PROJECT 85
Figured I'd catalog the build of my '85 wagon—or at least the highlights—especially now that we've decided to sell it... (D'OH!). I got it primarily for my wife since she's more often hauling our three kids, but now she's ready for something a bit more modern with heated seats and (working) air conditioning.
This site has been an invaluable resource over the 4 years, so thank you for that.
December 2010
Needed a second vehicle and was looking to avoid a minivan if possible. Stumbled upon a 1985 Mercury Grand Marquis Colony Park LS on local Craigslist for $1000. It had been side-swiped on the driver's side (and hit in the rear, I would later find out). A half-assed repair job (lots of bondo and brown spray paint in lieu of woodgrain) — wasn't pretty but the price was right and it ran strong. I had talked the guy down to $900, but when I went to pick it up, the driver's door handle mechanism had come loose so I couldn't even open the door! I told the guy either he could fix it and I'd come back later, or I'd knock $50 off and fix it myself. So I climbed in through the passenger door and paid $850 for an '85 Merc with 85K miles.
First order of business: new stereo system. Pulled the stock speakers from the front doors (had to fix that latch mechanism and replace lock motor) and instead put a pair of 4" speakers in the dash, 6x9s in the back, new head unit with aux input, and ran an amp back to that little compartment in the rear. Dash was cracked badly so I found a custom fit dash cover in dark brown to match and cut some holes for the speakers. Already an improvement!
As the "waggin'" aficionados will attest, I came to find out that locating these old-skool station wagons in junkyards isn't a common occurrence. Luckily the front half of the vehicle (inside and out) is the same as the Grand Marquis sedan, which is way easier to find. That said, I got lucky... twice.
July 2011
The local Pull-n-Pay had a '91 CP LS (along with a couple of box sedans). Subsequently I was able to pick up a replacement header panel, LS fender plus cornering lamp, headlight bezel, turn signal, and matching center caps from a GM. I figured this may well be my only chance to get a quarter panel, even if it wasn't perfect, so before leaving I pulled all the interior plastic panels from the rear door back on the driver side to get it ready for surgery later in the week.
After a rattle-can makeover to the header panel (from black to brown), my car was already looking better.
So back I went, returning to the junkyard with 2 sawzalls, 5 batteries, and a pack of blades (did I mention I'd never done any body work before??).
A few hours and $60 later, I had a big ol' chunk of donor steel which would sit in my garage for a couple of years, waiting for the right time for this massive undertaking. In the meantime it didn't look too bad from the passenger side.
March/April 2013
Luckily the local Pull-n-Pay puts their inventory online, so I would check fairly regularly for any box wagons — ding ding! Another Colony Park! As a bonus, the yard was having an annual "two for one" sale, so I went a-scroungin'... my driver seat had seen better days for sure, so I was on the hunt for some replacement seats. I didn't have high hopes, as the majority of post-80s vehicles have black, gray, tan, or even red interiors, so I was super stoked to find some dark chocolate brown leather seats in pristine condition from an '84 Chrysler New Yorker which matched my interior! I also grabbed a pair of extra Turbines (with studded snow tires), matching center caps, all the exterior wagon woodgrain moulding, and the luggage rack for good measure since the woodgrain was in better condition than mine.
September/October 2013
Fall was in the air and I figured if I didn't act now, it would be at least another 6 months before it was warm enough to have any motivation to work in the garage. First step, I wanted to strip off all the paint and see what I had to work with. Before that though, it was time to mount the replacement fender. (I'm sure my neighbors were thrilled to see this parked outside, bringing down our property values. )
On a super tight budget, I was able to work out a trade/barter with a local sandblasting business that needed a website, so off the wagon went for media blasting, along with my extra pair of turbines and the donor quarter panel from the '91. This is what came back:
This was definitely the "ugly" stage where even I was embarrassed to drive it (no way my wife was gonna get behind the wheel).
They had taped all of the seams/openings so the plastic media wouldn't get inside, which meant that I had a lot of work to do now to remove the remaining 3/4" strips of paint around all of the doors, fenders, hood, tailgate, etc. with a grinder.
With bare metal and winter on the way, I was committed now.
