Hello From Germany

[Simon_Hamburg]

Hey there,

I've been searching for information about "my" car and couldn't find too much. Maybe that is, because here in Germany, American cars haven't been too popular.
However - I am married to a Mexican an the grandfather of my wife lived and worked in the railroad industry in the US all of his life. When retiring, he gave himself a treat before returning to Mexico: a 1978 (?) Grand Marquis.
Since I love old cars, my uncle in Mexico gave me the chance last time to ride it. It has a lot of dings and minor technical flaws, but I fell in love with it.
Before "meeting" this car I was about to buy me an 80s S-Class to remain my primary vehicle for the rest of my driving days.
I am sure the S-Class is way superior to the Marquis (sorry folks), but somehow I don't wanna know about it anymore.
I couldn't find too much about the older models, though.
Hopefully in this forum I can find help and friends who share the passion for these road-ships.

I am looking forward to discussions.

I am in Mexico once a year for a couple of weeks an I am planning on restoring the Mrq to its former glory to honor my granddad - the car is officially mine now.

I am looking forward to meeting you all.

Simon

[visionmercury]

welcome simon , u came to the right place , there are alot of good people and info on this forum . good luck with the car im sure that u will enjoy it alot . do you have any pics of it ?

[johnunit]

Hello and welcome to the forum! It's nice to have another european member.

There was a major change in body style in 1979, so there's a big difference between a 1978 and 1979. 1979s are the same basic design as most of the cars you see on this website, but we like earlier cars too.

[rick99601]

welcome to GMN!

[87gtVIC]

Guten Tag Simon

I have a couple of relatives in Germany...Rosenheim and Koln/Colgne to be exact. One of my cousins really grew a liking for my car while he visited a couple years back. He always said how cars there are much smaller and not many people drive American made ones. He always wanted to have one imported. Welcome aboard.

[Lincolnmania]

welcome to GMN!

[DanHool]

Jak sie masz!

[DanHool]

i'd be willing to bring some parts out from the us and a if i could crash out on your floor. and if there is a rammstein concert nearby (im familliar with katowice, poland and my family is from krakow) or you could get me easily laid by a german chick, im open to polish and other eastern european hotel help

[79lincolnlover]

Welcome

[gabegt90]

welcome to gmn

[Simon_Hamburg]

welcome simon , u came to the right place , there are alot of good people and info on this forum . good luck with the car im sure that u will enjoy it alot . do you have any pics of it ?

Well, I uploaded all the pics I made last time (only few).
From what my wife told me, the car has to be 1978, because back then, her Grandfather returned from the US.
Check the Album in my profile.

From all I could gather so far, it is either a '77 or '78.

Thanks for all the warm welcome

[rick99601]

yep '77 or '78


the vin/build date on the door sticker will give it away for sure though.

[79lincolnlover]

Your Merc must attract a lot of attention over there!

[Simon_Hamburg]

Not much attention

Your Merc must attract a lot of attention over there!

Well, it would.
But it is located in Mexico, hehe.
I was considering to bring it here, but first I would need to repair certain things. That is way cheaper in Mexico or the US. But since I am only there once a year, progress will be slow.
Due to the scarcity of American cars, especially from that time in Germany, spare-parts would be hard to find.
German cars are tiny. In my apartment building I have underground parking, but I doubt that this 6m ship would make the turn through the entrance.
Germany is not contructed for such big cars. So for a while it will remain my Holiday car.
I have to relocate to Mexico or the US to fully enjoy it, I gess.

I enrolled in this forum to get some knowledge of all you guys who have more insight in the aftermarket possibilities etc. This is also an unknown field in Germany. Here you customise your car, wait a bit and drive it. If something breaks you call an IT expert to fix it ;-)
I like older cars, where the technology is "offline". Being an engineer I have a good understanding about how everything works, but so far I have never restored a car.
But I am looking forward to it.

So at the time being I want to plan things and get a good understanding of my Merc, so when I am in Mexico again early next year I will do some things.

From a technical point of view, these things need fixing:

-power steering: The rubbers have to be replaced...it "swims" too much. Hope nothing more serious has to be done.
-Cruise control is not working (anyone has an idea how to fix?)
-Engine maintenance: change the fluids/filters.
-replace windscreen (which models/years can I use? LTD? newer Mercs?)

The aesthetical things would be:

-bring all the gaps and parts in line
-get rid of the damages (outside)
-rebuild dash board
-find an old radio and put it in
-repair seats (leather)

Since the residual value is max 3000€ for one it good condition, this car will be more of a playground or training for me --> until it is decent I won't bring it to Germany.

So if someone has hints for the above issues...I am looking forward to learning from you all.

Simon

[sly]

I've always been amazed at how tight my cars turn. I can actually drive through a compact car parking complex here in the states... can't park anywhere... but it'll make all the turns. the older boxes are easier at that since you can make out where the corners of the car are at. I've actually had a tougher time in the full size parking complexes around here. Picture a full size truck dually (dual rear tires) parked at the apex and trying to make it around that beast in my beast. I missed it by about 4 inches without having to back up though. I'm sure the complexes over there are a little tighter due to the excessive use of small cars though.