What can ya do with a Grand Marquis?
 

AAARRRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!!

OK, I get this absolute sweetheart deal on a '96 Escort, and with it starting off at 37-40mpg without ANY work, I was looking forward to some basic mods.
Then.....
came a 6 point buck through the windshield.
So I'm back to driving an '84 Grand Marquis.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi..._Marquis_2.jpg
OK, so it's a boat. Gets a regular 18mpg on the highway.
So here's what I'm seeing.
#1. That's one dirty front facia. The vertical grill slots will allow making flush grill block pieces, and I can also cover the headlights the same way. Not much of a start, but it IS a start.
#2. Lots of suspension travel. I have a set of coil spring lowering clamps I'm gonna try on the front end. But with that much front overhang, I'm not sure how much front clearance I can give up. I wonder if I can shorten the tubes the bumper is mounted on, get it closer to the car? Both front and rear bumpers could afford to be narrowed by 4", but can I afford that? strictly low budget, you know. But, hmmm... lessee. Narrow the bumpers. Mount them closer to the car. French them in with foam and fiberglass. Paint them body color. (The car DOES need repainting!) Lower it front and rear by cutting off a half a coil. Attach black plastic air dam to bottom of front bumper.
#3. Speaking of repainting. Rip off the half-a## vinyl roof, the stupid lights on the b-pillars, de-mirror it, replace radio antenna with one of those "tape on the windshield" antennas. What else?
#4. Wheel covers. Man, them are HUGE wheel wells. Anybody ever make wheel skirts for these boats? Back wheels sure could use them.
#5. Appears to have a 3.07 gear in the 8.8" rear end. Is there a lower (numerically) gear available for this diff?
OK, let loose with the suggestions.

1) You could make your headlight covers go extend from the outer edge of the grill to the edge of the fin. Start them at the upper corner of the bumper then radius them up onto the hood surface.

2) If you have a sawzall you can narrow the bumpers fairly inexpensively.

3) I would think these are all pretty small changes that would't amount to much savings. Whether it is worth it is up to you.

4) With the amount of taper the lower body has you may only be able to make a half-skirt & would still need wheel covers.

5) They do make 2.73 for the Ford 8.8.
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You may investigate if someone makes a transmission with an overdrive gear & a lock up torque converter that could be swapped in.

Good Luck
Don



They do make 2.73 for the Ford 8.8.
SUPERIOR AXLE & GEAR - products new home - Superior Axle and Gear"s Ring and Pinion Gear Sets

New tires and low weight rims and/or moon discs. Pump up tires to sidewall max. (if you think tires can take it.) larger diameter tires? There should be room and it may be cheaper and easier then changing out the read differential.

The simple things may help the most compared to the effort invested:

1) Weight reduction - spare tire in back. Speakers may also be very heavy.
2) General maintenance - Oil change. Wheel bearings. Transmission fluid. How are the shocks doing? Are the tires/wheels balanced? When was the last time spark plugs were changed? Oxygen sensor?
3) See where the engine runs leanest (if possible) and lowest speed overdrive will engage (40 mph-ish?).
4) Engine braking on downhills where coasting not possible. Does this have a carburetor or is it fuel injected yet?

I think about 25 mpg should be quite possible, despite the weight and vehicle age. Good luck!

It is probably going to have a Motorcraft MC2100 2 barrel carburetor.

Weigh and displacement of the engine are the two factors killing your mpgs. You can only go so far with weight reduction befre you have to brake out the chop saw, so the other strategy is to make this V-8 into a 4 cilinder by cutting the fuel flow to 4 cilinders.

Zip-tie the front plate to the grille?

Three questions:

1. Does that have the 302 V8 or the 351 V8?

2. Does the transmission have an overdrive top gear?

3. If it's an automatic, does it have a lock-out torque converter?

A couple of things. First, budget, budget, budget! A different rear gear will only come from the junkyard. So far, 3.08's are the smallest rear gears I can find around here, but I'm still looking. It's good to know there are 2.73's available.
Same thing with "lightweight wheels". If it isn't cheap, I can't afford it. The aluminum wheels I have won't take to clip-on wheel discs, but they cost money anyway. When I pop off that center hub, however, there's nothing in the way of a pizza pan! Do those come in 15.75" diameters? The local Wally World doesn't stock anything in that size.

