VicCrownVic's 1998 Mercury Grand Marquis LS

[DerekTheGreat]

Whoa, you waxed a car? LoL good thing I'm sitting down. I still need to give the Townie it's annual coat of wax.

[VicCrownVic]

Once upon a time my '89 was in pretty good shape, so I would wax it about once per year. It was also not as old as this car when it was gifted to me. Dad bought that one at auction for $200 though.
Also not the first time I waxed this one. The minor scratches on the trunk lid are not noticeable after a coat of wax is applied. Whatever the dealer used when they detailed the car really hid all that which I think is why it took me a while (after I washed it a couple times) to notice the scratches.

[VicCrownVic]

Oil change done. FL820S fit like it should, but man they did not leave much room to work. I see now how cranking the steering wheel all the way to the left would have helped but still managed to get it done with the wheels straight. Full Synthetic 5w-20, ready to keep rolling. Undercoating will be done in the next week or two, probably on or after the 1st.

[VicCrownVic]

Oh, and a picture from yesterday.
That mirror like finish, definitely the nicest car I've owned.

[87gtVIC]

Shiny silver paint.

[packman]

I found cutting a plastic seltzer bottle (quart) in half (lengthwise) and cramming it under the oil filter makes for a much cleaner oil change. Directing the oil forward into the drain pan/vessel seems to capture most of the oil from the filter.

[DerekTheGreat]

...The minor scratches on the trunk lid are not noticeable after a coat of wax is applied. Whatever the dealer used when they detailed the car really hid all that which I think is why it took me a while (after I washed it a couple times) to notice the scratches.

You sure a rodent or cat didn't try to climb it's way up your decklid? Something did that to my Colorado and scratched up the paint pretty good as it did a slip & slide. I would've popped it's neck while emitting sick laughter if I could have gotten a hold of it. I don't think the fuckin' thing had 2,500 miles on it..

[VicCrownVic]

No, I think these are morons putting crap on the trunk lid type scratches. Not heavy things as the scratches are mostly very minor.

[DerekTheGreat]

I still wouldn't rule out cat or squirrel, those things are on the move this time of year. Just yesterday while working on my truck one had the balls to try and stash a crab apple in my rear bumper. Makes me wonder if it's been putting shit in my spare tire cavity. After that I noticed fine scratches on my tail gate. Not that I care, just an observation..

[VicCrownVic]

I put the winter wheels and tires on earlier this week. Appointment is setup for Monday to get Krown treatment done. Covid slowed down my plans to start on the Yukon this spring, so it looks like that will be getting done next year. The Scab just is not a suitable winter DD candidate. So it looks like I'll be introducing this car to (I assume) its first winter. This car has a rebuilt title, so that helps me not feel too bad about it taking on winter.

Some pics with the winter wheels and tires:





And Large Marge (Grand1) is doing well and says, "Hi!"

[Grand1]

Noticed the wheels right away, still jealous of that analog cluster.

[DerekTheGreat]

Wheels look great with that top. If you'd like to get that Yukon in for winter service, I'll give you some keys to the garage. Just because I can't help with it doesn't meant you can't work on it if you'd like. I'd hate to be the reason why it's not on the road.

[VicCrownVic]

No worries, you're not the reason. Ask Mark, I tend to take on crazy jobs with my vehicles, and then we never get to his. I didn't want to put you through that so I purposely made sure you got yours done before I hog YOUR garage, LOL. Besides, having been sitting for so long, more stuff is going to go wrong with that thing after the engine is in. It's really not a realistic goal to rush it (kind of like the first time we went to retrieve it, and actually every step of the way so far, lol). Sure I might be able to do it, but that doesn't mean I should. Remember, when we grabbed the G10 I told you I wasn't planning to get it done this year since I lost so much time to Covid. I'm not the least bit worried about it since it's further than I expected to be.

I'm sitting in the waiting room now getting my Krown treatment done. My appointment was rescheduled for today (long story I'd rather not disclose publicly, but will tell you privately). This car will be ready to take on winter in style.

[DerekTheGreat]

Haha I know how it goes. Great point about the Yukon, it will indeed make poopy of it's trousers several times before it decides to be a reliable ride. I'm all too familiar with that process when buying used cars. Let's do it this spring then, can hog garage all you want if John is willing to harbor the Lincoln some more at that point. I figure I should probably retrieve that at some point for the winter, I know he originally said we were cool up until October.

Got it. You might want to peer under it and hit any areas they didn't get so well with it before you get that good warm, protected feeling inside. Ours are tomorrow, I'm preparing myself to get all oily from touch up work.

[VicCrownVic]

He's good with December even, but the weather is not good that long so I'll keep an eye on the forecast to see if there is a dry stretch that might work. This week looks like rain most overnights and half the days. I'm sure he would be ok with storing the TC again next spring/summer. I'll ask him.

I went out after work today. The smoke cloud getting on Northbound M53 at 23 Mile was hilarious. Reminded me of when The Scab had a huge rip in the oil pan gasket and when The Ice Car had all that blow-by, lol.