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My 1987 Mercury Colony Park

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    My 1987 Mercury Colony Park

    So, this wagon already has a history here! For it's ownership under TecNickal from 2013-2016, click here: Early History

    Today was the pick up day. Nick came down in his '89 and picked myself and friend up and drove us back up to South Carolina. We got to work on getting things ready so that the car would be good to ride back down to Georgia, so it did need a little preliminary preparations.



    Mechanically, everything is rock solid on this thing. It runs great. A/C is cold, heat is hot, the AOD shifts smoothly, and the 302 happily cruises down the road at 55. There are some minor interior things that have to be taken care of, but nothing that would be unexpected in a 30 year old wagon. We temporarily took out the front door lock actuators since one of the replacements had locked up (thanks Dorman), and the other one needed a clip. No big deal, and definitely nothing that can't be handled easily.

    Nick gave me a lot of extra interior trim bits to go with it and I'll be getting some more stuff next time I go up. I have wagon cargo coils to put up under the rear, along side the PI control arms and rear sway bar. We loaded the rear with the old rims and tyres along with everything else and it saaaggggggss. I believe the rear springs are likely original anyway, so the tiredness isn't unexpected. It does have good shocks, so those'll stay when the rear gets the springs put in.

    Right now as it sits it just needs a really good interior and exterior cleaning since it sat for a little bit. The front seats are great (Lincoln Town Car seats!), and the rear is fair, save for the bottom cushion which I have a replacement on hand. I'll get that fitted after it gets cleaned up really well.

    Here's some pictures:










    Parked at it's new home (stored at a family friend's house):


    It is interesting to note that this car is a February car and my '97 is also a February car. I'd be very curious of the specific day this one came of the line. I wonder how close it was to the day the '97 was built, as it was built on the 12th.

    So, what's on the list for upcoming things? Well there's some preventive maintenance that'll be done and some general repairs to get everything near 100%.

    Currently looking at:
    -Replacing rear springs
    -Re-installing lock actuators
    -Replacing ignition switch (PM)
    -Changing differential fluid
    -Fixing the wipers

    That's the most serious stuff that needs attention over the next few weeks/months. Anything else that needs dealing with (small trim bits, et al) will be dealt with in-between.

    There's also some fun stuff planned, too:
    -Adding passenger vent window
    -Adding dual exhaust
    -Adding rear sway bar and PI control arms
    -Adding a Class III/IV receiver

    TL;DR: Got a wagon, going to clean it up, and drive!
    Last edited by Kodachrome Wolf; 01-02-2017, 11:36 PM.


    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

    #2
    Looks great with the Lincoln rims.
    '79 Continental Town Car
    '90 Crown Victoria LTD
    '94 Crown Victoria

    Comment


      #3
      those wheels have got to go.
      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


        #4
        Looks like a nice straight wagon. Wish you the best with it.

        Comment


          #5
          Y'all should've seen the wheels that I had on there when I was selling it to Him. Those are even worse . I gave him the wheels pictures since they were originally on my 1990 and I did not like them. The wagon Is in good hands now. Hope to continue to see it for future visits and meet ups.
          -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


            #6
            Originally posted by gadget73 View Post
            those wheels have got to go.
            Until I wear out the tires, they're staying right where they are. I don't have any other wheels to mount (save for my Cobras; not happening on this, those are for the '97). I got the Lincoln rims for free, so I figured I'd put them to use.

            There's some lousy multi-bolt pattern steelies in the tailgate area with old, worn, super oversized tires (rears were 265/75R15s). I'm giving those to someone else. I might grab some steelies from the junkyard if I don't stumble across some good turbines for future use.


            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


              #7
              Originally posted by gadget73 View Post
              those wheels have got to go.
              Ha, I actually like how they look on this car - different yes, but not gaudy or anything.
              The ones who accomplish true greatness, are the foolish who keep pressing onward.
              The ones who accomplish nothing, are the wise who know when to quit.

              Comment


                #8
                Those are base box TC wheels right? Only seen a few of those in person, always wondered how they'd look on wagons. Definitely adds an upscale, luxury vibe to it. Only real issue is clearance for big brakes but if you aren't going down that road, you've got nothing to worry about.

