New member from Illinois - 1988 Mercury Grand Marquis LS

[Raymond]

Hi all,

New member here from Illinois. Just picked up this 1988 Mercury Grand Marquis LS. I just got the plates on it Saturday, and just got the insurance today so time to start rolling.

It has a couple issues, but solid overall. All the windows, locks, lights etc work. No rips or tear inside, and cig lighters work. The bad is that there are two rust spots down low behind the rear wheels, but they feel like solid metal still that could be fixed if attended to soon. One of the pins on the glove box latch won't retract so it sticks. However I was able to pop it open without breaking it. I tried a piece of tape over the one that one retract but the tape lost. The biggest complaint right now is that the gas gauge doesn't work. I had the same issue on my 1966 Chrysler Newport, and a fuel tank sending unit fixed that (that car had a mechanical pump on the engine). I can't find one for this car so I'm guessing the sending unit is part of the electric in tank pump on this?

[mercurygm88]

Nice car I've seen very few black MGM's both in person and in pics, does it have leather? Yes the sending unit is in the tank with the pump, unfortunately I believe that they are no longer being made. Whether it be by Ford or an aftermarket supplier, about the only source would be a used one, a NOS (New Old Stock) if you can find it, or to have it rebuilt if theres anyone doing that. I'm sure someone around here knows the best solution, I was lucky enough not to have that problem on my '88.

[Raymond]

No, it has gray cloth interior.

That sucks about the gas gauge. I guess I'll call around some Ford dealers to see if anyone has any locally sitting on their shelves. Probably not so I guess some junk yard trips are in my future.

[mercurygm88]

No, it has gray cloth interior.

That sucks about the gas gauge. I guess I'll call around some Ford dealers to see if anyone has any locally sitting on their shelves. Probably not so I guess some junk yard trips are in my future.

It's possible that there may be one around. When I bought my '88 back in 2011 I had a vacuum leak causing the Heat and A/C to default to defrost, it turned out the vacuum canister (soup can) on the drivers inner fender under the hood had rusted out. Local ford dealer was able to track one down in Georgia and got it for me for like $20, it was Aluminum too instead of steel. I also got lucky on the water pump, it wasn't an expensive part anyway but the same dealer had one that had been sitting on the shelf for years, brand new Motorcraft water pump cost me a whopping $15. You could very well get lucky and find a NOS sending unit if you find a dealer willing to take the time to look.

[Raymond]

Thanks for the tips. I'll definitely check. Another weird thing is that the needle on the shifter tree doesn't line up with the position of the gear selector. That's not a big deal.

Overall, I'm excited to drive it. This is my first Mercury, and my second Ford. My first Ford was a 1993 Mustang LX 2.3L I had for a while. I have been a Honda guy for a long time, but the Newport gave me my first taste of American big body V8 comfort and I was hooked lol.

Forgot to mention the GM has 131K on the clock. Once she gets a good wash I'll get more pics. I think with a good buff she'll be beautiful. The vinyl roof isn't perfect, but its far from the worst I've ever seen.

Maybe a HO conversion is in her future LOL

[mercurygm88]

Thanks for the tips. I'll definitely check. Another weird thing is that the needle on the shifter tree doesn't line up with the position of the gear selector. That's not a big deal.

Overall, I'm excited to drive it. This is my first Mercury, and my second Ford. My first Ford was a 1993 Mustang LX 2.3L I had for a while. I have been a Honda guy for a long time, but the Newport gave me my first taste of American big body V8 comfort and I was hooked lol.

Forgot to mention the GM has 131K on the clock. Once she gets a good wash I'll get more pics. I think with a good buff she'll be beautiful. The vinyl roof isn't perfect, but its far from the worst I've ever seen.

Maybe a HO conversion is in her future LOL

I believe the gear selector not lining up correctly has something to do with a plastic collar on the steering column, if I remember correctly they break more often than not when trying to adjust them so it may be better to leave it alone. I've only seen one once fellow member Gabegt90 helped me install a trip minder in my '88 at Scott Fest 2011 we had the instrument panel out and yeah that collar looked pretty chinzy.

Heres a link to my Readers Rides thread from my '88, it did not look anywhere near that good before I totalled it, poor thing was rusting away.

[VicCrownVic]

Welcome!

The car looks good.
My mom had a black 88 MGM with gray leather interior when I was a kid. It didn't have turbine wheels like yours and the top was just the standard vinyl half top. Is your top cloth?
Mom's 88 was also the first car I worked on when I was 11 after I broke the passenger door handle.

[miamibob]

Should be able to re-adjust the collar and then zip tie it. Worked for me.....

[mercurygm88]

Should be able to re-adjust the collar and then zip tie it. Worked for me.....

I knew there was something that could be done about it, I just didn't wanna send someone in there not knowing what to do and have them destroy it completely. I still don't think I'd attempt it myself, inner dash workings, and the internals of automatic transmissions still scare me. Other than that I can't think of much I don't like to fuss with.

[miamibob]

I knew there was something that could be done about it, I just didn't wanna send someone in there not knowing what to do and have them destroy it completely. I still don't think I'd attempt it myself, inner dash workings, and the internals of automatic transmissions still scare me. Other than that I can't think of much I don't like to fuss with.

It may appear scary but it was actually a pretty easy fix. Once you remove the trim pieces from the steering column, it is very apparent. How long it hold up is anyone's guess!

[Raymond]

Thanks guys. I'll give it a shot, there's a few other things I have to get to first. I unfortunately dropped it off at a shop with the only person I trust to touch my cars besides me. Felt like I had a little bit of a rough idle or a bad mount or something. Started getting a lot of vibration. I thought my idle was rough as I was feeling a lot of movement in the car, but listening outside the car under the hood she sounds smooth and normal.

I'd tackle it myself but I have to try and squeeze in doing the brakes on my 08 Honda Fit between bouts of rain this week, and pull the dizzy from my significant other's car and take it back to O'reilly's as I think its defective. Need to get her back on the road since she delivers pizza for a living.

I'm bummed that they didn't get the Grand Marq in yesterday. I want to drive it soooooooooooo bad. I was a Honda guy for the past 8+ years. But the Civic I spent a lot of time taking from a rolling shell to a clean, swapped reliable car got wrecked. Since then I've gotten a taste of Big Body American Steel and can't get enough.

[knucklehead0202]

Welcome to the big car club, it's hard to go back once you've done it. Your car looks very nice and like gm88 said, don't see black ones often. Can't wait to see how she comes along.

[Raymond]

There's a million things I would already like to do. HO conversion, dual exhaust, update the radio and speakers (nothing fancy or thumpin', just basic functionality). Maybe some of the police car goodies such as sway bars if I could ever track them down. Possibly a set of clean looking aftermarket wheels, but I have to look around at some of you guy's rides to get an idea of what looks better than the factory options.

But these are all pipe dreams really

[79lincolnlover]

Welcome! You're going to like it here.

[BuffaloRider]

These cars look damn good in black!
Welcome to the forums man!