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VicCrownVic's 1991 Mercury Grand Marquis LS "The Scab"

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    VicCrownVic's 1991 Mercury Grand Marquis LS "The Scab"

    I picked up another rotbox over the weekend. I found it on CL Thursday night and bought it on Saturday.

    It's a 1991 Mercury Grand Marquis LS, Medium Woodrose Metallic, that I've named "The Scab". I don't usually name my cars, but "The Scab" seems fitting. It's roughly the color of a scab and since my Crystal Blue Metallic '91 MGM GS has been threatening to go on strike I decided to hire "The Scab".

    There are a few very badly rotted spots, but for the price the car was everything I was looking for. The worst rot spots are the passenger side rocker panel that is pretty much gone, the A-pillars, and the driver side dogleg. The car had Tuff-Kote Dinol applied at some point, which from what I can tell is basically like Ziebart and has about the same result. From what I was able to see of the underside, it looks like undercoating did a better job than the stuff in the rocker panels. I'll get a better look at the underside this weekend when I go back to my parents' house to get the car.

    The "good" side:

    (dads Tortoise, my Yukon, and my uncles Mountaineer in the background)

    The nasty side:

    (brother and nephew in the background)

    I have trim on my trunk, I haven't had a trunk with trim since 2009.

    (mom's Exploder, dad's Screwbaru, dad's '45 Dodge, and my uncle's Cheby (same uncle with the Mountaineer) in the background. My blue '91 MGM and a red Ponticrack Sunfire are also hiding behind the Exploder)

    I'll try to get more pics when I'm up there again this weekend.



    The adventure:

    Dad and I set out from his place to meet the PO after he got home from work Saturday. I thought to myself, "I should grab my brand new 2G out of my '89 MGM"... of course I didn't. I also thought to myself, "I should grab my tools"... but since we were taking dad's car he's always got tools in his trunk. Besides, the seller said it runs and drives and was ready to drive home.

    When we got there, the PO and his dad were having problems starting the car. The battery wasn't charged enough to start the car so we grabbed my dad's battery from his car, that's when dad asked the seller to borrow tools to get his battery. He had been working on something else and didn't put his tools back in his car. The car started right up and sounded great. We swapped the battery back in while it was running and let the alternator do its thing. I was a bit worried about the alternator but the battery light eventually went out so after paper work was signed and some green pieces of paper were exchanged Dad and I set out on our 80ish mile journey mile back to his place. Going down the freeway the car ran, drove, and stopped great just like the seller said it would, but the battery light was on again. After a while it went out and I figured maybe it'll be good. 19 miles into the trek home the battery light came back on again but this time things were getting pretty dim so about 20 miles in I pulled into a parking lot and was really kicking myself for not grabbing my alternator and tools.

    Of course all the auto-parts stores were closing in 2 minutes and we were more than 2 minutes away from the closest one. I hopped in dad's car with him and he was going to get some tools so we could try swap batteries and see how far we could get. Once we got to a store I got an idea to phone a friend for some help. I frantically called DerekTheGreat knowing that he had recently done a 3G upgrade and might have a 2G I could borrow. We were about 2 miles from his place (9 miles from my place, but my place wasn't our destination; no plates at my place=towed faster than I can say wtf). Derek saved the night for me. With his 2G and a jump start, dad and I were on our way again. The rest of the 60ish miles home went flawless.

    Easter Sunday I fixed the driver door that wouldn't open from the outside and lubed the hood latch that didn't want to operate without help. I got my insurance, plate, and registration today and this weekend I'll be back up at my parent's place to work on all the minor issues I can, drive it home, and start DDing it Monday.
    Vic

    ~ 1989 MGM LS Colony Park - Large Marge
    ~ 1998 MGM LS - new DD
    ~ 1991 MGM LS "The Scab"
    ~ 1991 MGM GS "The Ice Car"

    #2
    Turbines!

    Did the previous owner tow anything with that bumper? mounted hitch?
    ~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


      #3
      Originally posted by VicCrownVic View Post
      I picked up another rotbox over the weekend. I found it on CL Thursday night and bought it on Saturday...

      The adventure:

      Dad and I set out from his place to meet the PO after he got home from work Saturday. I thought to myself, "I should grab my brand new 2G out of my '89 MGM"... of course I didn't. I also thought to myself, "I should grab my tools"... but since we were taking dad's car he's always got tools in his trunk. Besides, the seller said it runs and drives and was ready to drive home.
      "Seller says runs and drives..." Yeah, never believe anything they say haha. The only cars we've ever bought that made it home without issue were Ashley's rot box '90 F150, her '89 Town Car and my '88 Town Car. Our GMC has that same Dinol Tuffcoat stuff on it. Have to admit it has kept the floor pans & frame clean while it sat and provided a home for many a squirrel and other rodents. Still finding acorns in the engine bay some 1.5 years later...

