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My '79 New Yorker "Anita"

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    My '79 New Yorker "Anita"

    Nothing too special behind the origin story, beyond that I've wanted an R body for over half my life and I pounced on the opportunity when it presented itself! Buddy of mine (fellow land yacht enthusiast, though he's basically out of the game now) in the central PA area found an R body for sale in Pottstown, PA. Huge thanks to him for passing this on and promptly documenting everything when he saw it. I included some of the pre purchase pictures here. Paid $1800 for Anita, plus shipping, and storage. Doubt I'm much more than $3000 into her as of February 2023.
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    Seller cleaned out all the bankers' boxes and stuff out from the interior, and we finalized the deal. Anita arrived late at night on June 22nd without incident. I got her parked at my outdoor storage guy's place late the following day. Was able to pull most of the trim, the entire headliner, and most of the decrepit vinyl top. I also took the time to assess what the car needed and ran the numbers. I determined initially that Anita wouldn't be going under the knife for anything until 2024 at the earliest. This was not to last.
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    Because sometimes an operation's priorities and timetables need to change. I was reluctant at first; I initially wanted 2023 to primarily focus on Ebyt. Stacy would be a secondary front. I was under the impression that Anita would not have any looming rust issues (especially since I parked her over gravel and concrete, and took the necessary precautions to keep the area beneath her clear of foliage/plants). I was under the impression she could wait several years parked outside without any issue so long as I kept the door jambs and other drainage paths clear of debris. When I swung by to check on Anita in late January with one of my partners, I was not pleased. There were huge pools of water collecting the rear floor pans. I knew the R body cars had this issue with at least some frequency, but I didn't know how common it was on the '79s compared to other defects. But I recognized the issue immediately- improper door to body seals from the factory. (Skip to 1:42 in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zP9429qtWTc).

    Anita's build update video: https://youtu.be/TgGdldTuBjk

    Suffice to say, I cannot just let Anita sit like this. I had to save time and money with this project. So I took a hard look at Anita's scope of work, and started cutting as many expenses as possible. The biggest savings were from deciding against the early gen 3 5.7 Hemi and 545 RFE. It's powerful, reliable, but ultimately, too expensive ($4000+ in parts alone!). As much fun as a gen 3 5.7 Hemi and 545 RFE would be, the car would be dangerously fast with that powertrain combination. Even with some requisite upgrades to brakes and tires, I wasn't 100% comfortable with the idea.

    Instead, Anita will get a '92-'03 5.9 Magnum + A518. That setup is still a hell of a lot faster than the stock 318 and A727 that Anita came with. It's reliable, and it basically bolts in. All I need is a shorter driveshaft due to longer A518 case vs A727 case. The other planned upgrades including but not limited to 16 or 17 inch wheels, 255+ width tires at all 4 corners, bigger 4 wheel disc brakes, custom exhaust, extra chassis bracing, plus all the other maintenance items (power windows, power mirrors, weatherstripping, etc) are all happening as planned. As soon as Eva's back from Logan's shop, Anita's journey to pro touring prowess begins. Shooting for August/September 2023. MOPAR OR NO CAR!
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    Last edited by Hearsesrock427; 02-02-2023, 12:49 AM.
    '89 Grand Marquis "Ebyt", '85 Grand Marquis "Eva", '94 Caprice "Kira"
    '84 Town Car "Stacy", '79 New Yorker “Anita", '93 Town Car "Kelly"
    '80 Mark VI "Allie", '94 Grand Marquis coming June, '79 LTD-S "Oksana"

    #2
    Oh it has frameless windows on the doors! I've always found those rear door window/quarter windows weird and somewhat hideous.If those had normal rear door windows they'd look pretty sharp.
    1985 Mercury Grand Marquis LS, "Maisa"
    2005 Volvo V70 Bi-Fuel

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      #3
      I haven't seen one of these in the wild in twenty years. Not many produced? Or just not many survive (or both)?
      1990 Country Squire - under restoration
      1988 Crown Vic LTD Wagon - daily beater

      GMN Box Panther History
      Box Panther Horsepower and Torque Ratings
      Box Panther Production Numbers

      Comment


        #4
        Congrats on the new project! I haven't seen one of these cars in I don't even know how long. Looks to be in pretty good shape too from the pics. The vinyl top looked like it was okay as well (at least for the time being) but I guess maybe it looked worse in person.

        Rust is the worst. I have my LTD parked in my driveway which is all concrete and still have to fight back rust due to just being outside in the elements 24/7. I finally have a car cover so maybe that'll help things. Do you have a way to keep it out of the rain/snow? It might help keep things from rusting out so fast. I don't know if it's true but I've heard from people that 70s Chrysler's are particularly notorious for rotting out due to rust.

