kishy's 1986 Grand Marquis

[87gtVIC]

That is awful looking.

[packman]

Whoa! Fuel looked like semi-dirty oil. I don't remember what the fuel in my old '53 looked like; but I do remember it smelling like kerosene after having sat for 6 years.

[DerekTheGreat]

Wonder if vintage fuel has any value. Sell it to the "retro everything" crowd. Genuine pre-COVID gasoline, low miles, second owner. No lowballers, I know what I have.

I'll tell you hu-what, vintage gas has value to me. THat '79 G10 I got going, it had pre ethanol gas in it. And much to my surprise, when I dropped the one tank I found the shit was still viable. It smelled a bit like acetone but it wasn't gooey and the tank wasn't rusty. I threw it in my truck just to be safe but when it came to inspecting the auxiliary tank, I said F it and just put gas in it. So far, so good.

[matth825]

Good on you for taking care of your mom. If it doesn’t pan out for her and DerekTheGreat decides to pass on it I’d be interested. I’m just outside of Chicago so it wouldn’t only be about a 4 hour trip for me. Unfortunately I’ve got the same closed border problem.


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[kishy]

A friend of mine in Detroit (neither Vic nor Derek, but one they have met but who is not on here) also wants it. Lots of interest from your side of the border...it's too bad about the timing of things. This car was available before the border closure: 1, 2, 3, but I realize it's more complicated than that (all about timing).

We must not forget that this was a mouse nest car and smells quite...not good. I believe it can be made lovely again with a little work and I am willing to do at least the quality of work I did on the wagon, so that's something. I hate when people say "the more work on it I do, the higher the price" but honestly, the $650 car has already become a $1000 car because of the fuel system stuff, and after a bunch of gasket work, timing set, fluids, brakes it's probably going to be brushing up against $1500 and it'll still have a stinky interior. So the way I'm looking at it is, I think I'm stuck with this one for the long haul (not that it's a bad thing to be stuck with). That being said if it stays under $2000 for something decently shiny and mechanically sound, I suspect all interested parties would still be.



Fuel tank and straps are in. Spectra tank is still made in Canada, so that's cool.
What do we think about painting tanks? It's "Ni-Terne steel" which seems to be a type of nickel plating, and some suggestions online are that paint won't adhere to it without scuffing/etching it. The straps will get painted either way.
I'm thinking no paint but drench it in oil spray and that should probably do it. The Ranger tank is a Spectra and has done quite well for corrosion, especially for being a winter driven vehicle. I did oil spray it heavily when installing it, and have touched it up a couple times since.

I did forget that I need to pull the gauge sender out and de-rust it...the tank and car are currently not convenient to just visit. I'll look through my garage and see if I can find another sender to use instead. At the same time, it's fairly easy to pull those out when the tank is installed in the car, so it wouldn't be the end of the world to put a non-rusty but inoperative one in and then revisit it later (just to make the car mobile).

[87gtVIC]

I would scuff anything I ever want paint to stick to before attempting to paint it. That being said I would just oil undercoat it. As I would do that after painting anyways. In an effort to save cost just choose the oil undercoating.

[DerekTheGreat]

Oh I'm all for doing work and asking more for the car. I just get irritated when a seller states that in the ad. It's like, why don't you just do the work and then list the car for sale?

Paint the tank! With the van, I just hosed the damn thing down in Krown T40. It's not goin to see salt but I figured I made some new scratches and it was out of the vehicle so why not?

[VicCrownVic]

All my vehicles, except for the '98, have had mice in them. Spring of 2019 when I moved The Scab, to my new place from my parents place (where it sat all winter), it was horrendous smelling. After a thorough vacuuming (mostly the trunk) and riding around with the windows down (no ac anyway) the smell was considerably reduced to an unnoticeable level (for me at least).
I haven't tried it yet, but I borrowed an ozone generator from a friend with the hope of getting the stench out of the Yukon. He says it works but you need to get rid of the source of the smell or it will return. I haven't had the chance to do a thorough vacuum job in the Yukon so I haven't tried the ozone generator yet.

[gadget73]

Factory tanks were not painted. My rusty-ass car lost the original tank to a pinhole that rubbed through under the strap. It was not rusty anywhere, just dirty. Oil it if you're gonna do anything, the paint is going to get scratched to hell installing the tank anyway.

