1988 Grand Marquis "The Cherry Bomb"

[sly]

[MrMarquis]

Not a whole lot to update here...time is taking its toll on Cherry. But hey, she's got purdy new wheels!





And she survived the dyno runs at ScottFest. 142 horsepower and 241 ft/lbs of torque on her beat 194k lopo.

[chitownvic]

Loving the wheels! Watched the videos on FB.. Train horn sounds good! Lol

[MrMarquis]

She is alive.

She's been tucked away in the garage for a year without being started, and really just sat in the driveway before that for a while. New battery, terminal clamps, and brandy new Bosch 3G alternator as the old one crapped out; fired up without issue like I had just parked her yesterday. So now she's out and about again, cruising locally for short runs. If I look at her from really low on the driver's side, the paint still looks okay. Any other angle shows just how bad it's gotten after nearly 200k miles.






I have ordered a good semi-custom fit car cover to keep her in the driveway, as my garage is really awkward to get in and out of with either Marquis; so I'll be more inclined to go for a drive if all it takes is storing a car cover.

Next thing to do now that she's mobile again is to pull the train horns and air system out and plug up the holes. I want the noise for Luxo to blast all the stupids on my commute again...

[nfldfordltd]

Fine looking fleet sir.
I really should get some group shots of my fleet.

[His Royal Ghostliness]

New battery, terminal clamps, and brandy new Bosch 3G alternator as the old one crapped out; fired up without issue like I had just parked her yesterday.

That's actually pretty typical for a SEFI 302 vehicle, Ford actually knew what they were doing there and did it well.

If I look at her from really low on the driver's side, the paint still looks okay. Any other angle shows just how bad it's gotten after nearly 200k miles.

What if you buff it? Forgot what Jay used on his AZ wagon, but that faded paint came back to life pretty nice IMHO. Worth a shot maybe?

I have ordered a good semi-custom fit car cover to keep her in the driveway, as my garage is really awkward to get in and out of with either Marquis; so I'll be more inclined to go for a drive if all it takes is storing a car cover.

When peeling the cover off the car, start from the rear, and roll it onto itself towards the front. Once you're at the base of the windshield stop, and pull the front of the cover off the nose of the car, the proceed rolling the cover forward towards the nose, pause and pull the front of the cover up and back onto the hood then continue rolling. Once the cover is fully rolled up, flatten it, fold it in three (first one side onto the center area, then the other), toss it like that in the trunk, and you're ready to go. Reinstalling the cover then becomes a matter of unfolding the sides, hooking the front onto the car's nose, then rolling the cover back over teh car till you're at the rear bumper, it's a 10 minute job including the time to tie the rope under the car.

Oh yeah, buy some clearcoat in rattle cans and hit the truck's rear fenders with it before they fade even more.

[Rodentkiller]

Mr. Marques it looks like that the paint has delaminated just best to get the car repainted and a new soft top too or go slicktop.

[His Royal Ghostliness]

He's got another mistress tho, this is his old flame, the new one is hotter so she gets all of his attention :p

[DerekTheGreat]

Still a solid car. So is that F-150. Paint is only aesthetically pleasing, doesn't contribute to the mechanically sanity of a vehicle.

[His Royal Ghostliness]

Paint is only aesthetically pleasing, doesn't contribute to the mechanically sanity of a vehicle.

This is only partially true, solid paint is important for keeping the rust monster away. Which just so happens to be why his truck's rear fenders do not color-match the rest of the bed. Also, can't fault a guy for wanting his vehicle to look nice, especially after all the mechanical work he's sunk into it.

[Rodentkiller]

HRG my mother thinks I am stupid to put so much money like new engine in 2013 and now new paint,I just tell her it is my car and I am gonna drive it and I had to keep the rust monster from invadeing my car.

[His Royal Ghostliness]

The mom in question sounds like she's one of those people who look at the age of a vehicle and automatically assume it's a POS that is not worth putting any money into. Coincidentally those very same people are an epic fail at comprehending why people "waste" their money on classic hot-rods and such, while the brandy new cars are so much nicer. To each their own, personally I'd rather weld up old steel than replace new plastic. And I almost wanna see what all these fools will do in case of some global event that removes easy access to all sorts of sophisticated technology and puts everyone on the tech level Cuba was at 20 years ago - all this brand new newfangled shit will be shit outta luck in short order.

[DerekTheGreat]

This is only partially true, solid paint is important for keeping the rust monster away. Which just so happens to be why his truck's rear fenders do not color-match the rest of the bed. Also, can't fault a guy for wanting his vehicle to look nice, especially after all the mechanical work he's sunk into it.

What's more important, a running driving vehicle or the surface rust on your hood, roof ect? :P

If it ain't rot caused by extreme moisture/salt like seen around in rust belt issues then you really don't have to worry about it, look at all the old junk from the 50's rusting away out west. They're still solid but ugly, wait no, I mean they've got "patina" so that means you can actually charge more for the same car. See, it's not worth it to paint it! /s

[MrMarquis]

Mr. Marques it looks like that the paint has delaminated just best to get the car repainted and a new soft top too or go slicktop.

I'll half considering just spray bombing the top - anything would look better at this rate. Vinyl definitely has to be replaced, too many cracks to fill. But money is needed elsewhere.

He's got another mistress tho, this is his old flame, the new one is hotter so she gets all of his attention :p

The new one just gets driven, really haven't spent anything on it yet minus basic maintenance. The truck has seen more money than anything. The Medalist may be catching up though...

What's more important, a running driving vehicle or the surface rust on your hood, roof ect? :P

If it ain't rot caused by extreme moisture/salt like seen around in rust belt issues then you really don't have to worry about it, look at all the old junk from the 50's rusting away out west. They're still solid but ugly, wait no, I mean they've got "patina" so that means you can actually charge more for the same car. See, it's not worth it to paint it! /s

Metal is still solid on the car. Has the patina trend gotten into the '80s bricks yet? I may be sitting on some money and not realize it!

[His Royal Ghostliness]

The new one just gets driven, really haven't spent anything on it yet minus basic maintenance. The truck has seen more money than anything. The Medalist may be catching up though...

I was actually referring to the Medalist when I mentioned your new mistress :p