The engine is a cfi, which was Ford's version of throttle body injection. However, I have an '87 intake system (everything- upper, lower, injectors, fuel rail) and have an extra MegaSquirt controller (since the Escort is DOA) so I can do that for not much more than time invested. I'm kinda fanatical about my cars, even the ones I don't like, so it's in good mechanical condition. New plugs/wires/dist cap about 5-10k ago. Did a brake job and repacked the bearings at the same time. Probably about due for a transmission flush, but nothing critical. It is the AOD transmission, which was about the most efficient overdrive auto Ford ever made. Mine doesn't slip, it has never been abused, (come on! It's in a Grand Marquis!) so I'm not losing any more than I have to though the trans.

The suggestion about the headlight covers is interesting. I'll have to grab some plexiglass and see what it does.

Weight. Gawd, the thing's a pig! You don't know how tempting it is to throw out the upholstered couches inside and scrounge myself up 4 Civic bucket seats! But, no, I will NOT go without a full size spare. Where I live, that's just plain foolish. I'd save much more weight with Civic seats, and they'd be much more comfortable, as well.
Oh, and Frank! Thanks, but I already have to clean the pigeon guano off regularly. Don' need no goose and rabbit poop! Oh, PLASTIC GOOSES! So, why not flamingos??????
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_-BEibwB-Xd...-flamingos.jpg

I did a touch of research.

It looks like that car is rated at 26 mpg freeway (24 per 2008 EPA). If you're only getting 18 mpg . . . I'd wonder if something isn't right.

1984 (California) LINCOLN-MERCURY GRAND MARQUIS - MPG and Detailed Vehicle Information

Just something to keep in mind is that if you get really ambitious and the car is emissions exempt, and you have the Megasquirt add-on to control the ignition as well, you could do your own lean-burn engine.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lean_burn

Finally, I did some paint doodles that might give you some ideas for aero-mods.

AHA!!! Had to drive a hunnert miles to the doctor today (having cataract surgery tomorrow, so this was the pre-op) and darn near froze to death! This was the first time since it has gotten cold that i drove out of town, and at 65mph, almost no heat comes through the heater. So, I bought meself a 195* thermostat, and I'm putting it in the next 40* day.
Yes, the MegaSquirt is using MSnS software, and is actually set up to control four coils. No, won't use all four coil igniter connectors, just one. But I'm not thinking a true leanburn is something I want to do in an engine w/150k+ miles on it. Yeah, I'll set it up on the lean side of a narrow-band O2 sensor, but until I rebuild the engine, I'm not gonna risk burning holes in pistons.

Good move. I don't think the mixture distribution is up to the standards needed for good lean burn.

Have you thought about putting her on a diet?

Take everything out, back seat, passenger seat, carpeting, headliner and all the junk in her big trunk. :D

Finally, I used to put carburetor limiters on my vehicles during high school to save gas.

Removable fast back. If you don't need the trunk, that is.

Of course, if you do need the trunk, there's nothing stopping you from making it into a hatchback, if you have a welder and some OK metal working skills.

If you still drive 35000mi/yr, you can't afford the Grand Marquis. If you do get it up to 20mpg, it's going to cost you around $5000/yr in fuel - easily enough to buy and fuel an Escort.

So my advice is to stick to cheap/free mods until you can get another Escort.

Actually, it's not bad looking for an old beast. Why not capitalize on that?

If I were you I wouldn't attempt any radical mods at all. Get it into top running condition (which won't cost much if it's at all roadworthy, such as replacing that defective thermostat) and SELL IT. Spruce it up. People buy with their eyes. Maybe somebody needs a two-ton behemoth that will hold six kids and withstand being hit by a Hummer or a Mack truck. ;) Once you get it sold, put the money into something that's more fuel efficient.

That bad thermostat might be what's costing you in mpg. If the engine never makes it up to operating temp, then it might be running rich trying to get there. It might be worth trying to find someones garage that you can borrow for long enough to put the new one in. No point in both you and your engine being cold and unhappy.

My Father regularly average 23 MPG on his commute to work in his 198x Grand Marquis 5.0, and that was with a loud rear diff assembly. I'm sure if we'd ever have cared enough to fix the noise in the rear end, it would have gotten better by up to 10% or so.

