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My 1987 Mercury Colony Park

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    #46
    The metal "spring" has some tension. Boinggggg.

    The window in back needs ball bearings. That wagon has been sitting at this yard since the 90s! It's from an 84
    -Nick M.
    Columbia, SC

    66 Squire, 89 Colony Park, 90 TC, 03 TC, 06 TC, 07 TC (2x)
    03 BMW 540iT, 07 Toyota Tundra SR5 Dbl Cab/5.7 2WD

    Comment


      #47
      Originally posted by TecNickal View Post
      The metal "spring" has some tension. Boinggggg.

      The window in back needs ball bearings. That wagon has been sitting at this yard since the 90s! It's from an 84
      We can always borrow the good motor from the damaged door and rebuild the other too keep for spares. Everything was working just fine previously.

      I'm surprised that facility was sitting on that one for so long. I bet that interior is on a special level of destroyed.


      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

      Comment


        #48
        Went up to Nick's to do a preliminary inspection of the tailgate in person and also see how it looked with the trim removed:


        From what I can tell between the Ford and Mercury tailgates is that the Ford ones got an extra hole on each side for the trim that ran vertical on the sides. Those can be filled and it appears the Mercury trim should be swappable from the damaged tailgate. I've saved the old trim and retainers should anyone want that stuff. I also took of the Ford emblem (was falling apart and cracked) along with the old dealer emblem. There's some rust on the lower corners, but some rust inhibitor, filler, and paint should solve that. I'll chalk it up to sitting in a junkyard.

        Next steps will be sanding down the area where the wood grain was (someone attempted to apply paint over whatever finish was left at some point) and cleaning the rest of the door of dirt and debris. The black trim that is near the window will also get resprayed since it's rubbed off in some spots. Overall, it shouldn't be too bad getting it ready to go on the car. Hopefully I'll have a free day on a weekend so maybe Nick and I both can work on it.

        Beyond the tailgate, I took the time to wrestle in a "new" seat cushion from an early '90s Town Car that Nick gave me:


        It's much better than the torn thing that was back there. The seat belt situation worked out pretty well, except I wish I had fully removed those little support arms for the center seat belt.

        Also, the car seems netted an average of 17 MPG over the distance of 300 miles on a tank of gas. I'm fairly happy with that given the mix of interstate and city driving it has seen. Unfortunately I think the oil pan gasket does have a slow seep since it was 1/2 a quart low this morning before I got on the road. Otherwise, for about 450 miles in the first month, it has performed very well.


        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

        Comment


          #49
          If you have the means/tools please cut the rust out that is there and patch it with new metal.

          If not please at least use a fiberglass reinforced filler on the areas in question. Its less susceptible to moisture and may make the job hold out longer than if you used regular body filler. Normal body filler can and should be used for the final wipe though as fiberglass reinforced ones are quite difficult to get smooth. Also, cake the back side of the repair area with oil. It does help. If this is a lip or seam spray the oil inside the panel and it will sit/seep into the area and help slow down the inevitable.

          I need to find me a nice pleather or velour interior to swap into my car. My pleathers toast.
          Last edited by 87gtVIC; 01-24-2017, 09:40 PM.
          ~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


            #50
            Does it only have lap belts in the back? Weird. Well, I guess it just looks weird to me since the only wagons I've spent much time with were '90-'91s.

            As far as installing the Colony Park trim on your "new" tailgate, who says it needs to be clipped on? Why not just use trim tape and avoid drilling holes in the first place? I know that's not how Ford did them, but if my options were drilling into a hard to find bodypanel or using tape where you'll never know the difference, I'd totally use the tape.

            I wonder if my buddy saved any of the Colony Park trim I pulled from the junkyard to replace damaged parts on his '91.. There was a very very rotten '86 (IIRC) in the junkyard with pristine trim on it and I salvaged most of the side trim from the rear doors back, including the pieces that wrap around under the tail lights. Don't know whatever happened to all that, he moved and the wagon was scrapped (too much rust and too many problems to move it).
            -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

            Comment


              #51
              Yeah, my 87 also has lap belts only in the back.
              1993 Ford F-150 Flareside - July 2010 - August 2013
              2004 Ford Mustang - September 2013 - February 2018
              1987 Mercury Colony Park GS - August 2015 - Present
              2018 VW Golf GTI - February 2018-February 2021 (was a lease)
              2003 EZGO TXT - March 2015 - May 2019 (it's road legal!)

              2019 VW Golf Alltrack company provided April 2019 - Present
              2012 Fiat 500 5 speed - January 2021-Present
              2003 Audi A6 Allroad 6 speed July 2021-Present

              Comment


                #52
                Did not know the seat bottoms would interchange. Or at least fit. How much persuasion was required?

