Mod Box - 85' Grand Marquis

[Mr Bean]

Guys, please help me settle this. The 85' is getting big brakes but what I am not sure of is whether or not to install ABS. I have all donor parts for either setup so its just a matter of deciding which ones to install. The car will not be driven in the snow but may see occasional rain.

As far as stopping distances go, which stops quicker when it's dry? Which stops quicker when it's wet?

I like the thought of having ABS for added security plus it's a fancy mod that wasn't available on these cars.

I don't however like the complexity of the system and all the extra parts that go along with it.

[lincolnlarry]

IMHO distance won't be much of a factor. However control will be on wet roads Esp. if one is used to ABS.

[sxcpotatoes]

IMHO distance won't be much of a factor. However control will be on wet roads Esp. if one is used to ABS.

Nobody is used to ABS, it's added complexity and cost, for little benefit. Some may say it saves lives, but I say that a practiced J-turn and MOAR throttle may do more good than ABS any day.

Sent from my XT557 using Tapatalk 2

[87gtVIC]

ABS is a big job. I saw the added stuff on 86VickyLX's car and it is a lot of added brake lines and an entire new computer! You have abs pump and added sensors. I'd say do a lot of research on it if you decide to go through with it.

I don't know what type of weather you plan to drive your car in but I have big brakes and rear discs on my car and it stops great in dry weather. I don;t drive the vehicle in snow or anything so I find my braking more than sufficient.

[Mr Bean]

I won't be driving the car in the winter so the only reason for me to put it in would be for occasional rain driving and panic stops.

[pantera77]

I still say do it, only because A. there's only 2 ABS boxes out there right now, and B. you have an entire donor car. Would I do it? Hell no, but that's because I like my cars as simple as possible.

[sly]

+1 Do eeeet!

ABS does help for panic stops and will help in wet weather if you can't find the threshold very easy.

[tjc78]

Nobody is used to ABS, it's added complexity and cost, for little benefit. Some may say it saves lives, but I say that a practiced J-turn and MOAR throttle may do more good than ABS any day.

Sent from my XT557 using Tapatalk 2

I cannot say how wrong you are. 65-70 on a wet highway and some moron cuts you off..... Stomp the pedal and your car will stop straight and avoid the accident. No ABS.... You aren't thinking enough to pump the brakes, wheels lock and the locked up rear brakes cause the rear to start coming around. Crash! (Insert truck tire scene from Tommy Boy)

ABS is one of the best safety features ever put on a car. There is a reason most (maybe all now) cars have it standard.

[Mr Bean]

I guess ABS is gonna happen then.

I've been itching to work on the car again but it's been too cold here for the past few weeks so I just didn't feel like going out there. I've been doing some stuff inside the house though.

I finally finished the signal mirrors. Muth mirrors for a whale gutted fit a box.



Motors cleaned up and lubricated. The 2 pin connector is for signal mirrors.


I also installed Aero/Whale connector for the mirror. It has 6 pins...2 of which can be used for the signal mirrors.


Testing.


Yay!


Oh and since I love LEDs here is another project I've been working on. Box GMQs have 3 tail light bulbs....perfect opportunity to install sequential tail lights. And I might as well go LED. I picked up a wiring harness and LED bulbs for 2010+ Mustang. These are made to work specifically with reflector light housings and they install like regular bulbs. Good thing about these is that they are OEM equipment and can be bought from a Ford dealer. They are pricey though at 60 bucks per bulbs. Used can be found for less.


Hey if I am gonna go LED in the back, I might as well go LED in the front. After some head scratching and doing some research, I found that the bulbs can be disassembled and the LED diodes can be replaced with other colors. 13 bucks spent at DigiKey get your amber LEDs.



Which fit nicely into front turn signals/corner lights. These are dual filament BTW so work like factory.

[sly]

very nice

[87gtVIC]

Badass. Really nice work. Please document the abs swap well. One question though....What is a Muth mirror?

Muth mirrors for a whale gutted fit a box.

[Mr Bean]

Badass. Really nice work. Please document the abs swap well. One question though....What is a Muth mirror?

Muth is the company that makes signal mirrors.

http://www.muthco.com/

I got a set on Ebay years ago.

[87gtVIC]

Gotchya. So the next question....how did you get the leds to shine through the mirror?

[marquisman]

I am wondering the same thing

[Mr Bean]

Gotchya. So the next question....how did you get the leds to shine through the mirror?

The reflective coating that is applied to the mirror glass is partially transparent so the light shines through. I didn't really have to do anything to get the light to shine through. The glass used in box mirrors is not as transparent as Whale and Aero mirrors but still lets enough light through for this to work.

If someone wanted to do this mod for cheap, get a high powered LED strip, cut it to the shape of an arrow and mount from behind the mirror glass. Then just run the wiring to your turn signals.