95 "Grand Mercury" GS

[rezwrrd]

As the to-do list of degeriatrification dwindles, I figured I should probably start posting in this section instead of the exterior/bodywork area. All of the holes are patched and painted, the goop is scraped off the roof and windows, and we can just about put this whole roof-fungus thing behind us.

I got this car off Craigslist back in August. My little Mazda 323 was falling apart, and my fiancée wanted something a bit more substantial. I needed something cheap, so I started searching Craigslist for a big early/mid 90s sedan that would satisfy us both. After looking at a couple of Buicks that were just out of my price range, a dirt cheap P71 caught my eye and I started doing a bit of research. I ended up passing on that car, but found this beauty for 800. Worth every penny, and then some. I've always wanted a Mercury, but I was really thinking of one from the 50s. Maybe next time.



Sure, there was some rust. Sure, the clear coat was bubbling. Sure, it had all the old guy trim. Sure, it burns some oil. But it's got legroom, soundproofing, a full frame, and an auto trans with a column-mounted shift. All for about the cost of a plane ticket to Florida.

I joined here and asked around about grandpa-trim-removal, and was overwhelmed by the warm welcome and helpful replies from you all here. Thanks a million, mangs! I peeled off the top, scraped, filled, and rattlecanned the roof, and blacked out some of the chrome. It's an ongoing project, but I'm very happy with the results so far.

A few pics from yesterday afternoon:




I think my favorite things about this car so far are the value for money, the thoughtfulness of the options (perfect balance between convenience and simplicity), and the availability of junkyard parts. Not to mention the Ford V8 under the hood. Went from a 1.6L Ford to a 4.6L Ford, and I can feel the difference.

I'm hoping to start working on mechanical stuff soon, probably tackling the valve shaft seals early next year. For now, I've got a 1990 Camry waiting for a new head gasket, which should keep me busy.

[rezwrrd]

A few more pics:


That fender rot really annoys me, but I'm not doing anything about it because I've got a new one waiting to be bolted on in the spring. So there.





A few older transitional pics:




The bottom of the car is Dark Portofino Blue, the top half is Rustoleum Metallic Charcoal. The flat black hood is temporary, because I ran out of good painting weather.

Other mods/repairs:
- Draw-tite 2" receiver
- Mountaineer center caps
- GMQ LS dual visors (still need to run hot wire for the mirror lights)
- Box Crown Vic dome light w/map lights
- K&N cartridge air filter
- LF window regulator

Soon, hopefully, maybe:
- Spectre cone filter (had been running in the Mazda)
- Fog lamps behind grille, mounted but not wired (also from Mazda)
- Snow tires + freshly painted steelies
- RR window regulator
- Pinstripe for where the PO scraped it off along one side of the car (???)
- Spark plugs

[Leafsrule16]

tint the windows!!!

[rezwrrd]

tint the windows!!!

I tried tinting the windows on my hatchback and the results were pretty pathetic. I might try on the GMQ in the spring, but I'll need to set aside more time and probably have someone else help. Your 95 and 97 do look pretty good with the heavy tint on back. It's not as high on my list as it was on the hatch, because that had more glass and no AC.

[rezwrrd]

Winter rubber is on! Sort of. Barely got enough cash from scrapping the Maz to buy two snow tires, but they seem to work well enough. I've barely felt the car slip at all since I put them on last week.

Pics or it didn't happen:




Rotated the decent rear all-seasons to replace the worn-out fronts. Better than bald, I guess.


I have two different sizes of lugs because I couldn't find enough collared lugs for the whole car. Each wheel has two or three collared lugs and two or three larger stock lugs, so I needed two wrenches to do the job. Next year I'll look for more Mountaineer lugs to complete the set.

It bothers me slightly that the rears don't match the whitewalls on front, but it helps that I painted the rims with a bit of charcoal. I'm doing my summer rims like this in the spring, but might add a white or silver halo if the whitewalls end up getting replaced with blackwalls.



Now I can make it around my curvy, hilly country driveway without slipping around and ending up in the cornfield. Let it snow!

[rezwrrd]

Finally got a door lock cylinder lever, only to pull the door apart and find that it was the wrong one. There's a slip on one with a retainer ring and one that clips on the side, and apparently the one I need is the one that clips on the side of the cylinder.

Not sure where to find one of those though. I haven't been able to successfully disconnect it from any cars in the junkyard, and the parts stores I've looked at only have the wrong one. Huh. I really don't want[/can't afford] to buy a whole lock cylinder just for that clip. I'll make one if I have to. Climbing through snowbanks to unlock the car from the passenger side is getting kind of old.

[rezwrrd]

Forgot to mention that I just passed 10,000 miles with this beast. Woo!

[rezwrrd]

Replaced the tensioner pulley on Tuesday morning after a little tow-truck ride. After all the trouble finding the insurance card by flashlight on Monday night, I've cleaned out the glove box and removed old papers. I decided to clean the rest of the car while I was at it. I don't think I've vacuumed this thing yet, so it was about time.



Still need to organize the stuff in the seat and door pockets, and get rid of some stuff.



Finally put on the v8 emblem and gave the hood... well, let's call it a preliminary coat of spray paint. I had a can from last year that I wanted to use up, and I was sick of the flat black hood. I'll probably be taking most of this paint off when it gets warmer.

[rezwrrd]

Forgot to mention that I took off the snow tires and put the whitewalls back on last night. Woo!

[rezwrrd]

Put on the new fender over break. I strongly recommend taking off the wheel, but I didn't have my jack stands at home. Might have been nice to have the bumper cover out of the way as well, but I got it in fine.





Still trying to find the perfect blue for the bottom half of the car. Darker than the new fender, lighter than everything else, and very blue.

Also, started painting interior trim. All of the fake wood is going to be the same metallic charcoal as the top half of the exterior.





Doors are next.

[wojtekrobert]

Looks a lot better than with rusted fender work on. Also "wood" inside seems ok in dark interior.
Do you remember about my hubcaps?

[Mainemantom]

Nice job on the dash trim.

[Hearsesrock427]

Hell yeah! Looks like it came factory. Also continues the two-tone theme that you started on the exterior, which is always a plus. See it all the time on 50's cars, and wish it carried over to later cars!

[rezwrrd]

Do you remember about my hubcaps?

Sorry! I haven't entirely forgotten. They're sitting at home, still waiting for me to find some cardboard and make a box. I'll get on that as soon as I'm done with this paper (tonight?). I can't wait to see them on your car! Also, I found the key for the locking hubs, so everything should be there.

Sorry I'm taking so long. I didn't mean to string you along like this.

[rezwrrd]

Spent a few minutes this morning embellishing the dash a little. Speaking of 50's cars...





If I'd been thinking a little more, I could've lined it up with something on the dashboard, or at least centered it on the airbag. Oh, well. It's model paint, so I can always take it off with paint thinner and redo the Rustoleum underneath if it doesn't work out.

If I end up doing it again I'm using blue paint and a smaller brush, and I'll skip the coffee.

Also-- Wojtek, I made a box for the hubcaps last night so I can take them to get shipping quotes. Sorry again about the wait.