Mod Box - 85' Grand Marquis

[sly]

back on a real computer... see the MERCURY bulge in the filler panel? That's the problem. The contours of the filler panel are also different between CV/MGM like Pantera said.

[Grand Marquis GT]

As mentioned, you can use a crown vic bumper and filler panel on a GMQ nose. I want to do that someday, as the bumper and filler was a real pain in the ass when doing the 88-up swap.

[Mr Bean]

I'll probably end up doing it some day in the future. Right now I just want to get the paint work completed.

[Mr Bean]

Thanks to the monkey at the paint supply place I ran out of base coat before I was able to get complete coverage. I also managed to screw up a couple of spots so those will need to be redone before I can clear it.

[Mr Bean]

So after having a disappointing base coat coverage and running out of paint I decided to fuckulate myself a paint booth. Bought a bunch of dollar store paint sheets and fubbed up a fan using a Panther radiator fan to suck the dust out and I was ready to roll.

I reshot base coat this morning followed by 2-3 coats of clear. I stopped counting how many coats I put on there. Basically went at it until I ran out. lol There are a couple of runs and a few bugs that will need to be wet sanded out but overall I am quite happy with how it turned out.

[87gtVIC]

Awesome! Tight quarters to work in huh? I love it when we do the projects ourselves. You must feel super gratified right now. Hats off to you.

I will leave you with this advise. No matter how much of a hot shit you think you are (unless you actually paint, cut and buff for a living) TAPE OVER ALL BODY LINES so you don;t burn through them while wetsanding.

[Mr Bean]

Yea, it's pretty tight quarters but I am glad I made the paint booth. That fan sucked all the dust out so quickly, it was so much easier to work with. I could actually see what I was doing because there was no paint dust in the air. I am glad that it's finally done and I am happy with the result. Clear coat showed up all the imperfections in body work and sadly there are some panels that are not as straight as I'd like them to be but for what I paid in supplies I am happy with it. Nowhere near what a professional paint job would've cost me. And I can actually say that I built this car completely from the ground up.

When you say tape over body lines, you mean the edges? I was actually thinking of that when I started. I will make sure to do that. How long do I have to wait for it to dry before wet sanding? Should i give it a good couple of weeks so it's nice and hard?

[87gtVIC]

Yeah anyplace there is an edge.

There are different theories out there. Wait longer fight the clear more or don't wait long at all and cut through it easily. I waited 5 days for my fenders. I am no professional but I felt that was enough. Clear was easy to cut through with the sand paper and was easy to buff out.

[gadget73]

Cool. At first I thought "wtf, he wrapped the quarter panels in plastic?" then I realized it was reflection.

Its fun the shit you can come up with when you've got small resources but a fair bit of ingenuity. Love the recycled radiator fan for exhaust duty.

[Mr Bean]

Hey guys I started putting the car back together and ran into a little snag. The chrome trim piece that runs alone the edge of the roof above the door. It has a rubber piece attached to it. How does that chrome piece attach to the roof? Are there some sort of clips that hold it in place? When I got the car it was half assed into place with what looked like some black gooey stuff.

[marquisman]

supposed to be a special clip that slips onto the trim and on the seam that runs around the door. Its rectangular and has around 3-4 little tabs.

[Mr Bean]

Have any pics of it? Any idea where I can buy it?

[marquisman]

I cant find a pic and doubt you can buy them new. I wonder if someone here has one, they can take a pic of

[Mr Bean]

Are those clips unique to that trim piece only or were they used on any other trim as well? I have a box full of screw and various clips so if I knew what to look for I might even have it.

Another question I had is regarding the little round slide buttons that hold lower rear window trim piece in place. Are those available to buy anywhere aftermarket? If not, is there a replacement? All the ones that I took off shattered from sitting in the sun all these years. And what about metal clips that hold window trim in place? A few of mine broke. Lastly, I am also in need of one plastic clip that holds rocker panel cover in place.

[marquisman]

They are unique to the trim piece. I have a feeling the rear window clips are still available but, the metal ones should work temporarily too.

Also, might have some left over rocker clips. Will look today.