My 1987 Two Door Crown Victoria AKA THE BROWN BLOB

[gadget73]

Looks good, damn thing does open up the engine compartment quite a bit! If only you could report on brake pedal feel..

Gadget, was at a yard this past Saturday looking at a Mark VII and couldn't figure out where they put the ECM. Figured it was the passenger side since years ago when someone tried stealing my dad's there was some goofy thing hanging down from the dash on the passenger side.

On mine at least, the pedal doesn't actually feel much different. It got a slightly longer threshold braking area, but I don't know how much of that was the new MC vs the original one and how much was the different booster. Pedal effort is slightly less, but pedal effort does increase a little with big brakes vs the stock. Its probably closer to the stock brake effort now, though not nearly as touchy. It wasn't a huge difference for normal driving, but it definitely plants the anchor harder if I jam down on the pedal. I really don't use the brakes very much though, so I'm probably not the guy to ask. I get 75k out of a set of pads, but I'm also that asshole that lets off the gas a half mile before the light so I can get the timing right and never actually have to stop.


Passenger side in the kick panel area. You can find it easy enough, but access is not real fun. Just imagine laying under there trying to re-pin the thing from under the dashboard. Apparently if you do it just right, you can extract the connector back into the engine compartment, but rumour has it that the hole that it passes through is precisely the right size and if you don't have it angled just so it will not come back out of there.

[87gtVIC]

Yeah. I pulled a Mark VII computer YEARS back with Scottmang and it was a pain in the dick for me to just get to the damned 10mm head on the connector.

While underneath the dash I realized how I will have to relocate what I believe to be the cruise control computer when I convert the car to a five speed. That damned thing is wedged right between the main computer and the brake pedal...precisely the location of a third pedal. Poo.

[gadget73]

yeah, thats where that is. Easy to move though, the harness isn't super involved.

[DerekTheGreat]

I do the coast to red lights thing too. I've never had to replace a set of pads.. I should've pulled that computer! I'll go back there this weekend maybe.

[Grand Marquis GT]

I use the gears to slow me down. Oh wait, we're talking panthers...

[DerekTheGreat]

I do that with our GMC. I miss having a clutch on my DD car.

[86VickyLX]

I use the gears to slow me down. Oh wait, we're talking panthers...

I use the gears in my vic to slow me down. That's how you save your brakes on the skippyville cruise haha!

[gadget73]

I will use D to slow me down, but thats about it. No second gear in the Townie. I need to wire up that OD switch in the Mark, not having drive really irks me badly. Moving the shifter in that gives me second gear, which is way too low.

[86VickyLX]

Towny has manual second gear till it slows down to around 18mph. The valve body we put in your mark vii has engine braking in manual second. Which is very nice for you. Mine doesn't so it coasts when throttle is not applied.

[gadget73]

I don't really need to decel in second most of the time. I have no third gear in the Mark, which is the bigger problem. I'm not dropping it to second over 50. It needs that switch installed so I can pull it out of overdrive without having to drive either like an old man or listen to the engine scream for mercy.

[87gtVIC]

Woot. Got an ISO metric bubble flare tool from my dads boss so I can make up the rear line out of the master cylinder. He used it once as it was just a couple bucks more to purchase it then to rent it....which works for me as I get to use it fo' free. Planning to go from the master cylinder and to just around the rear of the drivers side door where we put a union on the rear lines YEARS ago. I have a coupler and more fittings and plan to do this more correctly this go around.

[87gtVIC]

Playing hookie tomorrow and planning on getting shit done.

Solder in maf connector (maf power, ground, signal and return), solder in master cylinder brake level harness (ground, ignition ground and parking brake switch ground), route my tachometer signal wire in with the coils harness (cause it just makes sense), route the wide band O2 connector over to the existing O2 connectors, wire in the wide band inside the car (power and ground), reinstall cruise computer under dash and take a peak if I still have a parking brake switch. After all of that I will cover up the fuse box under the dash and cover all wiring under the hood with conduit and then make up my brake hose for the rear brakes starting at the master cylinder. Will have to make a metric bubble on one end and a double flare on the other to a coupler somewhere under the drivers side door. Fill up the reservoir and pump her up and check for leaks. Will bleed once I have assistance when pops comes home.

Maybe Saturday engine comes out and frame cleaning begins....????

[DerekTheGreat]

Git 'r' done! Pics of the cleaning process and such are a must.

[87gtVIC]

I got shit done!

Success!

Master cylinder low brake fluid indicator harness…..





Mass Air Flow Harness:





And no leaks from any of my flares!





Above is the location that I THOUGHT was a compression fitting but it turned out (much to my liking) to be a regular coupler! Meant I only had to flare one side! The lines then ran down the frame rail and up the firewall:



Where it met the master cylinder and received a neato metric bubble flare (ISO). That went well.

Bleeding everything also went well. Took a couple goes to even get the master to bleed as I did not bench bleed it before hand but once all was said and done I went through just about the entire 32ounce bottle of brake fluid I had on hand.

Reinstalling the cruise control computer under the dash was interesting as I wrongly removed it in the first place. Who knew one ground (green) bolt would hold the entire bracket for it and make it feasible to actually reinstall the damn thing without being a contortionist Lol

I also believe I tapped into a keyed power for the wide band O2 sensor…Believe, because I have no battery and was just going off of the EVTM. I think I will be good.

[gadget73]

late model MAF ? I guess those still work with EEC-IV. I think there is an air temp sensor wire in there that does not get connected, takes the place of the air sensor that used to screw into the airbox next to the MAF on the mid 90s cars that you also don't use with EEC-IV.