Tanner's 88 Grand Marquis LS "the walking dead panther"

[kishy]

Red reflector with a white triangle?? I never noticed a light on my rear doors. Cadillac has them and I'd like to add them to mine but never will. They do have the map lights which light up when the doors are opened though, and they've got foot well lighting under the front seats.

The rectangular courtesy light on the door panel below the armrest, front doors only. No triangle.

If yours doesn't light up, it's supposed to. There's a bulb in there.

Also, where did you find a class 3 hitch?

Although I'm still trying to hammer out if it is a Panther-fit hitch and not a Fox-fit one (seems the former since it is listed for Town Cars too...), Tdotperformance.ca seems to be selling one: https://www.tdotperformance.ca/pro-s...ii-575688.html

There is a current promo for 10% off...code HITCHED10

They appear to do business with American customers so exchange rate may come up in your favour, or find somewhere else selling that one. Please verify fitment though. I haven't pulled the trigger on it yet due to being uncertain exactly which models it fits, as we all know application data for our cars is somewhat muddy thanks to Ford's ambiguous naming choices in the 80s.

Edit: scratch that. RockAuto has CURT 13707 which is Class III, for quite a bit less $$$. Look under Accessories\Trailer Hitch.

[sly]

That looks the same as the Curt I used on my cars...

https://www.amazon.com/Curt-Manufacturing-13707-Class-Trailer/dp/B001EOYIH2

https://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Hitch/Curt/13707.html

The Curt is a lot less if you're on the US side of the boarder by about $50 compared to the TDOT item.

The hardest part about installation is drilling the holes in the frame. After that is done (use a 9/16 bit if you can... 1/2 bit doesn't leave hardly any clearance for the bolt.) it's pretty much use a jack to hold it up and bolt it in. Done.

[Tanner02480]

I suppose the small lights in the lincoln doors are designed for safety , when you open a street side door in the night, the red lights will advise the other drivers that somewone will exit from the car but not for lighting the interior of the car
Volvo did that in early 80s on the 740

That looks the same as the Curt I used on my cars...

https://www.amazon.com/Curt-Manufacturing-13707-Class-Trailer/dp/B001EOYIH2

https://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Hitch/Curt/13707.html

The Curt is a lot less if you're on the US side of the boarder by about $50 compared to the TDOT item.

The hardest part about installation is drilling the holes in the frame. After that is done (use a 9/16 bit if you can... 1/2 bit doesn't leave hardly any clearance for the bolt.) it's pretty much use a jack to hold it up and bolt it in. Done.

The curt Hith in your link is exactly the same I have on my 87 Colony park, but the one I have on my 88 in bigger, unfortunately I don't know the brand of it.

[gadget73]

my Towncar has an old Valley hitch on it that has been with the car since 1986. I've used it a few times too.

[Elias]

I suppose the small lights in the lincoln doors are designed for safety , when you open a street side door in the night, the red lights will advise the other drivers that somewone will exit from the car but not for lighting the interior of the car
Volvo did that in early 80s on the 740
[url=https://ibb.co/nhyYXe][img]https://preview.ibb.co/hwUwkz/P1010133.jpg[/img




The curt Hith in your link is exactly the same I have on my 87 Colony park, but the one I have on my 88 in bigger, unfortunately I don't know the brand of it.

Could you post more pictures for the rear lights with and with out lenses and bulb And where did you get the power/signal wires from was it the overhead light.

[DerekTheGreat]

Curt makes good hitches. They run our pretreatment & powdercoat process so better than anything else that's out there corrosion resistance & durability wise. Engineered & made in the US too. I just put one on our K1500 not too long ago, itching to use it.

[Tanner02480]

Could you post more pictures for the rear lights with and with out lenses and bulb And where did you get the power/signal wires from was it the overhead light.

Elias, I would prefer to not dissassembly because there is some glued parts, so that is the pictures, I used the + signal from the doorpin switch in the B pillar, this is an black/blue wire, and used the negative wire of the power outlet in the door armrest, so you have to pass a new wire from the B pillar to the interior of the door.

[Tanner02480]

Did the push bar come from a newer Crown Vic or something else? Appears to fit well. Would love to see your work on the brackets installed on the car. My 88 has been needing a push bar for years.

Also, where did you find a class 3 hitch? I know they used to make them but all I am finding new is class 2.

I hope it could help you :

[Tiggie]

I hope it could help you :

Yes this one! Thanks. I can build that. Just needed a visual.

[gadget73]

Curt makes good hitches. They run our pretreatment & powdercoat process so better than anything else that's out there corrosion resistance & durability wise. Engineered & made in the US too. I just put one on our K1500 not too long ago, itching to use it.

The old Valley on my car was pretty crusty. Not dangerously so, but it needed some help before it went away. Its been cleaned, slathered with rust converter and painted so hopefully it will hold up a while now. I haven't actually used it in years but its there. Never re-installed the trailer wiring after the car got painted.

[Tanner02480]

here is the big unidentified hitch on my 88
The thickness of the steel is amazing, and there is some reinforcing plate at many place, it's look built for a panzer IV




And here is the next upgrade to this car :
A 8.8" LSD diff from an 91 grand marquis with the same 3.08 ring gear, it should be useful for Canadian winter driving

[Kodachrome Wolf]

I thought you could utilize a hitch for a newer model on a Box given the general lack of chassis change. Reese makes a Class III/IV hitch for the Aeros, I’ve got one on my ‘97.

[gadget73]

And here is the next upgrade to this car :
A 8.8" LSD diff from an 91 grand marquis with the same 3.08 ring gear, it should be useful for Canadian winter driving

Make sure you keep your existing ring gear. The ring and pinion are matched to each other and mixing them up will result in bad things.

[kishy]

I thought you could utilize a hitch for a newer model on a Box given the general lack of chassis change. Reese makes a Class III/IV hitch for the Aeros, I’ve got one on my ‘97.

Application data for the hitch I just bought (Pro Series aka Reese aka a handful of others, according to the box) indicates 79-2011 across the various Panther models, with some caveats re: exhaust mounting on later years.

[Kodachrome Wolf]

Application data for the hitch I just bought (Pro Series aka Reese aka a handful of others, according to the box) indicates 79-2011 across the various Panther models, with some caveats re: exhaust mounting on later years.

I had no issues with mounting anything on the '97. Drilling the holes took a moment, but nothing bad. They said dual exhaust models needed modification, but on a CV/GMQ, it just mirrors the single exhaust, so there's nothing really special there. I modded nothing exhaust wise.

I could see wagon owners with proper factory dual exhaust having problems, since I the pipes run along the frame rail. Maybe the Town Car models did too?

Courtesy 2vModular: