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my Crown Vic is heading for its final resting place

Iron Woode

Iron Woode

Elite Member
Super Moderator
My 1987 Ford is almost dead. I put it on the road for the winter but I blew a fuel line on Tuesday. Then it started leaking oil. The car is really rusty.

On the plus side my mechanic is also a car dealer and had a car for sale that was right in my price range. So I decided to buy it. That car is a rust free, fairly low mileage 1998 Ford Contour. Its an SE 4 cylinder with air, auto trans, buckets, etc... for $1000 certified. I will be getting it on Monday.

Today my Crown Vic decides to puke its radiator all over my parking lot. I was hoping my car would be working until Monday. 🙁

To make matters worse, we have a transit strike and no bus service.

I hope next week goes better for me than this last week did.
 
"put it on the road for winter" means to me that you have another car, no? Some reason you can't drive it until you get the Contour?

I'd say your Crown Vic gave many years of faithful service. Let her die in peace.

At least she didn't die as a "clunker" here in the U.S. 🙄
 
fbrdphreak said:
"put it on the road for winter" means to me that you have another car, no? Some reason you can't drive it until you get the Contour?

I'd say your Crown Vic gave many years of faithful service. Let her die in peace.

At least she didn't die as a "clunker" here in the U.S. 🙄
Click to expand...
My other car is in storage. Its a 1979 Chrysler Lebaron coup.
 
Iron Woode said:
My 1987 Ford is almost dead. I put it on the road for the winter but I blew a fuel line on Tuesday. Then it started leaking oil. The car is really rusty.

On the plus side my mechanic is also a car dealer and had a car for sale that was right in my price range. So I decided to buy it. That car is a rust free, fairly low mileage 1998 Ford Contour. Its an SE 4 cylinder with air, auto trans, buckets, etc... for $1000 certified. I will be getting it on Monday.

Today my Crown Vic decides to puke its radiator all over my parking lot. I was hoping my car would be working until Monday. 🙁

To make matters worse, we have a transit strike and no bus service.

I hope next week goes better for me than this last week did.
Click to expand...

If it makes you feel any better, one of our '09's puked radiator fluid last week...and was "fixed"...and did it again...and again. It's gone for a few days for surgery. 41k on it.

Best of luck with your new car - $1k sounds like a great deal! 🙂
 
jlee said:
If it makes you feel any better, one of our '09's puked radiator fluid last week...and was "fixed"...and did it again...and again. It's gone for a few days for surgery. 41k on it.

Best of luck with your new car - $1k sounds like a great deal! 🙂
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are you a cop?
 
As long as the body/frame is intact, they can typically be resurrected if you are willing to put in the work. However, you said that it had a rust problem. 🙁 Maybe some of its parts will live on before it gets the viking funeral it deserves.
 
MovingTarget said:
As long as the body/frame is intact, they can typically be resurrected if you are willing to put in the work. However, you said that it had a rust problem. 🙁 Maybe some of its parts will live on before it gets the viking funeral it deserves.
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I've seen vehicles from up north, 15 years old - The frame is ok but everything else is gone.. Shock mounts, fuel and brake lines, power steering, ABS activating will pop a brake line/caliper..


Eventually it gets to where there's no point in putting it back on the road unless it's demo derby.
 
pics? does that thing have a vinyl top ? I always loved those old boxie's without the vinyl top though.
 
Good on you to really wring the life out of a car! Too many are spoiled these days by buying a new car every 6 months or a year (I live in Frisco, these people are from another planet altogether .. recession? What recession!? You mean I'll only make 1.6 million this year instead of 1.8 million? Waaaah).

Out of curiosity, how many miles on the old mare?
 
to answer a bunch of your questions:

the frame and floor are perfect. The body is rusting bad. Doors are shot and the trunk lid and the one quarter panel.

I may have some pics stored on my pc.

No vinyl roof. It looks just like an under-cover car.

And yes I get the most out of my vehicles. My old 1977 Volare wagon lasted until 1990 with over 300,000 miles on it. My old 1984 Caprice sedan lasted until 1997 with over 400,000 kilometers on it. And now my 1987 Crown Vic is done with only 150,000 kilometers on it (I didn't drive it as much).
 
pics:

Ford_side.JPG


Ford_rear.JPG
 
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Look on the bright side. Depending on how much you drive in a year, you could save an extra $1000 in gas money alone vs. that crown vic 🙂
 
Sorry about the old sled......but regarding the other car: Can't you find anything besides a Contour?

They are the absolute worst cars Ford has built since probably the late-70's, early-80's. They had TONS of problems, and TONS of recalls.

I hope you have found one of the very rare Contour/Mystique (Mistake) that are reliable, but I would strongly advise getting something else. I certainly wouldn't expect it to last like that good old Crown did.
 
Pacfanweb said:
Sorry about the old sled......but regarding the other car: Can't you find anything besides a Contour?

They are the absolute worst cars Ford has built since probably the late-70's, early-80's. They had TONS of problems, and TONS of recalls.

I hope you have found one of the very rare Contour/Mystique (Mistake) that are reliable, but I would strongly advise getting something else. I certainly wouldn't expect it to last like that good old Crown did.
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don't worry. The car runs fine and its only for the winter.
 
Demon-Xanth said:
I'm thinking if you tub it, slide in a centrifugally blown 351, and keep the hub caps it could be the sleeper from hell.
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WTH

That's just silly.

A rust free car on the other hand, maybe.

Actually I saw a kit out there to put a 460 into my car. Build that puppy up and then tub it. That would be seriously brutal.
 
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