OK.
#1. I hate this car, but I've been hanging on to it for the 5.0/AOD. Project material.
#2. You're right, Frank. Even with the mfi manifold, there's some distribution issues with the lower manifold, especially ports #1 and 5.
#3. Yeah, I KNOW what a cold engine does. But it's supposed to be 47* on Saturday, and I won't be driving it very much, if at all, until then. And the temp gauge I ordered won't be in until then anyway.
#4. Found a set of 235/75-15 tires out back. 2" taller. Only 7% larger, but it's a start. I have a drawer full of those spring clamps, so I can play with lowering it without actually cutting the springs, so I'm planning on seeing what dropping it back down 2" will do to ride quality and ground clearance. Yes, that's an inch lower than the car sits now.
#5. I have some scrap ABS around here somewhere. Wheel discs!
#6. Yes, grill block and heaadlight covers. But low key.
#7. No, I can't strip the car. TOWMBO would have a cow.

I don't think it pays to keep a car that you hate. if you're like me you'll hate the damn thing every time you look at it or drive it. Life is short. Better to find something you enjoy more than it and kiss it goodbye.

i agree with everyone else so far

But my philosophy is the more power you have the less your car has to work

Seafoam it to get all that buildup out of the motor, change the oil run it on Shell V power with advanced timing, Run a K&N air filter headers and merge the pipes into one and get ONE cat and ONE muffler with a turndown at the rear axle, Flowmaster muffler would be best

Quick update:
thermostat helped a bunch. Up to ~22mpg on last highway haul. Since then have deleted belt-driven fan, and added an electric fan I had laying in the "warehouse". Actually, a storage room off the garage that my wife is afraid to enter. I don't have it on an automatic switch yet, so the manual switch for the fan is right next to the new temp gauge.
BUT...
I found out today that it has 3.55 gears in it! To quote Frank Barone, HOLY CRAP!!! Yeah, the door tag says it should have 3.08, but obviously a PO thought he was a drag racer. GEEEEZZZZZ!!!!!
A friend has a collection of Crown Vics/Grand Marqs that he uses for demo derby, and he's drooling over the thought of swapping my 3.55 axle for one of his 3.08's, and he's not sure he doesn't have a 2.73! So it'll be free, AND I'll have help to do it! Now, if it'll just get up over freezing...:thumbup:

Bah, it doesn't have to be above freezing for driveway mechanik work! :thumbup:

you could paint it black and white and add a light bar.. No waiting for lights or traffic.

LOL!
Reminds me of my younger days, only car was a Maverick w/302. Water pump went out in February. A -20* February. The parking lot of the apartment building was the work area. Good thing they didn't make parts out of aluminum back then! As it was, I had to break out the propane torch to warm up a couple of water pump bolts whose heads snapped off! Now, I just make sure I have extra cars! BTW, it wouldn't be driveway work. The friend's extra cars are out in a pasture. BRRRRR!!!!!!!!
:eek:

Your story brings back memories of the a similar situation that happened in the 1970's when I was in college. It was my very first car, a 1963 Cadillac convertible (a jalopy that was given to me by a well-off relative). One January morning, about 15 degrees, I went to start the car and as soon as it started... WHAM!!! - something exploded and went right through the hood of the car! :eek: The 'something' was the water pump. Back in the bad old days fans didn't even have a clutch - they were rigid mounted and belt driven. One blade of the steel fan literally sliced right through the hood! Thank God the car wasn't in motion or with the hood open when it happened. And, as with your story, I froze my fingers replacing the water pump and fan in sub-freezing weather.

They don't make 'em like they used to... :rolleyes:

Come to think of it, remember when 15* was cold enough that if you didn't plug your block heater in, and tuck a blanket around the air cleaner, it just might not start? Ah, for the good ol' days of carburetors and points ignitions!
:rolleyes:

Yes, LOTS of screwing around in the cold trying to get things started in the bad old days. Now if I'd only had a Subie boxer...

That 302 would just be a regular hydraulic lifter motor. If you really want a drivetrain for a future project, any '85 and newer 5.0L H.O. motor would be a much better choice, then you get the benefit of a roller camshaft. There are hundreds of thousands of cars and trucks running around with them. If you are stuck on modding this car, check craigslist etc for used 5.0L Mustang exhaust parts. Some factory headers, mated to an aftermarket 2.5 inch H pipe might work - though you may have to modify your transmission crossmember to clear it.