{PART 2 to follow}
Figured I'd catalog the build of my '85 wagon—or at least the highlights—especially now that we've decided to sell it... (D'OH!). I got it primarily for my wife since she's more often hauling our three kids, but now she's ready for something a bit more modern with heated seats and (working) air conditioning.
This site has been an invaluable resource over the 4 years, so thank you for that.
December 2010
Needed a second vehicle and was looking to avoid a minivan if possible. Stumbled upon a 1985 Mercury Grand Marquis Colony Park LS on local Craigslist for $1000. It had been side-swiped on the driver's side (and hit in the rear, I would later find out). A half-assed repair job (lots of bondo and brown spray paint in lieu of woodgrain) — wasn't pretty but the price was right and it ran strong. I had talked the guy down to $900, but when I went to pick it up, the driver's door handle mechanism had come loose so I couldn't even open the door! I told the guy either he could fix it and I'd come back later, or I'd knock $50 off and fix it myself. So I climbed in through the passenger door and paid $850 for an '85 Merc with 85K miles.
First order of business: new stereo system. Pulled the stock speakers from the front doors (had to fix that latch mechanism and replace lock motor) and instead put a pair of 4" speakers in the dash, 6x9s in the back, new head unit with aux input, and ran an amp back to that little compartment in the rear. Dash was cracked badly so I found a custom fit dash cover in dark brown to match and cut some holes for the speakers. Already an improvement!
As the "waggin'" aficionados will attest, I came to find out that locating these old-skool station wagons in junkyards isn't a common occurrence. Luckily the front half of the vehicle (inside and out) is the same as the Grand Marquis sedan, which is way easier to find. That said, I got lucky... twice.
July 2011
The local Pull-n-Pay had a '91 CP LS (along with a couple of box sedans). Subsequently I was able to pick up a replacement header panel, LS fender plus cornering lamp, headlight bezel, turn signal, and matching center caps from a GM. I figured this may well be my only chance to get a quarter panel, even if it wasn't perfect, so before leaving I pulled all the interior plastic panels from the rear door back on the driver side to get it ready for surgery later in the week.
After a rattle-can makeover to the header panel (from black to brown), my car was already looking better.
So back I went, returning to the junkyard with 2 sawzalls, 5 batteries, and a pack of blades (did I mention I'd never done any body work before??).
A few hours and $60 later, I had a big ol' chunk of donor steel which would sit in my garage for a couple of years, waiting for the right time for this massive undertaking. In the meantime it didn't look too bad from the passenger side.
March/April 2013
Luckily the local Pull-n-Pay puts their inventory online, so I would check fairly regularly for any box wagons — ding ding! Another Colony Park! As a bonus, the yard was having an annual "two for one" sale, so I went a-scroungin'... my driver seat had seen better days for sure, so I was on the hunt for some replacement seats. I didn't have high hopes, as the majority of post-80s vehicles have black, gray, tan, or even red interiors, so I was super stoked to find some dark chocolate brown leather seats in pristine condition from an '84 Chrysler New Yorker which matched my interior! I also grabbed a pair of extra Turbines (with studded snow tires), matching center caps, all the exterior wagon woodgrain moulding, and the luggage rack for good measure since the woodgrain was in better condition than mine.
September/October 2013
Fall was in the air and I figured if I didn't act now, it would be at least another 6 months before it was warm enough to have any motivation to work in the garage. First step, I wanted to strip off all the paint and see what I had to work with. Before that though, it was time to mount the replacement fender. (I'm sure my neighbors were thrilled to see this parked outside, bringing down our property values. )
On a super tight budget, I was able to work out a trade/barter with a local sandblasting business that needed a website, so off the wagon went for media blasting, along with my extra pair of turbines and the donor quarter panel from the '91. This is what came back:
This was definitely the "ugly" stage where even I was embarrassed to drive it (no way my wife was gonna get behind the wheel).
They had taped all of the seams/openings so the plastic media wouldn't get inside, which meant that I had a lot of work to do now to remove the remaining 3/4" strips of paint around all of the doors, fenders, hood, tailgate, etc. with a grinder.
With bare metal and winter on the way, I was committed now.
{PART 2 to follow}
Comment