My 1987 Two Door Crown Victoria AKA THE BROWN BLOB

[packman]

Good thing you store your CV in the winter. I found out the hard way with my Aunt’s Saturn that the pcv catch I installed, accumulated water that ended up back in the crank case.

[87gtVIC]

Swapped on a spare fan I had pulled a while back, media blasted and powdercoated semigloss black.

[slack]

Looks good! Side note, I also dig the spark plug wire separators or whatever you call them.

[87gtVIC]

Thanks. They are cheap little plastic guys that can be a bit fiddly to work with. You have the two clamping sides and then a screw and a nut. Depending on where you are trying to separate it can become quite a bear. The heat also deforms them a bit (bowing out at the ends) but they do work. Id say the zip tie method is just as good.

[Tiggie]

Nice work on the fan. Hopefully the powder coat is the trick. Paint always seems to chip on those.

[jaywish]

And when aligning wires don't forget the required crossovers to minimize misfires.

[87gtVIC]

Humid and muggy out today so I got around to an indoor project...checking into the latest junkyard picked radio. This one is from a 1986 Town Car. I first hooked it up to power to see what needed fixing and all of the pots needed some cleaner and lube. I did not dare try out the cassette before I opened it up to see the condition of the belts. The belts were still intact but needed replacing so I did just that. After a thorough once over this radio is fully functioning and will be stored away as a good spare for my car.

[87gtVIC]

Couple shots after my morning cruise:










Body now has 145k roughly on her

[87gtVIC]

A little bit back I noticed that my SPECTRA PREMIUM 3 Core Radiator (CU552) was seeping a bit of coolant onto the passengers side lower radiator mount. Upon further inspection it seemed to be leaking right where the core meets up with the side tank on the passengers side.







I purchased this (https://www.radiatorexpress.com/prod...221165/1438417) from radiators express...and naturally the price dropped significantly after I made my purchase. lol Part number SKU: 221165.

To early to tell if it is any good as I broke the damn overflow nipple off and am currently waiting for a new one to arrive.

I would not recommend this one though. The radiator cap is not on an angle like I am used to and it makes for an awfully close fit to the upper hold down. I also had to modify the radiator to accept the fan shroud though I had to do this on my last one as well. My main grip is the rad cap position.







This is an all aluminum radiator. Does this need to be grounded to ensure I don't corrode it? Would it hurt doing so?

[Tiggie]

I've had an aluminum radiator in the 88 since I bought it and haven't had any problems without grounding.

Wouldn't hurt to check it. IIRC measure volts between the negative post and the coolant and see what it says.

[friskyfrankie]

If there was not much time passed since the purchase and price drop, I would ask them if they would refund the difference. The most they can say is no!

[87gtVIC]

If there was not much time passed since the purchase and price drop, I would ask them if they would refund the difference. The most they can say is no!

Oops. Looking back I didnt get bamboozled. With shipping the total reached that ~300 mark.

[friskyfrankie]

No problem - as long as you feel you got a fair deal - just looking out for my "brothers"!

[86VickyLX]

This is an all aluminum radiator. Does this need to be grounded to ensure I don't corrode it? Would it hurt doing so?

Keep up with scheduled cooling system maintenance and this should not be an issue. My spectre 3 row radiator is leaking in the same spot on Vicky.

I have the 2 row version on my coupe. I was looking to purchase the 3 row for a future build as the 2 row was nearly 400 dollars. It mentioned something about needing to modify the mounting points? Doesn't look like you needed to do any of that. I'm assuming you used the police spec upper radiator hose as well?

[87gtVIC]

Keep up with scheduled cooling system maintenance and this should not be an issue. My spectre 3 row radiator is leaking in the same spot on Vicky.

I have the 2 row version on my coupe. I was looking to purchase the 3 row for a future build as the 2 row was nearly 400 dollars. It mentioned something about needing to modify the mounting points? Doesn't look like you needed to do any of that. I'm assuming you used the police spec upper radiator hose as well?

Thanks John

I used the same mounting points up top for the hold down. Those just worked. Very tight on the drivers side by the radiator cap as previously mentioned. That mount is angled towards the passengers side to give me some extra room around said radiator cap.

I am using the police spec upper hose as well. I needed this for the previous spectra I just replaced so this was a simple R and R of the radiator for me aside from mounting the shroud.

[sly]

I used a Radiator Express rad in the Mark VI IIRC. Unless Nick has had to replace that one, it should still be fine.

[packman]

My BeCool radiator has the same problem; but obviously it's an aftermarket unit that is 2" more narrow than stock.

[87gtVIC]

Replacement nipple acquired and I did not ruin the threads in the neck...All good and snug now with bypass/overflow hose installed.

[86VickyLX]

Replacement nipple acquired and I did not ruin the threads in the neck...All good and snug now with bypass/overflow hose installed.

Notable gains in operating temperature during this heat?

[87gtVIC]

Uhh. Been working the past few days. Have yet to bleed it and drive it.