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VicCrownVic's 1998 Mercury Grand Marquis LS

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    VicCrownVic's 1998 Mercury Grand Marquis LS

    After 20 years of DDing Box Panthers, it looks like I've come to the end of an era. At least I still can claim to have never owned a vehicle manufactured in this century.

    With The Ice Car rotting to pieces and OD not functional, and The Scab which isn't a spring chicken, I decided it was time to get something with rocker panels.

    My wife found the ad on Thursday and I bought it today, Saturday, February 29th. Kind of neat to make the purchase on a leap year/day. Also the second car that I found the ad on a Thursday and bought it Saturday.

    63k miles, traction control, digidash, ATC, leather seats (not mint but good enough for me), tinted windows (nice tint, not the bubbly purple crap), weird carriage top, and NO rust.

    I'm not crazy about the carriage top or the tinted windows but, at the price I got it and the low miles, those things will grow on me (like the 4.6 and newer transmission).

    It drives absolutely magnificent, it's not in mint condition, but I now have rocker panels. That was my biggest requirement, no rust.

    It appears that this car was originally from Kentucky, and came from Illinois or Indiana before finding it's way to the little used car dealer I got it from. (And they probably got it from an estate sale or something for next to nothing, because most places would have asked double what I paid.)

    I'll have to get more pictures later here's what I have for now:
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    Vic

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

    #2
    Sounds like you got a good thing going on.

    I will say to check the intake manifold though. With mileage that low, it still might have the all plastic unit and that could cause trouble. If it does, get a Ford one, skip the Dorman crap.


    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

    Comment


      #3
      Yes, it is rocking the original intake for now. I'll be buying a new one and hopefully it will be replaced before any problems occur.
      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


        #4
        Congratulations on the purchase. Hope it all works out well for you. Nice to find a good deal, especially when you need it.
        ~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


          #5
          Congrats.

          never been partial to the cloth tops on anything, especially these, but whatever. I'll take a cloth top on a nice car over a proper roof on a rotbox any day.
          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


            #6
            Thanks.

            Out to dinner with the wife, then I'll be getting my first night driving in with this car. So far the worst issue that I've found (it is a 22 year old car after all) is the battery light keeps coming on. Didn't do it on the test drive, paid and went to leave and it was on. Stereotypical used car dealer stuff, lol. He threw a load tester on and it read 14.5V engine running. 12.5V engine off so I'm thinking the battery is a little weak. Load test took it down to around 11V then it came back up to 12.5V. I've got a spare battery in the trunk, but the dude did say he would get me a new battery if I need it so I'll probably take him up on that. I didn't at the time because I'm used to buying much worse and figured it might just be a loose connection or something. I did find that the positive terminal was not as clean as I would like but cleaning that didn't help, and so far no loose connections.

            ATC seems like it could use o-rings, so I'll upgrade the vacuum actuator assembly to the '03+ assembly while I'm in there.

            Starting to notice the little things. Paint chips, door dings, old person wear on the driver side B-pillar, a few spots missed during detailing. Nothing that's a big deal to me.

            Definitely agree, a good weird roof is better than a bad normal roof.
            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
              Some exterior shots:




              Attached Files
              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


                #8
                Some underhood shots. I forgot to get a shot with the engine cover on. The engine cover was not taken off for detailing, but even under there it doesn't look too dirty.
                I also left out of place the boot on the alt charge cable end. I was checking connections and making sure there wasn't anything loose causing the battery light to come on.
















                Attached Files
                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


                  #9
                  If you want your A/C accumulator to last a bit longer, take that foam insulator off. Apparently it's been the source of a few cars having them rot out by keeping the moisture right up against it.

                  Underhood looks really nice. It's super clean looking.


                  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

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Nice find Vic. I kinda wish my LSE had the digidash but then again I'm OCD and was always watching my fuel mileage on the Town Cars even though I didn't really care about it. So in a way it's kinda nice having an analog cluster with no message center again. I'm guessing that's an LS premium? I dunno if they did an ultimate back then, the only brochure I have is '02 and it lists the digidash only on the ultimate I believe, but it may have been optional on the LS premium.
                    2002 Mercury Grand Marquis LSE, Sylvania Zevo LED Headlights, MSD Blaster Coils, K&N Cold Air Intake, Dual Exhaust, 3.27's - Dally Driver

                    1983 Lincoln Continental Mark VI, Smog Delete - Summer Cruiser


                    Comment


                      #11
                      Thanks!

                      I haven't seen anything that indicates Premium, but then again I don't know much about anything newer than a Box.

                      Makes sense on the accumulator, even the paint seems to trap moisture in those things. I did try the A/C out yesterday, unfortunately it's not good. This should be a closed system, so I'm guessing there is a leak. It did get cool, but not cold. I'll have dad put some freon in it in a couple of months and see how long that lasts. I haven't had A/C since I had it in my '89 MGM back in 2011, so not a big deal to me, although I've also never had leather seats to stick to.
                      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


                        #12
                        I think the more fail prone accumulators were the later ones where it lives more or less in the wheel well. Between constant water from rain and the insulation holding it they blow out. Still not a wise idea to hold water against steel 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


                          #13
                          It was funny seeing the insulation on the accumulator in such good shape. Mine is all wrinkly and whatnot. I sprayed mine with a bunch of WD-40, figuring it was one of the few occasions when a "water displacement" product might actually do some good. Dunno if it has been any better or worse, but meh.

                          I would hope that you will be soaking the undercarriage and other suitable areas (including inside the front fenders) with your favorite flavor of rust inhibitor.

                          2000 Grand Marquis LS HPP, a hand-me-down in 2008 with 128,000 km; 175,000 km as of July 2014
                          mods: air filter box 'tuba', headlight relay harness, J-mod (around 186,350 km), 70mm throttle body, KYB Gas-A-Just shocks, aluminum driveshaft, ARA3 PCM

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Yes sir, I've been under Derek's car which has been treated with Krown. That convinced me that Krown would be a great option.

                            Did a little searching on the door sticker and diff tag today.
                            2.73 open with traction control.
                            Silver Frost paint with Light Graphite interior.
                            AM/FM premium electronic stereo with cassette.
                            4R70W Livonia transmission.
                            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


                              #15
                              Not a bad new ride at all. All the normal crusty stuff looks pretty clean. You did really well for up there. Congratulations!

                              There's always another box out there somewhere...just getting harder to find.

                              Zach already said about the accumulator and intake. The front end on the 92-02 are IMO, weaker than the boxes. They go through ball joints and tie rod ends more so than the older stuff did. Since you actually maintain your car, it'll probably last you a long while.

                              Thought about doing some rust proofing? 3M makes a great cavity wax for stuff like rocker moldings and door bottoms. there;s also fluid film and woolwax...
                              -Nick M.
                              Columbia, SC

                              66 Squire, 89 Colony Park, 90 TC, 03 TC, 06 TC, 07 TC (2x)
                              03 BMW 540iT, 07 Toyota Tundra SR5 Dbl Cab/5.7 2WD

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