Three years ago I bought a 88 grand marquis from the original owner for 2400 because his son didn't want it the car had never seen winter and has been in the area since brand new. Runs and drives amazing you can't beat these cars.
My parents didn't have one of these 80's Panthers but 3 of my Aunts drove '80's Grand Marquis so I pretty much grew up in the back seat of these cars. Seeing this video brings back childhood memories of school pickups family road trips, and that "Ride Engineered" badge on the Grand Marquis dash. You can put over a week's worth of luggage for 5 people and coolers with food and drinks in that massive trunk. I can still hear the whine of the AOD transmission, the purr of the Panther's 302, and that Ford starter just like it was yesterday.
I once owned an '80s Panther car: an '85 Mercury Grand Marquis LS 4dr. blue with an ultra plush interior! 27 Summers ago (1997!), I got scared by the fuel gauge: twice, it glowed an amber alert color; thirdly, I remember cruising through the Plaza when along with the amber alert, I kept hearing a 'beep' tone (low-fluid indicator!): so I wheeled into a nearby gas station and refueled! That's 1 reason I wanna own another one: between the '86 & '90 models!!
One bad hangup on my '85 Gr. Marq.: the 5-litre, throttle body V8 engine occasionally smoked! I never knew why, but it did! The interior was alright; the optional climate control ran cold often times. It had dual remote mirrors, everything else was all power; even the radio antenna (a little switch raised or lowered it)!!
Started dailying an 87 with a coach roof just like that and I can say it is the most comfortable and quiet car I've ever driven. If you can get one, get one
I can’t remember exactly, but I think I have owned one Crown Vic and three Grand Marquis from this era. One of the Grand Marquis was a 2-door. They are super dependable and nice cars overall. Great purchase. Thanks for another great video Tony.
I daily drove a 1989 Grand Marquis LS from 1997-2019. It had almost 170k when I sold it. I think it needed a fuel pump. I always kept it garaged, washed and waxed and serviced. I wish I had kept it.
That's a real nice find it's a beautiful car there's not too many around with low miles! I currently own a 1987 crown Vic LX with 36,000 original miles it is my daily runner only in the summer months and is stored winters has never seen snow or salt. 🇺🇲🏁🏁🏁😎🏁🏁🏁🏁🏁🏁🏁🏁🏁🏁
02:00 Legit Crown Vic people, notice the newer one in the back ground....a very good sign that this older one has been taken care of....new body Town Car also!!!!
Tony you are so right about these Panther platform cars. I currently own three - a 1987 Crown Victoria Wagon with 250,000.0 miles on the original engine, a 1991 Crown Victoria LX wagon with a complete restoration done in 2020 and currently 12,000.0 miles, and a 1989 Mercury Grand Marquis LS 50th Anniversary Edition sedan one of only 250 built with this trim package purchased in January of 2022 with 67,000.0 miles on it in pristine condition. All are great cars and the Mercury gives me 17 mpg around town and 24 mpg on the highway. You have a real beauty here and it appears to be a similar color to my 1987 which is Sand Beige. My 1991 is in Pastel Alabaster and the Mercury is in Deep Shadow Blue metallic. Congratulations on your find !
Thank you! Yeah, I've only ever had good luck with everyone I've had and my parents, too. They had an 85 Town Car Signature with 348k miles when they sold it, still running and using no oil! Some guy on here commented that they are just and get terrible mileage! 🙄
Hi Tony, Thanks for the reply. I will try to send you photo's of my " Fleet " if I can remember how to. Found your channel through Adam Wade's channel which I also enjoy. I will always remember my old friend Colonel Pogmore telling me that once you go to a full size car you never go back !
When i was a yeenager i nherited my grandfathers 77 LTD Landau. Ot had all the options and a 460. Ots too big for je now but o wosh o could gave one of these.
just traded for a 85 crown Victoria with only 74k miles on it pretty clean interior aside from some upholstery in the passenger backseat. Seats are nice dash is cracked but that's common where I live with direct sunlight being a very constant thing. recently had a lot of work done on it and basically spent most of its life in a garage because it was just a drive in town get grocery's car.
Tony, we had a car exactly like this in our family two-tone silver Red velour interior 1984 model, showing me that car knowing it’s for sale , it’s like showing a small child a puppy that for sale, I put a lot of miles on that crown Vic and it was not even my vehicle, I had an 86 Camaro V8 at that time, but I preferred the crown Vic , my friends that I was weird for that
She’s a beaut Clark! What a nice, plush, low stress car. Even the color combo is calming. Growing up, my best friends step dad had a dark green ‘81 Grand Marquis with the plushest green velour seats I’ve ever sat on.
@@tonyscarcare5657 At the time, I was amazed that Ford continued to build and sell so many of the Crown Vics and Grand Marquises with the conventional slanted rear window. To me it looked really dated and '70s-ish compared to the more upright C-pillar on the 1980 and later GMs.
Looks like nice car. Obviously needs some work. I had 87 Mercury GM leather seats cracked badly and trunk leaked tech could never fix otherwise good car. I love Panther cars too I own 01 Crown Vic 262,000 and Marauder great cars! Good luck with this one. Enjoyed yr video.
I think the next video should be Tony fixing the back power windows, wearing a blindfold , I imagine as many as he has fixed, he could probably do that?
I'll probably do a video fixing the windows and lock, but I was thinking about pointing and having Jason do the repairs so he can learn. However, he doesn't like to be on camera, though.
Tony, It looks like you found a very nice car for Jason. I have been driving panther platform cars since 1986. My current daily driver is a 2002 Town Car that I bought in 2007. It will get at least 23 miles per gallon on the highway if I keep it under 80 mph. If I haven't used my rear windows for a long time, they will stick and not go down. When this happens, I will hold the button on the drivers door that controls the rear window, and then slam the rear door shut. This will let the rear window work and go down again. I learned this little trick a long time ago. It's too bad that Lincoln, Mercury, and Ford discontinued the Town Car, Grand Marquis, and Crown Victoria after the 2011 model year.
They are great cars. In the video, I held my finger on the button and smacked it several times with the side of my fist. That has always worked for me. I also usually hear the window motors clicking, and these aren't making any sound at all. I will do a video when I get around to doing the repairs on the rear windows and lock. Thank you very much for watching and commenting!
Thanks Tony. These are cool. I rented a 86 model and drove it across America when it was new. Then I bought an 85 model in the same colour as the rental as a reminder of my trip. I sold that car to buy a MK8 Lincoln (I still have) but then missed it so bought a baby blue 1980 model with the 351. I also have a 1985 Colony Park wagon in the same beige colour as this one (which was the same colour as the rental and my 85 Crown Vic). They are good cars.
@@tonyscarcare5657 I had 2 88 Chevrolet Caprice Classic's a sedan and a wagon drove them both for many years both top of the line models the sedan was a mid line models it was a classic had everything but power options the wagon was fully loaded the LTD Crown Victoria hands down beats them in driveablity, comfort even at 35 years old it's still remarkably comfortable everything works as it should expect the front power door locks (motors frozen up unhooked so I can lock the doors manually) it's too the point I'm gonna have to put some money in the steering and suspension other the normal maintenance it cost me very little to drive.
@ericheld4382 that's my experience with every one I've had. I can't see a GM car being better. I've worked on them and seen them toast a lot of 700R4 transmissions.
10:14 those older gen radios would burn the display bulb out usually early on, like by 85,000 miles....you could always tell if the miles was 67,000 or 167,000 miles by if the radio display still lighted up.....
Tony, I can vouch for how smooth these are and how fuel efficient they can be at sensible highway speeds. In 2003 I bought a 1991 Grand Marquis with 50,000 miles for $2,500. If the original owner had not neglected to rustproof it, I might still have it today.
My first car when I got my driver's license in 1992 was a 1985 Ford LTD crown Victoria had only 49,000 miles on it. I bought it from the local judge in my town. He was the original owner. Paid $5,000 for it. Light blue with navy blue Landau roof. Blue velor interior. My favorite car i ever owned. I would love to have another one someday
I had an 89 Grand Marquis. I will say there's one spark plug that is a pain in the ass to get to. I had a fouled plug so I went to change them 7 when in so I figured that's probably good. Nope it was that one that's hard to get to it's been awhile but I think I had to take the upper plenum off.
I have an 89 Crown Vic that I just love! It’s been a really great car to own and drive. Very reliable, very comfortable, and just starts up and goes every time. And best of all I didn’t pay much more than a few grand for her 😊
I own a 09' SAP Crownvic love it ! But I had a 87 blue loaded crown vic with tow package built in radar detector loved that car also had that till 200k. But Im old enough to remember my dad buying a brand new 86' Grand Marquis LS leather gray . It was amazing we had it for years, still remember the smell of the leather and the ride!
20:18 the oil burning smell could be from no miles being put on it yet since the last oil change, some oil might of spilled near the oil filter area onto the block...
I have 1990 crown vic with bad engine so i did swap it with 4.6 and its bolts right away the best thing is the Gauges works beside that you get free space under the hood 😅
Hi Tony, this video planted a smile on my face all the way through it! Beautiful Crown Vic, looks very well loved. Friend of mine has his Dad's '91 silver Grand Marquis, also lower mileage and a truly great vehicle. Love these.
Nice old Vic, the Panthers were all such great highway cars. My Uncle took many a road trip in his 81 and 87 Grand Marquis. Be sure to check that metal screen in the rear of the intake under the PCV valve. I changed a few of those back in the day that were plugged up.
My first new car was 1987 Ford Taurus,and i remember seeing the crown Victoria in show room,a nice maroon color.I did consider the V C but the Taurus was hot modern body style at the time and i was 24 years old.The cown Victoria is a smoother riding car.All the best to you,There are not too many Crown Victorias left in that condition left today.👍
I owned an 89 that I drove from St. Louis to Veracruz, Mexico in 1999. Those rear seat windows only go down half way, as I recall. I added dual exhaust, that helped the 5 liter on gas mileage and power when passing on the interstate.
Yeah, I add dual exhaust to all of mine. It does make a difference. The windows do only go down halfway, and I wonder if we even need to worry about fixing them. I do need to look into the right rear lock, though, so may as well will I'm in there.
Beautiful, Tony. Brougham Roof, Interior Luxury Group, front cornering lamps, strange there’s no Autolamp or illuminated entry or power antenna (probably the base preferred equipment package offering). Definitely no Clearcoat paint, so should be a relatively easy spray / blend job for the paint repairs… looks like a good solid purchase.. 👍🏻
Right. I told him he'd have to get used to turning the lights on and off himself after all these years. However, I believe that would be an easy plan and play option to add if I found one in a junkyard. The holes are in the dash pad for the sensor. If I add remote keyless entry, it will give him illuminated entry.
Yeah, the Autolamp feature is like 1 interconnecting harness… plug at the light sensor amplifier, down to the headlamp switch, then over to behind the ashtray for the Autolamp relay. My 84 came with Autolamp, I then integrated the auto dim function from the Town Car into the system. Made a custom harness, dimmer sensor on the rearview mirror… the memories…
This is the reason I'm not getting rid of my 2001 Cadillac Deville. I'm replacing the head gaskets now. I could not find a shop near Atlanta that would touch it.
I had a 1988 Towncar that I bought from a family friend. He bought it brand new for his wife in ‘88. He even purchased all the factory repair manuals for it. She didn’t drive much and when I bought it it had 48,000 miles. She always kept it in the garage. It was one of the most comfortable and easiest driving cars I’ve ever owned. I loved that thing. I really enjoy your videos. You have a great channel. Take care man!
