My 1987 Mercury Colony Park

[87gtVIC]

Awesome! You can start a new thread for yourself. Drop a link in the new thread to this thread for its past history.

Great car. I love the exterior combo.

[TecNickal]

I hope you Enjoy it. Still the quickest wagon I've ever owned and the best powertrain. 3.27 open rear end per the door tag. You are owner #3. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. i know you'll take it the next steps so it can continue to evolve into an even better wagon.

[Kodachrome Wolf]

I'm contemplating making a new thread for this, but here we go! If anyone thinks it's worth starting a new one, just say so.

Anyway, this wagon has traded hands between myself and TecNickal. I'll be taking in all the paper work (hopefully) tomorrow to get it's title and plates done. I just got done insuring it, so that's taken care of.

Right now, it's still at TecNickal's house, since he's doing the intake gaskets before I come to get it. I hope to be driving it home probably on the 1st of next year.

I'm really excited to have a Box, especially a wagon. It also happens to be a perfect year, since I have the benefit of a SEFI 302 and the final year of the Boxy-Box styling. The car won't be getting many upgrades outside of some basic stuff I have planned. The hopes are to get dual exhaust installed and equip it with the police sway bars and rear control arms I grabbed a few months ago. When I pick it up, I have some '90 LTC rims with 215/70R15 Firestone FR710 whitewall tires that are going on it (the current tires are rather old and way oversized). Considering all the time and work TecNickal has put into it, I expect it to last a very long time.

[Kodachrome Wolf]

It seems a bit odd to be posting about this vehicle on this thread, and I'm going to try avoiding any faux pas action here, but I did stop by Nick's place today to drop off some stuff for the '87 and did some minor adjustments on some previous work I did earlier in the month.

I cleaned up the 3G charge cable install that I did on it:


I used a '96 3.8 Mustang alternator and dug the charge cable out of a '96 3.0 Taurus and borrowed it's 175 amp mega fuse. I loomed up that new charge cable and routed it along the radiator support and secured it with zip ties. Outside of cutting the old charge cables back near the plug on the driver's side fender liner, I didn't really do much to the wiring and even used the 2G plug for the sense, amp, and stator wire. I figured I'd avoid altering the wiring too much.



It's always a treat stopping by his place and seeing the wagons and Town Cars.

[TecNickal]

OK AC - replaced all the lines, flushed evap core and condenser. Put new o-rings on, and installed new lines. AC is nice and cold now

Installed new upper control arm bushings. Reinstalled the belt when doing the AC work, with a gutted air pump and lubed up air pump bearings for the shaft. Silky smooth now. Unf, the idle doesn't hold at all with the AC on. The car idles too low, so hoping the new CX1824 Motorcraft IAC will fix that.

I see the oil pressure sending unit is leaking - yippie!

New harmonic balancer is installed. New power steering pressure hose installed, and new cut ATF hose used to replace the aged return line.

Need to install some new headlight adjuster clips for driver side and aim the lights. Hope I can reinstall the trim inside the car, install a new radio and new seat belts and clean it once before I leave Thursday afternoon.

[TecNickal]

Well - luckily someone from here that lives local is offering up their old air pump to me. So I will take it apart, gut it, grease the bearings up well, and reinstall with a new belt. That way it looks like its doing something even though its not.

Next job for the car is to replace the exhaust system - complete. The asfixiation from the exhaust leak is getting to me during my commute, so I'm replacing it with dual exhaust I ripped off an 88 wagon.

After that, the rubber is shot on the harmonic balancer - so that needs to be addressed, because the vibrations are unpleasant at idle and at other speeds.

THen - noticed the AC lines are in poor shape, so will have to replace the suction, discharge, liquid lines, a new orffice, accumulator and a recharge.

Ordering a Ford Performance harmonic balancer for the car.

After that, hope the fuel smell I'm getting goes away...

Intl. Station Wagon Show in Springfield Illinois is coming up, I hope this thing is ready.

[88Vic]

When the air tube rusted and broke off the downpipes on my car I was thinking of pinching it shut and patching the exhaust, but I didn't know if that would blow up the pump and shred the belt so I had it re-welded like stock. If I get new downpipes made, I'll bypass the smog pump somehow.

[sly]

You would have to take it apart and remove the fins. The bearings are what seized on mine though.

[88Vic]

Is it possible to gut the smog pump so it's physically there but not pumping anything, basically using it like a smog pump eliminator kit so that you can keep the stock belt? I changed the belt on mine not long ago so I'd rather not pull it off again so run a shorter one. If I can gut it, cut the air tube off and patch the exhaust (or have catless downpipes made like I want), I'll go that route to make it easier.

[sly]

Mine seized and sounded like a small supercharger for a few months before.

[gadget73]

those smog pumps are crap. The one on my Towncar sounded like 50s UFO sound effects when it died, and the Mark VII had a monkey with maracas under the hood before it was unhooked. Neither seized, but they were close to it.

[TecNickal]

I yanked the headliner out of the wagon and found some more water leaks from door seals. So replaced all the door seals I could, and so far, things are staying dry.

But then I still had water leaks on the seat. I found the window channel felt had missing chunks in it, allowing more window noise and rain to enter. So I'll have to tear the door apart, and fix that. While in there, I'm installing the windows from a car with the smoker vent window, adding some Town Car sound deadener between the door panel and the door shell. Also going to put some nice speakers in the door.

My air pump started locking up and smoking the belt, so I cut the belt. No AC for now. I'll have to remove the air pump and install the shorter belt. This car had someone put some hackers R us downpipes without cats welded to the Y pipe and it has a huge exhaust leak. Also another task to take care of.

Otherwise, this car doesn't loose coolant or oil. Nice running motor, I like it. Hope the dual exhaust will give it a bit more oomph. I installed a auto dim w/compass and maplight mirror in it too.

[TecNickal]

Bobby Johnson, at Johnson Transmission in Lugoff SC seems to know what he's doing. The tailshaft seal and bushing got replaced today. I drove it really aggressively for 30 minutes (not brake standing it, but aggressively), no leaks, shifts good. TV cable is set so it goes into 4th at 45 under light throttle.

I yanked a BUNCH of stuff today. I have a complete OE dual exhaust system to install off of an 88 Colony Park. New speakers, used but good condition door gaskets, sound deadener, seat belts that work/retract, a new rear seat cushion, etc.

I start a new job 30 minutes away on the 13th - so I want to get most of this stuff done soon. Some of it may have to wait though...

Alignment tmrw AM

[gadget73]

Unfortunately finding someone that knows how an AOD works seems to be a challenge.

Not sure if you or someone else has done a service on it, but there is a small gasket that sits between the filter and the valve body. If this is not installed, it will not work correctly.

[sly]

It needs a T5 adjustment............fix all those dull slushy trans problems lol................

Hush you.