My 1985 Mercury Grand Marquis LS

[GMUE03]

Any other relevant parts from LMR for our cars? I'd like to get my shopping cart over $99 to get free shipping.

3G alternator upgrade

[next24]

3G alternator upgrade

I've been wanting to do this for a while. It might even help fix some of my poor idle/stalling problems. Which specific upgrade kit on LMR would I need for an '85 MGM? I'm assuming it'll most likely be the " 1979-85 Mustang SVE 130 Amp Alternator 3g Upgrade 5.0/5.8" item. And then the upgraded alternator bracket as well.

[michelle]

• Any reason to do a fuse tap rather than a splice or wire tap? I have a pack of T-taps I was planning to use.
• Do you know if the power antennae on RockAuto really fit right? If I can get a decent price I'd go for one. I was just thinking of putting a whip in as a temporary thing and getting a power one in there anyway sometime later. The power antenna is $70 vs. $4 for a whip antenna.

Im just a bigger fan of not cutting a factory harness if it can be avoided...personal preference that can also save bruised and bleeding knuckles.

As to a generic power antenna, hard to say. BUT...if RockAuto is listing one FOR your model, then it SHOULD fit right. Another avenue is a salvage yard if you have a larger one nearby.

[next24]

Im just a bigger fan of not cutting a factory harness if it can be avoided...personal preference that can also save bruised and bleeding knuckles.

As to a generic power antenna, hard to say. BUT...if RockAuto is listing one FOR your model, then it SHOULD fit right. Another avenue is a salvage yard if you have a larger one nearby.

That is understandable.

As for the antenna, rockauto refuses to ship the power antenna to CA anyway, so for now I'll either get the whip and fabricate some sort of plastic plug/plate for the bottom if needed, or I'll just have no antenna which will be fine as long as I get the aux adapter connected to power.

[next24]

I've just purchased a 1985 MGM LS. It runs great, but cosmetically it's in poor shape. There's a lot to be done on this car and it's also my first project car. I've only had it for a couple days, so I haven't done anything major yet.

However, I did start cleaning off the removable carpets in the car. All I did was wet them with a hose, then I sprayed LA Totally Awesome cleaner from the dollar store on them and let it sit for a few minutes before hosing them off. In the photo you can see a comparison, the top one is cleaned and the bottom one is dirty. It didn't do a perfect job but the mats should look a lot better than they did before once I put them all back in.

By the way, can anyone tell me what color of ACC brand carpet floor mats would be the closest match to the OEM color? The original mats are disintegrating now and it's time to replace them.

[next24]

Oh ya, definitely looks like a California car
The colour is most likely Canyon Red, I think it was the only red available in '85. Those orange stripes aren't factory, someone must've put them over the factory pinstripes.
Grey might not be the coolest interior colour, but it sure is the easiest colour to find materials in. Had a helluva time finding a proper maroon fabric when I redid my interior C-pillar pieces.

You mentioned that you were missing a marker light? Mercuries don't have separate markers, there's just parking lights. Unless you mean the low-mounted cornerning lights, which are sometimes in stock at RA.

Oh, not sure if I've said this already, but I've found out the orange stripes ARE a factory option. In fact, if you've ever seen the movie To Live and Die in LA, you've seen a 1985 MGM with the same paint and orange stripe as my LS came with from the factory. Take a look:

[Arquemann]

Oh, not sure if I've said this already, but I've found out the orange stripes ARE a factory option. In fact, if you've ever seen the movie To Live and Die in LA, you've seen a 1985 MGM with the same paint and orange stripe as my LS came with from the factory. Take a look:

Well that's neat. Wouldn't have thought it to be factory. You sure your car isn't the exact same as in the movie?

[next24]

Well that's neat. Wouldn't have thought it to be factory. You sure your car isn't the exact same as in the movie?

I'd like to think it is. Well the only time I've seen an 85 MGM with that paint color and that orange stripe is either in that movie, or in my driveway, so it's almost certainly the exact same car.

Also, I just ordered a pair of speakers for the empty holes in the doors. No need for rush shipping here since I won't be home for a week anyway. But once I'm back I should have a whole pile of parts for me to start working on a bunch of things. I doubt I'll end up doing everything I want to do on the car before I go traveling again, but I'll do my best.

Now I'm looking into trying to get an '03-'11 Town Car hood ornament to fit on the MGM.

[Tiggie]

One thing I would like to know is if Ford OEM cassette radios from other cars and newer model years will plug in to my car's connections easily and without changing much around. If so, I'd get a newer working cassette headunit and put that in.

I believe an 85 with standard sound has the two long connectors common to other Ford products through the mid-90's. Premium sound can be different, or not. I have pulled two 87 premium sound radios that work in standard sound applications, but an 86 did not. You need somewhere the mount the side brackets, so I think you want a "flat face" unit, circa 1984-1990ish (from a bolt in application, usually without the double set of retainer holes on the face).

[sly]

For tapping wires, what sort of crimps and wire splitters would you recommend? I'll need to buy some new connectors because I've decided not to use the T-taps I have on hand.

I always splice and solder then heat shrink the joint. Interior crimps don't need the adhesive heat shrink, but it's nice insurance to know the heat shrink won't move. I've used the fuse taps as well and those are great for folks not wanting to deal with cutting wires. The only ones I don't like are the T taps (vampire taps) that clamp onto a wire and break the insulation and sometimes cut some of the wire itself. That's the problem with those is that they break the wire strands as well as the insulation and can cause a hot spot, so I avoid those. I have used them when I was young and not had problems, but I was possibly just lucky or on a wire that didn't carry much current.

[next24]

I always splice and solder then heat shrink the joint. Interior crimps don't need the adhesive heat shrink, but it's nice insurance to know the heat shrink won't move. I've used the fuse taps as well and those are great for folks not wanting to deal with cutting wires. The only ones I don't like are the T taps (vampire taps) that clamp onto a wire and break the insulation and sometimes cut some of the wire itself. That's the problem with those is that they break the wire strands as well as the insulation and can cause a hot spot, so I avoid those. I have used them when I was young and not had problems, but I was possibly just lucky or on a wire that didn't carry much current.

I can solder but I'd rather crimp if I can get away with it. Do you know if fuse taps will fit and still have the fuse box cover fit? I think someone mentioned the possibility of things not fitting back well which I am a bit worried about.

And another update: Various parts have been ordered from RockAuto and LMR. These include new door to body weatherstripping, wipers, a couple door strikers, a new rearview mirror, the window guide bushings, seatbelt sleeves, and some other stuff I might be forgetting.

I decided not to buy the ACC Essex replacement floor mats just yet. I think Silver would probably be the closest match for my car's interior, but I always wanted beige or cream carpet instead of grey, and I just don't know how that might look next to the grey seats and stuff. I think I might like to get floor mats in a slightly contrasting color but I'm not sure how it'd look, so I'm waiting until I'm back in town over the weekend to look at everything in person and figure out what color I think I might like in there.

[DerekTheGreat]

The FM modulator is a temporary solution until I can fully repair the cassette player or put in a similar working replacment. There is nothing good on AM or FM anymore and the tape player does not work properly, so the modulator will let me play music in the car. I do not use bluetooth and I need to be able to play tapes (in the future).

The second link looks good but the seller has a pretty poor rating. I wouldn't mind something like that. I'm looking at a few Ford radios on eBay but I haven't pulled the trigger on any of them yet.

One thing I would like to know is if Ford OEM cassette radios from other cars and newer model years will plug in to my car's connections easily and without changing much around. If so, I'd get a newer working cassette headunit and put that in.

"There is nothing good on AM or FM anymore.." You got that right, unfortunately. I've been listening to the radio for whatever reason and the format is worse than it was thirty years ago. I've got three "rock" stations programmed in (94.7, 101.1, 106.7) and during my morning commute here in metro Detroit, it's a given one of them will be playing or will play STP, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam or Nirvana. Last week two of those stations were playing the exact song at the same time, just about twenty seconds off the other, it's awful. 60+ years of rock music and they still play the same tired old shit, although they do have a stronger emphasis on that 80's hair band cock rock stuff than they used to.

Those were simply to give you some food for thought, but that seller sure is awful.

You can connect a later radio to your early car, you'll just have to make adaptors like I did. Early stuff has a couple square plugs and the later stuff has rectangular plugs. I cobbled something together and ended up with a later radio with a tape deck.

[sly]

I can solder but I'd rather crimp if I can get away with it. Do you know if fuse taps will fit and still have the fuse box cover fit? I think someone mentioned the possibility of things not fitting back well which I am a bit worried about.

Crimps are good if you have a good crimper or know the techniques to use a basic crimper to make good crimps. It's more than just pinch once and go. I was the one that mentioned the fuse taps may not have enough clearance to sit with the cover on. I can't remember how much space is there since I don't have a box any more. I think a fuse tap needs about 1cm clearance to be able to work. They are pretty inexpensive so it's not a major loss if it doesn't fit. Nice thing about boxes, they have a ground plane of 1/4 quick connect usually to the right of the steering column under the dash. Gives an easy spot to connect to body ground.

[GMUE03]

If an 85’ has the same fuse cover as an 89’ the cover will still fit. I’m using a fuse tap to run my coolant temperature gauge.

[87gtVIC]

If an 85’ has the same fuse cover as an 89’ the cover will still fit. I’m using a fuse tap to run my coolant temperature gauge.

same style covers.