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Greetings from a 40 year long Mopar guy with a soft spot for Ford "Panther" bodies!

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    Greetings from a 40 year long Mopar guy with a soft spot for Ford "Panther" bodies!

    Been fooling with Mopars since my teens, but I developed an affinity for the Panther platform cars in the last 15 years or so. Guess I'm getting old? Maybe it's that half the people on the planet decided that they're also "Mopar guys" in the last 20 years (driven by all the reality show hype, perhaps?), and I abhor bandwagons (love STATION wagons, on the other hand!) A big selling point is it's the last REAL American car, a body bolted to a chassis with a V8 engine and a solid rear axle. A few of them look good, too. ('98 - '11's are my fave).

    My non-Mopar fleet consists of:

    1979 LTD-S Station Wagon ("Quincy"), 302 c.i., (presently - more to come!), black, paid $200 to janitorial service

    2003 "P73" Crown Victoria (haven't named this one, oddly enough!), 4.6L, powder blue, paid $1500 to original owner, outstanding condition

    2004 "P73" Crown Victoria ("Tassles"), 4.6L, white, paid $776 @ employee auction (was the plant manager's transportation), outstanding condition

    2004 "P71" CV Police Interceptor ("Adam 12"), 4.6L, black/white, paid $1350 @ online auction, low miles, most (legal) cop accessories still in place (I also have the cage, bars, etc. to put back in), very good condition

    Right now, my focus is on the '79 wag. Building an aluminum head 351W, eventually plan to add supercharger. Have added slicks, 4.10 "TrueTrac" (from 2.26:1!!!) and bagged the rear end. Work is in progress, this is a "Roadkill"-style build, not premium $$$. I will likely be asking a lot of questions and consensus regarding this vehicle in the coming weeks/months, I've already done a bunch of reading and research.

    Hello to everyone here.
    Last edited by Quincy; 12-16-2020, 12:06 PM.
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    United Socialist States of America
    (occupation government)

    #2
    Hi and Welcome! I am the resident "MOPAR GUY" with 2 HEMI Wingcars. My interest in wagons
    came early in life and I've had over 35 Country Squires and Colony Parks. I have tons of parts if you need anything. WagonMan
    89 Colony Park
    90 Colony Park
    70 HEMI Daytona Convertible

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      #3
      Wow! I just have the one wagon. Good to know, I'll definitely probably need something - I think they crushed most of the wagons and ALL of the "box"-era cop cars. Remember when those were EVERYWHERE?!!
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      United Socialist States of America
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        #4
        Originally posted by Quincy View Post
        ...Remember when those were EVERYWHERE?!!
        As my dad said, "We never knew we should be packing them away in crates."

        Welcome, by the way!
        1985 LTD Crown Victoria - SOLD
        1988 Town Car Signature - Current Party Barge

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          #5
          Welcome!

          Sounds like you have some real fun planned.
          I drove an '88 Country Squire almost 20 years ago. Would love to have another wagon some day. Not any time soon though, I need my own garage first.
          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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            #6
            Sounds like a fleet for a Mopar guy! Welcome to the site.
            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


              #7
              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.




              Comment


                #8
                Thanks for those informative links attached to your signature block, Tiggie!

                I was under the assumption for years that the base model (2 headlight) LTS was the "S" until the basic LTD nameplate changed over to the Fox body in '83. It appears from your info that they didn't call it the "S" until the second year of production. Either way, I'll probably still use it to differentiate my wagon from the fancier 4 headlight Country Squire (we had a 1970 Country Squire when I was a kid, fake wood, hidden headlights, 390 FE mill and all!).

                Looks like they built an absolute crap-load of wagons in '79, and that the majority were the base model. I would have thought the C/S would have been the more popular of the two. Well, so much for the idea of restoring mine to "Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance" show condition and then putting it up for auction on Barrett-Jackson!!! I still love the fact it's a stripper, and it's basic black.

                Great info! 129 factory net hp!!! Ha ha ha!!! I have slant sixes probably rated better than that! Yes, it was quite a turd especially after I put 15" wheels/tires on the back with the stock 2.26 Salt Flats gear still installed! But I'm in the process of correcting the turdiness - It's really pretty fun already even with the 3,000,000 mile 302 with a 4 barrel Carter (a 625 CFM unit off an old Chrysler, what else?!) and a wheezy SP2P intake ever since I put the "drag gear" in it...
                Last edited by Quincy; 12-16-2020, 05:46 PM.
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                United Socialist States of America
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                  #9
                  Glad they proved useful! There are a few typos on the production numbers but the 1979s were a huge number according to that reference. In my opinion, the carb’d boxes got scrapped relatively quick and not that many are left compared to their EFI brethren that have soldiered on. I’d still call your wagon unusual! 1979 was a very unique year for a lot of things, the names being one of those.
                  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


                    #10
                    Originally posted by Tiggie View Post
                    ...the carb’d boxes got scrapped...
                    That's how I scored mine for two hundred bucks back in '04 - a wonky "Variable Venturi" carb! I went to O'reilly's and had them next-day me the appropriate "TransDapter", then took it and a BBD (Carter) two-barrel off my shelf-full-o-Mopar-pulloff-parts to it, stuck it on and drove it 120 miles home with no problems! I drove it for a couple years with the cross-breed 2V before upgrading to the small 4V. Funny thing is, the performance was exactly the same, it just moaned louder if I floored it with the 4V! The inop VV carb is still jammed under the floor in the back - anybody need a core?
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                      #11
                      Cool Beatles reference above your profile's thumbnail. "I am the Walrus?.. I am the Walrus?" "SHUT THE FUCK UP, DONNY!"
                      1985 LTD Crown Victoria - SOLD
                      1988 Town Car Signature - Current Party Barge

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                        #12
                        Originally posted by DerekTheGreat View Post
                        "I am the Walrus?.. I am the Walrus?""
                        Ford guys are definitely the "egg men", correct?

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                        Last edited by Quincy; 12-17-2020, 11:42 AM.
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                        United Socialist States of America
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                          #13
                          Only if they let their knickers down.
                          1985 LTD Crown Victoria - SOLD
                          1988 Town Car Signature - Current Party Barge

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                            #14
                            !!!!!
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                            United Socialist States of America
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