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    New to Ford.

    Got the Grand Marquis from my Grand Father when he passed. Was going to sell it but I like it and decided to keep it and modify it a little. He was a car guy, Ford in particular, and had a 1969 mustang and a old Ford 30's hot rod. I was a Chevy guy, him with his Fords. I think he'd get a kick out of me hot ridding his old daily driver. Looking forward to the project and sharing ideas with everyone here. The car drives fine except for early shifts and a late overdrive kick down (25mph). (After a few weeks of driving I read on here about the TV cable bushing and checked it, it was gone and cable was not attached. No idea for how long. Installed a brass bushing and manually adjusted cable.) All I did so far is put LED lights in all around, sequential rear turn signal kit and a aftermarket stereo. My plans are: MAF conversion, GT40 intake and heads, trac-lock (has 3.73 open now), rear sway bar, some suspension work and maybe a cam, and a complete dual exhaust with either shorties or long tubes and either X or H pipe. This is my first Ford. Feel free to point me in a direction. This car will kind of be a tribute to him. I already set the timing at 14 deg. and just that alone gave it a little more spunk. Except it pings under load without 93 in the tank. I'll continue to observe while I read ya'lls posts and make my plans. Have a great week and keep your grille out of the bushes.
    Last edited by MrDork; 09-30-2019, 01:11 AM.

    #2
    New to Ford.

    Welcome!

    What year grand marquis? I have an 87 myself. The reason for early overdrive is that it has steep gears, they’ll cause stacked shifts. Its exacerbated by the LoPo governor causing the trans to shift early. Even at wide open throttle it shifts around 4200 rpms from first to second with a stock governor. You’ll need a tune or a mustang ecu if all you want to do is a HO swap (86-95 mustang high output motor) but if youre planning on a big cam Id suggest finding a local tuner.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    Last edited by 87GrandMarq; 09-30-2019, 02:42 AM.

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      #3
      Welcome!

      The plans so far sound like fun. looking forward to how it turns out.
      Vic

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

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        #4
        If you do a MAF conversion i assume you'll be going to HO firing order with a mustang computer. That opens up a world of possibilities cam and other stuff-wise. If you're running a MAF setup it'll be ok without tuning, although obviously a tune makes it better. You would likely have trouble making longtube headers fit but mustang shorties go right in. I lightly modded mustang midpipe will also fit and get you well on the way to a good exhaust system. The downer now is that walker no longer makes the tailpipes we use on these things. If you have a good local exhaust shop they can probably bend you up some pipes though.

        Far as gt40 heads go, unless you have access to a REALLY cheap set, save the money and buy something better. There are so many good aluminum heads out there and things have gotten so cheap. I've personally bought 3 sets of good aluminum heads for $800 a set. Used, of course but one set was fresh out of the shop, the other 2 extremely minimal usage. Anyhow, glad you're setting out to mess with grandpa's car, that is way cool and we look forward to seeing/hearing what comes of it. Welcome!

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          #5
          Welcome to the forum.
          ~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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            #6
            Ooo sequential tail lights... my favorite. Definitely got an advantage since I can’t do that with my wagons.

            Enjoy the ride!
            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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              #7
              Thanks everyone. The car is a 1990. Arizona bought and raised. Been in Wisconsin for 4 or so years. Brake and fuel lines are still rust free. I picked up a 1997 Mountaineer 302 with a blown trans shortly after my post so I'll use that for my GT40 swap. Aftermarket heads are what I would have done but I want to do it as cheap as possible and use somewhat stock parts in case I need something later. Both engines look almost identical, wondering if I can just swap in my distributor and some other little do-dads and put it in My Grand Ma? The Mountaineer runs so damn good... Burn outs in 1st gear for days. Lol. Right now I'm gathering as much as I can before attempting to do any work. I get easily distracted and confused if I take too long to do something. Also, the MAF mod is worrying me. I don't like leaving wires and sensors in there that wont be used. I did the Big 3 wire mod and put in a higher amp alternator out of a Taurus and the dead wires are driving me nuts. lol. It will be a slow process but I'll try and document it as much as possible and post it. Thanks in advance for any thoughts. And don't be afraid to tell me if I'm screwing something up. Oh, and I chose a paint color: Chrysler Destroyer Grey. I love that color and think it would look good on it. Goodnight.

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                #8
                Woohoo, another member of the sequential tail lights club. WebElectric, I presume?

                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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                  #9
                  Originally posted by kishy View Post
                  Woohoo, another member of the sequential tail lights club. WebElectric, I presume?
                  No, Ebay plastic bag China special. Lol. But they work nice and were easy to install.

                  Also, found an H-pipe from a 1990 TC for $64 on RockAuto. Ya'll know if it will fit GM's? Everyone is out of direct fit pipes. I already bought single chamber mufflers and the rest of the exhaust including new cat setups. I started pulling the motor and wiring out of the Mountaineer yesterday. I am not going to port anything. Just clean the heads and intake up, have new valve seals and springs installed and have head resurfaced. I want to keep everything under $800. Still have to locate a trac lock or axle. I'm going to do some research of how interchangeable 1993+ parts are since those cars are the only ones I can find. Slight modifications are no problem.
                  Last edited by MrDork; 10-16-2019, 11:37 PM.

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                    #10
                    Ive been told the town car h pipe is longer by a few inches. I shouldve compared mine to my y pipe before I installed it to see how much of a difference it really is.


                    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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                      #11
                      I'm running a '90 Town Car H-Pipe and mufflers on my '87. Had the tailpipes welded onto the back of the mufflers, but everything bolted in without much fuss.


                      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

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                        #12
                        http://cyberspaceandtime.com/mHxz5JsKTjc.video+related Anyone ever been to this site? Interesting cars.

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                          #13
                          Ok, I really apologize for asking but I have been looking and can't find an all inclusive guide on the GT40 swap. I really don't want to take bits and pieces from several posts to do this job. I want to do it right. The MAF mod I think I can do, I bought a California equipped MAF sensor from RockAuto for $40 that bolts to the TB (Along with a 1989 T.C. H-Pipe that fits great for $63) and will use that as long as it has the proper fuel mapping. I found an A9P ECU. And I have a 3:27 open 7.5 and want to swap in a trac-loc unit. I need a list of candidates to snag the carrier from. My 97 Mountaineer is a 8.8 trac-loc so that wont work. I'm not looking for all the answers, just point me to a direction so I can get the info. It's out there, just can't find it. Thanks.

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                            #14
                            For the traction-lock, you need a 28 spline 8.8 donor. Your car will have an 8.8 already. Most common traction lock donors are 90s-00s 4.0 Rangers, V8 Mustangs 86-04ish, and the unusual Panther here or there 83-04ish. You will have to check the door tag or better the axle tag to be sure. Axle tag should have the ratio with an L between, 3L55 vs 3 55 for open. Best case is finding a complete Panther axle up to 97 that you can swap pretty directly and not have to deal with the differential guts.

                            I am no help on the MAF.
                            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


                              #15
                              Thanks for the info Mr. Tiggie. That helps alot. Idk why I thought I had a 7.5. My axle code is 5. I'm just gonna try a carrier for now. Your info gives me a good place to look. And axle swap is a great idea and def. will do once the engine is done. I am going to make my own rear control arms. I've made several for ATV's, shouldn't be too different. I was wondering where this clunk kept coming from, changed engine / trans. mounts and still there. Turned out to be the control am bushings. Was gonna do the bushings and was sad to see how flimsy these things are.

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