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Yet another noob reporting, from the land of sausage and vodka

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    Yet another noob reporting, from the land of sausage and vodka

    Good morning/afternoon/evening/whatever is the time of the day where you live!

    I have just joined the board, so I can share the story of my new ride - a rather scarce one I presume (well, definitely very scarce not even in Poland, but in the EU in general): a 87' MGM LS Colony Park. It is actually MY'88, but the car was manufactured in the end of 1987, I suppose, so it already has the "blobby" beak. As far as I know, the car was built in Canada and used there for a few years, and then was shipped to Poland, where it supposedly served as a hearse (most of the USDM wagons in EU are used as The Last Ride, some companies even advertise it as a "premium burial", lol) for a number of years. Then it was bought by another person, and another, etc. being used mostly as a weekend ride for amcar/classic car meetings. I got mine hands on it like a month ago, and my journey through the "why does it not work as it should" hell started...

    At the moment I am preparing to have it sent to a bodywork specialist, so they can refurbish the frame and the underbelly. One of the previous owners has put a lot of anti-rust paint/tar, blocking the water outlets. I guess that you know what it means...

    Nuff talking. I am off to the forums, searching for the most urgent pieces of knowledge, but as soon as I am a bit less busy with the work assignments, I will shoot some more photos, and tell ya the story of "The Colon", as the car is nicknamed, and how I spent 10 years searching for USDM versions of older EU cars, before finally getting myself a real one



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    #2
    Welcome to the forum.

    Nice ride! Liking the steelside.
    ~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


      #3
      Thanks! I have some hints that the car was originally a blue one, possibly with the woodpanels, and was later repainted. I will probably know more after the car is stripped for welding.

      Comment


        #4
        If the original driver door tag is still there it can tell you the color.
        03 Marauder DPB, HS, 6disk, Organizer Mods> LED's in & Out, M&Z rear control arms, Oil deflector, U-Haul Trans Pan, Blue Fuzzy Dice
        02 SL500 Silver Arrow
        08 TC Signature Limited, HID's Mods>235/55-17 Z rated BFG G-Force Comp-2 A/S Plus, Addco 1" rear Sway, Posi Carrier, Compustar Remote Start, floor liners, trunk organizer, Two part Sun Visors, B&M Trans drain Plug, Winter=05 Mustang GT rims, Nokian Hakkapeliitta R-2 235/55-17
        12 Escape Limited V6 AWD, 225/65R17 Vredestein Quatrac Pro, Winter 235/70-16 Conti Viking Contact7 Mods>Beamtech LED headlight bulbs, Husky floor liners

        Comment


          #5
          Welcome!

          Good looking ride there. You're in the right part to have your "why does it not work as it should" questions answered.
          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


            #6
            Originally posted by bnw View Post
            ...a 87' MGM LS Colony Park. It is actually MY'88, but the car was manufactured in the end of 1987,...
            Welcome to the forum! I always love seeing new boxes on here, even if they are wagons :P

            Your car is indeed an '88. They start making the new model year cars late in the year before, just like your car, which is an early '88 build. My '88 Town Car was built in September of '87 if I recall right.
            1985 LTD Crown Victoria - SOLD
            1988 Town Car Signature - Current Party Barge

            Comment


              #7
              The 1988 MY actually started fairly early in 1987, sometime around May I think. Usually it starts around October. Not sure why, but Ford ran a short 1987 MY and switched over to 1988 production months ahead of what is typical.

              Welcome
              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


                #8
                88 was a redesign for the ford and merc...maybe to give them some extra time.
                ~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
                  Very nice car! Welcome!
                  —John

                  1985 Ford F-150 XLT Lariat
                  1990 Mercury Grand Marquis LS (POTM March 2017 & May 2019 - gone, but not forgotten)
                  1995 Mustang SVT Cobra coupe (cream puff)
                  1966 Mustang coupe (restoration in-progress)

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by gadget73 View Post
                    The 1988 MY actually started fairly early in 1987, sometime around May I think. Usually it starts around October. Not sure why, but Ford ran a short 1987 MY and switched over to 1988 production months ahead of what is typical.

                    Welcome
                    And from what I've seen, there's even a split on early and late '87 stuff, seemingly as a ramp up towards the overall exterior and interior refresh. My '87 is a February car and had the early style, vertical slat only air vents that like to get floppy. Found an April or so build '87 that was using the updated style seen in '88-'89 cars, except in black versus interior color. It also used the more modern plastic style vapor barriers between the door and door panel compared to the old paper style stuff my car had.


                    @OP: Welcome to the forum. Car looks solid in the photos! Hopefully when you have it gone through, whatever is found isn't too bad to deal with.


                    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


                      #11
                      May have been a case of just using up old style parts through the 87 MY run.
                      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


                        #12
                        Did you put the Galpin license plate frame on or was it already on the car ? Galpin is a huge Ford dealer that also has many other car brand dealerships (lincoln Mercury etc ) down the same road. It is located in the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles. If the car had the frame on it, it is very possible it was sold and used in the Los Angeles area. The shipping ports are in Long Beach or San Pedro which is pretty close. That is more than likely where it was shipped out of the country from.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Looks like a nice ride.

                          The lack of the wheel arch trim usually gives me a hint that the car was in woodgrain trim when it rolled off the line. I haven’t seen enough real no wood post-87 Merc Wagons to verify that.

                          On the Ford, you can tell woodgrain, which shows a different trim code (P76 or 77 for no wood, P78 or 79 for wood, 87+). Again, not sure on the Merc.
                          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
                            Hello, everyone!

                            Thank you for a quick response and warm welcome words. A quick set of answers for ya:

                            --> got a photo of the manufacturer's plaque, it is in the photos' section. Body paint: 7N in the upper, 74K in the lower position. So, originally a dark shadow blue + wooden panels, I guess? The interior trim section reads YB. The plaque itself looks like someone has painted its edges a bit, and the paint is in general, dunno, weird? I mean, it looks more like a tin toy, the colour is very shiny and "alive". This could, however be a result of most of the newer cars being either panther black, or pearl black, so I have a wrong impression in my head;

                            --> the car was mfd in Nov. 87, so yes, it just falls under the 88 MY. Same as my 760, this one was produced in October/November 1987 and is one of the first post-facelift units built - this being a nice coincidence actually;
                            --> got the Galpin frame for another project, a 960 Turbo which I believed was a USDM one because of the burgundy leather interior. As it turned out, this one was made for Italy actually, and the plate frame remained as a prop on the garage wall. I got it from a ~2013 S60 USDM, which was sold in parts some 2 years ago, it comes complete with a GALPIN VOLVO "fake" plate - seemingly from the moment that Volvo was owned by Ford. I was looking for another one to put it on the front bumper, but no success was achieved so far.

                            Aaand the photos. MF plaque + some shots from today. The car was washed 2 or 3 days ago, and spent the whole time in the garage, waiting for a useful parking lot on the street. With more than 5.5 metres of length, and construction laws that order the real estate developers to build only around 50% parking space as an underground garage/excluded, non-public parking lots (in relation to the amount of apartments a new building has) it is not that easy to find one

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                            Comment


                              #15
                              Oooh, you've got a brick Volvo "problem" aswell. I know the differences a 700-series US-spec, but what differences would there be for a 960 (and S60)?
                              Any reasons other than visual to want US-spec European cars?

                              Anyways, welcome to the forums, nice to see more people from Europe!
                              1985 Mercury Grand Marquis LS, "Maisa"
                              1995 Chevrolet Caprice Classic STW, "Sally"

                              Comment

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