Cool! I’ll definitely check it out. Take care. The best thing I did for mine was put a set of true dual exhaust with magnaflow mufflers and a crossover pipe on it. It sounded fantastic. Those were great because they weren’t too loud. They had a really nice tone and didn’t drone at all like Flowmasters do. It sounded like a fox body but was quieter. As a Lincoln should be in my opinion. It really made a difference in performance as well. Sorry to ramble, just thought you would appreciate the recommendation.
@ryanhodges7101 yep. I have true dual exhaust on mine as well. Here's the link to the video.👇 ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-t9nNmfhMN4o.html
@ tonyscarcare5657 Man that thing is gorgeous! Mine was the same white exterior color with black leather. It wasn’t a signature series. I’m sure you will but hang onto yours. I deeply regret that I sold mine. It’s been really nice talking with you.
20:52 Ford put a ton of hard work into these. Ford was going after quality...they really invested heavily into these older Panthers...great fit and finish, high quality plastics, door panels that stay together after 10+ years unlike GM cars, robust axles and suspension, well built seat motors and tracks, high quality sealants for the glass and body seams, on and on... I'd check that transmission lever grommet and replace it with a brass one and then that car would literally be as reliable as any brand new car.. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-o_YOmP-3rHw.html I love the sounds these older gen make...The 1979-89 starter sounds so neat, the churn of the power steering pump, the howl of the transmission just before a 1-2 upshift, the loud click of the AC clutch, the belt driven fan roaring when you first start them, just all beautiful sounds of excellence, especially for 1970s/80s vehicles.... These were light years ahead of GM and Chrysler.... Slap a keypad in the driver's door and I'd daily drive this car....
We still have several things to do to this car. We will do videos on the repairs. You don't have to tell me about the quality. I've had many of them and I always replace the plastic with brass.
of course as you know the throttle valve lever grommet on these can crumble and and cause the OD to burn out....full electronic controls by mid 1992 model year Panthers...
@@tonyscarcare5657 definitely, but the point of the videos and growing the channel is for others to learn...like no one under 50 knows to smear a huge glob of chassis grease on the bump stops on older non rack and pinion cars to prevent the loud popping and screeching sounds in a parking lot with the steering wheel cut as sharp as it can, I've seen people spend $3,500 at a shop replacing the whole front end and it still made this sound...I bent over and smeared my tube of carmex lip balm on the bump stops and told them to drive it in circles in the parking lot and they came back to me and tried to pay me and was so angry that the Ford dealership replaced the whole front end and that wasn't the fix the whole time ... literally somewhere in the USA someone will get a similar car as this LTD CV and they'll be 19 years old and know nothing...I mean not even how to check the oil and if they care, they'll look to RU-vid videos and hopefully find your channel...
A rep of mine used to drive a succession Panther LTDs. Gray one, blue one, and finally a black one. All had black wall tires. Starting to get the picture? He kept his blue hardhat in the center of the package shelf, and for some reason everybody got out of his way! Great cars. Great rep.
Yeah, I get the picture. I wish I had mentioned in the video that if this car had black wall tires, I would've never given it a second look. Lol, and that's the truth!
@@tonyscarcare5657 They had the same vibe as that late '70s Impala Adam has. I had a blue 1984 Impala company car with black wall tires. Fill the trunk with sales literature and it was the best car in the snow you ever saw. V-6, no torque=no tire spin!
@@tonyscarcare5657 Im the only one in my town that owns one so I always get looks light blue patina town car its a work in progress has 96k miles had 81k miles when I bought it 3 years ago. Its not mint but its more than good enough for me.
Hard to find them that nice these days. Some lady where I work drives one just like it except it's bright white to work every day, that one has red interior. Almost as clean.
