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    New to GMN from Northern IL.

    Hey guy's. Been browsing different forums for awhile now to find one that's most active for the old square body cars. I think this place is it!

    Well, I'm Zack, and I finally picked up my first car back in June 2019. (sound's odd...) It's actually vehicle #5 for me, but all I've had previous were a truck and SUV's. Well, I went to the top of the line for the car... Ended up with a CLEAN 1987 Lincoln Town Car. Signature Series Never saw myself in a luxury barge. I was more so on the look out for an old AMC, Mopar or GM from the 80's. Preferably something like a Cutlass Supreme or some such. Well, this car ended up finding me and I think its freakin' awesome.

    To make the story short, I saved it from being derbied. Guy I know bought it at an estate sale, after he inspected it he thought it was in too good of shape (and too low of miles) to smash so he put it up on CL for sale. Few months pass and no interest. I saw it sitting outside one day and decided to look it over. He caught me and we talked for a bit. He told me if it didn't get sold they'd derby it anyways in a few years time(they have a lot of junk cars waiting to be built). I checked it over and liked what I saw. We came to a deal and I bought it. Had a slight title issue but I met the previous owner's family and got that straightened out.

    Over the coarse of that month I put together the history of the car. I'm the 3rd owner, it was bought new in my home town at a dealership that no longer exists. 2nd owner before me kept it the longest and is the typical old man story. What's best is that it was never winter driven by him. This is the cleanest most rust free vehicle I have seen around here. It's a joy to work on compared to my Jeep GW.

    I performed a lot of maintenance on it (being that I'm my own mechanic) and so far used it as a highway/weekend cruiser. The thing gets pretty good MPG(23) compared to what I'm used to. I put it away for the winter and have performed more work on it. (recently fixed 3 windows that wouldn't go up, replaced rotted single exhaust with dual, fixed rear door locks that would get stuck. ect)

    I still got some more things to do, few things I need to talk to y'all here about so don't be surprised to see me around the forums
    Attached Files
    1987 Lincoln Town Car Signature Series-102k miles- LOPO 302, AOD, open 3.27, Dual exhaust w/ Thrush Turbo mufflers

    #2
    Welcome! Clean car, good save. Unfortunately, the same types of things that make us like these cars are the same types of things that make derby car builders like them. You almost never see a rustbucket get built into a derby car, only clean ones, because they take hits better.

    Being the year it is, there is something you've maybe become aware of, maybe not, which is the cable from the throttle body that controls the transmission throttle valve. Below the throttle body, there are two linkages connected to it: the accelerator pedal and cruise servo on one, and the trans TV linkage further inboard. Make sure the cable is attached and the bushing that retains it is in good condition; if it becomes detached it will cause the transmission to operate in a way that will damage itself in a potentially quick amount of time (to the point that it should be fixed at the roadside, ideally, if it came unhooked while driving). There is a metal replacement bushing with a clip that can be bought.

    Bleche Wite (years ago was sold by the Westley's brand, is now Black Magic) is an inexpensive white wall and tire cleaner that does a decent job cleaning up dirty white walls. It is reportedly not as good as it once was, but it does a decent enough job. If you're hanging onto the white walls you'll want to clean them semi-regularly, it totally wakes up the appearance of the car.

    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

    Comment


      #3
      Thanks for the welcome! Yea, that's kinda the unfortunate thing when it comes to derby's. At least most cars (I would hope) are worn out, high mileage examples that hit the field. Though I'd rather see them weld old rust buckets back together to thrash.

      I am aware of the transmission linkage. It actually came apart on me one day- luckily in town. I noticed it was shifting real low...disturbingly low, so I drove it manually (shifting between 1/d) back to the house to check it out. It broke into about 3 pieces. That afternoon I made a new bushing out of some vintage radio parts I have and all has been well. It will never come apart again unless I take a screw driver to it. I figure the trans should be fine because it was less than 3 miles and I didn't let it shift by itself. I actually came on here and read some info about it that day. Still need to adjust it though, the thing likes to go into overdrive at 40mph, id like to see that bumped to 48ish so it's not lugging and comes out sooner than 30mph when coasting down while off the gas.

      Yea, I kept whitewalls for the car. The set of tires in (3 of) the pics here were 25 years old. I put a new set of whitewall Uniroyal Tiger Paw's on in July around the same time I did a bunch of catch up maintenance. After I got them balanced and remounted to the car I put the wire wheel covers back on too. It look's classy... but to be honest I don't really like wire wheel covers. I'd like to find a set of turbines for it. Couldn't at the time and the car desperately needed the tires.
      Thanks for the tip on the cleaner. I'll have to look it up, see if its available locally or something to order. I've been using some cheap junk from Walmart that I use on all the white letter tires.
      Last edited by ZackN920; 01-15-2020, 03:07 AM.
      1987 Lincoln Town Car Signature Series-102k miles- LOPO 302, AOD, open 3.27, Dual exhaust w/ Thrush Turbo mufflers

      Comment


        #4
        Very nice car indeed!

