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1984 Country Squire the USS Drift Wood

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    #61
    Oh and here are some DSLR shots from over the summer. Went on a little drag strip cruise with some buddies.





    Attached Files

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      #62
      Lookin' good buddy, lookin' good.

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        #63
        Nice to see an update! Ever get your SEFI swap done?

        Regarding the rear axle swap, '95 models are definitely a weird bunch. Some stuff is updated, and some of it carryover. That said, I think most of the suspension was a carryover from the '92-'94 cars. Interesting to find out 14" wheels won't properly clear the rears on the '92-'97. That said, the extra width from the newer axles really does help fill out that rear wheel well a bit better than the earlier ones.


        My Cars:
        -1964 Comet 202 (116K Miles) - Long Term Project
        -1986 Dodge D-150 Royale SE (112K Miles) - Slowly Getting Put Back Together
        -1987 Grand Marquis Colony Park LS (325K Miles) - April 2017 + September 2019 POTM Winner
        -1997 Grand Marquis LS (240K Miles) - The Daily Workhorse & March 2015 + January 2019 POTM Winner

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          #64
          I really like that color combo, looks great with the woodside. I dig the wheel covers too.
          1985 LTD Crown Victoria - SOLD
          1988 Town Car Signature - Current Party Barge

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            #65
            Nice progress! Love the wagon.

            Logan, speeding in the tudor...Never.
            ~David~

            My 1987 Crown Victoria Coupe: The Brown Blob
            My 2004 Mercedes Benz E320:The Benz

            Originally posted by ootdega
            My life is a long series of "nevermind" and "I guess not."

            Originally posted by DerekTheGreat
            But, that's just coming from me, this site's biggest pessimist. Best of luck

            Originally posted by gadget73
            my car starts and it has AC. Yours doesn't start and it has no AC. Seems obvious to me.




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              #66
              Theres no difference between the diff used with air suspension and the ones used with springs. The perches on both ends are absolutely identical. The air springs come out and coils go right in should you want to do that. Can't easily do air suspension in a box, but its a problem with the spring perch up in the frame. Not a problem with the diff end of things. I was actually going to convert my car to air suspension but short of a frame swap or massive hacking to modify the spring perches its not gonna happen. Not inclined to do either, so it will keep the coils.
              86 Lincoln Town Car (Galactica).
              5.0 HO, CompCams XE258,Scorpion 1.72 roller rockers, 3.55 K code rear, tow package, BHPerformance ported E7 heads, Tmoss Explorer intake, 65mm throttle body, Hedman 1 5/8" headers, 2.5" dual exhaust, ASP underdrive pulley

              91 Lincoln Mark VII LSC grandpa spec white and cranberry

              1984 Lincoln Continental TurboDiesel - rolls coal

              Originally posted by phayzer5
              I drive a Lincoln. I can't be bothered to shift like the peasants and rabble rousers

              Comment


                #67
                I'm a fan. Rear wheels looks better now with the extra track width.
                1990 Country Squire - weekend cruiser, next project
                1988 Crown Vic LTD Wagon - waiting in the wings

                GMN Box Panther History
                Box Panther Horsepower and Torque Ratings
                Box Panther Production Numbers

                Comment


                  #68
                  Originally posted by Kodachrome Wolf View Post
                  Nice to see an update! Ever get your SEFI swap done?

                  Regarding the rear axle swap, '95 models are definitely a weird bunch. Some stuff is updated, and some of it carryover. That said, I think most of the suspension was a carryover from the '92-'94 cars. Interesting to find out 14" wheels won't properly clear the rears on the '92-'97. That said, the extra width from the newer axles really does help fill out that rear wheel well a bit better than the earlier ones.
                  '95 is a transition year for rear brakes. Early build cars had the '92-'94 brakes where late build cars have the '96-'02 rear brakes. Kind of a PITA if you own a '95 because there are several other mid year changes that year. The front suspension is another area of mid year changes, and the front and rears didn't seem to happen at the same time. I've seen 2 '95s with the later front brakes and earlier rears.
                  -Steve

