If you know 80-89 Town Cars ... get in here

[LoPar]

I wouldn't mix and match them. I've seen it done, and the lenses look out of place. Pointy on one end and flat on the other is odd. One calf-catcher bumper and one flush bumper also looks odd. It ends up looking exactly like it is: a car put together from mismatched parts.

my thoughts exactly!

[atlantic3000]

I would definitely use the stronger 80 to 84 bumpers. The newer ones are weak and don't protect the corners. I also like the mark vi fenders and lights and rear. Or just do the mark vi front end and switch the rear bumper for older one

[gadget73]

I really hate those old bumpers. Looks like someone screwed up a metric to standard conversion and made them about a foot too wide for the car.

[L1011tristar17]

no pics, but there used to be one driving around here. I think it was an 84 that hit something, and it's front end was put together with later parts since it was a different color. It looked really stupid to me.

I've seen the opposite: An '89 with part of an '84 front clip. (look at the pass. side cornering lamp)



Wrecked again less than two months later

[gadget73]

that looks amazingly terrible LOL

[marquisman]

Wow, its sad that I now like the '85-'89 lights better.

[DerekTheGreat]

I prefer the sharper look of the 80-84 taillights and parking lights too but I'm with gadget73, the bumpers are just too wide. Would it be possible to keep my flush bumpers and swap just the extensions, taillights and rear reflector section or would it all have to be swapped?

[gadget73]

yes, but it would need some work. The extension piece with the lens in it just bolts in. The trick is the fill panel under the lamps. Its not shaped properly for the early lights, and the early one is not shaped for the smaller bumper. I expect the fix is modding a late fill panel to match up with the early lights.

the rear should also be a matter of bolting the extension piece in, but I haven't studied the fill panels and such close enough to know exactly what, if anything, needs doing back there. I don't think the reflector panel has anything to do with it, unless you just want to change it. If you do, you'll need to come up with something for reverse lamps. early cars had the lamps in the bumper, late are in the reflector panel.

[DerekTheGreat]

Oh yeah.. Guess I'd take the 85-87 tail panel as I like the reverse lights in the center more than how the 88-89's are. It would be cool but eh, I don't have the space to modify anything so I'd have to farm that out. Body work isn't cheap............. If only I had tons of money, man wouldn't life be fun? Lol

[Piece-it pete]

Wraparound bumpers are awesome! :p Subjective of course

I hit a concrete center divider with my old 87 Grand Marquis and all that happened was, it bent in the 'wrap' bit.

Pete

[gadget73]

Oh yeah.. Guess I'd take the 85-87 tail panel as I like the reverse lights in the center more than how the 88-89's are. It would be cool but eh, I don't have the space to modify anything so I'd have to farm that out. Body work isn't cheap............. If only I had tons of money, man wouldn't life be fun? Lol

the parts that woul have to be modified are plastic, and fairly easily removed from the car. Its car-width, by a couple inches deep. The center panel is a bolt-in swap. A bunch of nuts on the nside of the trunk, and a lot of little screws from the bottom side. Its one of those things thats difficult more for the dirt that will fall in your face than anything else.



sorry for the edit on the original post, clicked the wrong button. It should be the same as what you put there, I just had a stupid moment.

[DerekTheGreat]

Mr G73,
I thought you said those plastic panels would have to be modified, sure looks like they would. I could see that the extensions should fit no problem but some work would have to be done to mate the shorter plastic bumper cover thing up to the taillights... I dunno? If I ever saw one in a yard I'd rip it apart to play around with the idea. I also tried getting a center section for Ashley's towncar and I got all those 10mm bolts off but it still wouldn't budge, looked like the bumper would of had to come off as well so I gave up. Oh, after looking again I think I'd rather just covert the rear, I like the later style front end better although having hideaway headlights like a Mk. VI would be pretty cool.

[gadget73]

the plastic parts would have to be modified, but you can probably do that yourself. They're handily not that large, and I don't expect it would be terribly involved to carefully cut away at the plastic to get it to work.

[DerekTheGreat]

Hmm. If all I've gotta do is cut and then apply a bit of cover up paint that could work! I'll investigate but here in Michigan Panthers of that vintage are rare in the yards..