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My 1987 Mercury Colony Park

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    The '87 finally came home under its own power today. It's incredibly filthy from all the time spent sitting and exposure, so it'll get washed down tomorrow.



    Transmission shifts fine, but apparently my HO shift governor wasn't installed since it still shifts at 3900 RPM and the NOS unit was sitting on the seat. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ It doesn't leak anymore from what I can tell, and the TV pressure is quite firm, so it holds gears just right and gives prompt downshifts on demand. Guess I'll pick a day later on and do that job. I'm just glad to have the car back. Overall, it still runs fine, A/C is cold, and it doesn't do anything weird.

    I also got my TorqueFlite back with it nicely refreshed, so things should be looking good going forwards.


    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


      Welp, it's finally time to take action on the exhaust...



      I took the wagon out about a week or so ago to take my rotors from the '97 to the parts store so I could turn them. When I pulled back into the driveway, the car got surprisingly loud inside. The H-pipe crossover finally checked out entirely; completely rotten apart. When I started taking it apart today, I noticed there's also a hole forming on a seam. Gonna work this out over a few days in my spare time and use the old system to make measurements so I can try and get all the replacement parts landed where the original stuff sits.

      Right now I know I've got to get some extensions for the Mustang intermediate pipes, some 90-degree turns for the tailpipes, two hangers, and find where I stuck my O2 sensors I purchased a way back. Otherwise, I've got the shorty headers, Mustang off-road H-pipe, intermediate pipes, mufflers, over the axle sections, and those schwifty band style exhaust clamps. All piping from the headers back are 2.5", so they should be plenty good for this adventure.


      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


        Love the color scheme on your wagon. Love me some earthtones these days.
        1985 LTD Crown Victoria - SOLD
        1988 Town Car Signature - Current Party Barge

        Comment


          And slowly we ease into this project...





          The Lincoln Logs came away today for some cheap shorty headers. Found that I couldn't recreate the stanchion for the oil dipstick due to some clearance issues with the original hardware. I kinda just kludged up a solution by using an old exhaust clamp from the tailpipe and affixed the dipstick to the header tube. Maybe I'll revisit it? Anyway, it's not pretty, but overall I'm sure these aren't gonna look pretty after they get some heat on them anyway.

          I'll feel this in my back in the morning, I know it.

          Next part will be installing the Mustang H-Pipe and measuring up some stuff with the intermediate pipes.


          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


            When I first swapped to stock mustang shorties I cut up a spacer to properly space out the dipstick tube like it was with the factory manifolds. Stock mustang shorties probably had more room for that to happen. When I swapped on my latest set of headers (the now, and for quite some time, discontinued ford racing ceramic coated headers) I just went to a mustang dipstick. That worked well.
            ~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


              Nick came down today and gave me a hand with the major section of getting the exhaust lined up. Arguably it's about 80% finished, but I've got to come up with some creative solutions on the over-the-axle sections, and I'll get into that in a moment.

              Photos aren't great since I took them in low light with the flash, but I was focused on trying to get the system tucked up underneath appropriately. The old system honestly hung lower than the current setup does right now.

              Downpipes:


              Intermediates to Mufflers:


              Muffler exit:


              Side profile:


              The axle dump does cause drone when operating at sub-1500 RPM just because all the rumble is right there. Cruising at speed only offered a light hum, so I figure that having an actual tailpipe should rectify that business up properly. It does have a nice tone otherwise, and when getting on it, the car doesn't look like such noises should come from it. The 2.5" system with even these cheap headers made a noticeable difference, so I'm happy the car can breath a bit better.


              So coming around to the over-the-axle sections... It had been mentioned RWD GM A-Body tails were a possible solution since it seems the 2.5" Impala/Caprice tailpipes that were the classic option to improving the exhaust on these cars have generally disappeared. The most notable difference is the over-the-axle section itself, as the sections cross the axle inverted to a Panther when running the pipes out in the correct format. While this is fine on the '98+ cars with a Watts Link, this is actually a problem for the '79-'97 cars as the upper rear control arms will be in contact with the pipe when ran like that. Reversing the pipes to match the over section results in putting the tailpipes very in-board of the vehicle and they hit the floor.

              I've concluded the only appropriate routing has resulted in me effectively having just cut the piping down to utilize just the over-the-axle section, however that does leave the pipe just aimed at the ground at a funny angle. I've got to see if any magic could be had with a 45-degree angle adapter and using the chopped piece of pipe to make a side exit happen around where the factory did the original. I do realize that my solution I'm trying to formulate only works for a wagon side exit and not a sedan rear exit setup.