      Originally posted by VicCrownVic View Post
      When we got there, the PO and his dad were having problems starting the car...
      Reminds me of when I first pulled up on my '85, the hood was open and the seller was scratching his head. When I called him and asked him about it and if it needed anything he said, "Needs nothing, drives great!" Yeah, my ass... Just like your car it needed a battery (because the cheap ass didn't want to let his Wal-Fart battery go with it) and a starter solenoid. Car was leaking oil from the valve cover gaskets bad and coolant was all over the timing cover but because it was relatively solid and I just sold my beater '91 F-150 I had to have it...

      "The Scab" - LoL. Thought the name was for the rust but more fitting since it is taking the place of your old GS. I found a rotten $350 F250 on CL, could be a great contender for a clang & bang before sending them both to the scrap yard..

      Glad I could help get your new wreck back home. What about all those upgrades you did to Crystal Blue Persuasion?
      Last edited by DerekTheGreat; 03-29-2016, 06:30 AM.
      1985 LTD Crown Victoria - SOLD
      1988 Town Car Signature - Current Party Barge

      Comment


        #4
        Originally posted by 87gtVIC View Post
        Turbines!
        Oh yeah, if you aren't going to want those turbines I know someone who does... Me!
        1985 LTD Crown Victoria - SOLD
        1988 Town Car Signature - Current Party Barge

        Comment


          #5
          Originally posted by DerekTheGreat View Post
          Oh yeah, if you aren't going to want those turbines I know someone who does... Me!
          You people disgust me!

          I couldn't ever get rid of mine, no one wanted those damn things.
          __________________________________________________


          1985.03 Crown Vic. Coupe "CVGT" Build thread - china whirlybird, burnout machine.
          The only 6 speed box on a late model frame.

          Originally posted by SVT98t
          It has air ride. I've disabled it since I've been jacking it up and down.

          That is how you're supposed to jack it.

          Up and down.

          -ryan s.

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by Bobcat View Post
            You people disgust me!

            I couldn't ever get rid of mine, no one wanted those damn things.
            Sounds like you weren't marketing them to the right audience haha. A little over a year ago I was looking for a good winter set for my car and even bought a set from "purplebomb" but those were too pitted to actually use. Now that my car has seen abuse from tire shops my original set that were fairly minty are getting beat up from their abuse. Time to start thinking about having a set restored..
            1985 LTD Crown Victoria - SOLD
            1988 Town Car Signature - Current Party Barge

            Comment


              #7
              The PO was a good guy to deal with, he wasn't trying to hide anything, and it actually does run and drive as well as he described. I'm guessing he was in his early 20s, the car technically was owned by his mom, just like "my" first two were owned by my dad (in MI it saves a ton on insurance that way). When all is said and done this one should come out cheaper than the blue '91 when purchase price and parts are considered.

              Actually the rust is the other reason for the name, lol. The engine on the '91 GS was threatening to go on strike this morning, I should be able to get through the week with it but I'm glad we took my dad's car to pick this one up. I put about 46K miles on the GS since I got it back in October 2012 so it served me well enough. I may or may not swap the 110K mile engine from my '89 GS into the '91 GS, I just didn't have time to do the swap with the car being my only vehicle on the road.

              If this car gets me through the summer that's all I really need, and I think it will easily do that and more.

              Before the seller inherited the car it belonged to his grandmother, and I don't suspect that any heavy towing was done with that bumper mounted hitch; the bumper is straight and mounted firmly.


              As for mods the '91 GS received, the ones that can be swapped to this LS are as simple as unplugging the adapters I made and moving the stuff over. This car has manual HVAC so the EATC will not be going into this car, but the 3G, headlight relay harness, and cluster can all be moved over as if they were plug and play thanks to the adapters I made. For now I'm just sticking my '90-'91 police cluster in since it has a working odometer. Blue LEDs do not suite this car so it'll be getting red LEDs, but only in the cluster and maybe heater control head.

              I'm not a huge fan of the turbines, the set that came with my '91 GS promptly made their way to my '89 but they didn't have new tires on them and holding air was an issue and the wheels from the '89 with brand new tires went to the '91. I didn't really look at the wheels on this LS too well, but I think they are not in that great of shape. They do have fairly new tires on them, but the front passenger side one was run up against a curb for a while or something. Whatever it was that wheel doesn't look like it was hit by it.