[VicCrownVic]

That matches my experience as well. Factory tanks tend to hold up well. It's the straps, hanger faces, and lines that seem prone to rust. Also, something I was thinking about, on the quick connect fittings; once they are connected pack them with grease. I wonder if that might help them come apart several years later. I think it would have helped in my case. The innards of the female end got stuck on the male end (thanks to rust) when I removed my 7 year old pump hanger assembly to fix a leaky seal. (Perhaps lube the male end before assembly as well.) I ended up breaking the return line and replacing the whole assembly.

[DerekTheGreat]

All my vehicles, except for the '98, have had mice in them. Spring of 2019 when I moved The Scab, to my new place from my parents place (where it sat all winter), it was horrendous smelling. After a thorough vacuuming (mostly the trunk) and riding around with the windows down (no ac anyway) the smell was considerably reduced to an unnoticeable level (for me at least).
I haven't tried it yet, but I borrowed an ozone generator from a friend with the hope of getting the stench out of the Yukon. He says it works but you need to get rid of the source of the smell or it will return. I haven't had the chance to do a thorough vacuum job in the Yukon so I haven't tried the ozone generator yet.

The van cleared up something wonderful like when we eradicated all the mice hotels that we found. Haven't tried the Ozone Generator but after steam cleaning the carpet 3x it just smells like grandpa's basement which is good enough for the crowd that will be riding in it.

Factory tanks were not painted. My rusty-ass car lost the original tank to a pinhole that rubbed through under the strap. It was not rusty anywhere, just dirty. Oil it if you're gonna do anything, the paint is going to get scratched to hell installing the tank anyway.

Yeah you know, on second thought, I'm an oil guy. To hell with paint. I might paint the tank and then hose Fluid Film or Krown on it afterwards though. Probably just Krown or FF. The replacement tank the PO put on my truck is still rust free despite being bare steel. Coated with Krown plus dust. I dig that stuff. Really messy when working on it but that beats bringing out the blue wrench and all that.

[Tiggie]

I left the new tank bare in my 90 bare. I regret it to be honest. It’s only seen summer rain once and I see rust. Nothing terrible but any is too much.

I had mice in the headliner of the Rustang. Oh my. What a smell when it sat in the sun. I like mice as little furry friends. I hate once-every-thirty-seconds-mice piss and poo.

[kishy]

Decided to meet you guys halfway on the tank...didn't want to strip the existing oily goo off, didn't want to scuff up the finish, but did agree that I wanted something protective on it. Coated it in undercoating. Between the thin sticky oily layer they put on it prior to it going in the box, and the undercoating (plus the fact it is plated), I am sure the outside of this tank will outlast the car.

Filler neck required significant rehab...very rusty inside, pitted badly once rust removed. Friend found a solution for sanding the inside of the filler neck, with sandpaper on the end of a rod attached to a die grinder. I'm sure it has a proper name. I did buy a new filler neck seal (expensive little bastard), but I may have a reusable used one on-hand...need to see if it's squishy enough still.

New Airtex fuel pump hanger assembly will go in. Airtex was the OE that actually made the things when the cars were built (the hanger - pump was a Bosch).

The sending unit will not be salvageable, I am quite sure. I'll try, just for kicks, but I think the metal is significantly compromised. I had another one available that I'm putting in it to plug the hole, but I'm fairly sure it doesn't work. I have a brand new one on the way, which won't be terrible to install even with the tank in the car.

Replaced the fuel filter. Quite possibly the factory original Motorcraft came out.

Replaced the rear shocks. Access is never easier than when the tank is out. I found a set of CC817 sedan cargo coils hanging around and might put them in, the rear sags a bit. But some of it is smaller wheels in the back, so I need to compare some things. I've decided that I'm not buying Monroe shocks for anything ever again...they're garbage, every time. I decided to try another cheap brand, FCS, and we'll see how they do. If they end up being super terrible, maybe there will be another rebate promo on KYBs by that point.

Straps and dowels (painted), tank and filler neck (undercoated) are drying and will be installed tomorrow, tentatively. My goal is to have taken it on a brief test drive by end of day tomorrow.

[gadget73]

Never been impressed with a set of Monroes, they're usually mushy and they don't seem to hold up well.

I think the sandpaper on the rod thing is properly called a hone, but not sure. Functionally works the same as a dingle ball cylinder hone. Useless if you want proper straight parallel sides but perfectly fine if you just need it clean.

[VicCrownVic]

I've got CC817 coils on the '98 and I am pleased with them. I've got Monroe Max-Air socks on the rear of The Scab and I would not buy another set. They're ok if you can get them to hold air, but my go-to rear shocks are Gabriel HiJackers which I have on The Ice car and the '98.