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Grand Marq to Crown Vic police speedo swap?

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    #1

    Grand Marq to Crown Vic police speedo swap?

    I've been thinking about this for awhile, but haven't really asked many questions about it. It'd be nice to know how fast I'm going on the (rare) occasion I bury the needle on the Marquis speedometer. Not to mention, I always liked the horizontal speedometer of the Vics.

    I know it's been done before, so what exactly is needed and what all is involved?

    And...has anyone played with making a custom speedometer gauge face? I thought it would be neat to maybe put either a Mercury emblem or wording on the face...just thoughts.


    sigpic
    - 2004 Ford Thunderbird - 2006 Ford F150 XLT - 2018 Ford Explorer Limited - 1958 Mercury Medalist
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    #2
    The only time I've seen it done, the results looked quite bad. The trim is differently shaped so you'd need to convert it all to Vic stuff. Unfortunately all of it has to go because the grain pattern is not the same between the two cars either, so its not just a matter of changing the bit right around the cluster. The other issue is that the area right behind the speedo is differently shaped on the GM. The cable comes up in the corner instead of the center, and the mounting screws are located differently. You'd need to figure some way to modify that area to properly mount the speedometer. The only time I've seen it attempted, the speedo sort of laid there in the hole, which didn't really look proper. It should be possible to do, but it may involve cutting the plastic shell behind the speedo and making some metal brackets or something to secure the speedometer to. Not sure about the wiring, but I expect that would be a minor matter.


    Honestly, rather than a Vic cluster, I'd rather see a re-scaled stock Grand Marquis speedometer and the idiot light cluster next to it replaced with multiple gauges with silver faces so it looked factory. It would be more expensive, but if you could find a place that can make custom gauge faces, having trhe speedo modified to work to a different scale should be very possible.
    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

    Everything looks like voodoo if you don't understand how it works

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      #3
      All you need to do is swap the whole dash...
      Builder/Owner of Badass Panther Wagons

      Busy maintaining a fleet of Fords

      Comment

        #4
        Originally posted by mrltd View Post
        All you need to do is swap the whole dash...
        hahahaha
        Give a man a fish and he will be fed for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will promptly forget that he once did not know, and proceed to call anyone who asks, a n00b and flame them on the boards for being stupid.

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          #5
          well that would be the cleanest way to do it, and to ensure that everything fits and looks exactly like it would have come from the factory that way. It would also give you a Ford Grand Marquis. If you've ever seen those pics, they came with Vic dashboards.
          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

          Everything looks like voodoo if you don't understand how it works

          Comment

            #6
            swapping dashes is so fun!

            1981 Mercury Marquis Brougham 2-Door 302/ 5-speed -special blend (GMGT)
            1987 Lincoln Mark VII 5-speed (Errand runner)
            1989 Mercury Grand Marquis (Base Runner)
            2007 Lincoln Town Car Signature Limited (Hustlyn)
            2011 Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor (Down with O.P.P)

            Comment

              #7
              I bet you could buy a small aftermarket digital speedometer to install somewhere and wire it into the VSS signal... hmhhmmmmm
              Pete ::::>>> resident LED addict and CFI defector LED bulb replacements
              'LTD HPP' 85 Vic (my rusty baby) '06 Honda Reflex 250cc 'Baileys' 91 Vic (faded cream puff) ClifFord 'ODB' 88 P72 (SOLD) '77 LTDII (RIP)
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              85HPP's most noteworthy mods: CFI to SEFI conversion w/HO upperstuff headers & flowmasters P71 airbox Towncar seats LED dash light-show center console w/5 gauge package LED 3rd brake light 3G alternator mini starter washer/coolant bottle upgrade Towncar power trunk pull underhood fuse/relay box 16" HPP wheels - police swaybars w/poly rubbers - budget Alpine driven 10 speaker stereo

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                #8
                i like the way you think petemang! would be cool if you could rig up something...since you are so excelent with electronics