              I'll try to get some interior pics this weekend. Other than the C-pillar sail panels the interior looks like it's in decent shape. It has premium sound, although it doesn't sound as good as my mom's '87 Country Squire premium sound did, power antenna, manual heater controls, manual passenger seat, and light brown cloth seats.
              Vic

              ~ 1989 MGM LS Colony Park - Large Marge
              ~ 1998 MGM LS - new DD
              ~ 1991 MGM LS "The Scab"
              ~ 1991 MGM GS "The Ice Car"

              Comment


                #8
                Does your car have the silver football for an amp or the little black box? Probably has the silver football, which for some reason Ford used into the 80's so it's quite possible that you have one in your '91 too. IMO I think the premium sound sucks dogs, especially compared to the factory JBL stuff. The good thing is you wont need to find different door panels or make grilles & add wires when you go to swap out the speakers. If you have the black box type amp you need to come pick up one of my spare JBL amps & 6x9's to experience the difference
                1985 LTD Crown Victoria - SOLD
                1988 Town Car Signature - Current Party Barge

                Comment


                  #9
                  +1 the football amps (even when working) aren't that good. The newer head unit I put in the Lincoln had more and cleaner power per channel than that old amp. Of course, it is 30 years newer.

                  Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. -- Albert Einstein
                  rides: 93 Crown Vic LX (The Red Velvet Cake), 2000 Crown Vic base model (Sandy), 2003 Expedition (the vacation beast)
                  Originally posted by gadget73
                  ... and it should all work like magic and unicorns and stuff.
                  Originally posted by dmccaig
                  Overhead, some poor bastards are flying in airplanes.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    It's the silver football amp mounted behind the rear passenger seat in the trunk. I don't know if my mom's '87 Country Squire would have been JBL or not but it sure sounded better than this system.
                    Vic

                    ~ 1989 MGM LS Colony Park - Large Marge
                    ~ 1998 MGM LS - new DD
                    ~ 1991 MGM LS "The Scab"
                    ~ 1991 MGM GS "The Ice Car"

                    Comment


                      #11
                      The country squire I tore into about a year ago had the square black amp, which is much better. Can't understand why Ford used that POS football for so long. My '88 shop manual describes the black type amp for the Fords & Mercs and for Lincoln as well as an addition for the JBL amp, which use the same plugs so a swap is a piece of cake. IIRC all the football stuff is common ground, which means upgrading your stereo will be a PITA since you'll have to rewire all the speaks. I could be wrong about that though.
                      1985 LTD Crown Victoria - SOLD
                      1988 Town Car Signature - Current Party Barge

                      Comment


                        #12
                        I wonder if it had to do with assembly plants..
                        1985 LTD Crown Victoria - SOLD
                        1988 Town Car Signature - Current Party Barge

                        Comment


                          #13
                          So your blue GM will become a parts car?
                          '79 Continental Town Car
                          '90 Crown Victoria LTD
                          '94 Crown Victoria

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Originally posted by 79lincolnlover View Post
                            So your blue GM will become a parts car?
                            That is yet to be determined, but very likely. The other likely option is to yank the engine from my '89 and put in the blue one. If I end up doing that engine swap I will have no reason to keep the '89 around. As attached as my wife and I are to the '89, it's just too far gone to do anything with.

                            I worked on this one today but without a garage, out in the snow and cold, I didn't get as much done as I wanted to.
                            This car made an 80 mile drive home only needing an alternator at 20 miles in. Today it was running funny after about 30 miles today, so hopefully throwing a fuel filter and spark plugs and wires at it sorts it out. I had planned on doing all that today, but the car showed no signs of needing any of it and I was wet and cold and running out of time. Otherwise I'll push the blue one for another week until I can work on this one next weekend.
                            Vic

                            ~ 1989 MGM LS Colony Park - Large Marge
                            ~ 1998 MGM LS - new DD
                            ~ 1991 MGM LS "The Scab"
                            ~ 1991 MGM GS "The Ice Car"

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Originally posted by viccrownvic View Post
                              as for mods the '91 gs received, the ones that can be swapped to this ls are as simple as unplugging the adapters


                              ls and swap in the same sentence
                              __________________________________________________


                              1985.03 Crown Vic. Coupe "CVGT" Build thread - china whirlybird, burnout machine.
                              The only 6 speed box on a late model frame.

                              Originally posted by SVT98t
                              It has air ride. I've disabled it since I've been jacking it up and down.

                              That is how you're supposed to jack it.

                              Up and down.

                              -ryan s.

                              Comment

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