Bison (1990 Grand Marquis)

[87gtVIC]

The springs in the rear are not scary at all. You shouldnt worry about them. Just remove one shock, then remount the wheel on that side and put your body weight on that wheel and the spring will loosen up and fall out.

[BuffaloRider]

Well shit, once you put it like that it doesn't sound so scary. I was just watching a video on how to do it on youtube and the two guys went on and on about how dangerous it is to deal with springs under a lot of pressure and to be very careful, then ironically enough the spring jumped loose and went all over the place on them and I was like "FUCK THAT!". Wouldn't you have trouble getting the new one back in though if you did like how you said (87gtvic)? I don't know, I think I'll at least do the shocks myself (if it's not too rusty) then I'll see how I feel about it.

Oh and I didn't get my tires today...

Falken no longer makes the same kind of white wall tire that I bought last year. The guy at Discount Tire Co said someone else came in just before me looking for some new white walls and he said they stopped making the kind he had just two weeks ago. People just aren't buying em nowadays. My guess is because the newer cars just aren't classy enough to look good on them.

They still have them in stock in some stores and I could get them shipped here from texas but it's a good $50-60 more than I expected. So I'll call around tomorrow and if I can't find anything I'll get them... I just really don't want to wait a week and pay more than I expected so I'm considering painting my own white walls.

What do you guys think, bad idea? Will it look cheap and ridiculous or do you think it could pass as a real whitewall? All I know is if I'm buying new tires they will have white rings on the side of them, one way or another. Why is this so important to me?I DON'T KNOW BUT IT IS!!!!

[87gtVIC]

The rears are no where near as dangerous as the fronts are. The way I described you are using the axle like a pivot. You do one side at a time. You can put a jack under the opposite side shock mount and jack that side up to release tension on the opposite side allowing you to remove the spring even easier.

[VicCrownVic]

Oh and I didn't get my tires today...
[ATTACH=CONFIG]36722[/ATTACH]

Why is this so important to me?I DON'T KNOW BUT IT IS!!!!

It's important because it looks good/old school/whatever you want to call it. White walls look good in my opinion, but I'm the kind of guy who wants my car to look like nothing has ever been done to it (which nothing really has been done but that beside the point).

The set I had before my current set had white walls but they put them on the inside! COME ON! The old ones had white walls OUT! Put them back on the way you found them! Oh well I figured I'll just remember to ask to have them facing out next time, but then I found last summer that white walls are very hard to find anymore (at least in my price range maybe).

There is an 87- CV parked outside of my apartment today, someone on the Mexican crew that the owners have working on the vacant unit in our building must own it, and it has white walls. I wonder how fast I can get all 4 off... JK I wouldn't do that, mine are too new anyway.

[marquisman]

Well shit, once you put it like that it doesn't sound so scary. I was just watching a video on how to do it on youtube and the two guys went on and on about how dangerous it is to deal with springs under a lot of pressure and to be very careful, then ironically enough the spring jumped loose and went all over the place on them and I was like "FUCK THAT!". Wouldn't you have trouble getting the new one back in though if you did like how you said (87gtvic)? I don't know, I think I'll at least do the shocks myself (if it's not too rusty) then I'll see how I feel about it.

Oh and I didn't get my tires today...
[ATTACH=CONFIG]36722[/ATTACH]
Falken no longer makes the same kind of white wall tire that I bought last year. The guy at Discount Tire Co said someone else came in just before me looking for some new white walls and he said they stopped making the kind he had just two weeks ago. People just aren't buying em nowadays. My guess is because the newer cars just aren't classy enough to look good on them.

They still have them in stock in some stores and I could get them shipped here from texas but it's a good $50-60 more than I expected. So I'll call around tomorrow and if I can't find anything I'll get them... I just really don't want to wait a week and pay more than I expected so I'm considering painting my own white walls.

What do you guys think, bad idea? Will it look cheap and ridiculous or do you think it could pass as a real whitewall? All I know is if I'm buying new tires they will have white rings on the side of them, one way or another. Why is this so important to me?I DON'T KNOW BUT IT IS!!!!

Hercules makes white wall tires. I put a set on my wagon last year.

[Mainemantom]

Did you try Tire Rack on line or Pep Boys store ?

[BuffaloRider]

I went on my yearly out of state trip to southern Illinois back in August and everything went great! Leading up to the trip I purchased a set of brand new Cooper white wall tires, I got the rear shocks and springs installed and new transmission fluid + filter at ZB's and my two catalytic converters and used dual exhaust setup installed at madhatter mufflers. I put wagon springs on the rear and it sits a lot higher than I expected lol. Of course it sit pretty level though once I had the car packed full of stuff. My odometer rolled over to 75,000 just outside of Cincinnati, by then it was late at night.

The lanes were open and I was cruise controlling it most of the way until all of a sudden in the middle of nowhere Kentucky I see nothing but semi trucks ahead for miles stopped in the the road. I slowly pulled up and came to a stop and was soon surrounded by semis. Not a single other passenger vehicle was on the road. Then... we sat there... for about 1:30-2 hours... in the exact same spot. I turned my car off and took a nap until I woke up to a police car flying down the other side of the road saying "WAKE UP, TRAFFIC IS MOVING!" through a loud speaker. So I started my car up and within minutes I was back on the empty road without a single other vehicle near me... It all seemed somewhat surreal. Maybe it was fate just showing me that no matter how hard I try I'll never complete a six hour road trip in less than eight hours.

