kishy's 1985 Country Squire

[jaywish]

very true. A labor of love.

[mitymerc]

Some people think we are nuts to play with these cars.

[jaywish]

Do you question that? I believe it is specifically referenced as a symptom in the AMA mental health guidelines.

[DerekTheGreat]

Yeah dude, really looking good given how it started out as.

I may or may not have bought a 1979 G10. Need to find time to make a Darkside thread for it..

[kishy]

It has come to my attention that the anteater is actually named Antsy, because it is the miniature Happy Meal version.
It was in circulation in 1998. I sort of feel bad for opening the package now, but the packaging was also kind of nasty (as was the whole car interior).



The window channels need some tinkering still, in a couple spots they tend to get mangled a bit by the glass. Also the glass in the passenger rear door seems to come up at a weird angle (tilting inboard) which I am unsure how to correct. Probably going to have to bend some things as I don't recall there being any adjustable guides for the rear windows.


Also, today is the one-year anniversary of this!

The day we've all been waiting for:

I was able to reuse the valve cover gasket. It had completely slipped inside the cover between two bolts, but thankfully was not damaged when it got tightened down. Cleaned it all up, put it back together and used a dental pick to pull the gasket out more when I saw it was wanting to do the same thing again.

Filled it with mostly oil and a little ATF (re: the supposed ability of ATF to help clean up sludge). Engine fired happily and runs at least acceptably. Filled the trans until it was happy, flushed the steering gear. The reman pump is loud, I'm hoping as the air works out of it that will quiet down more. I was able to overcome the issues using a brass TV bushing on CFI/carb (do not use it unmodified, they have a tendency to pop off where the nylon one does not) by filing off some material to thin the bushing down a bit. This allows the clip to more fully engage with the ball stud.

Tossed some wheels on, dropped it onto the floor, and backed it out of the garage. Took a test drive and tinkered with the TV (I had it way too high, could barely get it into third at normal road speeds), found I have all 4 gears both while upshifting and downshifting, with responsive gear engagement. I don't think there's any slipping. Kickdown is working correctly.

I'm going to fix those stupid inboard turn signal/park lamp sockets...it irritates me that they aren't lighting up as parking lamps.

Oh, and a note I keep meaning to leave: do NOT buy the Philips Ultinon amber LEDs. They do not perform even remotely similar to the reds, they are garbage unfit for any purpose. Not exaggerating.

[VicCrownVic]

Strange that the reds perform so well, but the ambers do not.

I may or may not have bought a 1979 G10. Need to find time to make a Darkside thread for it..

I may or may not be responsible for the problems that occurred during transport. Looking forward to a potential Darkside thread.

[kishy]

I didn't see the reply about the G10 at first, I think I was already typing my last reply at that point. Definitely want to check that out.

Accomplished a few things today. It was a holiday...called the Civic Holiday, which essentially is just a day off for the sake of days off, which is OK with me...and I took the opportunity with a somewhat rain-less day to finally mow my lawn. And then it poured, so my timing was good on that.

On the wagon:
Replaced the ashtray assembly with one I pulled back in 2017 or so. The spring steel piece that provides the closing action and holds it shut is broken on the one that came in the car. Also, the cigarette lighter, while functional, was wired...uh...poorly. Seems at some point the ashtray must not have been present and wires cut, then at some point it was put back. Mated up the pigtail that I harvested with the new one, and all is nice and good now.





Swapped the radio for one from an '85 Continental. The one I took out, not sure what it came from (provided by Derek some time ago), has "Electronic" in cursive script on it. The one I put in says "Premium Sound" in the same wonky font as "automatic climate control". This font was new for '85. Bonus, the pots aren't scratchy on this one. Side note Gadget, that radio was a recent pull from a local car being parted out. I grabbed you some items to add to that monstrous box I've got for you. Including front corner lamps. Will discuss by PM when I can lay everything out for pics. Also I'll say it publicly: if my delays have caused you to no longer want any of the items, or you sourced them elsewhere, that is my fault and I'm sorry. I probably have a little bit of ADHD and it makes it very difficult for me to remember even very significant tasks when they aren't literally directly in front of me.











