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    New to the Forum, new to Wagons

    Hi yall,

    just found this amazing forum today and immediately signed up after reading a bit thru the various topics!

    I got myself a 1987 Mercury Grand Marquis Colony Park LS w/302 cui EFI some weeks ago. Itīs a FL car and while the wagon is nearly rust free (has a small area in the tub of the fold-away seats), up and running and mostly complete, thereīs a lot of "minor" stuff to fix up. Just to list some:
    • tailgate only swings to the side, not down, window doesn't roll down, door doesnīt lock
    • shift indicator doesnīt move
    • ignition lock falling apart/chrom wings broken off
    • cruise control out of order
    • weatherstrips and window channels are dry-rotten
    • door panels are loose
    • pwr door locks donīt work
    • drv side door handle sometimes doesn't open the door
    • one pwr window doesn't move, one has bad gears
    • needs woodgrain panels/vinyl
    • trunk side panels need repainting
    • probably more to list


    I signed up hoping to get (and give, if possible at all) tons of advice and resource to get the major stuff fixed.

    What I have done so far: Vacuumed and wet-vacuumed the wagon for about 8h (no sh*t!), cleaned up the engine bay (greased and stained with rusty water from a boiling radiator), restored the hood insulation, painted-to-match and installed a Coverlay on the torn dash, lubed all hinges and door locks and started messing with the tailgate.

    The vehicle has been pretty neglected in the past couple of years. However, it appears to be technically sound and the previous owners have thrown a new set of tires on (black wall, tho). They removed the woodgrain panels (unfortunately) and re-sprayed the vehicle (pooooor job). I bought the wagon because, like most of us, I have good memories in riding in one when I was a younger man (much younger, to be honest).

    I like older cars and believe they still have style and character, in contrast to most modern vehicles which often are "perfect", but maybe too perfect - plus, they all look alike. I own a couple of older cars, mostly (all except for the wagon, matter of fact) GM. Some Full Sizes, Corvettes and - for a daily - an Escalade. The only other Ford I have owned was a 1973 Mustang convertible, which I remember being a great and reliable little car.

    I will start working on the tailgate (and other things) soon and will open a separate thread, hoping for lots of advice!

    So long,

    Alex
    Regards, Alex

    sigpic

    #2
    Welcome! Lots of wagon lovers here. We love pics! What state are you in? WagonMan
    89 Colony Park
    90 Colony Park
    70 HEMI Daytona Convertible

    Comment


      #3
      Welcome to the forum Alex. Good luck and have fun with your wagon.
      ~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


        #4
        On the tailgate, the hinge may be worn and/or the striker bushings worn or missing. Both the top and bottom latch have to be latched for the top latch to release and tailgate to fold down truck like.

        And FYI sedan door panels fit if yours are beyond repair.
        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


          #5
          Welcome Alex!

          What Tiggie said, also, the tailgate window must be rolled down to open like a truck.



          87 Ford LTD Crown Victoria Country Squire Station Wagon. 4.10's, Repacked Trac Loc, Boxed LCA's, Explorer Intake, 65mm T-body, 'Stang Cam, 'Stang Air tube, K&N, GT-40X Heads, 1" Spacer, 1 5/8 BBK's, 2.5" Pypes X-pipe w/high flow cats, Single Chamber Thunderbolts, B&M 'vertor, Po-lice Swaybars.

          91 Mercury Grand Marquis Colony Park Station Wagon. K-Code, 4.10's, Repacked Trac Loc, MK VII LSC Engine, 'Stang Upper Intake, Stang Air Tube, K&N, 65 mm T-Body, 'Stang Headers, 'Stang Cat Pipe,'Stang Torque Convertor, 2 Chamber Thunderbolts.

          Comment


            #6
            Welcome!

            I had a 1988 Country Squire about 16 years ago. By far my favorite of the 5 box Panthers I've had over the past almost 20 years.
            Vic

            ~ 1989 MGM LS Colony Park - Large Marge
            ~ 1998 MGM LS - new DD
            ~ 1991 MGM LS "The Scab"
            ~ 1991 MGM GS "The Ice Car"

            Comment


              #7
              Thx guys,

              for the warm welcome. As for the tailgate, I already put a piece of hose around the top striker. The bottom seems to be ok. The window doesnīt go down, tho, neither by key nor by the dash switch. Iīll open up a separte thread for this, as this will take time and a lot of detailled questions.

              On one similar thing: the foldable backrest of my rear seat doesnīt latch. Should there be some plastic on the striker as well that might be missing?
              Regards, Alex

              sigpic

              Comment


                #8
                Here are some pics of the wagon when I picked her up.












