Saved from the Demo Derby: 1990 Country Squire

[HiFiMerc]

So what if it needs some TLC. Another one saved from destruction. Good score.

[87gtVIC]

Looks better then you made it out to be.

[Tiggie]

You all are encouraging. My wife hates it! She wants me to get rid of it already, but that's not happening yet. If any of you are seriously interested in buying it at any point, please let me know. I really don't need another car but couldn't let this one die in a derby.

That thing doesn't look nearly as bad as you made it sound. Hell it's probably cleaner then the wagon I'm driving right now. Ironically it too, was destined to be derbied.

Luckily the seller cared enough to tell the derby guy no. There's a place for derby cars but not ones that are nicer than what we're driving!

Cleaning fuel system - seriously? Why not drain it from fuel filter and fill fresh and go...

Nice wagon for age, location and mileage! You did well - nice work!

I am thinking we may have some residue in there. Hopefully not, but I want to check. That stuff is sticky and I don't want it to hang an injector, or even a valve and bend pushrods. Had that happen on an FE pickup one time.

Hopefully 4 or 5 years from now I can stumble across a nice wagon like this (hopefully there will be a few left to stumble upon).

The odometer may have worked up until the point when the car was parked, but I'd bet a dozen doughnuts that it and the trip odo no longer work. You'll need some new gears if you want them to work.

They are getting rare around here. Especially the wagons. I've got inspection tickets that show very gradual mileage increases since 2004ish through 2008ish when the PO stopped driving it completely. It's different from what it reads now by a little bit, so I am hoping it's working. Previous owner that had it from Sept to now wrote 162,845 actual as the odometer reading. Too bad that's impossible with a 5 digit odometer, and inspection tickets to prove the odometer hasn't been changed recently. Guess I will have to title it as not actual miles instead of exceeds.

[Kodachrome Wolf]

Is that window wagon specific? Looks like it may be.

Yep. Wagon rear doors are different from the sedans. They're more upright in the glass.

[P72Ford]

Is that window wagon specific? Looks like it may be.

I love a white wagon with wood on the sides. Combined with the red interior, this thing is sweet.

[sly]

+1 looks way better than you made it sound.

+1 cover that open window with something.

[Mainemantom]

Looks to be in good shape. Hopefully you can find a good place for it. I like the red interior.

[VicCrownVic]

+1 on looking much better than expected based on your description. It may not be perfect but it's nicer than anything I've ever owned.

Hopefully 4 or 5 years from now I can stumble across a nice wagon like this (hopefully there will be a few left to stumble upon).

The odometer may have worked up until the point when the car was parked, but I'd bet a dozen doughnuts that it and the trip odo no longer work. You'll need some new gears if you want them to work.

[TecNickal]

Cleaning fuel system - seriously? Why not drain it from fuel filter and fill fresh and go...

Nice wagon for age, location and mileage! You did well - nice work!

[killgore]

Those hubcaps are cleaner than the ones I had. I don't mind the look of them, I just couldn't stand only having 3 emblems

[pantera77]

That thing doesn't look nearly as bad as you made it sound. Hell it's probably cleaner then the wagon I'm driving right now. Ironically it too, was destined to be derbied.

[Tiggie]

I look at craigslist and eBay. Searching for stuff I don't need... Or really even want. This is one of those things.

Presenting the 1990 Country Squire. I don't name my cars, but this one is screaming that it's name is Ruby.

The seller knew what to say when he mentioned that other potential buyers were A) demo derby guys, B) Motor/trans pullers and scrap the rest, or C) griswold copy cats. Driving up in my rusted wagon made this one look like a cream puff in the rough. Couldn't let them demo a car that is much better than the one I drive daily, now can I? So it came home.

The bad: not running! Driven about 2000 miles between 2004-2007. Then none at all. It's got 8 year old gas in it that smells like an asphalt plant. Body damage at right taillight and lower rear quarter panel. Broken window on back left door. Non opening front doors from outside. Non opening tailgate. Wire hubcaps... Not a fan.

The good: very decent underneath in terms of rust. Interior should clean up. Body straight other than that mentioned above. Motor is virgin from what I can tell.






1 almost rust spot

Bend in lower rear quarter

Taillight pushed in:

No window:

Door panel off - door lock actuator seized:

Odometer - thinking 130K

Untouched engine - noticed original plug wires and hoses at a glance

Pulled #7 because it was easy to get to. Has some old gas smell from where they tried to get it to run. I'm not even trying to crank it until the fuel system is clean.
Hasn't run in a while...


Plans for the weekend: get the fuel system cleaned out. Drop tank. May need a new fuel pump? Strainer too I suppose, and of course a fuel filter. Any tips on blowing out the fuel rails with minimum invasive procedures? Then see if we have spark and valves that aren't stuck.