Wagons are scarce?

Looks pretty good from what can be seen in the picture. Anything can be hidden by the undercoating though. That would be rust from the inside out.
Does anyone know what the two round things are to the left and right of the catalytic converters?

 

It is getting hard to find a good picture of one of these. The black plastic cable end is fine. Nothing you can do about that unless you change the cable itself, but it shouldn't be a problem. The issue is the grommet that is pressed into the throttle lever on the throttle body The whitish/yellowish thing circled in red in the attached picture. They were originally made of plastic. Over the years after exposure to heat and the elements the grommets can become brittle and crack and break. When that happens, the black cable end that snaps into that grommet can become loose or worst case fall out altogether. That is when bad things can happen.

I've never actually had one fail, but when I swapped out the carb on my Crown Vic I just machined one from brass and used a hair pin clip to hold the cable end in place which I believe is what the Ford replacement part does.

 

Excellent, I am glad to be learning this stuff. I also asked the seller for some more pics and to see if the cable or grommet were ever replaced. This women is so slow to respond but she was like that everytime. Found a pic with the grommet replaced, thanks everyone.

 

millsy
I lived in West Hartford for 10 years, moved there for Philly, 2 things
1. my wife's 82 Olds Ciera wagon went thru 6 complete exhaust systems - pipes and mufflers - not because of the CT winters but because the car never was driven enough to burn the moisture out of the system, they rotted from the inside out. so if she hadn't driven the car much, exhaust leaks in the pipes and mufflers should be expected.
2. Bought my 89 Colony Park when I lived in West Hartford, commuted to Enfield, Trumbull, Seymour and Chicopee, MA so racked a ton of miles on it, on the way home 1 night - the transmission went, it was caused because the plastic throttle body cable grommet(bushing) went - result trashed transmission - total rebuild cost back in 1993 I seem to recall about $2200. I also owned a 82 Crown Victoria wagon, didn't own long enough for anything major, the only issue I had with that was the serpentine belt snapped on the NJ turnpike - that was fun

the 85 Colony Park wagon, got it a year ago, only had 56,000 miles on it, once I had it inspected the only issue they found intake manifold leak, while they were fixing that I had them put this on, even though they said the 1 on the car was fine.
Anyone with a 80's Ford/Mercury that doesn't replace this, is asking for a New Transmission, The plastic 1 goes with NO warning - and by the time your realized you have a problem you have already chewed up the gears. it's $27 dollars - replace it
Ford AOD transmission TV cable bushing brass replacement. $26.99

https://www.ecrater.com/p/21126511/ford-aod-transmission-tv-cable

 

Excellent info MAK, thanks for the link. I bet you are glad you got out of this tax hell hole.

 

millsy
when we moved in there was no state income tax, then half way thru 91 the state imposed the tax - balance of the year was a flat 6.5%, at the same time West Hartford reasserted all property - property tax went up by 3 grand - so over night we lost over $700 a month in income - I was a kid back then (37) with a huge mortgage, wife and 3 little kids
- thanks I just broke out in hives reliving the fun.

 

Haha LMAO MAK, I feel ya. My entire family lives here and leaving isnt an option YET!!

 

Don’t move to NY. 4% market value property tax, 10% state income tax and as of 2018, neither deductible on income for federal tax. Big double dip. Makes VA look cheap.

Oh, yeah, and just try selling to get out!

 

everyone, moved here in 2004,
property tax $110 a month vs. $1100; sales tax 5.3% vs. 7.5%
Home 5 bdrm 4100 sq. ft. 3/4 acre vs 4 bdrm 2100 sq. ft. 1/8th acre; all brick vs plastic siding
same executive ghetto type neighborhood - no commute vs the commute from hell
in Shenandoah Valley vs Chicago suburban sprawl.
negatives - hummmm gee shopping for better clothing is further away; oops on line is in the other room.

Born and raised in mid-town Manhattan (NYC - not Kansas) then Connecticut
ABSOLUTELY no desire/want to go back to that hell to live - visit YES; live there again - just shoot me
and YES NYC is the only real city in the US -take your shots everyone - but it's true
ok maybe San Francisco - but that's it

 

I just got my new property tax assessment on my house, an increase of 9.8% from last year and the vehicle tax mill rate which was capped for 2 years is going up and then will be fazed out again. When they capped it I saved $400 just on my vette tax bill and now that savings will be gone plus the towns will be hiking up the mill rates with our huge budget shortfall. GE moved out, Mass Mutual is moving out, United Health and Aetna are talking about leaving etc etc. My entire family lives here and it sucks staying but I am lucky because I worked my ass off, saved and invested and my wife for now has a good job so I cant complain for now but I could see Prudential leaving also where she works. This state is so underwater, now they want to add tolls, a huge tax to gas which is also near the top in the entire country. Luckily my cobra is registered as a 1965 which helps out. People are moving out, big corporations are jumping ship and the tax burden falls on the SAPS who continue to stay here and yes I am a SAP. My son is an only child and again our entire family lives here. Ct is the worst state to do business in, point blank. This is also at a time where the economy is booming, WTF happens when we go back into recession, the good times dont last forever and CT will be f@cked even more.

 

millsy
My family settled Farmington in the 1600's ( yeah we got kicked out 1st, or dodging the law)
be even he moved out to Hadley, Mass

 

Update, the women is not answering my emails. My wife texted her letting her know that i emailed her. The seller said oh I am busy with some stuff. She said she would respond, its now been about 2 weeks and no responses. I met her last year and she was really attached to the car .Then months later she emails me saying she is getting the exhaust leak fixed and me and my mechanic buddy can come take another look at it and offer her a price. I have just been waiting and waiting. I think she brought it in to be fixed and instead of having the leaks patched she had the mufflers replaced, spending more money then she wanted and now wants to keep the wagon. Hopefully I am wrong and she will get back to me.

 

Might be cheaper and quicker to find one elsewhere (aka out west) from the sound of it. Nothing worse than dealing with a flaky seller.

 

So I sent a final email to the seller, letting her know that I will be moving on since there has been no response in 16 days. I got an immediate response with some updates. Both mufflers were replaced, she also got a flat tire and put the original spare on but is replacing with 4 new white walls. She said the car was made in Canada and will try to get me some more pics if she can find them, if not I can go look at the car on the lift if need be. She will see if the TV cable has been updated but didnt know what I was talking about so I sent her the pics of one with and without and the link to the $27 kit letting her know even if she doesnt sell it, she seriously needs to add it on. The saga continues. Once I see it I will post lots of pics with all the particulars and negatives. Then some of the experts here can hopefully give me an estimate.

 

My friend sent me a pic of a for sale sign on a wagon she spotted in a parking lot so I called the guy knowing nothing about the car, long story short is he lives 5 mins from me. I go to see it, its a 1986 Chevy Caprice with a 307 olds engine, thats what he said. Cars under carriage is sweet, no rust, muffler looks great but man was the wood grain faded, and all the plastic that goes from the front fender to the body was gone. It has 86,000 miles on it, the interior was not dirty but not clean. Windshield had a crack running from one side to almost the other side. Took it for a cruise and it ran fine, brakes good. He wants $1500 and its prob worth it or slightly less. Mary has contacted me but still is dragging her feet on everything. Love driving these boats!!!! I didnt take any pics because it was pouring out and I had to get down on the ground to check underneath which was an adventure. He had it on craigslist for $3200 but no offers.