kishy's 1983 Grand Marquis 2dr

[Arquemann]

Backlighting on that cluster is nice.

It's stock, or atleast mine's like that too. Mine has the mph and km/h digits switched around and the inside digits are in blue for some reason.
The blue numbers are insane hard to read when it gets even slightly darker outside. The dash lights don't help at all, I've memorized the corresponding mph and use those even in daytime.
Also kishy's car doesn't have a gas light or trip meter, which is really interesting.

[DerekTheGreat]

Backlighting on that cluster is nice.

[kishy]

Car-working-on things have happened.

As I ran this car out of gas recently, it was the ideal time to address the inoperative fuel sender. Pulled it out, testing showed it works, so the float just didn't float anymore evidently. No visible holes, but it must have one somewhere. I have a few new plastic floats and one will go in this, as one did into the wagon.

The sender as a whole is a "rare" item, in that it's the carb setup (fuel pickup tube and float combined on a 2" sending unit. The pickup strainer seems to be D1FZ-9A011-A or very similar.

However, something I had wondered about in the past has surfaced. This car sat for a number of years before I bought it...well over a decade. It sat for that time with very little fuel in it. These conditions are how you rust the inside of a fuel tank.















I just put it back together with no float for now. The tank and sender pulled out of the junk Town Car are correct for this car, so I'll likely just do that. Very convenient timing on that.

[DerekTheGreat]

Eh, at least your YouTube vids are entertaining.

[gadget73]

when I take pictures you end up with an off-kilter and out of focus shot that probably has my thumb in it. I have no eye for it at all. Also why you never see me post pictures of anything.

[DerekTheGreat]

Eh, your photos look good to me. Just 'cause you didn't go to photography class or got low grades in it doesn't mean you're not or can't be in the same league as those who have. Just look at the guy who started FedEx, his professors essentially told him his idea was a lost cause.

Oh, yeah statistics would agree with you there. That's the thing I like about the Ferds- all the lights up front.

[kishy]

Man, when I go to officially list my Town Car I ought to have you do the photo shoot. Those pics turned out really well. Did you intentionally remove the inside parking lights from the Ford or they just don't work?

I think I have a bit of an eye for composition, but I'm not really in the same class as a photographer. I'd be glad to partake, of course.

The inner parking lights on the Ford do not work. New bulb in each side. I am suspecting they were intentionally disabled by one of the previous owners, for reasons that are not apparent, because both sides together being out for issues like dirty terminals is just not likely (more likely it'd be one only).

[DerekTheGreat]

Man, when I go to officially list my Town Car I ought to have you do the photo shoot. Those pics turned out really well. Did you intentionally remove the inside parking lights from the Ford or they just don't work?

[kishy]

Your friend have a favorite after driving both of them?

He actually likes them both a lot, for very different reasons. The wagon is ratty and he likes its rattiness. The 83 is dead silent and actually drives very well. It's a very soft and plush car.

Seemed like the 83 came out as the one he liked more. It's a far cry from most of his vehicles...he's got a bunch of RHD Japanese stuff which I'd describe as his main theme, but also some other oddballs like first gen Insights and a couple military vehicles. But he's also got a 2000 Grand Marquis which he's come to really love as well.

[87gtVIC]

Your friend have a favorite after driving both of them?

[kishy]

Today, this car was in attendance at the 2019 Metro Detroit meet. My friend drove the wagon to the meet with me in the 83, and then we traded for the duration of the day.

After we split off from the meet, we took some photos. I'm going to post most of these in the threads for both cars to make them easier to find later; sorry for the spam in the meantime.

[DerekTheGreat]

Pretty cool. I like these Marti Report things. If only something similar was available for GM vehicles.

[kishy]

I wonder if retiree purchase plan was for someone leaving Ford and they got to option a car of their choosing. I wonder though looking back at the beginning of this thread if the previously registered owner who passed was the original owner of the car.

These reports you got are pretty dang neat.

The car was one-owner before me, and I bought it from the POA...it was her deceased father's car. In Ontario, a mandatory part of vehicle ownership transfer is the new owner seeing the history of owners and if any liens are outstanding, so I know it was only ever registered to the one guy.

I think the retiree plan is the Z plan, which is still around today.

[Kodachrome Wolf]

I wonder if retiree purchase plan was for someone leaving Ford and they got to option a car of their choosing. I wonder though looking back at the beginning of this thread if the previously registered owner who passed was the original owner of the car.

These reports you got are pretty dang neat.

[kishy]

83 Marti report: