Stock AM/FM radio was fine for the first couple weeks of owning my police interceptor, but later i wanted features such as a tape or cd player, backlighting on the display at night, and preamp ouputs.

The stock radio in my 98 interceptor, note the lack of tape deck or cd player.

View of the top of the radio, note how shallow the depth of the radio is

Back of radio, nothing fancy here. The radio uses the standard antenna connector even though the car has no external antenna but instead the radio antenna integrated into the rear windsheild defogger grid.

Installed an aftermarket clarion single DIN headunit with CD Player in my 98' interceptor. New headunit gets excellent radio reception utilizing the integrated rear window antenna, perhaps even a little better than the stock radio did.

1995 and later vics technically have a 1.5 DIN radio, but it is commonly called double DIN. Many japanese cars have true 2.0 DIN radios, these are taller and will not fit into a vic without modification.

The Scosche FD1280 Truck/SUV mounting kit allows use of a single DIN radio and provides an extra storage pocket. Schosche kit did specifically list the 98' crownvic on the application list, but I still had to use a grinding wheel to make it fit in the dash opening. Maybe a place like Crutchfield stocks an easier kit to install.

Front door speakers were 5x7's, Infinity Kappa 572.3cf 5x7 Speakers were a straight bolt-in and sound excellent. I was unsure what size the speakers in the back were, some application guides list the 98' vics as having 5x7's while others list the 98' vic as having 6x9's. After pulling the reardeck shelf, I discovered I had 2 6x9's in the rear. Some 98+ vic owners have 5x7's in the rear, so make sure to physically measure the rear speaker openings before you purchase. Mounting depth is not a concern with the small temporary spare that many vics come with, but if you ever want to upgrade to a fullsize spare tire, watch the speaker depth so the spare tire doesn't hit the speaker. Also, observe closely the rear trunk lid latch springs that run from one side of the trunk to the other. Infinity Kappa 693.3's will not work in the rear deck of my 98' vic because they use a basket shape rear frame that hits the latch springs.

Ford uses a couple of different radio harnesses depending on audio options, some of the higher end audio systems come with external amplifiers and a factory sub. Radio harness connectors changed in the vics starting with the 98' model year, so make sure to closely examine the application guide on any harness adapters you may purchase. For my 98', the Scosche FD16 harness connector worked out well.

Radio plug used on 98' and later vics.

On police interceptors, this will be the only radio plug in the dash harness. On civilian vics, there may be additional radio connectors for features such as cd changer, factory amplifier, steering wheel radio controls, etc.


Pinout of the plug pictured above.

Got too many clocks? Jump PIN 4 "Disable Radio Clock Input" over to PIN 11 "Ground" to disable the clock on your radio.

If you have the deluxe radio with the factory subwoofer and amplifier in the trunk, you'll also have this connector plugged into the radio

If your car came from the factory equipped with a  radio with CD changer controls, you'll also have this connector plugged into the radio.

C258 is from a 98' towncar, take note of the extra wires for  the cellular phone and steering wheel radio controls. Also note that the towncar radio is tied into the SCP multiplex network for features such as speed sensitive volume control and delayed accessory off.
 

1997 and earlier vics use the above radio connectors. The same connectors have been in use since the mid-1980's.

Pinout of the black connector pictured above.

Ford shares radios among a number of different vehicles, even though 1995 and later vics do not have power antennas, PIN 2 is still hot when the radio is turned on. This can be useful if one desires to keep the stock head unit, but connect aftermarket amplifiers and need an amp turn on lead.
 

Pinout of the grey connector pictured above
 

Radio Removal:

Easiest way to remove the radio is to use "DIN Tools" avaliable for around $5 at the autoparts store. Radio removal is straightforward, insert the din tools into the holes on the front of the radio, click them into place and slide the radio out of the dashboard.

If you are unable to locate DIN tools, you can remove the radio by unbolting the black plastic trim peice that covers the speedometer and radio from the dashboard. Note this method is very time consuming compared to using the proper tools.

Set of DIN tools


DIN Tools inserted into a radio.

Other thoughts and issues:

Plenty of space in the vic trunks for subs and amplifiers. Watch closely when mounting amplifiers and grounding screws not to drill into the gas tank, its below the big hump in the trunk (in between the trunk pit and passenger compartment).

Running 4 guage wire for amp power from the engine compartment to the trunk is often quite easy in PIs. There are large unused electrical conduits on both the passengers and drivers side for police equipment, 4 guage will slip through with little effort. If your interceptor was ever in service, there's a good chance you have some holes predrilled through the firewall as well. Make sure when running low level RCA cables not to run them too close to the power wire for the amp, because high current draws in power leads generate magnetic fields that can induce noise into the RCA cables.

Sideview of factory ford radio. Notice how the radio tapers in size from the front to back. The front of radio is a 1.5 DIN size, back of radio is a single DIN size. The shape of the radio is unique, but is required to clear the defroster duct work at the back of the dash.

Some vic owners prefer to keep the factory look to their stereo install. A few have swapped in radios from other ford vehicles such as ford explorers, econoline vans, and lincoln towncars. This option greatly lowers install time and planning, just slide the old radio out, unplug it and slide the new radio in and connect the electrical plugs. Sources for used radios include local salvage yards and auction sites like  http://www.ebay.com. Another alternative is to get the radio directly from Visteon ( http://www.visteon.com ), the company that makes many of the radios for ford.

CD Player equipped ford radio installed in a vic. Many ford radios like the above one are equipped with RDS (Radio Data Stream) that allows among other things the radio to display "rock", "classical", "country", etc depending on which type of radio station is being listened to. Note that not all radio stations broadcast are RDS equipped, in some areas none are.

Ford radio equipped with CD Player and cassette

Back of a 98' radio. If you're swapping this radio into a car without CD changer or subwoofer, only one out of the three connectors on the back of the radio will be used.

Closeup of radio connections.

Back of a 96' radio. Note the connectors are very different compared to the 98+ ones.

Adapter to use a 98+ vic radio in a 1997 and prior crown vic, premade ones avaliable from vendors such as www.radiosandmore.com

If you are comfortable soldering, you can make your own adapter by cutting the male radio plug off a salvage yard vic and purchasing some radio interconnect plugs at a store such as walmart or radioshack.

Other points of intrest:

Music CD's only hold around an hours worth of music, some have significantly less per disc. To listen to a few hours of music without continously swapping discs, many people opt to install a CD changer to automate the process. If you have the harness already in the car and a radio with cd changer controls, adding a changer should be easy, just open the trunk and plug it in.

CD changers are an expensive if purchased from ford. OEMs tend not to manufacture audio components inhouse, instead they contract with major manufacturers such as sony, pioneer, clarion, etc. for the task. That's good news if you're looking to save money, because there's a good chance that you can use a non-ford branded changer with your stock radio. Try contacting the people at www.crutchfield.com for information on this option.

If going the pre-owned route, do be aware that CD changers have a finite lifespan and will eventually "wear out" and need costly repairs.

Another option, is to put your tunes into MP3 format. At a reasonable 128kb/s sampling rate, one can fit around 10 hours of music onto a standard cd recordable disc.

This option has a few advantages including:
 


Disadvantages:
 

One can download unique MP3's from a place like www.mp3.com and/or one can convert selected cd's from their home music library into mp3 format.

MP3 capable car decks have steadily been coming down in price, some entry level decks can be purchased for as low as $200. Most independent car audio shops now stock mp3 capable decks, as do big chains such as BestBuy and CircuitCity.