        Good lord, I love the attitude of these dahm derby people. "Trying to sell it but if it doesn't, I'll just destroy it anyway for my own satisfaction. 'Cause EyeDeeGAhFff!"
        1985 LTD Crown Victoria - SOLD
        1988 Town Car Signature - Current Party Barge

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          #5
          Welcome!

          At least the derby guy decided to try selling it first. Each to his own hobby, but it’s good to retain some sensibility.

          Car looks great.
          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
            Nice find and welcome. great to hear you saved the transmission many people are not that lucky.
            2007 Ford Crown Victoria LX Sport

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              #7
              Welcome! That's a great-looking Townie and i'm glad you managed to save another panther soul. You may be more likely to find some '90s HPP wheels than turbines but you never know. Either way they'll really enhance the look of the old girl and she deserves it. We look forward to seeing and hearing more of you and your ride.

              Comment


                #8
                Welcome to the forum Zach. Very nice ride you saved.

                I would wager that townie is in better shape than whatever vehicle the demo derby guy daily drives.
                ~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
                  If you are interested in putting the optional wire wheels on it, there is a set in a pick a part type yard about 40 minutes from Chicago.
                  I have seen pictures. Not perfect but could be cleaned up. No center caps. Hard to find a full set. I think it was off a 81-83 Lincoln.
                  A friend of mine gave me the info. Pm me if interested.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Thanks guy's for the welcome.

                    Yea, when it comes to guy I bought it from- they got a lot of "real" junkers in line for derby'n. High mileage, some rust buckets. They ought to though, ...they run a junkyard. It's a family thing for them and I've always been cool with them and they return the favor to me whenever I need stuff. I've gotten lots of parts/junk for cheap or even free there! Usually, they don't run nice stuff. I always look at the classic's that people sell them and most are not even restorable. Parts cars at best. Few are though, and it kind of bums me out what people junk. In this lovely state, you can't buy a car that has a junk/scrap title and put it back on the road. If ya could, i'd have a few (ha, few my ass- it'd be a bunch) more project cars... Older ones from the 40's - 60's.

                    Yup, the tranny seems to be totally fine. I noticed it right away when that little bastard broke. It helped having a holy muffler too, and I was used to how the car had normally driven. It's been about 2k miles since that incident and no problems.

                    HPP? I had to look them up. Those are some cool looking wheels. I wonder about backspacing though, and I probably wouldn't be able to put tires on them with my manual tire changer.

                    oh my god, it's the BLOB! lol. thanks. and I don't know... he drives a 2015-17 Silverado 2500. It might be getting a little crusty underneath...

                    Wow, real wire wheels. Rare option. Thanks for the tip but not interested at the moment.


                    Took some more pics this afternoon. I didn't realize that I hadn't taken any body shots since early July of last year.
                    Attached Files
                    1987 Lincoln Town Car Signature Series-102k miles- LOPO 302, AOD, open 3.27, Dual exhaust w/ Thrush Turbo mufflers

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Nice machine! Welcome to the forum.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Awesome! Welcome to the forums!

                        That Wagoneer looks nice too in your original set of photos!

                        '78 LTD | '87 Grand Marquis | '89 Crown Vic (RIP) | '91 Grand Marquis (RIP) | '94 Town Car (RIP) | '97 Town Car (RIP)

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                          #13
                          Welcome! Your TC is P.O.T.M. material.
                          '79 Continental Town Car
                          '90 Crown Victoria LTD
                          '94 Crown Victoria

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Hey guys, just saw these posts. Thanks!

                            Slack, The Wagon looks nice at a distant, but it has ALOT of patina(no clear left on the top). That's Chrysler paint for ya. It is my favorite ride though. I got a lot of hours in it because of it being a total rust bucket when I found it. A real basket case. Now, its much better ...and actually has an intact frame under it...
                            BTW, that '78 LTD looks pretty cool.

                            Hey 79LL, ya really think so?! Thanks. The car does have it's share of minor dents and dings though, and way too many grocery cart marks on the pass. side!
                            1987 Lincoln Town Car Signature Series-102k miles- LOPO 302, AOD, open 3.27, Dual exhaust w/ Thrush Turbo mufflers

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Those 'll buff out. Event the ones down to the substrate
                              1985 LTD Crown Victoria - SOLD
                              1988 Town Car Signature - Current Party Barge

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