2004 CVLX: the new winter beater

[a_d_a_m]

Welp, after a year of service, the car finally needed an entire exhaust system minus the cats.

Started with manifolds that looked like this when removed:


Then turned into a failed flange at the Y on the single exhaust. My buddy had a junk P71 dual setup laying around (with the fire suppression insulators on the tailpipes!) so I had him hack off the old one and weld new junk onto this car. BEWARE: OHIO RUST INCOMING.
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He had some damn near empty spray paint around so I did a bumper tuck and tried to make the rust look pretty. There wasn't enough paint to do a good job.


If I can get one more winter out of it, I will be happy.

[BigMerc96]

If I remember correctly, the badge used on the honeycomb grille is the same size as the one on the rear of a Windstar or older F150. There are several options if you need one since it seems that Ford only used a few sizes of Ford emblem for a long time.

[GM_Guy]

Thnaks.

Alex.

[BigMerc96]

The badge is larger on a honeycomb grille than on the chrome or other slatted grilles, so what Adam has going on there is a honeycomb grille with the smaller badge likely off of the original chrome grille.

[GM_Guy]

Yeah, it’s a Chinese grille with a too-small badge.

Is the chinese badge pad the correct size for a proper Ford badge? Mine (SAP grille) is peeling chrome and I was eyeing the rockauto offerings.

Alex.

[a_d_a_m]

One steering shaft DONE.



Believe it or not, this isn’t even the worst one I’ve ever seen...but it’s way worse than the one that failed on my old 2004 MGM.

[jaywish]

Posi carrier FTW

[73impala]

Winter beater whats that?!? lol

Good looking car overall. Love the moon roof.

[IPreferDIY]

Here's a video that was used as an example on CVN:



For the sake of getting some aerodynamic benefit, I used a piece of vinyl siding between the bottom of the trunk and the bottom of the bumper cover without any tuck:

http://www.grandmarq.net/vb/showthread.php?51279-2000-Grand-Marquis-Air-Deflector-Aerodynamics-Anyone&p=768434&viewfull=1#post768434

[79lincolnlover]

what’s a bumper tuck on these cars?

x2...

[87gtVIC]

What’s a bumper tuck on these cars?

[a_d_a_m]

Yeah, it’s a Chinese grille with a too-small badge.

[Kodachrome Wolf]

Does that grille have a smaller emblem stuck on it?

At least the car does a good job of hiding the ugly underneath. For the price, you stole the darn thing, even if it’s just a beater.

[a_d_a_m]

I had a crappy old 1/3 can of Krylon that I was sick of looking at, so I did this.





Was gonna bumper tuck, but this is by far the rustiest Panther I’ve ever seen and tucking would just make it easier for people to see how bad it is.

[SVT98t]

Holland = 100% Snow/Rust Belt

Great pull!!


-ryan s.