                1981 Mercury Marquis Brougham 2-Door 302/ 5-speed -special blend (GMGT)
                1987 Lincoln Mark VII 5-speed (Errand runner)
                1989 Mercury Grand Marquis (Base Runner)
                2007 Lincoln Town Car Signature Limited (Hustlyn)
                2011 Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor (Down with O.P.P)

                Comment

                  #9
                  You're lucky you don't have an '87 down Marquis. They have different door panels which make the vic dash look stupid.
                  88+ have same door panels. So. What you'd need is the trim that goes around the radio, dash, and over by the glove box. You have a choice of wood paneling found in '87-, or the interior colored found in '88+. For ease of finding stuff, I'd go with the wood grain. The only issue I see is the piece of trim that goes around the headlight switch, as Grand Marquis have a one piece wrap around (which means you gotta pull the knob to remove the trim) vs a separate piece, which leaves the switch alone.

                  Comment

                    #10
                    incidentally, removing that damn headlight switch knob is a PITA. I had to do that last weekend on the Cruiser. Removing the fuse box, pushing it out of the way, and fishing my fat hands up there is not easy. I really need to have a kid, and then permanently stunt his growth at about age 5 so I have a set of small hands to get to some of this stuff.
                    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

                    Everything looks like voodoo if you don't understand how it works

                    Comment

                      #11
                      Yeah, no kidding. Would be easier to pull dash down in my opinion, and get at it that way.

                      Comment

                        #12
                        Originally posted by gadget73 View Post
                        incidentally, removing that damn headlight switch knob is a PITA. I had to do that last weekend on the Cruiser. Removing the fuse box, pushing it out of the way, and fishing my fat hands up there is not easy. I really need to have a kid, and then permanently stunt his growth at about age 5 so I have a set of small hands to get to some of this stuff.
                        gah, you needed to take the fuse box out? i can manage but i've got a scrape on my hand for a day or so
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                        - 1990 Ford LTD Crown Victoria P72 - the street boat - 5.0 liter EFI - Ported HO intake/TB, 90 TC shroud/overflow, Aero airbox/zip tube, Cobra camshaft, 19lb injectors, dual exhaust w/ Magnaflows, Cat/Smog & AC delete, 3G alternator, MOOG chassis parts & KYB cop shocks, 215/70r/15s on 95-97 Merc rims

                        - 2007 Ford Escape XLT - soccer mom lifted station wagon - 3.0 Duratec, auto, rear converter delete w/ Magnaflow dual exhaust

                        - 2008 Mercury Grand Marquis Ultimate Edition - Daily driver - 4.6 2 valve Mod motor, 4R75E, 2.73s. Bone stock

                        Comment

                          #13
                          You have a little clip on your headlight switch knob that you have to release. That thing sucks too.

                          Comment

                            #14
                            small skinny screwdriver FTW. I pop the knob off the shaft first. screw trying to hit the damn release button on the switch.

                            Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. -- Albert Einstein
                            rides: 93 Crown Vic LX (The Red Velvet Cake), 2000 Crown Vic base model (Sandy), 2003 Expedition (the vacation beast)

                            Originally posted by gadget73
                            ... and it should all work like magic and unicorns and stuff.

                            Originally posted by dmccaig
                            Overhead, some poor bastards are flying in airplanes.

                            Comment

                              #15
                              Yeah, I dunno how they do it on the 89- cars, but the 90+ cars have a little springy clip that holds the knob on the shaft. Get back there with a curved pick and it isn't a problem at all.
                              Originally posted by gadget73
                              There is nothing more permanent than a temporary fix.
                              91 Mercury CP, Lopo 302, AOD, 3.08LSD. 3g upgrade, Moog wagon coils up front, cc819s in the back. KYB GR-2 police shocks. Energy suspension control arm bushings. Smog deleted.
                              93 F-150 XLT, 302, ZF 5-spd from 1-ton, 4wd.
                              Daily--07 Civic Coupe. Bone stock with 25k miles
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                              95 Subaru Legacy Wagon--red--STOLEN 1/6/13

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