Well I bought a Wagon Today 1/11/08

[9t3lightning]

Well group after lurking around and reading up on these cars, I bought a 1987 CV Wagon(steel side)
Car is pretty loaded, other then a power seat and the 3rd row seats, it has everything else, the interior looks like a Pleather type??Was that there shot at leather?? I drove it home almost 2 hrs, without a hickup...You gotta love a 110,000 mile 302 that just purrs...
Anyway, only thing i see wrong with it is the power locks do not work on any of the doors..??
I'll assume fuse?
And now what all the hop ups for this year wagon?
Brakes, wheels? motor swap?
I'm thinking 5.0 HO with an A9P computer(no need for cruise)
Would like to do the later brakes, is there a write up?
And Would also like to mount my 2000 Bullit Mustang wheels under it with 245/45/17..Posssible?

[marquisman]

congrats on you purchase! im sure your gonna love it, now you can start with a HO swap!

[gadget73]

you could get those in basic vinyl, DuraWeave, which was like a textured vinyl/plastic stuff, cloth, or actual leather. Real leather isn't too common on the Vic tho.

[Chuck Norris]

There may be a writeup on the brakes somewhere, I don't need them, my car came with bigger brakes stock. :p

The wheels? You'll need the type of spacer that has the adapter set-up (it's own studs basicly) but you can do it. They are for sale on ebay and elsewhere. Check out the suspension forum, I think you'll find that info in there. Or send a PM to the member called Moneypit, as he has a very similar set-up on his car. He's a great guy and I'm sure he wouldn't mind giving you the lowdown. This is a great community and I know you'll enjoy it!

[Tiggie]

Yay for Wagons!

Vinyl was fairly rare in sedans, but seems more common in wagons. I have vinyl in my '88 and my buddy has vinyl in his '89.
Power locks might be fuse, might be the actuators. Do they make any noise?

I think the spacers/adaptors you need to run the Bullitt wheels are either 1in or 1.25in (your choice). http://store.summitracing.com/partde...?part=trd-3610 eBay sells them too. mercmarquis might have a set still for sale, send him a PM.

Probably the most common mods are police rear sway bars, wheel/tire upgrades, dual exhaust, 3.55+ gears, shift kits, and more horses under the hood.

What rear gear do you have? Look on drivers door tag under "AX." Should be a letter or a number.
Does it have the tow package? Look for dual exhaust, "K" code rear axle, tranny cooler (about 6" by 12" finned thing in front of the radiator), and a power steering cooler.

[mrltd]

could be the fuse/breaker or all of the solenoids are shot.

Tons of upgrades, none are bodystyle specific.

[9t3lightning]

thanks for the info..
As for the brake upgrade i found some posts on it
Thanks!
Now for Sway bars, did the wagons already have the big bars or is there something out there that has bigger?
Also my weatherstripping for the tailgate is cracked badly(outside of window) anywhere to get this?

AS for gears I have 3.08's..Ugh..
I'll swap in some 3.55 or 3.73's..

[9t3lightning]

also for the wheels spacers, are all 4 wheels need spacing?

[Tiggie]

Wagons had the largest diameter front sway bar available, 1 3/16in - but it is hollow. The police cars used a front 1 1/8in solid. The performance difference (if any) between them probably wouldn't be noticeable on the car. In the rear, police cars used a 1in bar. Wagon's (or civilian sedans) didn't get a rear bar unless they had the Handling RPO. With the Handling RPO, you got a 3/4in rear bar I think. There is a huge variation of front sway bar diameters on the civilian sedans I've seen in the junkyard. They range from 3/4in to 1 1/8 (same as police).

I think all four wheels need spacers.

No sources for the tailgate weatherstrip that I know of other than NOS (if you can find any).

[Lincolnmania]

for clearance reasons you only need the spacers up front, though most of us choose to use 4 spacers so it looks even.......if your rear wheels are wider, you can prob get away without the spacers.......i have several sets of 3.55 gears if interested

a 88-92 mark7 ho computer is more common (slew of em at ez pull) and if you are building a ho with the stock cam, theres no need for maf........theres ho's in them there mk7's too mang.....let me know if you need any help
scott

[9t3lightning]

thanks guys for the response,
now scott what should i use for spacer thickness??
1.25?

As for gears, thanks but i have sets, i did enough 8.8 swaps, i think i can do them in my sleep now
Still prefer a 9" ford, but thats the old side of me.

AS for the motor, i have an 89 LSC 5.0 on a stand and an explorer intake and heads right next to it
Could make a nice swap into the wagon, and add MAF...
But i have to keep reminding myself its a Wagon..
Not a Lightning or Mustang

[Lincolnmania]

1" spacers will work just fine and are a little cheaper, if you already have 1.25" spacers, use them
if you have the ecm from the lsc also it will run like a raped ape with speed density.......also change out the valve springs in those explorer heads so the valves dont float......trick flow has a nice kit for around 150 bucks that has valve springs and retainers

[9t3lightning]

Wheel spacers

Well i searched around and i see people use a 1.5" spacer to run bullits? Scott you mentioned 1" or 1.25??

So whats the right answer?

[Lincolnmania]

you need a 1.5" spacer if you are using 03+ panther, marauder, 05+ mustang wheels and independent rear axle aviator/explorer/mountaineer wheels

you only need 1" spacers for the 2000 wheels...tho some people use 1.25" spacers

[9t3lightning]

Scott
thanks..I did some more searching..seems like 1" works great and 1.25" if you want to run center caps?? Now if i upgrade to the big brakes, which i plan on asap(ez pull run) is the same size spacer needed?
joe