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Crown Vic Front Clip Wall Hanging

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    Crown Vic Front Clip Wall Hanging

    I'm not sure exactly were this would be posted, but I figured "bodywork" was as close a descent place.

    I'm just finishing up a small project I started a few weeks ago, and am making a wall hanging/wall art piece using the front clip of an 84 Crown Vic. I found a nearly complete car in a local junkyard, and bought the bumper cover (left the huge beam), filler panels. header panel, grill, headlights, bezels and lenses. The only thing missing was the hood ornament, but I was able to find a reasonably priced replacement on ebay.

    I started by making a frame out of two 2x6s, and associated smaller pieces. I used lap joints, construction adhesive and screws for all joints as this beast is HEAVY!!! I painted the frame black to blend in with the wall.

    I then took everything apart (I was amazed by the number of clips, bolts, screws and random parts. I had parts everywhere), cleaned and polished everything and primed and painted the header, and bumper filler panels. Then I reassembled everything and installed the bumper on the frame.

    Last night I purchased a string of Christmas lights and drilled out the back of one of the headlights. Unfortunately the Christmas lights are too dim to work as headlight illumination, but they work perfect for the turn signals. So I'll have to find an alternative light source for the headlights.

    I'll ad a picture of the finished product, but I thought you guys may be interested in the 90% completed project.

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    #2
    Looks great. I need it on the front of my 90!

    That’s an 82 grille. A one year only thing, and the best of the 79-87 designs in my opinion.
    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

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      #3
      My bad.

      It was/is an 82 not 84. The car also had the plain/flat tail light lenses with the LTD script vice the four horizontal rectangles.
      sigpic

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        #4
        Cool. You could probably get one of those 14v power supply things from pyramid or whatever to run the headlights & parking lights if desired. I've always wanted to do this since I saw it done as a kid at the Bavarian Inn Lodge we used to go to every year back when I was a kid. Just the mounting of everything had me concerned due to as you noticed, the weight.
        1985 LTD Crown Victoria - SOLD
        1988 Town Car Signature - Current Party Barge

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          #5
          Nice! Always wanted to do something like this, but I dont have the room. I look forward to seeing it completed
          -Phil

          sigpic

          +1982 Ford LTD-S Police Car. Built 351w, Trickflow 11R 190 Heads, Holley Sniper EFI, RPM Intake+ Hyperspark dizzy, WR-AOD, Full exhaust headers to tails. 3.27 Trac-Lok Rear. Aluminum Police Driveshaft. Speedway Springs+Bilstein Shocks, Intermediate Brakes, HPP Steering Box.

          +2003 Acura CL Type S 6-speed

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            #6
            I've got an 83-87 Ford and 79-82 Mercury header panel, along with my broken 84 Town Car one, all awaiting the same project being done to them. Glad to see I'm not the only nut who would think to do it lol

            Current driver: Ranger
            Panthers: 83 GM 2dr | 84 TC | 85 CS
            | 88 TC | 91 GM
            Not Panthers: 85 Ranger | Ranger trailer | 91 Acclaim | 05 Focus
            Gone: 97 CV | 83 TC | 04 Focus | 86 GM
            | Junkyards

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              #7
              LoL well I'm also a weirdo who has a operational traffic light in his house... Let me know how you end up supporting yours. I'd likely steal your idea. One right over the TV would be sweet.
              1985 LTD Crown Victoria - SOLD
              1988 Town Car Signature - Current Party Barge

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                #8
                Thats great man. Really like it.


                I am jealous of that 82 grill. ONe things I have been looking to grab for quite a long time now.

                If I ever get place this may be something I will want to do. I have all the parts..heck I have fenders as well as a drivers side door!
                ~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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                  #9
                  I got around to finishing the project today, and it turned out pretty good. My only compliant is that the headlights are a bit dim. I was trying to work something out that would have been 15-20 Watts per bulb, but it wasn’t working.

                  After a lot of experimentation, I would up using four night lights with LED bulbs and switches (as opposed to light sensors). I drilled out the back of the headlight and used hot glue to secure the night light to the headlight. To use a 15-20W bulb, I would have needed to drill a hole that was about 3/4” in diameter, and I couldn’t find any glass bits that big or a glass cutting hole saw.

                  Again, after a lot of trial and error, I found the best connection method was using insulated female compression fittings pushed onto the standard prongs. Soldering onto the prongs/circuit board just made a mess and didn’t work too well.

                  Anyway, although I wish I could have made them a bit brighter, I quite enjoyed the project.

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                    #10
                    Since it's using a night light bulb... if the wire is good enough... you could use e12-t3 halogen bulbs. They make 40W versions and they would screw in and work fine if that's normal lamp cord. Total current draw should be around 1.5 amps. Most lamp cord is rated to at least 10 amps (18 gauge).

                    Something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Bulbrite-KX40.../dp/B001EFVGXU

                    They're rather spendy compared to night light bulbs though.

                    These are a little more reasonable and use the same base too but are 25W...
                    https://www.amazon.com/Himalayan-Ori...dp/B06XV4P159/

                    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.

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                      #11
                      No love for the parking lights huh?
                      ~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
                        Came here to say what VIC said haha.

                        That's the perfect amount of brightness if you ask me. I'd have gotten a harness from a car in the yard and wired up something that goes to the ground or nearby table and is adjustable with dimmer switches. You can buy power supplies that output 14 volts which would drive the lights nicely which is what I plan to do when I get around to it.
                        1985 LTD Crown Victoria - SOLD
                        1988 Town Car Signature - Current Party Barge

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                          #13
                          Man, I should have bought that $100 LTD-S header panel off CL to do this for home wall art.
                          ,
                          Slicktop '91 GS HO 4.30 rear. '82 Mark VI Tudor HO, '90 F-150 XLT, '62 project Heep, '89 Arizona Waggin' and '88 donor in PA, getting combined.

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                            #14
                            After looking at the piece, I decided to ad lights to the turn signals as well. It looks MUCH better. So good in fact my wife suggested we hang it up in the house. After a bit of hee humming around, I decided it would fit well on a spot in our basement. After a disassembly and reassembly (I was trying to mount it in pieces, but due to the way I designed the frame, it all had to be hung at once) I muscled it in place myself (this thing is HEAVY to lift in position on your own while trying to manipulate a ratchet to get a couple lag screws started enough so the whole thing doesn't come crashing down). Anyway, it's all done now, and it turned out much better than I thought it would.

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                              #15
                              I love 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

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