To save some weight, you could gut window motors and mechanisms out of the rear doors and just make the windows permanently closed. Those flattish side windows could be easy to copy out of some flat plexiglass sheet too. Yank the carpet and remove the sound deadener/underlay then put the carpet back in. That stuff is heavy, especially if you have any water coming into the car, it acts as a big sponge. We could talk about removing the side impact beams in the rear doors (if you never have rear passengers that is) but that sounds like skirting the edge of liability issues.

That car has 5 x 4 1/2 inch bolt pattern, there are lots of cheap lightweight used aftermarket wheels around that would fit it, probably even at the wrecking yards you go to. Thunderbird Turbo Coupes have some super lightweight wheels if you can find them, though you'd have to see if the backspacing would work on your car. Lots of guides online to compare them.

I don't know about the Ford bumper brackets, but GMs from that era use a gas charged cylinder like a shock absorber. Drilling into a pressurized cylinder is never a good idea, but I have seen it done. Once the pressure is gone, the cylinder can be compressed (shortened) and tack welded in that position. This will relocate the bumpers closer to the car by whatever amount the bracket is compressed. You lose any low speed crash absorbtion of course.

Even with that flat front, the back is more important.

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1...oyers/Aero.jpg

Do it. Except have it go all the way to the back of the trunk line. When you open the trunk, it could slide under the aero back if you hinge it at the roofline. You could hold it down with two dollars worth of bungees on the underside. If you use acrylic, it could be almost as clean as the original aerocoupe was. Just a thought, my (car's) backside is even more square than your (car's) backside. :D

Dude, just install some Shell V-power and a little Chevron with Techron at every oil change.

You'll have some V-Tech, then. Screamin mad V-tak, y0!

Sorry, I had to.

Turbo coupes came with a 4 lug wheels, super coupes with 5 4.25, mustang or ranger wheels is what he should be looking for.

While you are swapping rear ends, replace the fluid with pure synthetic lube. Mobil1 or Redline 75w90 would work well.

My mistake on the Turbo Coupe wheels, but if he wants Mustang wheels though he'll need 1994 or newer, the '79-'93 fox bodies are all 4 bolt too.

The whole discussion about light wheels is kinda funny. Almost all of my driving is long distance two lane highway. So the acceleration (both positive and negative) of heavy wheels vs light wheels is truly irrelevant in any practical sense. However, the strength of said wheel is very important. You should see some of the things I've run over at 65mph! Sometim. es the ditch is the safest place to drive, depending upon what's on the blacktop! But the aeroback concept is something I've been doodling with. Just not this winter! I've gotta drive it, you know.

Been playing with silhouettes of the GM in GIMP.
Was going to try them through the flow illustrator, but couldn't get a response. Anyway, here they are:

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p...g?t=1262235027

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p...g?t=1262235096

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p...g?t=1262235204

interestingly, the drop from the trailing edge of the roof to the trailing edge of the trunk is just about 15*, depending upon how much rake I assume for the suspension. A new front fascia out of fiberglass-over-foam, an aeroback, french in the bumpers (or wander the junkyards, looking for a bumper that will fit closer to the fenders-I think an '85 Lincoln Town Car should do it!), belly pan and wheel discs, swap in a police axle with 2.73's and tracloc, drop the front suspension an inch for just the right rake, put in a fresh 5.0 H.O., rebuild the AOD with wide ratios, a 2"overdrive band, and all the other goodies, tear out the dash and put a real gauge package in, redo the interior with the big AMC buckets they used in the Pacer, and I just might want to keep this old pig!

Make your new front fascia look like the Plymouth Road Runner!

DO IT!

Actually, the more brand-correct one would be the Ford King Cobra. :D

http://www.torinocobra.com/images/Wh...ra_factory.JPG

Umm..... otoh, this being a 4 door, something a little less, umm... racy might be in order.
But thanks for thinkin' about me. :thumbup:

pstrbrc -

Flow Illustrator is a lightweight demonstration application. The images need to be 256*128 in Windows Bitmap (BMP) format. Otherwise the program will choke on your image.

CarloSW2

While the difference in rotational mass may not affect you on the highway, there is still the matter of static mass. If you save 10-15 pounds per wheel, thats 60 less pounds of unsprung weight you have to get moving. May not sound like much, but its like losing the back seat and installing buckets. They all add up. It's just a matter of the trade off of dollars per FE gained, and whether you think it's worth it given your driving conditions. Though in your case it would certainly seem that the biggest gains would come from aerodynamic mods.