back in a panther, need some pointers

[tim marks]

its been a little over 2 years but im finally back in a panther! i just bought a 96 grand marquis gs from a buddies grandmother for $500. probably the deal of my life. it has just shy of 32,000 miles on it. it has the typical old person dings from backing into things, but all in all it is in great shape inside and out. this is my first 4.6 to play with. from what ive read its a bit of a dog of a motor. limited on the modifications unless you are willing to drop some serious coin into it. my 3 previous panthers were all boxes, so i dont know much about the newer cars. what should i look out for? what typically goes wrong with them? what are the typical modifications and upgrades? im anxious to start toying with my new ride......any input would be great!

[crown vic muscle]

$500 for a car with under 32K is a STEAL!!!! Great find and welcome!

[Darkmerc]

Welcome back, I'm just about back in a panther myself. wish I could help ya. I don't know too much about them myself.

[crown vic muscle]

check out ADTR (Angry Duck Tofu Racing) for some performance stuff. enjoy your new car! im sure we would all like to see some pics of it too.

[SVT98t]

and innovativeinterceptors.com good stuff
welcome!

[tim marks]

thanks for the links. ill be sure to put some pictures up when i get them. im hardly ever home when it is daylight out. ill post them when i get them.

is anyone familiar with an "elite series" grand marquis?

[Grand Marquis GT]

Tim! Welcome back, mang!

[Rizzo]

At the top of this section is the first "Mod" I think you should consider.

The second is the J-mod or Jerry's mod for the transmission. Given that you have a 1996 you will in addition to the spring choice you make you will also need an updated 1-2 accumulator piston. The larger holes in the seperator plate and the softer springs or removal there of will increase the likely hood of the outdated plastic piston you have of shattering or cracking.

Mercon V supersedes any other manual or shop recommended fluid. So use that in your 4R70W

http://www.tccoa.com/articles/tranny...ybusiness.html <-Jmod info.

The second thing to look for,And this is for drivibility not modification is the intake manifold.

If this is what you see on there now


Then you will want to save up for this


Some people have made it up to and over 100k on the plastic crossover,But it sucks getting stranded.

My 97 had the updated intake but the hot in heater core line developed a leak at the brass nipple on the back of the intake.

And lastly, a Trak-loc. One wheel peel sucks.

[Lincolnmania]

welcome back tim
start out with gears and exhaust like you and i did on the 86.......the 4.6 panthers feel like a ho converted box to me......i had the j mod in a 95 thunderbird......get brian to do the j mod for u mang

[tim marks]

i still have the 3.55 trac loc gears from the 86, im planning on puttting them in some rainy day at work. dual exhaust is definately in the plans too, just gotta ge tsome mufflers....prob flowmasters or the thrush i still have from the 86. if i switch intakes to the PI intake, are the plenums the same from npi to pi? also, do i need a tune for the intake swap? thanks for the input, ive got a lot to learn.. im excited to get some mods under the hood


tim

[cvpi]

dual exhaust 3.55, j-mod, and intake would be a nice upgrade... You can go more into performance upgrades/mods but then the price becomes the issue. Anyways welcome back