Investigated why the inboard parking lamps were not illuminating as parking lamps. Both of the bulbs are bad. Somehow, and defying all logic. They were both probably junkyard-sourced bulbs which I put in, and even now both filaments of each bulb look intact, but the low brightness filament does not light for either of them. Weird. Easy fix. But, now I need to get 194s in amber because the outboard ones look washed out by comparison.



The LED license plate lights are ludicrously bright. I may put incandescent ones back in. This is nuts.

[DerekTheGreat]

...I may or may not be responsible for the problems that occurred during transport. Looking forward to a potential Darkside thread.

Without your help, that thing most certainly wouldn't have made it back without damage. What was supposed to be a simple "head out & retrieve" turned into a big adventure..

I didn't see the reply about the G10 at first, I think I was already typing my last reply at that point. Definitely want to check that out...

...The LED license plate lights are ludicrously bright. I may put incandescent ones back in. This is nuts.

This is the motivation I need to get around to a thread lol. We've just got so many photos and Ash said she was going to dump them on google or something. Then I'm going to have a wall of text to write, potentially several. Annnd updates keep happening. Reading threads like these and seeing the progress definitely had an impact on me, compelled me to buy something which didn't run and make it work again if possible.

Oh yeah, those license plate lights are BRIGHT. Like fog light bright.

[GM_Guy]

The LED license plate lights are ludicrously bright. I may put incandescent ones back in. This is nuts.

Yanno, if photo radar comes to fruition around these parts, a super bright led plate light might just be advantageous.

[87gtVIC]

Yanno, if photo radar comes to fruition around these parts, a super bright led plate light might just be advantageous.

These are popping up all around where I live. Mainly near schools.

[DerekTheGreat]

Then they'll just outlaw bright lights to get the populace to conform.. I'd just buy the license plate covers which supposedly blur out the plate at certain angles or whatever. Those work, right??

[87gtVIC]

Those are illegal.

So are smoked plate covers. First hand experience.

[gadget73]

Swapped the radio for one from an '85 Continental. The one I took out, not sure what it came from (provided by Derek some time ago), has "Electronic" in cursive script on it. The one I put in says "Premium Sound" in the same wonky font as "automatic climate control". This font was new for '85. Bonus, the pots aren't scratchy on this one. Side note Gadget, that radio was a recent pull from a local car being parted out. I grabbed you some items to add to that monstrous box I've got for you. Including front corner lamps. Will discuss by PM when I can lay everything out for pics. Also I'll say it publicly: if my delays have caused you to no longer want any of the items, or you sourced them elsewhere, that is my fault and I'm sorry. I probably have a little bit of ADHD and it makes it very difficult for me to remember even very significant tasks when they aren't literally directly in front of me.

So far as I can tell, the "Electronic" and "Premium Sound" radios from that period are the same other than what it says on the front. The service manual seems to agree on this too, every version of this type radio is covered under the same chunk of manual. Power output specs are the same for all models, 6w front into a 3.2 ohm load and 12w rear into 6 ohms. The only real difference between any of them is the color of the light on the front. Mustangs got red light and VFD filters, Aerostar was green, everything else was blue. There is a no-tape version and a 2 channel version too.

Thanks for the extra pulls. Not the least bit concerned about delays. As not-motivated as I've been to do anything for, uhh "some time", I have no room to talk. Only reason I'm at all concerned about it is I don't want you to be out any $ for it. If it don't bother you, it don't bother me.

[Rodentkiller]

The Mythbusters proved that the plastic plate covers do not work so save your money.

[DerekTheGreat]

Oh, thanks for that info. I think I recall that episode now haha..