        Originally posted by Arquemann View Post
        Oh it has frameless windows on the doors! I've always found those rear door window/quarter windows weird and somewhat hideous.If those had normal rear door windows they'd look pretty sharp.
        I didn't even notice at first it was a four door at first glance! I thought it was a two door car because of how rear windows are shaped. Definitely a funky design. Probably not the best for looking out the window if you're sitting in the back. I sort of like the ugliness of it though.
        Last edited by slack; 02-02-2023, 11:54 AM.

        '78 LTD | '87 Grand Marquis | '89 Crown Vic (RIP) | '91 Grand Marquis (RIP) | '94 Town Car (RIP) | '97 Town Car (RIP)

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          #5
          @Arquemann: Yup. It's a sporty touch that goes really well with the trim delete. I really like how these cars combine smooth transitions and hard creases. The frameless door glass should yield lower wind noise versus say, a box panther. Like you, I'm not a fan of the way they did the quarter windows on these cars. It's thinking outside the box some, but putting the door pull strap on a vertical piece of glass secured by a small trim piece/shell is nonsensical. Just asking for that shit to break, and the faux coupe side profile lost its novelty appeal quickly with me, haha. The eventual goal is one piece rear door glass conversion, which undoubtedly will have to be custom. The lift motors will have to be modified/re-engineered/replaced with universal heavier duty parts due to the extra weight of the glass and different angle of operation than stock. Between that and getting the right custom rear door glass pieces made, that's easily a $2500 project. Ergo I'll live with the goofiness for the time being.

          @Tiggie: The only other place I saw any R bodies ever was at the Mopar Nationals a few years back. They had a sharp '81 St Regis (former police car) and a rough '79 New Yorker (5th Avenue package car, identical color and options that Anita came with from what I can tell from comparing pictures). Suffice to say I was captivated by both those cars, and vowed that an R body would be my first Mopar purchase. Suffice to say my head just about exploded into confetti when I heard about a 99% rust free R body for sale. Allpar says they made 43,636 New Yorkers for '79. These cars got no respect when they were new, and many were discarded. Just too many build quality problems and cheaped out components of ancillary systems for what was supposed to be an upscale luxury car.

          @slack: Thanks mang! The vinyl top was definitely worse than it looked. It was already starting peel around the roof trim, and especially around the roof rails/doors. UV exposure and heat cycling had all but destroyed the adhesive beneath on the most common areas for sunlight exposure; the glue was basically along for the ride most of the time. It came out in giant chunks along with the vinyl top itself when I started peeling. Regarding storage, my initial plan was to park Anita indoors at my main fleet storage place. Had it all paid for and everything. But it couldn't happen. Biggest issue was I couldn't get Anita to fire. In retrospect it's not surprising; the fuel system has that trademark stale fuel/icky green varnish varnish in the lines and in the fuel tank. (Anita ran when parked some 15+ years ago, but after that long the fuel system and carb needed to be gone through at the bare minimum). You should've seen the puddles of green goo that leaked out of the fuel tank and multiple places in the fuel lines. You'd have thought Slimer from Ghostbusters masturbated on the back of the flatbed tow truck for a couple days, even though the trip to outdoor storage area wasn't even 35 minutes from start to finish. Between that and the main fleet storage area not having adequate room for a rollback tow truck much less a pickup truck with a 20+ foot flat trailer to turn and maneuver in nixed the idea entirely.

          From what I can see, the areas that had light pitting haven't gotten any worse, and the areas with spots of surface rust (rear wheel wells/arches primarily) haven't gotten any worse either. The main drain passages for water were all clear when I checked earlier, so it's really just the rear door to body water leak that concerns me. Hope to have that at least contained by the end of this month. At the bare minimum grab a tarp, weight it down, and at least cover that section of the car. After cutting out the carpeting back there, and getting all the water out of course. Interesting that your LTD gets rust popping up like it does. Single biggest thing that I can see that's encouraging the process is all the airborne salt from being near the ocean, seeing as how you're based in Long Island. Even if you're not directly on the coast you are guaranteed to get some. (See also parts of California and Florida). Cover will definitely help against that stuff though, and parking over concrete takes care of dew from foliage/plants. Secondary factors in my mind are ancient paintjob, no clearcoat, and not the greatest quality primer. Even a small crack in thoroughly baked paint is all it takes for corrosives to start setting up shop and attacking the surrounding metal.
          Last edited by Hearsesrock427; 02-02-2023, 01:25 PM.
          '89 Grand Marquis "Ebyt", '85 Grand Marquis "Eva", '94 Caprice "Kira"
          '84 Town Car "Stacy", '79 New Yorker “Anita", '93 Town Car "Kelly"
          '80 Mark VI "Allie", '94 Grand Marquis coming June, '79 LTD-S "Oksana"