                  2006 Audi A6 S-Line FWD ~132k miles, stock.
                  1998 Mercury Grand Marquis LS HPP ~102k miles, slowly acquiring modifications.
                  1997 Lincoln Town Car Cartier ~145k miles, Ported Plenum, Gutted Airbox, Mechanical Fan Delete, Contour E-fan Retrofit, Dual exhaust, Cats ran away, KYB Gas-A-Justs, P71 front sway bar, air ride reinstalled, Blinker Mod, Projector headlight retrofit, Caddy 4-note horn retrofit, Wood rim steering wheel, rustbelt diet plan..
                  1996 Mercury Grand Marquis GS 117,485mi. R.I.P. 7/14/12

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                    #69
                    Thanks everyone. I'm trying to do everything in my power to make this thing ready for the big road trip in February/March of 2018. 'U.S.S. Hopes and Dreams' will have to make a journey from Southern NY all the way out to Fabulous Las Vegas, all while towing a small trailer with toolboxes and other lively crap. I am rather nervous about this plan.

                    Originally posted by Kodachrome Wolf View Post
                    Nice to see an update! Ever get your SEFI swap done?
                    Not yet, I'm scared to death of it, for some reason. Still collecting dust in my storage unit, right next to a T5. Which I think I'm going to swap in first, that way I don't have to worry about the TV linkage stuff.


                    Originally posted by gadget73 View Post
                    Theres no difference between the diff used with air suspension and the ones used with springs. The perches on both ends are absolutely identical. The air springs come out and coils go right in should you want to do that. Can't easily do air suspension in a box, but its a problem with the spring perch up in the frame. Not a problem with the diff end of things. I was actually going to convert my car to air suspension but short of a frame swap or massive hacking to modify the spring perches its not gonna happen. Not inclined to do either, so it will keep the coils.
                    I see, good to know. I probably wouldn't go full air suspension anyways, maybe just bags in the back for load support.


                    Originally posted by BigMerc96 View Post
                    '95 is a transition year for rear brakes. Early build cars had the '92-'94 brakes where late build cars have the '96-'02 rear brakes. Kind of a PITA if you own a '95 because there are several other mid year changes that year. The front suspension is another area of mid year changes, and the front and rears didn't seem to happen at the same time. I've seen 2 '95s with the later front brakes and earlier rears.
                    I'm always getting involved with the most obscure and ridiculous issues. So do 96-02 rear brakes bolt up to the 92-94 rear?

                    The one thing I did find neat about the 95 rear is that it only uses one caliper design. Both calipers are the same, so when it gets moved to the opposite side it swaps its forward/backward orientation on the axle, thus keeping the bleeder always pointing up.

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                      #70
                      yeah I think my compromise will be load level bags in the middle of the coils, tied to the factory air shock compressor. Much less complex and if it fails I still have coil springs.

                      You should be able to swap the late style backing plate to the earlier rear. The flange on the diff is the same through 1997 at least. Just have to pop the axles out for access to the bolts. 98-02 may also bolt up, not honestly sure, the rear isn't a swap because of theh suspension though. 03+ can be fit, but you have to remove and rotate the calipers for bleeding. The bleeder ends up in a dumb spot when bolted to the early rear. Otherwise it does function just fine.
                      86 Lincoln Town Car (Galactica).
                      5.0 HO, CompCams XE258,Scorpion 1.72 roller rockers, 3.55 K code rear, tow package, BHPerformance ported E7 heads, Tmoss Explorer intake, 65mm throttle body, Hedman 1 5/8" headers, 2.5" dual exhaust, ASP underdrive pulley

                      91 Lincoln Mark VII LSC grandpa spec white and cranberry

                      1984 Lincoln Continental TurboDiesel - rolls coal

                      Originally posted by phayzer5
                      I drive a Lincoln. I can't be bothered to shift like the peasants and rabble rousers

                      Comment


                        #71


                        Man, I can't believe it's almost been two years.

                        Hello, everyone, just wanted to let ya'll know, I'm still around and so is my aircraft carrier.