                Your MPG is right on mine for the 88. Oil consumption too.
                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


                  #53
                  Originally posted by BigMerc96 View Post
                  Does it only have lap belts in the back? Weird. Well, I guess it just looks weird to me since the only wagons I've spent much time with were '90-'91s.
                  Yep. Found these to be rather weird considering the buckles are outboard mounted but the belt retractors are inboard mounted. The passenger side retractor housing is deteriorated, so a rubber band is kept near the buckle so it doesn't slide under the seat. The driver side one is fine. I may grab a replacement one if I find one.

                  Originally posted by BigMerc96 View Post
                  As far as installing the Colony Park trim on your "new" tailgate, who says it needs to be clipped on? Why not just use trim tape and avoid drilling holes in the first place? I know that's not how Ford did them, but if my options were drilling into a hard to find bodypanel or using tape where you'll never know the difference, I'd totally use the tape.
                  The Colony Park trim should actually just interchange onto the new door using the existing mounting points. I actually need to remove two holes since they aren't present on the Colony Park tailgate. The lettering will be trim taped on since the holes that were used for mounting the badging are not the same.

                  Originally posted by Tiggie View Post
                  Did not know the seat bottoms would interchange. Or at least fit. How much persuasion was required?

                  Your MPG is right on mine for the 88. Oil consumption too.
                  If I removed the little holders for the center belt, I'm sure it would have gone in easier. It otherwise went into place just like any other Panther seat I've removed.

                  I tried to see if the MPG would be any different at 65 MPH versus 75 MPH. Nothing really discernible. Curious as to where Ford pulled that 27 MPG figure from, lol. I never expect to see such a number, but I'm always interested to see any change. As far as the oil is going, at least it isn't being burned, just a small leak. With a replacement oil pan gasket, I'm sure that'll curb that business.


                  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

                  Comment


                    #54
                    55 mph downhill with tail wind probably.
                    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


                      #55
                      Well you're down to...oil pan gasket, crank seal and rear main as the leakers. the Rest should be dry.

                      Definitely 1000000% recommend short hair fiberglass to treat the rust spot I saw on the Driver side of gate.
                      -Nick M.
                      Columbia, SC

                      66 Squire, 89 Colony Park, 90 TC, 03 TC, 06 TC, 07 TC (2x)
                      03 BMW 540iT, 07 Toyota Tundra SR5 Dbl Cab/5.7 2WD

                      Comment


                        #56
                        You guys aren't going to believe this probably but at 65mph and 85% of the miles being covered on flat roads my Townie averaged 23.5 mpg. I was quite surprised. Test done by filling tank waaay past capacity, such that there is gas standing in the filler neck. Was able to cover about 360 miles until the gas light came on and then went another 20 before filling up. This was on Exxon gas, which seemed to be clearer/cleaner than the yellowish Shell gas I was using. Maybe it had less ethanol in it but the pump did say it would contain up to 10% like all other gas stations I visited on our Florida trip. Most miles I've pulled out of a tank of gas yet. On the whole 1300+ mile trip back I did not have to add any oil. it did burn some but we got it changed while in FLA and since they overfilled it I just let it burn off the excess. When we filled up in ohio for the last time it was at the top of the full mark. On the way down to FLA I only had to add about a half quart total. Last year the car burned nearly five quarts to get us there and back. Differences this time around were I used that Restore stuff and two cans of BG44k fuel infector cleaner, oh and 10w-30 instead of 5w-30. I really think the Restore cuts down on oil consumption a lot.
                        1985 LTD Crown Victoria - SOLD
                        1988 Town Car Signature - Current Party Barge

                        Comment


                          #57
                          Way better than the 9-10mpg I've been getting. I nreally need to figure this out at some point.
                          —John

                          1985 Ford F-150 XLT Lariat
                          1990 Mercury Grand Marquis LS (POTM March 2017 & May 2019 - gone, but not forgotten)
                          1995 Mustang SVT Cobra coupe (cream puff)
                          1966 Mustang coupe (restoration in-progress)

                          Comment


                            #58
                            Wow, I'll say.. Look into vacuum leaks, dead MAP sensor, O2 sensors, ECT sensor, and dirty fuel infectors if you haven't already.
                            1985 LTD Crown Victoria - SOLD
                            1988 Town Car Signature - Current Party Barge

                            Comment


                              #59
                              Did you guys also noticed the nice set of turbine wheels under that salvage wagon.

                              Comment


                                #60
                                I,ve done that, pretty satisfactory. I used Sherwin-Williams, to scan, mix and make up aerosol cans. And not too bad price wise- under $20 for aerosol can, which seems to go much farther than the shelf variety from Duplicolor, etc.

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