          Comment


            #6
            That has a 727? I would have expected a 904 with a smallblock.
            86 Lincoln Town Car (Galactica).
            5.0 HO, CompCams XE258,Scorpion 1.72 roller rockers, 3.55 K code rear, tow package, BHPerformance ported E7 heads, Tmoss Explorer intake, 65mm throttle body, Hedman 1 5/8" headers, 2.5" dual exhaust, ASP underdrive pulley

            91 Lincoln Mark VII LSC grandpa spec white and cranberry

            1984 Lincoln Continental TurboDiesel - rolls coal

            Originally posted by phayzer5
            I drive a Lincoln. I can't be bothered to shift like the peasants and rabble rousers

            Comment


              #7
              Now that you mentioned it I'm actually not 100% sure on which variant of the 3 speed Torqueflite Anita has. I read through the entire allpar article on the R bodies and it didn't say either. I know any and all 360 powered R bodies bound for fleets got A727. Knowing what I know now, I too would expect an A904, seeing as how Anita's a 318 2bbl car. (Logan will know for sure once he has everything out for the motor and transmission swap).
              Last edited by Hearsesrock427; 02-03-2023, 04:13 PM.
              '89 Grand Marquis "Ebyt", '85 Grand Marquis "Eva", '94 Caprice "Kira"
              '84 Town Car "Stacy", '79 New Yorker “Anita", '93 Town Car "Kelly"
              '80 Mark VI "Allie", '94 Grand Marquis coming June, '79 LTD-S "Oksana"

              Comment


                #8
                well either way, booting it for an overdrive trans is useful, and the 2bbl 318 from that era is pretty lame too. Is that a lean burn car or just standard 2bbl? Lots of Chryslers were lean burn in that era which adds an entire extra level of suck to it all.

                I like Chrysler engines, but their engines like everyone else's in this time frame are pretty sad from a performance POV.
                86 Lincoln Town Car (Galactica).
                5.0 HO, CompCams XE258,Scorpion 1.72 roller rockers, 3.55 K code rear, tow package, BHPerformance ported E7 heads, Tmoss Explorer intake, 65mm throttle body, Hedman 1 5/8" headers, 2.5" dual exhaust, ASP underdrive pulley

                91 Lincoln Mark VII LSC grandpa spec white and cranberry

                1984 Lincoln Continental TurboDiesel - rolls coal

                Originally posted by phayzer5
                I drive a Lincoln. I can't be bothered to shift like the peasants and rabble rousers

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by gadget73 View Post
                  well either way, booting it for an overdrive trans is useful, and the 2bbl 318 from that era is pretty lame too. Is that a lean burn car or just standard 2bbl? Lots of Chryslers were lean burn in that era which adds an entire extra level of suck to it all.

                  I like Chrysler engines, but their engines like everyone else's in this time frame are pretty sad from a performance POV.
                  Is "an extra level of suck" a technical term of art? LOL
                  What I Own: 1993 Mercury Grand Marquis GS
                  What I Help Maintain: 1996 CV / 1988 CV / 1988 Tempo

                  Comment


                    #10
                    @gadget: R platformers all had lean burn from the factory. Anita's was removed or otherwise disabled decades ago, mercifully. Agreed on the stock powertrains; everything I have heard points to "reliable but slow". Couple that with my complete and utter lack of patience for carburetors, and you have a giant incentive to install a later production motor and transmission. Only thing that's really missing is a digital dash from say, a J body Imperial or a K platform LeBaron. Reminds me, need to clue Logan in about that. Thank you for inadvertently jogging my memory on nice-to-haves. Cheers!
                    '89 Grand Marquis "Ebyt", '85 Grand Marquis "Eva", '94 Caprice "Kira"
                    '84 Town Car "Stacy", '79 New Yorker “Anita", '93 Town Car "Kelly"
                    '80 Mark VI "Allie", '94 Grand Marquis coming June, '79 LTD-S "Oksana"

                    Comment


                      #11
                      honestly these are one of the few things I'd run a carb on, but I doubt anyone makes the manifold I would want. Mag 360 with a Thermoquad. Basically nobody makes spread bore aftermarket intakes, and since a carb Magnum never existed thats pretty much the only option.
                      86 Lincoln Town Car (Galactica).
                      5.0 HO, CompCams XE258,Scorpion 1.72 roller rockers, 3.55 K code rear, tow package, BHPerformance ported E7 heads, Tmoss Explorer intake, 65mm throttle body, Hedman 1 5/8" headers, 2.5" dual exhaust, ASP underdrive pulley

                      91 Lincoln Mark VII LSC grandpa spec white and cranberry

                      1984 Lincoln Continental TurboDiesel - rolls coal

                      Originally posted by phayzer5
                      I drive a Lincoln. I can't be bothered to shift like the peasants and rabble rousers

                      Comment

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