Tony, i noticed during the video you specifically stated that you can't go wrong with the 1986 and up Crown Victorias with the multi-port fuel injection. What is your thoughts on the 1979-1985 with the 5.0 Carburatored Crown Victorias?? I'm kinda partial to the earlier years before Ford started to decontent the car in later years.
My parents had a 1985 Town Car with the throttle body injection, and it was superb. It was dependable and got awesome fuel mileage. It's just that the multiport engines perform so much better.
I like these 87 Crown Vic's just as much as the 87 Town Car. The 5 liter fuel injected engine is great. What would you suppose the weight difference is between the 87 Town Car and 87 Crown Vic? Thanks for sharing this great video Tony! -- Jeff H.
You're welcome, and thank you! I'd say there's a few hundred pounds difference between the two cars with the Town Car having a lot more sound deadening insulation and other available options, like the moonroof would probably add at least 100 pounds. Thank you for watching.
Super nice clean car. There were certainly some good cars from the 80s despite what all the magazine writer's say. My older friend had this same car in the same color inside and out. Maybe exact same year. I went with him to check it out around 1998. When the first owner had the car new it had all kinds of issues with the fuel injection. When it went out of warranty they put a Holley carb on it and a regular electric fuel pump. Otherwise, I don't think anything had been done over the years. He paid 2 grand for it and drove it for about ten years. I think it had 180k when he parked it. This one will make your friend a nice car. And, like you said, in today's money, 5 grand is not a lot to spend on a nice car.
Thanks! Your friend must have had an older one that was still the throttle body injection. It looked like a carburetor and had two injectors in it. In 1986, they went to multiport EFI, which was pretty much trouble-free.
@@tonyscarcare5657 Agree, as it could have been an 85. It was also a local small town car and the dealership mechanics may not have been too knowledgeable on FI I remember the ignition box on the drivers fender had ooze coming out of it because the gel around the components slowly melted away. My 76 Town Car has the same ignition box.
In the video, it looks like the right rear door with the paint flaws is a repaint. It might be shadows, but it looks like it is not quite a perfect match.
My only complaint with these is the primitive Obd 1 I have yet to find one mechanic that can properly diag these systems without throwing the same 5 sensors at them. This is why I end up doing my own work otherwise I really love these cars panther cars.
Very reliable. Transmission is obnoxious but very durable. Engine: TFI pickup and modules and the damned rear intake oil leak from the cork gasket slipping out. Not too much trouble at all. Ford could have done a better job with the steering wheel. Always looks cheap...like from a Fairmont.
I've never had any problems like that and I've had a lot of them. You are correct about the transmission, but this one is smother than most. The steering wheels got a little more decorative in the later ones. In the Town Cars anyway.
My early years(mid '80s) as a mechanic were at a Lincoln Mercury dealer. Interesting times...EECIII to EECIV and yea, a bunch of intake oil leaks out the back of the 302s. I'm not a mechanic anymore but got to see a bunch of change while I was a mechanic. Worked on 2 Mark VII diesels and a Ranger diesel at that Lincoln dealership....those are so rare now. Makes me feel old. Memories.
Oh no. I enjoyed it. Didn't suck at all. Interesting as hell. Vehicles didn't run well(EECIII) out of the box and making them run at all was a fun challenge for a young mechanic. I started at a Chrysler dealership. I got to do two fuel injection to carburetor conversions(factory kit) on '81 Imperials. That stuff is so old now, no one cares. It was serious stuff when you were working on it. Imperial retrofit: Pallets of parts. Amazing thinking a TSB said: "remove fuel injection system and install carburetor". LOL. But was true.
My 1986 Grand Marquis, inherited from my grandparents: Horrible Horrible Horrible HOR REE BULL Thunderous wind noise, weak a/c, schizoid transmission, 0-60 in forever, greedy gas guzzler.
@ericheld4382 yep! Tune up and dual exhaust make all the difference in the world. I've got as high as 23 out of my 89 Town Car. My parents' 85 Town Car had 348k miles on it when they sold it, still running and using no oil.
