The front uses the same dual-piston PBR calipers as the 2000-up Cobra.
- External Oil Cooler - an air/oil cooler is located below the radiator fan to help maintain safe oil temperatures. See page 5 of the Crown Vic Police Supplement.
 - Heavy Duty frame - Extra reinforcements in the frame of the police package Crown Vic are designed to strengthen structural members so they can withstand severe duty use. It also makes the car more durable, tighter and squeak free.
- Heavy Duty automatic transmission. See page 4 of the Crown Vic Police Supplement.
- Police specific 3.55:1 rear axle ratio with aluminum driveshaft.
- Police suspension, including Heavy Duty steering gear, shocks, front and rear stabilizer bars, control arms/bushings, and police specific spring rates. Fair's 99 Crown Vic Police Package car is stiffer and corners much flatter than the 2001 Crown Vic LX-Sport that Fair also owned.
- Police wheels and tires.
- Certified Calibration 140 mph speedometer. See page 6 of the Crown Vic Police Supplement.
- Remote trunk release, relocated to the center of the dash for easy access
- Heavy Duty Interior - the front seat mechanisms and supports, as well as the front and rear seat fabrics, are built with heavier duty materials for longer life. This makes them last much longer than typical cloth interior materials and seat frames. See page 5 of the Crown Vic Police Supplement.
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