VicCrownVic's 1998 Mercury Grand Marquis LS

[DerekTheGreat]

That's a hell of a testament. You can even see dried salt all over in those pics but the cancer is still at bay. Don't know that I'd want to risk washing Krown off either, least not until after the salt has ended.

[Tiggie]

I was gonna say... Still looking good on the undercarriage! The meat will come off when it rains again. Glad it wasn't worse.

[michelle]

I'd give up digidash for the center console. If I really wanted digidash I could add it. It's probably easier on a whale than a box, but probably still a lot of work. Adding a center console and matching seats would be much easier, other than find the parts of course. Whales with digidash are a dime a dozen in the yards around here.

I'll have to dig around oldbrochure.com or whatever the site is to see if there is any trim level info for '98.

Won't speak to '98, but I like my center console on the '05 I bought new...it was, in fact, the reason I bought it, even though I had to fly up to Cleveland to bring it home.

[michelle]

Well it's not an HPP but most likely still an LS Ultimate

I believe HPP got me a 3.27, but maybe it was just the 3.08...would imagine '98 was similar. It was also dual exhaust and 15 more HP.

[michelle]

The owners manual should tell you how to program a fob regardless of how many keys are programmed to the car. You can program additional keys as long as you have two already programmed. Strangely my LSE has both original keys but I don't think they did a valet key because both keys unlock the glove box and trunk, whereas my '95 MGM, '01 TC, and '03 TC had a valet key that would unlock the drivers door and start the car but not get you into the glove box or trunk. I also don't have the locking trunk button that every other aero/whale I've seen has had.

Again, late to the party, but I know my '05 had a valet key. It had a grey head while the regular two were black. I'd have to look again, but I believe the lock for valet settings was on the driver's side door at the edge of the seat. I never used it. And, admittedly, '98 could have been different... or, a prior owner or seller dealer had no idea about the extra key and it never got passed on.

[michelle]

A minivan!? LOL, just kidding... unless that's what you're looking at. A wagon would be just what you need though. Everyone needs a wagon whether they know it or not.

Don't kno0ck the wagon...I learned to drive in a BMW***

***Big-assed Mercury Wagon

Actually, it wasn't even THAT big...it was a '72 Montego and only had a 351C-2V under the hood. I am guessing Dad couldn't talk mom into the 460-4V.

[VicCrownVic]

Everyone needs a wagon, I finally got my second one a couple years ago after 20 years of not having one.

[michelle]

Everyone needs a wagon, I finally got my second one a couple years ago after 20 years of not having one.

Best guidance I ever got from a salvage yard came when I was looking for a new motor for the rear tailgate window on that Montego (I had it until about 2002) was to skip the replacement motor...take the cover off of the motor, pull out the plastic remnants and replace with steel ball bearings, then repack with grease...that thing kept humming for another 15 years after that. I even had the gate working so it would swing open or lay flat, as originally intended.

I ultimately gave it away when moving to a diesel forum member who wanted the C6 tranny for a different project. He got the entire file folder of stuff dating to purchase in 1972...I've gotten worse about keeping folders in order. Dad used t log the January 1st mileage in the front of the folder for each car. Now I just have receipts all over the place...with five (soon to be six again), I really ought to be better about it, but I so rarely get rid of a vehicle...

[VicCrownVic]

6 years already, and just about to hit 100k miles since I have owned this car.

Just took this picture:


And the day I bought it:

After 20 years of DDing Box Panthers, it looks like I've come to the end of an era. At least I still can claim to have never owned a vehicle manufactured in this century.

With The Ice Car rotting to pieces and OD not functional, and The Scab which isn't a spring chicken, I decided it was time to get something with rocker panels.

My wife found the ad on Thursday and I bought it today, Saturday, February 29th. Kind of neat to make the purchase on a leap year/day. Also the second car that I found the ad on a Thursday and bought it Saturday.

63k miles, traction control, digidash, ATC, leather seats (not mint but good enough for me), tinted windows (nice tint, not the bubbly purple crap), weird carriage top, and NO rust.

I'm not crazy about the carriage top or the tinted windows but, at the price I got it and the low miles, those things will grow on me (like the 4.6 and newer transmission).

It drives absolutely magnificent, it's not in mint condition, but I now have rocker panels. That was my biggest requirement, no rust.

It appears that this car was originally from Kentucky, and came from Illinois or Indiana before finding it's way to the little used car dealer I got it from. (And they probably got it from an estate sale or something for next to nothing, because most places would have asked double what I paid.)

[Tiggie]

That commute is racking up the miles!

[DerekTheGreat]

Sure is. I rack up about 10-12k miles between all of my cars annually. My DD sees about 10k of those.

[VicCrownVic]

I've been driving the wagon for the past few months. I drove this car when it was hot last week and again today to get gas for the mower. Everything is in the wrong spot after driving a box for the past few months, lol, but the AC is nice.

[DerekTheGreat]

I like the digi dash on those, with how hidden the warning lights are.

[VicCrownVic]

As mentioned a couple posts ago, I've been pretty much DDing the wagon since late March/early April timeframe. Since I got the AC going in the wagon I figured I would just continue to drive that car, but Monday the AC told me that too much Freon leaked out and now the pressure is too low to turn the compressor on. So I drove the '98 the rest of the week since I didn't want to put more Freon in just for it to leak out when Dad said he has everything to fix the leak. No idea when we'll get to that.

Today I found my Driver rear tire was completely flat. I put air in and drove it out back to the garage to work on it. I found a hole with no nail or anything in it, plugged the hole, threw the good spare on and now the plugged tire is the spare. At the rate I go through tires I've been buying good used from the JY, so looks like it's time for another trip if I can ever find a free Saturday. A stock hood would be cool too since this aftermarket one is peeling paint and rusting due to someone not prepping it for paint before I bought it after I hit that deer a few years ago.

While I had that wheel off I noticed the rear brake pads have very little life left. I've put over 105K miles this car since I've owned it the past 6.5 years and I've never changed the rear pads (front yes, rear no) so I guess whatever pads are on there must be a good brand/well made.

I then checked a few other things over, started the car and used my little 12v tire inflator pump to make sure my pressures were good. While waiting for the auto shut off on the pump I was putting my face in front of my left side AC vent and realized it was closed. No wonder I thought the AC performance seemed lack-luster despite the air coming out feeling quite cold. What I don't know is how long that vent has been closed. The whole time I've owned the car maybe. I guess that explains why I always thought that vent being the farthest meant it was naturally the weakest (what an idiot,LOL.) In my defense, it's hard to see that vent from the driver seat and boxes are much easier to tell when a vent is closed. Standing outside the driver door it was glaringly obvious. I bet on 100 degree days the AC will feel like it should now! LOL. On a couple of my cooler morning drives into work I had to turn the AC up/off because it was getting cold enough that my pinky finger was starting to hurt. I kind of want another 100 degree day just to see how much better the AC keeps up with all 4 vents open.