                Can relate to curiousity of close build dates with cars.... both Ebyt and Eva were September cars according to the door sticker.
                '89 Grand Marquis "Ebyt", '85 Grand Marquis "Eva", '94 Caprice "Kira"
                '84 Town Car "Stacy", '79 New Yorker “Anita", '93 Town Car "Kelly"
                '80 Mark VI "Allie", '94 Grand Marquis coming June, '79 LTD-S "Oksana"

                Comment


                  #9
                  I'd go for the "bigger" brakes with turbines, and you have a perfect donor for it. "Bigger" being '96-'97 brakes which are better than box brakes but still clear 15" rims, if you do that you can use the brakes from your '97 and upgrade the '97 to '98-'02 brakes if/when you change its wheels.
                  -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


                    #10
                    Wicked car!

                    Does it still have woodgrain, or painted brown? Hard to tell in photos...
                    1983 Grand Marquis 2Dr Sedan "Mercules"
                    Tremec TKO conversion, hydraulic clutch, HURST equipped!

                    Comment


                      #11
                      SO jealous. Want it.
                      ~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


                        #12
                        I want an 87 Colony Park. Let's trade two for one.
                        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


                          #13
                          Originally posted by Hearsesrock427 View Post
                          Those are base box TC wheels right? Only seen a few of those in person, always wondered how they'd look on wagons. Definitely adds an upscale, luxury vibe to it. Only real issue is clearance for big brakes but if you aren't going down that road, you've got nothing to worry about.
                          Those are the 1990 specific Town Car wheels. Shame the center caps they wear are so fragile. If you pry up on them with a screwdriver without applying even pressure over that edge, they like to crack.

                          Originally posted by BigMerc96 View Post
                          I'd go for the "bigger" brakes with turbines, and you have a perfect donor for it. "Bigger" being '96-'97 brakes which are better than box brakes but still clear 15" rims, if you do that you can use the brakes from your '97 and upgrade the '97 to '98-'02 brakes if/when you change its wheels.
                          Surprisingly I find these brakes very solid and do a great job stopping this heavy thing. While updating the brakes on both my cars would be pretty good, they'll probably keep their existing hardware. The '97 getting the Cobras will be an aesthetic deal, whenever that happens. It's tires still have plenty of tread for now, so that will be on the back burner, at least for a little bit.

                          Originally posted by Grand Marquis GT View Post
                          Wicked car!

                          Does it still have woodgrain, or painted brown? Hard to tell in photos...
                          It's painted brown. The woodgrain was removed some time ago. Some day I'd like to get the car repainted a solid color since the paint is pretty toast on the roof and hood. The rest is fair, but wasn't a quality job when it was done. Some areas you can still find the original Sand Beige color it once wore.

                          Originally posted by Tiggie View Post
                          I want an 87 Colony Park. Let's trade two for one.
                          As much as I like wagons, I'm hanging onto this one. I really dig the pre-facelifted Box wagons since everything flows properly, and this wagon combines that along with the reliability of SEFI.

                          __________________________________________________ ________________________________

                          I did get the tailgate area clear of some stuff today, namely the old wheels and tires that were chilling back there. That helped get the rear end up, but the new springs will take care of that issue permanently.

                          I've got to fix the speakers in it. They crackle and pop when you first turn on the radio and then "warm up" and start playing. The driver's front speaker comes and goes. Hit a bump, it turns on, tap the dash, it turns off. The rears just sound tinny. I've got my old "premium sound" speakers from the '97. I think the rears from the '97 should fit in the back of the wagon. I'm going to do a search and figure out what I can stick up front. If the sound drops with the new stuff, I'll probably run some new speaker wire to the head unit.

                          Next time I swing by where I have it stored, it'll be to work on it. I'm going to change the rear differential fluid and replace the springs.


                          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


                            #14
                            Originally posted by His Royal Ghostliness View Post
                            Ha, I actually like how they look on this car - different yes, but not gaudy or anything.
                            Looks like a tin pie plate with a star on it. Never been a fan of that wheel.
                            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


                              #15
                              Very nice wagon!

                              I like the wheels themselves, but not necessarily on the wagon. With the two-tone paint, chrome trim, and argent wheels it makes everything look too 'busy'. Attached is a photo of a 1990 Lincoln with those wheels and painted just one color that is similar to the main color on the wagon. On the Lincoln, the wheels look quite good.

                              I do favor paint over that faux woodgrain tape. I peeled down an entire 95 Caprice wagon and that was very time-consuming and just buckets of fun. Every little scratch was a cut in the tape so that it would not come off in consistently large pieces.
                              Attached Files
                              David
                              1989 LTD Crown Victoria LX
                              14 previous Panthers, gone but not forgotten....

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