A Grand Marquis far from home - Life with my 1988 Mercury Grand Marquis GS

[Arquemann]

Thanks for the info. Didn't know that. I thought EVERY car, on Euro roads, had to have the "newer" plates. Guess it is similar to getting "antique" plates here in the States.

I think Germany hasn't made non-EU plates since the EU plates were introduced, but the old plates are still valid. Probably some other countries too.
Dunno what is required for the US antique plates, there's no requirements for the non-EU plates in Finland or Sweden.

Though if you don't have EU-plates you're required* to have a country identifier when in other countries (*exceptions apply).

[Tynnerstroem]

Thanks gents! friskyfrankie like Arquemann has already touched upon, it's old plates on it from before the EU-plates were introduced. In those days cars here would commonly have plates like mine and an oval "S" sticker on the trunk or rear window to signal country-belonging. I do however believe that at least here I can't order new plates that lack the EU-branding, but I'm not sure how that is for my Finnish neighbours. There was a short-lived plate specifically for vintage cars here in the 2000s but thank god they scrapped that monstrosity as it looked awful.

87gtVIC those are truly some impressing numbers! My car should have the sub-3 rear axle ratio so I feel it should be doing a bit better, a criticism I've had since buying it. I've kind of run out of repairs I could imagine helping the fuel mileage now since I can't find any more vacuum leaks and all the sensors are replaced. It's not a huge deal but it'd be nice to not have to stop so often. But one could always buy a Camry Hybrid instead right?

[Arquemann]

I do however believe that at least here I can't order new plates that lack the EU-branding, but I'm not sure how that is for my Finnish neighbours.

Ah, I have outdated info on Sweden's part. Wiki says EU plates were an option when they were introduced, but the old plates were phased out in 2014.

In Finland we can freely change to either plate, with or without the EU-stuff. There's also plates with inverted colours for cars older than 1971 and/or with historical vehicle status.
Generally speaking the EU plates look out of place on older stuff, and many aesthetic-minded people switch to non-EU plates on newer cars for a cleaner look. The bright blue can really clash.

I had ridiculous two-row EU plates on my Caprice, which I changed to single-row standard plates for a whopping 15€.

[DerekTheGreat]

Great pictures. Some fugly lookin' golfball like cars in some of 'em, but really cool to see that thing tankin' over there.

What's your timing set to? How is your MAP sensor? How much ethanol do they put in the gas over there? My '88 Town Car will net 24.xx mpg between 60 & 65mph. That's on mostly flat roads and with a 3.23 rear gear. I only monitor MPG to keep track of how the engine is running.

[Tynnerstroem]

Thanks DerekTheGreat ! The smaller cars get, the funnier they look these days what with crash standards and all. Happy to do my bit to improve the appearance of the traffic landscape

I too monitor the MPG to try and gauge the health of the motor. They put 10% ethanol into the gas here, and the MAP-sensor I've swapped out for a new one (along with the vacuum line that goes to it). When it comes to the timing I haven't the faintest clue but I haven't touched it. For all I know it's untouched but the car has done 119 k miles so who knows if someone else has been there. How would I go about checking that? Is it one of those things I'd need a strobe light for or can it be done something else?

[Arquemann]

How would I go about checking that? Is it one of those things I'd need a strobe light for or can it be done something else?

Timing light is needed, the timing pointer can be seen from between the AC compressor and water pump. Timing marks are on the balancer, which might be hard to see if it's old and crusty.
Before checking timing, you need to disconnect the SPOUT wire from the distributor (single pin connector).
I think the spec is 10° BTDC for all efi 5.0s.

[DerekTheGreat]

Thanks DerekTheGreat ! The smaller cars get, the funnier they look these days what with crash standards and all. Happy to do my bit to improve the appearance of the traffic landscape

Indeed, yuck. That car definitely stands out amidst all that rabble, take it you get a lot of looks while driving it?

I too monitor the MPG to try and gauge the health of the motor. They put 10% ethanol into the gas here, and the MAP-sensor I've swapped out for a new one (along with the vacuum line that goes to it). When it comes to the timing I haven't the faintest clue but I haven't touched it. For all I know it's untouched but the car has done 119 k miles so who knows if someone else has been there. How would I go about checking that? Is it one of those things I'd need a strobe light for or can it be done something else?

What Arquemann said. Just be sure you pull the SPOUT connector out with the key off and you make adjustments with the engine at operating temperature. If it's already at 10° BTDC, bump it to 12 and see what happens. We have 10% ethanol here as well, but all I can get away with timing wise is 10°, as even then I'll hear a smidge of spark knock under load part throttle.