My 1989 Grand Marquis “Clifford”

[GMUE03]

Hello everyone. I’ve made some posts here and there on GMN but I figured I’d finally make a thread of my car itself.

This is my 1989 Grand Marquis GS that I purchased about 4 months ago, nicknamed “Clifford” (big/red).

I really wanted a cool sort of light “project” car without breaking the bank and a box panther (among other cars *cough* 90’s B-body caprice *cough*) was on my radar. Eventually my car popped up on FB marketplace from a used car dealer for a relatively cheap price so I snagged it. It has 69k miles (verified through CarFax and the brake pedal).



I’ll be honest, to say I underestimated the work this car needed would be an understatement. From the test drive, I thought I was gonna get away with just fixing 2 windows, an exhaust, and recharging the a/c. Oh now naive of me haha. I don’t regret it though. Working on this car is honestly very relaxing compared to anything made in the last 20 years. It’s clear that my particular car sat for close to 13 years. Given that CarFax shows an odometer reading at 65k miles in 2012 and that the Michelin tires have 85% tread left but have a date code of 2011.

Here’s a brief list of everything I’ve done on the car so far:

Valve cover gaskets
•Upper intake plenum gasket
•Oil pressure sender
•door strikers
•window gears
•both oil drain plugs (old ones were stripped)
•pcv filter and grommet
•belts
•water pump
•coolant temp sensor
•distributor cap
•distributor rotor
•spark plugs
•spark plug wires
•fuel filter
•timing chain
•front cover reseal
•front main seal
•coolant hoses
•thermostat housing
•exhaust system
•transmission filter
•power steering pump reseal
•IAT sensor
•Parking brake release (capped vac. line)
•door locks (lubricated and now work off the lock switch)

With the help of this forum and cheap prices from RockAuto. I’ve been able to do everything myself so I’m really not that much invested into the car cost wise.

Some things I plan on tackling next
•front end refresh (springs, shocks, bushings etc., the car sits about an inch lower on the passenger side and makes a bunch of noise going over bumps).
•getting the ac fixed (doesn’t blow cold)
•new tires

Plenty of more posts to come as I slowly start to get this car up to speed.

Also, happy 4th everyone!

[friskyfrankie]

What was not working that made you cap the parking brake release lines?

[GMUE03]

What was not working that made you cap the parking brake release lines?

Every time I would put the car in drive I would hear hissing from underneath the dashboard. After capping the line at the release actuator the hissing went away.

[87gtVIC]

Nice car. Presents well.

[friskyfrankie]

Every time I would put the car in drive I would hear hissing from underneath the dashboard. After capping the line at the release actuator the hissing went away.

Just for curiosity sake, where exactly is it located? I have never had a need to look for it but it is nice to know and I assume you merely cap the line/s coming into it? Also, did it affect where the air came from the dash or defroster? Not sure if the two systems are related having a vacuum leak.

[Arquemann]

Just for curiosity sake, where exactly is it located? I have never had a need to look for it but it is nice to know and I assume you merely cap the line/s coming into it? Also, did it affect where the air came from the dash or defroster? Not sure if the two systems are related having a vacuum leak.

The automatic parking brake release has it's own vacuum supply from the vacuum distribution block and it goes to a plastic valve at the base of the steering column. The vacuum valve releases the brake in forward gears, but over time it starts leaking and hissing no matter what position the shifter is. I disabled the one on mine too a few years ago, since then I've jerryrigged a Taurus handle as a manual release as the manual override handle on the auto system is tiny and hard to reach.

[GMUE03]

Just for curiosity sake, where exactly is it located? I have never had a need to look for it but it is nice to know and I assume you merely cap the line/s coming into it? Also, did it affect where the air came from the dash or defroster? Not sure if the two systems are related having a vacuum leak.

Here you go, it’s the white line with the black cap on it, normally it runs into that silver vacuum actuator. Since the a/c in the car doesn’t blow cold and it’s been 90*F+ here in FL I haven’t got the chance to see if it affects the defrost. I try not to run the a/c at all for fear that I’ll lock the compressor up, it just constantly cycles so I think the system could be bone dry. I’ll get that working another day. I’d imagine it wouldn’t make a difference to the defrost since the line is capped at the actuator itself and not further down at the vac. manifold.

[GMUE03]

Nice car. Presents well.

Thank you! Paint is another item on the list but we’re pretty far away from that haha. I want to get it mechanically sound before I start looking at paint prices. I’d say this “patina” is far better to have compared to the later panthers that love to peel when the paint starts to fail for some reason.

[friskyfrankie]

The automatic parking brake release has it's own vacuum supply from the vacuum distribution block and it goes to a plastic valve at the base of the steering column. The vacuum valve releases the brake in forward gears, but over time it starts leaking and hissing no matter what position the shifter is. I disabled the one on mine too a few years ago, since then I've jerryrigged a Taurus handle as a manual release as the manual override handle on the auto system is tiny and hard to reach.

Thanks - great info. However, you mention it is a plastic valve and the one in the photo above appears to be metal.

[friskyfrankie]

Here you go, it’s the white line with the black cap on it, normally it runs into that silver vacuum actuator. Since the a/c in the car doesn’t blow cold and it’s been 90*F+ here in FL I haven’t got the chance to see if it affects the defrost. I try not to run the a/c at all for fear that I’ll lock the compressor up, it just constantly cycles so I think the system could be bone dry. I’ll get that working another day. I’d imagine it wouldn’t make a difference to the defrost since the line is capped at the actuator itself and not further down at the vac. manifold.

Great info! By the way, where in FL are you? I am in south East Fl.

[Tiggie]

Love that color.

[Arquemann]

Thanks - great info. However, you mention it is a plastic valve and the one in the photo above appears to be metal.

The thing in the photo is the vacuum actuator that releases the parking brake. The vacuum line comes from the vacuum valve on the steering column to the actuator. The actuator can leak and cause a hiss too, but it's easiest to cap off the whole system at the underhood vacuum distribution block.

+1 Tiggie Deep dark red is a mark of opulence

[GMUE03]

Love that color.

Ford calls it “midnight currant”, very posh. The paint on the doors and fenders is actually in really good condition. Love the metallic shine.

[GMUE03]

Great info! By the way, where in FL are you? I am in south East Fl.

Sort of on the coast of south/central FL. However the car is from the east coast. Spent its whole life in the Clearwater/tampa area.

[87GrandMarq]

I remember seeing this pop up on Facebook marketplace a while back. I was tempted but I have too many cars lol. Beautiful color.

I agree with you on working on these cars. They’re very simplistic compared to anything remotely new. Plus they’re cheap and there’s a lot of room under the hood to work with. I’m never getting rid of either my boxes.