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    #31
    CA is stupid. I've heard stories of people with older cars failing because the factory-installed air cleaner didn't look like the picture in the book and other such nonsense. I'm fine with protecting the environment, but why should it matter what air cleaner or whatever is installed if what comes out of the exhaust is clean?

    NJ wasn't as bad, we never had much visual other than to confirm the cats were there. I ran the Towncar through several times with no smog pump, they never batted an eye. I do remember at one point when the state privatized the inspection stations. They hired a bunch of people that had to look busy. I sat in line with my S10 and some girl that looked fresh out of high school had me open the hood so she could inspect it. I have no idea what she was looking for, and I suspect she didn't either but she looked for about 30 seconds before deciding it was acceptable enough to be sniffed. The next year all those people were gone and it was back to just the sniffer. At one point they went from an idle test to a roller test, then the rollers got pulled and it was an idle and a race the hell out of the engine sniff. The safety went away first because they didn't fail enough vehicles, so therefore it wasn't necessary. (???) Pre-96 smog went away a year or so ago. I suspect they didn't want to maintain the sniffer equipment for the dwindling number of those vehicles when they can just plug in an OBD2 scanner.

    but yeah, the "buy a sticker" thing was an open secret. Everyone knew what shops would do it, and it was like 75 bucks. They'd put something on the receipt like "adjusted carb" or whatever as the justification and away you went until the next year.
    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


      #32
      Yeah, sometimes it's tough to find original parts. In the end all that matters is tailpipe emissions. This isn't a concurs auto show..

      Jesus, they've only been putting emission stuff on cars since the early 70's, you think they'd have a standardized test by now. It's clear they don't have a clue and I suspect you're right about the pre '96 stuff.

      What a joke, but somewhere some entity must be making money off of it...
      1985 LTD Crown Victoria - SOLD
      1988 Town Car Signature - Current Party Barge

      Comment


        #33
        In Virginia, an inspector is supposed to take 1 hour to inspect everything. The list is lengthy in my opinion, although no sniffer for most. Here’s the list http://www.vsp.state.va.us/Safety.sh...pectionProgram

        They get $16, a $1 of which gets sent back to the state. Garages must also maintain a working computer with internet and a printer to issue the paperwork. The state monitors to be sure they aren’t doing more than 1 per hour with the internet submissions.

        No real mechanics will do the entire inspection for only $15/hour. They check lights and brakes if they are disc and easily visible. I can’t say I blame them. $15 an hour then taxes taken out leaves you at ten bucks an hour. 80 bucks a day isn’t going to keep the doors open.
        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


          #34
          Despite the veil of "protecting the environment" here, it's all about squeezing more money out of the people here, just like everything else. A lot of people went to a lot of trouble to get the gas tax repeal on the ballot, and then all these idiots voted to keep it! California is a self-perpetuating money vacuum full of ignorant but self-righteous twits that will try to make to feel like a jerk for not being an idiot. My frustration with this place grows daily...

          Comment


            #35
            Damn, $1 dollar to the state per person for doing essentially nothing amounts to quite a bit of dough when you think about it, toss that in with all the other taxes you might pay and wow. Reminds me of that scene from Raising Arizona where Hi gets his first check from that factory and that big beauford of a clerk says to him, "The gov'ment sure do take a bite, don't they?"

            You gotta get out Khead, you're about ready to blow a gasket man. Lose the turbo and install some lower compression cylinder heads if you know what I mean haha.
            1985 LTD Crown Victoria - SOLD
            1988 Town Car Signature - Current Party Barge

            Comment


              #36
              Okay, enough of the inspection stuff! The only inspection I care about is seeing what I have for a rear axle in this thing.

              I got my Marti report back, and it's...underwhelming. They say it's a CFI V8 and 2.73 open rear with locking wheel covers.

              As I received it, it's a multipoint EFI engine (to be honest, I suspect that's a mistake in the Ford/Marti nomenclature, I don't think it's had an engine swap).
              It has Turbine wheels (unless they're REALLY GOOD wheel covers, but I don't think so...the locking covers were wire spoke); but those may well have been changed by a previous owner.
              And while it might well be a 2.73 open diff, it didn't feel like a spinny slug when I was driving it, but it was a bit snowy and I was paying more attention to the overall running. Also coulda been changed by PO.

              Even if I suspected the Marti report to be spot on, a few minutes under the car will tell me much more about what it is NOW, which will tell me what I want to do to it.

              I'd like a 3.27-3.55 rear for towing. I like the Turbine wheels so big brakes aren't in my immediate future (and I have a set of 15" Explorer rims lying around to get snow tires, so twice the no-go for now).
              Rear brakes and separate hub/disc arrangement are preferred, but only worth the effort if I'm already replacing the parts.
              I suspect I have 10" rear drums and I'm not going to change them until I find a rear axle that has the gearing I want to tow with.

              So...what year cars have the greatest likelihood of a rear axle ratio of 3.08 (I'd take it/so-so for towing), 3.27 (1st choice), or 3.55 (I have a spare set of 3.55 gears out of my Zephyr, which before-you-say-they-won't-fit, my Zephyr has a 2003 Mustang Cobra rear which was swapped for 4.11s because the Zephyr is the fun car so it's an 8.8 too).
              There's a lot of early-mid 2000s Crown Vics at the state auctions that are beat and sell for just-over-scrap, but would be good for harvesting axle housings, knuckles, etc. If they would give me my swap parts and likely have the right axle ratio (or be happy with my gears and a seal/bearing refresh), what else should I snag from them?

              I might start this as a new topic in the Drivetrain section if this post takes off; a rear axle sticky would probably be good (or a more noticeable one, if I missed it).