              I'll see about looking into that a bit further later this week. Right now I don't have much desire to be down on the concrete for hours again since I know I'll be feeling this in the morning.


              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


                Have you tried foxbody Mustang tailpipes? I seem to remember someone saying they work as long as you cut the ends off of them and extend them
                -Phil

                sigpic

                +1982 Ford LTD-S Police Car. Built 351w, Trickflow 11R 190 Heads, Holley Sniper EFI, RPM Intake+ Hyperspark dizzy, WR-AOD, Full exhaust headers to tails. 3.27 Trac-Lok Rear. Aluminum Police Driveshaft. Speedway Springs+Bilstein Shocks, Intermediate Brakes, HPP Steering Box.

                +2003 Acura CL Type S 6-speed

                Comment


                  A company called Heart Throb Exhaust makes b-body tail pipes still. I also inquired about having panther tail pipes made for us as a group buy type thing, they seemed receptive, but would want all the dimensions provided to them to make it. I only have a set of 04 cvpi stock pipes laying around.

                  Comment


                    Originally posted by Brown_Muscle View Post
                    Have you tried foxbody Mustang tailpipes? I seem to remember someone saying they work as long as you cut the ends off of them and extend them
                    Looking at the Mustang pipes, they appear to have the same issue the A-Body pipes do where the over-the-axle section is canted the wrong direction. That said I've run a query here to see if there's any information, but it seems everything points back to the B-Body tailpipes or a few folks indicating the Mustang tails don't work.

                    Originally posted by JeffBoudah View Post
                    A company called Heart Throb Exhaust makes b-body tail pipes still. I also inquired about having panther tail pipes made for us as a group buy type thing, they seemed receptive, but would want all the dimensions provided to them to make it. I only have a set of 04 cvpi stock pipes laying around.
                    Properly designed Panther tails would be great all things considered. I only have saved the over axle section from the passenger side to use as a guide, but mine is in very poor shape and has holes in it I wasn't aware of. Also, mine is for single pipe wagons, so the exit point is unlike the sedans or dual exhaust wagons, so that wouldn't be very useful for getting more exact measurements.


                    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


                      Originally posted by JeffBoudah View Post
                      A company called Heart Throb Exhaust makes b-body tail pipes still. I also inquired about having panther tail pipes made for us as a group buy type thing, they seemed receptive, but would want all the dimensions provided to them to make it. I only have a set of 04 cvpi stock pipes laying around.
                      If this ever becomes a thing I will play along just to have a set for when they are needed.

                      Looking nice under there. Eager to see if what you dreamed up with works for some behind the tire exits.
                      ~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


                        I did a little more searching for the hell of it, and Summit does show AP Exhaust 12665 and 12666 B-Body tailpipes as being 2.5", however unlike the venerable Dynomax units, they're of the crush bent variety. ��

                        Obviously mandrel vs crush bent is a no-brainer argument, however to make the existing stuff work I'd like to avoid a thousand clamps holding the tailpipes together along with having reasonable clearances. I'll look at my existing stuff first to see if there is a workable solution, but I know if there is, it'll block the fuel tank if it ever needed to be dropped, so the tailpipes would have to be removed to allow for access.


                        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


                          I still genuinely dislike exhaust work, I'd argue I'm about done though.





                          I need to adjust the driver's side hanger at the muffler and bring it up a touch since I don't like the angle of the adapter to the tailpipe. Seems that side is roughly a 1/2" to an 1" lower on inspection. Everything otherwise seems to have held up through driving all over town this evening. No drone in the cabin, but it probably helps I used stock style mufflers. With its current setup, it's just a pleasant mellow tone.



                          Oddly enough, it would seem the car runs a touch smoother when stopped in gear, but I might just be imagining things.


                          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


                            Looks good to me. The are the 94/96 Caprice/Impala/Roadmaster pipes?
                            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


                              Originally posted by Tiggie View Post
                              Looks good to me. The are the 94/96 Caprice/Impala/Roadmaster pipes?
                              They are, but they’re not the ones everyone used to use since the Dynomax 2.5” ones have been discontinued. These are AP Exhaust 2.5 units, but they fit the bill. Only downside is you get crush bent versus mandrel bent that reportedly was done with the Dynomax units.


                              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


                                I also dislike doing exhaust work.

                                Looks and sounds good!

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

                                Comment

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