Hi Folks, here is my daily-driver 1990 Mercury Grand Marquis Colony Park LS this evening in New Jersey, almost five months after a good claying and detail. Early this May, we will have owned the wagon for 3 years. I have decided not to repaint. The roof has crazing and cracking but still looks pretty good even within 5 feet. The di-noc is very good. In 2010 I did POR-15 and undercoating of the undercarriage. Prior to that, The u/c was basically fine with the exception of a small area of surface rust on the right rear wheel opening which I scraped, sanded, etched, POR-ed and undercoated - no issues since. The diver's side front seating surface leather is cracking, but not awful (seat back is fine). I have enough replacement burgundy leather to do both front seating surfaces (not seat backs) but am waiting on this. I get offers to buy periodically. The latest was last week when a stranger pulled into the driveway, rang the doorbell and wanted to buy it for his wife to replace a blue CP that was salt- water damaged by hurricane Sandy. I felt for the guy, but have no inclination to sell. The car has every available option for 1990 except the rear roof rack air deflector. Some of my favorites are the insta-clear windshield, tow/trailering heavy duty suspension package, higher HP 302 engine, split 3-person front bench with armrests, split facing third row seats and auto-lamp. It really is a living room on wheels and because the wheel-base is more of a mid-size length than full-size, it is surprisingly maneuverable. I actually like the stance of the GM box wagons a bit better, with the longer wheel-base, and the way their rear wheels look in their wells, but I am hoping to somewhat off-set this issue in the future with slightly bigger tires (225 75 R 15's). I have seen Ford/Merc wagons with this modification and like the visual effect.
Looking absolutely gorgeous! What a lovely looking wagon! You will find that if you put the 225/75R15 tires, your speedo will be off by about 10%. You will also find the ride and handling characteristics change as well. The ride will be softer, and it will be a bit more floaty on the highway and in the corners. A good 225/70R15 with a nice white wall is a good compromise size for these cars. They look great. Best of all, they bring the speedometer and odometer to as close to perfectly calibrated as it is possible for a mechanical system to be.
Thank you MikeT! I appreciate the compliments and suggestion. When I got the car, it sagged on passenger side noticeably, especially in back. I have tried to remedy this by having spring spacers installed, I think a half inch front and one inch rear. This caused a slight over-correction (arghhh). It's not too noticeable, but again is worse in back. I am hoping to "fill" the wheel wells better with a bigger diameter tire. Of course this will "overfill" on the driver's side, but not too much, I hope. Sacrilege too, I am planning to swap out turbines for steel wheels and 70's Continental wheel covers with simple filled-in plate design. The rear wheels, because of a widening of the body toward the rear, look too inset for me, and the caps mentioned, along with bigger tires, should improve the appearance. Little things can make a big difference to me.
Thanks Doc! Tedy, I dunno. What's this sacrificing wagons for rare trucks and then pining for the stealth Victoria BC Colony Park? (Still have the plates you sent). Guess I shouldn't be too hard on you, long as you hang onto that nice full-size Merc!
90Merc: Before you spend a LOT of money into futzing around with tires and wheels, do yourself a favour and spend the $550 or so, including labour, to have new shocks and springs put in all the way around. The Ford gas shocks are readily available, at under $40 each with a lifetime warranty. Go with cargo Coil variable rates in the back and Moog heavy duty for the front, and the ride and handling will be transformed. The Ford shocks will seem soft at first, but you will realize the aftermarket shocks are too stiff on compression. Then decide what you want to do about wheels and tires for the old girl.
Thanks MikeT, springs are still good but I think I'll take your suggestion and replace the shocks at some point. I have til Ford Carlisle 2015 to do the tires and caps.
90Merc, if you had to put in spring spacers, you are due for springs. Go for the CargoCoils, but get the heavy duty tow package ones. The 'soft' end in not far off the factory single rate tension, and the heavy part handles weight really nicely. While the shocks are being done, it is a very, very esay job to do the springs. Basically, move both rear shock, and the springs fall out. The fronts are not much harder. If your lower ball joints are getting the least bit iffy, changing them at the same time makes the front springs a nothing of a job as the springs will, quite literally fall out of the car.
Thanks MikeT for all the info. My bad for neglecting to say that I had replaced the right rear spring early on thinking that was the cause of the sag. With the new one in, the sag was only slightly diminished, so that's when I looked into spacers. I ended up raising the right side slightly higher than the left, so I will try to correct this at some point. I appreciate the product info for future reference!