It rained shortly after reaching my destination and I had to drive through a mud pit to get out of my parking space... that was kind of fun! These are my new white walls and rims afterwards... classy right?

The night before the trip I was installing some mudflaps on the rear and my wife was like "Honey, you don't need to be doing that right now" but after that I was like "I knew I should have put those on, see, see!"

So I finally made the trip that I bought this car to make and it was worth the trouble. I hope to make the same trip many more times in this car, but we'll see.

[BuffaloRider]

I've had a few problems since I got back. My Odometer went out... sucks but it's bound to happen sooner or later. I've been keeping track of where I drive, looking it up on google maps and tallying up the miles but I really need to get this shit figured out. I've got a CVPI 140mph speedo in the mail due to arrive on monday, hopefully the odometer works, if not it should at least be an upgrade from what I've got.

I also had some stalling problems and at one point it wasn't even starting (http://www.grandmarq.net/vb/showthre...rq-won-t-start! for more on that). I changed the pcv valve, filter, and grommet, cleaned out the IAC and most importantly replaced the fuel pump relay and it seems to be working great now. I've also got a junkyard distributor and TFI module now to keep for a backup. Then I had my exhaust falling down because the welds didn't fuse so I took it back to Madhatters and they fixed it up.

I need an oil change and a good coolant flush and I'll be fairly ready for winter. I got a lot done this year, I wish I would have done more but as long as it gets me through winter I'll pick back up next spring.

[BuffaloRider]

*DONE

-FALL AND WINTER OF 2012
Peeled RIP decal off the back window...
Washed, waxed and vacuumed
one new tire
oil change 72,000
New fuel tank, pump, and filter
fixed power steering leak
new coolant pump and thermostat 72,300
new turning signal flasher
new rear turning signal bulbs
installed Tefba filter

-SPRING AND SUMMER OF 2013
fixed front and rear passenger windows 73,400
Oil change 74,000
New radiator, heater core, and hoses 74,200
New front brake pads, rotors, and wheel bearings 74,350
4 New Cooper White Wall tires 74,600
New catalytic converters, used dual exhaust system 74,700
Spark Plugs, wires, cap and rotor 74,700
New rear shock absorbers and coil springs 74,700
Transmission fluid flush and filter replacement 74,700
AUG 23rd Odometer stops at 76011
New fuel pump relay, PCV trio, cleaned IAC, fuel treatment 76,700
Oct 25th odometer is at 76908

*TO DO

-THIS FALL/WINTER
oil change
coolant flush
rear dif oil change
Install speedometer
Fix rear window defroster

-SPRING
remove upper intake and replace all gaskets
vacuum lines
new valve covers
prep and install headers
o2 sensors

Touch up the paint and attack the rear quarter panel rust
POR-15 undercarriage
Prep and install tail lights
c-d player
tint
dash cam
maybe an alarm
chrome window vent visors
rectangular exhaust tips
Train horn
new battery
Seat covers
wheel skins leather steering wheel cover
rugged floor mats

[VicCrownVic]

...
The night before the trip I was installing some mudflaps on the rear and my wife was like "Honey, you don't need to be doing that right now" but after that I was like "I knew I should have put those on, see, see!"
...

Sounds like something my wife would do/say, lol. Unless she can see how it would affect her as the passenger, she thinks just about everything I do with the car is just because I want to... once in a while she is right though but usually only on stuff that is painfully obvious that it's not necessary for the car to function.

[BuffaloRider]

@vic Once I get all the more important work out of the way then I'll be focusing more on styling... I'm really gonna hear it then lol.

I've been wondering about the shitty stinky dusty old cloth lining underneath the hood of my Grand Marquis for a while now. I finally remembered to look it up on the forums the other day and it yielded result after result of everyone saying they were made to help put out fires but now they're old, shitty and covered in oil and more likely to cause a fire than put one out so I tore that off today. Looks a LOT better! Although my engine bay could use a good wipe down.

[miamibob]

If you do wish to replace it there is a guy on EBAY that sells them. Dave bought one after I did and can confirm they are well made and not expensive. Maybe one of us can dig out the info if you are really interested. Bobby

[BuffaloRider]

I'm pretty sure I know who you're talking about, I think I came across him in some of the old threads I pulled up. That's something I'll have to save for later down the road. Shit, I don't even have a c-d player or a tint job yet lol.

I got the CVPI speedometer now. I'd like to get red LED's in it and adjust the odometer but I don't know if I should do that or just put it in first and see if everything works...

[87gtVIC]

I am very happy with mine. Still looks new on my car.

[BuffaloRider]

WELLLL... I just put in my CVPI 0-140 speedo and I have to confess.... I kind of like my old one more lol. Speedometer feels pretty accurate, might read a little faster, I'll have to borrow my wifes gps to get a better idea.
The needle still doesn't glide when I accelerate, it kind of jerks like my old one, maybe it's a problem with the speed sensor thing that I believe is attached to the transmission somewhere, idk. What would cause it to jerk like that?
I put red LEDs in it but it's too bright outside to even see them so I'll have to see how that turns out when it gets darker.
The odometer DOES work though, so that's great news. I'll keep this one until I can find another silver GMQ cluster or fix the one I've got then I can sell it or save it for a future build.

I've got to figure out how to change the lights on the climate control, clock, and "rear window defrost" button to red as well...