                        Since my last post, many things have happened. The cats clogged up and got gutted out. I couldn't live with the smell so I eventually picked up a cheap set of high flow cats. Then my buddy and I cobbled together an exhaust system, of sorts. It ain't pretty but it gets the job done and the smell has been reduced, somewhat. Found the intake manifold leaking coolant out the back. Replaced the gaskets, twice...in the rain. Replaced the timing chain and gears while I was there. Plugged up a bunch of vacuum leaks. Many troubles were had with the TFI module and the distributor in general. Replaced the radiator, twice. Replaced transmission cooler hoses AGAIN, along with the power steering hoses. Installed a trailer hitch and even wired it into a factory tow harness. All that in the span the last 2 years.

                        Last March I installed helper airbags in the rear springs. Hooked up a U-haul trailer, packed up my belongings, picked up my girlfriend and my cat and hit the road, sailing towards Las Vegas. The whole trip took 10 days, we stopped along many scenic places and met up with family. Halfway through the trip the helper bags blew out and the rear sagged. Aside from that the ole Ford soldiered on without a hiccup the whole way to Nevada. It did not like climbing from Amarillo to Albuquerque. And it really didn't like climbing back up from Sedona.

                        So now it has been over a year in Vegas, well into the second summer here. The car is holding up great, suspiciously so.

                        It has been too good for far too long, so I decided to temp fate and do some stupid mods to it. Firstly, I installed a set of 04 Explorer wheels and soon after a 2" lift kit front and rear along with 1997 F150 shocks. Now it's a real Family Truckster. Still have some kinks to sort out but for the most part it off-roads like a champ.

                        So this is where I am currently with this thing. Still haven't installed new upper ball joints or steering arms. Still haven't done the T5 swap, though I have acquired every part needed for it. Still haven't done the SEFI swap, I refuse to mess with the trans linkage so I will wait until it's t5 swapped to mess with that. Probably something else I have neglected to do, but I can't think of it at this time.

                        Going to have more pictures in the next post.
                        Attached Files

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                          #72
                          Follow up post, with more photos.


                          So, I found out a fun thing. When you lift a box with simple spacers under the springs, what ends up happening is that you bring the upper control arm lower in its resting place. This mean that when you try to go off-road and flex, the upper control arm bottoms out. So your suspensions has all the room in the world to UP into the fender well, but almost no travel downwards.

                          I think I will have to space out the upper balljoint to give the upper control arm some more clearance.
                          Attached Files

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                            #73
                            Master Shake - been seeing your posts on FB so I knew you were alive. As far as the front wheels... you only need one front wheel on the ground at a time really... so no biggie?

                            At some point someone needs to do a 4WD. The fab that goes with that would fix your A-arm contact issue.
                            1990 Country Squire - weekend cruiser, next project
                            1988 Crown Vic LTD Wagon - waiting in the wings

                            GMN Box Panther History
                            Box Panther Horsepower and Torque Ratings
                            Box Panther Production Numbers

                            Comment


                              #74
                              Looking good and welcome back. How do you like the weather as compared to new York?
                              ~David~

                              My 1987 Crown Victoria Coupe: The Brown Blob
                              My 2004 Mercedes Benz E320:The Benz

                              Originally posted by ootdega
                              My life is a long series of "nevermind" and "I guess not."

                              Originally posted by DerekTheGreat
                              But, that's just coming from me, this site's biggest pessimist. Best of luck

                              Originally posted by gadget73
                              my car starts and it has AC. Yours doesn't start and it has no AC. Seems obvious to me.




                              Comment


                                #75
                                Originally posted by Tiggie View Post
                                As far as the front wheels... you only need one front wheel on the ground at a time really... so no biggie?
                                Well, yeah since they are not driven wheels they don't need to contact the ground, but I would still like it to sit more level than it does now.

                                4WD mod would be cool. I imagine a SFA would be a real pain in the ass to install, but maybe an IFS setups form an Explorer would be more manageable.





                                Originally posted by 87gtVIC View Post
                                Looking good and welcome back. How do you like the weather as compared to new York?
                                I can't complain. I don't have to worry about the freezing cold and salt roads devouring my cars. I can deal with the heat, with some complaining of course. Plus I'm able to rent a house out here, while in NY I was only confined to apartments, so it's a night and day difference even before the weather.

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