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1986 town car what to look for?

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    1986 town car what to look for?

    Title explains the lot. My 2011 grand marquis got owned I got chump change coming in after for it... soo I’m looking at another panther.

    https://minneapolis.craigslist.org/a...790188113.html


    What to expect? What to look for? What to do?

    #2
    That '86 looks really, really rough. The top is likely to peel off and be hiding rust. The body moldings are dealer add ons or whatever and peeling off. Paint's shot, tires are scary, if it's only got 65k since 1986 then it's sat for a long time and probably every gasket and rubber bushing on the car is rotten. The interior is "fair" which means trashed. Hard, hard pass.
    ,
    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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      #3
      Welcome to the joys of MN cars. Everything here sucks.

      Comment


        #4
        Mostly all the same stuff any of these cars have troubles with. Much of it will be age-related, but they are prone to rot in basically all of the same places the Vics are. Some of those areas are hidden by the stainless panels though, so you might be in for surprise rust that isn't easy to see from a casual look. The only Lincoln-specific stuff is basically interior cosmetic items. The door panels crack, the glovebox sags, if it has digital dash sometimes that breaks, the leather seats are pretty much always shot, the dashboards crack.

        Agreed on looking like it sat a long time. I'm personally not a fan of the cloth tops either. One cool bonus with those, if the adhesive gets weak it can actually rip the whole fiberglass shell off the roof of the car at highway speed, so thats fun.
        Maybe if it runs really well and you could use a winter beater it might be worth a look.
        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


          #5
          Does look like a good winter ride. Too much money IMO.

          I bet the fuel system is nasty. If it stinks like a five-day dead deer that ate moth balls when you take the gas cap off, known you’ll likely be putting a fuel tank and pump on it, possibly more. Plus tires, plus tune up, and who knows what else... then you get into $2500 before you know it.
          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


            #6
            I think it might be worth a look. Just maybe a look. xD you don’t see many of these cars up here. But then again. There might be a reason why.

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by DrHax View Post
              I think it might be worth a look. Just maybe a look. xD you don’t see many of these cars up here. But then again. There might be a reason why.
              If you have your heart set on a box town car, import a good one from out of state, fluid film/oil spray it every year, and enjoy. There's often near-pristine looking examples that pop up with nuked transmissions for like $1k (which, you can negotiate), a $1000 transmission rebuild and brass bushing, and you're motoring in style.

              Sadly, the box townies are getting thinner and thinner on the ground, and this is going into tax time: the *worst* time to buy a car, everything gets overpriced by 1500-4k to rip people off for their tax returns.
              ,
              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.

              Comment


                #8
                How the fuck do people ask for this kinda money when shit is blatantly falling off the car and it overall looks like shit.
                ~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


                  #9
                  Agree with gadget and 87gtVIC here, it's an overpriced turd. Yeah yeah I understand, "that's all I can find" but that doesn't mean you should buy it. I'm a box townie connoisseur and I wouldn't own that for $500. I absolutely hate those fuckin' tops too. Like gadget said, they can fly right off on the highway and all that stitching wears out & becomes tattered, plus no opera lights. F'in stupid as Town Cars got the best opera lights boxes had to offer. My spouse had an '89 with that top which she drove for 3 years or so. She hated that top and leather seats. Top essentially turned into streamers (lol) by the time she sold it. That car is crusty too, which means IMO it'd make a horrible winter beater unless you went through all the wiring and vacuum hoses under the hood first. OH shit, then there's the fun and joys you get when you notice your gas tank sprung a leak, or a brake line popped when you tried to make a hard stop or a fuel line itself rusted a nice hole. None of the fasteners spin freely when it's time to remove them either, more headache then they're worth. Why I don't like to buy rusty vehicles, it's not just the rust you deal with (which never stops) it's all the corrosion everywhere else, like shitty grounds, corroded connectors ect ect. F that noise and that car. When it comes to Townies, I prefer 1988 and up, although I think '88 is the best year as they made some goofy cosmetic changes for '89 as if they ran out of stuff.. At least with '88 and up it's easier to wire in stereos and if the car in question simply has the premium stereo, the factory JBL is a drop in replacement. Hard to beat that. Oh yeah, starting in 1988 the base cluster was revised, it's now back lit as opposed to being flood lit and the warning lights were also revised. Late model '88's got functional CEL's and such.
                  Last edited by DerekTheGreat; 02-01-2019, 07:50 AM.
                  1985 LTD Crown Victoria - SOLD
                  1988 Town Car Signature - Current Party Barge

                  Comment


                    #10
                    oh, and just a mention, these have 5 digit odometers. Just because it says 65000 doesn't mean it can't be 165000. You can usually tell by looking at things though.
                    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


                      #11
                      Originally posted by gadget73 View Post
                      oh, and just a mention, these have 5 digit odometers. Just because it says 65000 doesn't mean it can't be 165000. You can usually tell by looking at things though.
                      Yes, but at this point, literally any arsehole seller who claims 65k without mentioning it's only a 5 digit odo and having no complete service record history or even carfax or autocheck report is guilty of outright misrepresentation at best, or fraud at worst.
                      ,
                      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.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Sometimes you just don't really know. It could be 65k and then 20 years sitting out behind the barn.
                        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


                          #13
                          If only I had a dollar for every car/truck for sale that listed some absurd low mileage in an very used up vehicle with five digit odometer, I could probably pay asking price for this Lincoln...

                          Worked out well for me once. A local 88 wagon sat for years and years near my parents house. It disappeared then popped up in the junkyard. The car looked bad at a glance but only had 26K on it. Everyone else thought it was junk. I got a good lopo and AOD that look like factory fresh, and mostly are.
                          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


                            #14
                            Take your time and fine the best panther you can for your money. In your part of the country, I would get the newest car you can get. There is plenty of cheap junk that will either nickel and dime you to death or fail you when you need it.
                            I am sure you can find another late model panther for a reasonable figure. Expand your search area. Lots of small towns in MN.

                            Comment


                              #15
                              I bought a similar car last year in the rust belt. We have safety inspections and mine came with a current sticker which counts for a lot. If you don't have inspections and it's on the road might be rotten underneath. check the oil pan they rust out pretty quick. also the tv bushing, i wouldn't feel comfortable driving it home on the original. like everyone else i'd say it is too high but the boxes are crawling up in price. if he has no service records i'd say junkyard price, like 5-700. mine was in nicer shape and owned by a middle-aged guy who did some services and i still put 3k into fixing broken stuff and maintenance but i can't have breakdowns. The one in MN being an 86 might need to budget for timing gears if you keep it long enough.

                              Did you see these in your area. same price range, different issues with the 4.6, but newer
                              https://minneapolis.craigslist.org/a...790575311.html
                              https://minneapolis.craigslist.org/a...775944046.html
                              https://stcloud.craigslist.org/cto/d...809578985.html
                              96 MGM
                              sigpic
                              Cruisin up and down the road...

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