19bonestock88’s 2004 Grand Marquis thread “temporary stand in for Ion Green Line”

[freebeard]

Flip the Grand Marquis?

[19bonestock88]

Originally Posted by freebeard

Flip the Grand Marquis?

I’d have to spend a lot of money to get it in saleable condition. I basically saved this from the scrap heap

[19bonestock88]

So I promptly began fixing up the car, partly because it needs to pass an inspection and partly because I couldn’t not work on it. I patched together bits of the broken header panel and secured the headlights to the car, fabricated a totally blocked upper grille, pulled the dent out of the bumper (hole still needs zip tied shut) and used foil tape to cover the rust holes in the front fender arches and painted over it with black spray paint. I also installed turn signal bulbs and used clear tape to make lenses for the corner lights. So far it’s not pretty but it should work until I get my Saturn back on the road. Gotta say though, the thing is super comfy to drive, kinda like driving your living room down the road

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

One good aspect of such old-school body-on-frame cars is they basically refuse to die. As long as either the body or the frame is OK, there's always something doable to keep them functioning.

[19bonestock88]

Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr

One good aspect of such old-school body-on-frame cars is they basically refuse to die. As long as either the body or the frame is OK, there's always something doable to keep them functioning.

The car should prove durable over the long term, and it’s definitely tough enough to take what I intend to do, which is use it as a tow pig after my Saturn is roadworthy again.

On a side note, I’ve ran the first tank through it, and the mileage was abysmal (273.3mi and 14.301 gallons), but the engine started out running poorly and I had to give it an Italian tune up to get it to come around. Given that it’s running decently now the mileage may improve. It still needs an exhaust and the front clip fixed, and will receive some aero mods over time

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by 19bonestock88

It still needs an exhaust and the front clip fixed, and will receive some aero mods over time

Once again, a good point regarding body-on-frame is it allows going even quite extreme when it comes to aero mods

[19bonestock88]

So the big car died. Was taking it on its first bigger road trip last weekend and it suffered a number of mechanical failures in a row, culminating in an issue that I couldn’t afford to repair that also left the car incapacitated alongside the road, so I left it

[Ecky]

Originally Posted by 19bonestock88

So the big car died. Was taking it on its first bigger road trip last weekend and it suffered a number of mechanical failures in a row, culminating in an issue that I couldn’t afford to repair that also left the car incapacitated alongside the road, so I left it

Yikes. So what's next?

[19bonestock88]

Originally Posted by Ecky

Yikes. So what's next?

That’s a good question. I’m broke so it’ll be a while before I buy anything but I’m torn between another GM/Delta car or something newer. Being that I work for Toyota I should try and leverage an employee discount on a Camry LE Hybrid…

[Ecky]

Originally Posted by 19bonestock88

That’s a good question. I’m broke so it’ll be a while before I buy anything but I’m torn between another GM/Delta car or something newer. Being that I work for Toyota I should try and leverage an employee discount on a Camry LE Hybrid…

It's pretty hard to go wrong with a Camry.