1997 Mercury Grand Marquis LS

[jaywish]

You probably should get the car aligned again after the new springs and shocks settle in. Maybe at 500 miles after install.

[Kodachrome Wolf]

Need some alloy wheels for better performance, you can get decent tires on HPP wheels. Not sure I think any wheel looks better on these cars than HPP wheels, maybe LX Sport wheels but HPP has an older look to them and 16" tires are cheaper.

I've got a set of 17" '96 Cobra wheels that are awaiting tires. Those will be going on the car come summertime. I got them for a really good deal and I don't see myself picking up any more sets of wheels. I have my original 15" alloys still stacked off in a corner.

[88Vic]

Need some alloy wheels for better performance, you can get decent tires on HPP wheels. Not sure I think any wheel looks better on these cars than HPP wheels, maybe LX Sport wheels but HPP has an older look to them and 16" tires are cheaper.

[Kodachrome Wolf]

Bypassing the Ford dealer for some stuff. The $800 for ball joints + alignment was bad enough. Parts are cheap, labor isn't.

TecNickal offered to help me with getting the rest of the work done at his place, so that's the plan for tomorrow. For now, this is what's up:


Current list:
-KYB Gas-A-Just Front/Rear Police shocks
-Moog Box Body front sway bar end links
-Moog Rear Box Wagon cargo coil springs

Waiting to arrive:
-Moog Front Aero coil springs

The car is essentially going from worn out granny suspension to something a little more heavy duty. It won't be the same, that's for sure.

[Kodachrome Wolf]

Took the Marquis is at the dealer. I thought the front end was about to let go today as I was leaving downtown. I got a loud clunk with every bump the driver's side wheel went over. The dust boots have been torn on the ball joints and sway bar end links for some time, but they were kept greased, however it was only putting off the inevitable. 150K of service, good enough, now for the front end to get freshened up.

Now I'm waiting for an estimate...

[rezwrrd]

After seeing the truck hubcaps in your sig pic this afternoon, I left a visitor message on your profile... but dang! those Sable hubcaps look pretty good too. If I ever get tired of the center caps on mine, I'm going to have a hard time deciding which idea to copy.

[Kodachrome Wolf]

Repainted the grille in a fresh coat of black gloss paint, changed the hubcaps to one of my full size sets then did a fair amount of driving. Had some work to do at my late grandmother's house in Whitmire and I decided to get some photos.

Camped out in the garage/basement. A '93 and '01 MGM have also both resided in this garage over the years:



Getting ready to go:


The car now needs another wash down not only from the bugs I've collected, but also from the mud I threw on the rocker panels. The area before the garage was all mush, and I didn't realize that until I had backed halfway through it and the car bogged down and I spun the wheels a bit.


If anyone was wondering, this is the other set of hubcaps I have for the car:


The metal ones are from 1970s Ford full-size pickups and are stamped 'Ford Motor Company' and have the Ford crest.
The plastic ones are from 1986-1989 Mercury Sables and have the flying-M emblem.

[Kodachrome Wolf]

Obligatory picture for today:


New NAPA brakes and rotors installed and the oil and filter were changed (Valvoline Full Synthetic 5W-30 and Motorcraft FL-820S). Did some brake tests to set everything. Hard braking is controlled and straight and regular braking is pleasantly more responsive. After having a warped rotor for as long as I did, it's really nice just to have smooth braking effort now.

[Kodachrome Wolf]

In that pic, I have the 1.25" spacers up front, and 1.5" spacers out back.
I ran the 1/4" spacer for only a few weeks.
I did a ton of research first before ordering and I still messed it up.
I would highly recommend the setup I have.

-ryan s.

Sounds like that's what I'll do. Thanks!

[SVT98t]

In that pic, I have the 1.25" spacers up front, and 1.5" spacers out back.
I ran the 1/4" spacer for only a few weeks.
I did a ton of research first before ordering and I still messed it up.
I would highly recommend the setup I have.

-ryan s.

[Kodachrome Wolf]

Good times... I need to swap the factory corners back in my Dakota. The Ebay clears suck.

Personally I'd keep the steelies, dog dishes and trim rings but thats just me.

I'm keeping my old wheels around. I love the look, but right now the black wheels just don't do what the red ones did. With the Cobras on the car, I will be able to properly redo them while having a little more fun with a different style. I love changing things up every so often. Keeps things from getting old.

Hell, I could have a set of summer and winter tires too, just obviously not in the same application as people who actually have snow. Summer gets Cobras and Winter gets Steelies/Dog dish.

[pantera77]

Good times... I need to swap the factory corners back in my Dakota. The Ebay clears suck.

Personally I'd keep the steelies, dog dishes and trim rings but thats just me.

[Kodachrome Wolf]

I originally had 1/4 spacers up front, but they kept hitting.
I have 17" 04 Mustang GT wheels.
I run 1.25" hubcentric up front, and 1.5" hubcentric in the rear.

-ryan s.

Found this in TOJ2's thread:


I assume this is where you're running the above adapters? If so, that looks absolutely perfect.

Also, is there any rubbing on anything, even when going over bumps? Sorry about all the questions, just I want to try to get this setup right the first time instead of throwing money all over the place.

[88Vic]

I picked up another set of wheels that can fit a bit more tire on them. I essentially stole away with really good Cobra 17" wheels that came on the '96-'97 models

I think the recessed areas and rim edge would look really good Plastidipped red to match the car.

[SVT98t]

My car is in the air in my garage. I'll record a quick video when I return from lunch.

-ryan s.