Bought used from a neighbor. Added: heated side mirrors, power pedals, power fuel door, dual visors, power inverter, AM/FM/CD... Fixed: oil dipstick tube, door panels damaged, carpet filthy, battery terminals corroded, fuel filter, remotes replaced, 1 key, driver's seat cushion, tied up EVAPS hose, air filter box straightened, body paint scuffs & chips, upper ball joints replaced & aligned, front pads replaced, front rotors turned, alternator regulator & rectifier, new Ford belt, dash trim panels for pedals switch, engine cover bracket, rear bumper cover, new headlights.
Wiper.JPG 446 hits | 59.9 KB | Posted: 12/26/09 Not bad at $13ea ($9ea buddy-price).
BumperCoverSp.JPG 471 hits | 65.17 KB | Posted: 11/25/08 The newly-painted bumper cover is on, with the old chrome strips back in. The paint job isn't a good as I had hoped, but CERTAINLY better than what I paid for.
StripAdhsvRmvl.JPG 481 hits | 69.11 KB | Posted: 11/23/08 Before reinstalling the chrome strips on the newly-painted rear bumper skin, the old double-sided foam tape has to be removed so the strips aren't wavy.
Pedals09.JPG 393 hits | 39.96 KB | Posted: 11/23/08 The last step is to notch out the dash insulator for the additional pedal travel. If this isn't done, moving the pedals fully up (rearward) will apply the brake enough to hold the car in place at idle in D, and keep the brake lights on until the bat...
Pedals08.JPG 488 hits | 55.41 KB | Posted: 11/14/08 I ran across a set of later dash trim, so I mounted the pedal switch here.
After finding a pigtail connector for the later defrost switch, I moved it to the other trim panel (where the '98 defrost switch was) and soldered the wires to the guts of ...
IntrPnt02.JPG 605 hits | 39.67 KB | Posted: 11/14/08 It's not a perfect match, but certainly better than the peeling paint was. Actually, the photos make it more noticeable than it really is.
The woodgrain IS noticeable, but I doubt anyone will pay attention.
IntrPnt1.JPG 581 hits | 57.47 KB | Posted: 11/13/08 To make the adjustable pedal installation cleaner, I found a pair of dash trim panels in a junkyard from a slightly newer car, but their paint was peeling. To make the wiring easier, I swapped the pedal switch from this panel with the defrost switch...
Clean2.JPG 523 hits | 55.76 KB | Posted: 11/3/08 At this point, I've cleaned all the glass, had it professionally washed, had the headlights polished, & had the paint touched up.
It still needs front brakes, upper ball joints, an alignment, & transmission service. And I'll try to find a rear bu...
Clean1.JPG 572 hits | 59.04 KB | Posted: 11/3/08 Wow... This thing cleaned up nice! Maybe I should keep it...
Most Viewed Files
VINpublic.JPG 757 hits | 74.29 KB | Posted: 10/28/08 2ME: Canada, Mercury Cars
F: 2nd-Gen front airbags
M75: Grand Marquis LS
W: Romeo Gas 4.6L
W: 1998
X: St. Thomas, Talbotville, Ontario, Canada
WT: Performance White ClearCoat
RC 22: Memphis, TN region
BRK 3: 4-wheel disk, non-ABS
INT TR JR: ...
Carpet01.JPG 745 hits | 50.68 KB | Posted: 10/29/08 The more I looked at the carpet, the less I liked what I saw. This is AFTER I hauled out several handfuls of garbage. I had to pull the L threshholds, L lower B-pillar cover, & back seat to run the fuel door wire, so it's not a whole lot more work ...
Carpet05.JPG 738 hits | 56.78 KB | Posted: 10/30/08 This is AFTER vacuuming, hosing out the coffee & candy (& unidentifiable crap), and drying overnight. It's gonna hang in the sun for a few hours, & get vacuumed 1 more time before everything goes back in. I'll probably spray ~1/2 can of Lysol & som...
FuelDoor09.JPG 649 hits | 25.28 KB | Posted: 10/29/08 It even works! That little rub spot has since been touched up.
The ~6-year-old can of ultra-cheapo Wal-Mart gloss white spray is a pretty good match for the rest of the car.
Carpet03.JPG 645 hits | 54.62 KB | Posted: 10/30/08 This is AFTER vacuuming - it was pretty bad.
BumperCoverR.JPG 625 hits | 62.89 KB | Posted: 11/1/08 The car was bottomed pretty hard (slight damage to the EVAPS tray), and the bumper cover was ripped. Both corners are damaged, as well as at least 1 crack near the license plate.
Mirrors02.JPG 622 hits | 71.69 KB | Posted: 10/28/08 The Br/LB comes in from the defrost relay under the hood, and the tiny DG/Pu goes out to the rear window defrost grid (through the antenna adapter). I'll solder my white wires onto that terminal so the circuit is identical to OE. The '98 fuse #17 i...
IntrPnt02.JPG 605 hits | 39.67 KB | Posted: 11/14/08 It's not a perfect match, but certainly better than the peeling paint was. Actually, the photos make it more noticeable than it really is.
The woodgrain IS noticeable, but I doubt anyone will pay attention.
LHF.JPG 601 hits | 94.74 KB | Posted: 10/28/08 I've already swapped the white mirror covers onto the heated mirror heads, so they'll go back on soon. Otherwise, this is how I bought it.