                Not a beauty, never will be, but I got her for a price I was willing to pay. The paint looks better in the pics than it is in reality. It looks only dull but unfortunatally the paint coat is not flat and even but has "dimples" and orange peel. When I put on new woodgrain panels I hope to be able to hide the worst areas. I may eventually try buffing the hood and roof but fear I will rather take down the paint than making it shiny.
                Regards, Alex

                sigpic

                Comment


                  #9
                  Welcome Alex.
                  In my heart, I too am a wagon guy for similar memory reasons. I remember my uncle using armor-all on the vinyl seats in his Buick and laughing because I slid all over when he gunned it around corners spinning the tires. Cool dude. Great memories.
                  Your car is sweet and they aren't making them any more...right..?? It will be nice to see you give it what it deserves.
                  All FORD All The Time

                  Comment


                    #10
                    I have the trim you are missing on the front fenders. WagonMan VEIGHTPETE@GMAIL.COM
                    Last edited by WagonMan; 08-09-2019, 08:23 AM.
                    89 Colony Park
                    90 Colony Park
                    70 HEMI Daytona Convertible

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Nice wagon. Have you thought about having the paint color sanded. The right painter might be able to bring some life back to the paint.
                      I am going to have my 90 CV done shortly. If it saves the paint, it will save me $7,000 which is the insane price the paint shops get here. Quality isn't that good either.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Nice steel side wagon just do not drive it in the snow and rock salt.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          I did think about wet sanding and buffing the paint and might eventualy do so when I find the time and have all other issues solved. I am for sure not gonna get a new paintjob because with all the prep work it will cost me about 4-5 times the price of the wagon, only to have a vehicle that will be worth about have the cost. Economically not recommendable.

                          @Rodent: you will surely never get ice and snow Where abouts are you, Nellis? LV is one of our favourit leisure destinations, been there like half a dozen times since 2014.
                          Regards, Alex

                          sigpic

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Looks good!
                            I think I would address the paint before adding wood trim. If you do add the wood there are mouldings around it also.
                            Steel sides are not common, I think it looks cool the way it is.



                            87 Ford LTD Crown Victoria Country Squire Station Wagon. 4.10's, Repacked Trac Loc, Boxed LCA's, Explorer Intake, 65mm T-body, 'Stang Cam, 'Stang Air tube, K&N, GT-40X Heads, 1" Spacer, 1 5/8 BBK's, 2.5" Pypes X-pipe w/high flow cats, Single Chamber Thunderbolts, B&M 'vertor, Po-lice Swaybars.

                            91 Mercury Grand Marquis Colony Park Station Wagon. K-Code, 4.10's, Repacked Trac Loc, MK VII LSC Engine, 'Stang Upper Intake, Stang Air Tube, K&N, 65 mm T-Body, 'Stang Headers, 'Stang Cat Pipe,'Stang Torque Convertor, 2 Chamber Thunderbolts.

                            Comment


                              #15
                              I want to say there is a mechanical interlock in the tailgate that keeps it from flipping down until the glass rolls down all the way. Probably once you fix the motor it will fix that.

                              shift indicator is probably the collar under the column broken, or possibly the cable for it isn't hooked up. If you pull the shrouds off the column you'll find it. There is a white collar clamped right about even with the face of the dashboard. Small cable goes up to the cluster, there is a screw clamp holding it together, and the wire pokes out of the end of the cable and hooks on a plastic arm sticking off the side of the shift rod. Something there will probably be obviously broken. If it doesn't move at all, I'lll guess the peg where the indicator cable goes is busted off the crank arm. The cable assembly might still be available, not sure about the arm.

                              key cylinders are availble and cheap. Easy to change too. Pull the column shrouds off. Directly under the key cylinder you'll find a hole. Turn the key one click forward, poke a something into the hole, the cylinder slides out. If you don't want mismatched keys, you should be able to find a locksmith to re-key your replacement cylinder or if you're feeling brave you can give it a go. There is a metal tab on the side of the cylinder that is staked on. Remove that, dump the little brass bits out. Do the same on the old one, but instead of dumping it, move the brass bits to the new cylinder. Put the plate back on and it should be re-keyed. Or it won't work and you'll need another new one


                              CC could be a bunch of things, but LED tail lamps and the vacuum dump valve above the brake pedal being out of whack will do it. The dump valve needs to be pushed in fully or it won't go. Horn not working also makes it not work, usually thats the horn relay.

                              there is a thread on here someplace about weatherstrip and dew wipes

                              door panels probably need the "christmas trees" replaced. They're available and not expensive. They're what hold the panels on and after a couple decades and a few removals all of the branches flake off.

                              Door locks also could be several things but if the key is real stiff its probably the motors. Or someone removed them because they failed in the past. There are also relays and if both lock switches aren't good it won't work. Need to poke around to see exactly what its doing first. If pushing the lock/unlock button doesn't make a clicking noise, its something electrical and probably switch related. if it clicks and nothing happens, that sounds like motor problems.

                              door handle might be worn out plastic clips holding the rods together. Or the latch might just need a really thorough flushing with oil to get the old grease and dirt out.

                              window motors are common issues, need to get into the door panels to fix those anyway

                              the rest is old age stuff, I'm of no use with bodywork things but IMO if its a factory steelside, I'd leave it. I like the woody wagons but by now the vinyl usually looks like hell. I imagine a Grand Marquis wagon rather than the Colony Park could be more rare anyway.
                              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

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