              Comment


                #37
                Also...remember those old perforated vinyl steering wheel covers? The cheapo lace-on ones?
                They were the only covers I really liked on these 80s Ford wheels with the skinny little hard plastic rim.
                I can find them in black, blue, gray, beige, and "mushroom" (whatever color "mushroom" is, it's WAAAAY too fancy for this car!).
                Anyone got one in good old fashioned baby poop brown? I've scoured ebay, Amazon, Google...I don't want a fancy sew-on leather one. I don't want the big round "slip on" Wal-Mart ones that look ugly and have the open elastic "U" that feels as uncomfortable to grip as they look. I just want the used-to-be-dirt-cheap-in-42-colors-at-every-gas-station-and-corner-store lace on crappy vinyl one.
                If anyone has a nice poop brown one (I'd accept "chocolate" but I don't want this car thinking it's fancy) or knows where to get one I will gladly reward you with a beverage of your choice (or the funds to get one).
                Okay, that's enough curmudgeon for tonight. I've gotta get some better coffee out here next time we get stores in.

                Comment


                  #38
                  If you can get an aero era axle donor, then that would give you the rear discs too. Whale (98+) don’t bolt in.

                  I have found a lot of 3.27 gears in 87-88 (5-code), and the mid aero era cars in my area. Also have found several in trac-lok (E-code). The 3.27s are usually in heavier cars like Crown Vic LX or other top trim line.

                  Sounds like you don’t mind setting up rear axles, so also consider 99% of 4.0L Rangers are a 8.8 28-spline donor. A lot of the regular cab trucks run a 3.27 or 3.55 especially in the pre-95 era.
                  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


                    #39
                    86+ all had SEFI, though if you look in some of the factory manuals it has pictures of CFI stuff.

                    Other random thought, its not completely impossible that the VIN on the dash isn't the VIN the car left the factory with. You'd find the VIN on the dash, the door sticker, and usually on stickers under the hood, on the fenders, and on the trunk lid. If that VIN is from another car it could have the wrong optional equipment listed.
                    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


                      #40
                      Originally posted by gadget73 View Post
                      86+ all had SEFI, though if you look in some of the factory manuals it has pictures of CFI stuff.

                      Other random thought, its not completely impossible that the VIN on the dash isn't the VIN the car left the factory with. You'd find the VIN on the dash, the door sticker, and usually on stickers under the hood, on the fenders, and on the trunk lid. If that VIN is from another car it could have the wrong optional equipment listed.
                      Very true, but I would suspect that the other bits are correct--all the paint and trim are correct, and wheels change easily; heck, I'll have the wheels changed by Christmas, and I'm on a ship until the 23rd. Most likely it was a typing error somewhere between CFI and SEFI, and I'm willing to accept that I have 2.73s in there and was just too busy doing donuts in the snow to notice. It's a heavy car, so maybe I was mistaking traction-lock for plain ol' traction. The previous car was a Mini with a manual transmission that used traction control to tame an open diff; I hated it. The Mini was the replacement for the Mustang that got plowed by a drunk driver, and everyone said "you'll love antilock brakes and traction control and front wheel drive!". It wasn't a bad car, but anytime the weather got iffy I was reminded that people are idiots. I drove that Mustang everywhere, and I couldn't get the Mini to go half the places I used to go, and in the brief moment I had the Mini and the LTD (on all-seasons!) and it snowed--I remembered it wasn't me, it was the Mini, and now I'm rambling.

                      So I'll look for a -97 with a decent ratio and trac-loc; I bet there's a few dead cop cars in the local auction yards yet. Or I'll just buy a trac-loc center and use the Mustang gears.

                      Comment


                        #41
                        The traction lock is quite likely worn out by now. Mine was effectively an open rear by 130k, but my car did live a pretty bad life. On snow it would only spin one tire, so that tells you how whipped it was. It did manage to get around passably even with that, but it was a lot better once the clutches were replaced. I haven't driven it in winter for years though. I sort of miss it, the thing did donuts like nobody's business.

                        People do put way more stock in that FWD thing than I think is justified. I've been driving a 2wd S10 pickup since 2001 as my daily beater. In the winter it gets some cinderblocks in the bed but thats it. Open rear, all-season tires, the ABS doesn't work, and I manage to get around in it. It just requires care and having an understanding of what you can and can't do. All the technical gee-gaws in the world won't make up for a lack of common sense behind the wheel. It doesn't usually snow all that often or all that much in NJ but when it does, wow do the morons come out in force.
                        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


                          #42
                          Yep, I'll take RWD with posi hands down every time over FWD. I hate understeering through intersections. A tire can only give 100% of it's traction and each time you make an additional request to it you are dividing it's ability, something has to give. Also, if your wheels are already slipping/spinning, making them spin faster isn't going to get you unstuck or move you any faster..
                          1985 LTD Crown Victoria - SOLD
                          1988 Town Car Signature - Current Party Barge

                          Comment


                            #43
                            Trac-loc in my '90 works great. So well, in fact, that the damn thing can't even spin the tires. Admittedly i have big tires and my car is gutless. With first rain it'll get a bit loose because the road is really slick. The scary part is that it has so little power, it doesn't predictably spin the tires so you're never sure what it's going to do. Combine that with the Nittos' lousy wet traction as a whole and my "insta-lock" brakes, this turd is no fun to drive in the rain.

                            If we ever had real winter here i'd have to get another set of tires, proper all-seasons.

                            Comment


                              #44
                              I can live with an open diff, but trac-loc is nice for trailer towing when you get that one wheel in the muck at the side of the road...
                              I'd like to set the car up with SD HO, nothing crazy but I think 200hp/300tq (flywheel) isn't impossible. Enough to move a couple tons of trailer, not enough to get in trouble without trying. >

                              Comment


                                #45
                                https://youtu.be/6qgREMBTE28?t=15
                                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

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