Wagon Queen Family Truckster.

[Soup DeVille]

Got the Magical Unicorn Tailgate working correctly today; had to machine a brass bushing for the left upper hinge pin, and there's still something loose on the left lower, but it works now, and works well.

Slightly disappointed when I discovered that this isn't a MAF-based injection system after all, even though all the sources I could find told me it would be. Nope, its the early speed density fuel injection- I guess the Grand Marquis held out for a few more years than the Crown Vics and Town Cars did (why? who knows?). No big deal, as it works fine and I've no immediate plans for gonzo power, but it will be a slight hitch if I start upping the horsepressure.

[Eye of the Tiger]

I hope you case hardened that brass pin. Just saying, you have know idea what ur done.

[cawimmer430]

This is definitely one of the coolest car purchases in recent times on 'Spin! 

Can't wait to see the photos of this work of art. 

[JWC]

You really need to go for the Bilstein shocks on this. A roly poly wagon is not the place to cut corners with suspension.

Every time I read something like this, I wonder how we survived those years.  I sold Monroe-Matics for these wagons without anyone complaining.  The opposite actually.

[Eye of the Tiger]

Every time I read something like this, I wonder how we survived those years.  I sold Monroe-Matics for these wagons without anyone complaining.  The opposite actually.

The opposite of what, nobody complaining?

[MrH]

Well, two of your shocks are sitting in my garage...

[280Z Turbo]

Yeah, now it will be overdamped, but still mushy.

[Soup DeVille]

Well, two of your shocks are sitting in my garage...

exxxcelllentt.

[Soup DeVille]

Yeah, now it will be overdamped, but still mushy.

I have options there too.

[Rupert]

Well, two of your shocks are sitting in my garage...

I want shocks!

[cawimmer430]

Sportwagen zum Einbauen 

[Soup DeVille]

Sportwagen zum Einbauen 

You better believe it, brother.

[MrH]

Yeah, now it will be overdamped, but still mushy.

Are you implying too much damping, not enough spring?  I have no idea how these will work.   Should at least be valved pretty close, and just moving up to a bigger monotube over blown stock stuff should be a big upgrade.

[280Z Turbo]

Are you implying too much damping, not enough spring?  I have no idea how these will work.   Should at least be valved pretty close, and just moving up to a bigger monotube over blown stock stuff should be a big upgrade.

Yes.

We put monotube KYBs on my dad's Dakota. It made it more controlled, but it was still mushy and the ride got worse.

[Soup DeVille]

Are you implying too much damping, not enough spring?  I have no idea how these will work.   Should at least be valved pretty close, and just moving up to a bigger monotube over blown stock stuff should be a big upgrade.

If its too bad, I'll try some CVPI springs from a junkyard.

[MrH]

Yes.

We put monotube KYBs on my dad's Dakota. It made it more controlled, but it was still mushy and the ride got worse.

I have no idea what KYB does, but these will at least be close.  For all I know, KYB just pulls something off the shelf and welds on mounts that fit the car.

[MrH]

If its too bad, I'll try some CVPI springs from a junkyard.

If they really end up sucking (I doubt they will though), we could always revalve them.

[Soup DeVille]

If they really end up sucking (I doubt they will though), we could always revalve them.

How would that work; would I need weights and springs rates and calculate something, or just send them back and say "make em softer?"

[MrH]

How would that work; would I need weights and springs rates and calculate something, or just send them back and say "make em softer?"

If I could get a handle on some info (weights, spring rates, suspension geometry, etc), you can do some basic simulations to see where things are off.  That's typically hard to find for new cars though, let alone something like this.

I'd probably just have a coworker drive the thing, give his opinion, then take them apart, weld a schrader valve on, and do what he suggests.

[Soup DeVille]

If I could get a handle on some info (weights, spring rates, suspension geometry, etc), you can do some basic simulations to see where things are off.  That's typically hard to find for new cars though, let alone something like this.

I'd probably just have a coworker drive the thing, give his opinion, then take them apart, weld a schrader valve on, and do what he suggests.

Sounds cool, it also sounds like its unlikely I'd go to those sort of lengths. If this was a Porsche I wanted to race I might.

If they're too stiff for my springs, ill get some cop car springs.

[Madman]

If they're too stiff for my springs, ill get some cop car springs.

It's got a cop motor, cop tyres, cop suspension, cop shocks.  Whuddaya say, is it the new Bluesmobile or what?   

[Madman]

Oh, and don't forget to fix the cigarette lighter!   

[shp4man]

Just get whatever shocks are on sale at the local store. Jesus, it's an old station wagon.  That said, those were actually pretty good cars. By '91, Ford had engineered most of the bugs out of that platform. I said most, not all. 
It should have a port injected 5.0, which was an improvement over the old CFI setup of the '80's. The oxygen sensors tend to fail at 100K+ miles, and sometimes the ignition modules fail, but it's kind of rare.

[Soup DeVille]

Just get whatever shocks are on sale at the local store. Jesus, it's an old station wagon.  That said, those were actually pretty good cars. By '91, Ford had engineered most of the bugs out of that platform. I said most, not all. 
It should have a port injected 5.0, which was an improvement over the old CFI setup of the '80's. The oxygen sensors tend to fail at 100K+ miles, and sometimes the ignition modules fail, but it's kind of rare.

yeah, well I was leaning towards something a little cheaper, but I'm not going to turn these down.

Oddly enough, even though almost the entire rest of the Ford lineup had gone over to the modern MAF based injection system, this one is a holdout from the older system. Not a problem that a day in a junkyard, a couple hundred bucks and a mostly intact V8 explorer won't solve, but that will be when the weather gets warmer.

[Soup DeVille]

First decent length trip with the wagon (to Muskegon and back), during which the car performed flawlessly, and ate up the highway miles comfortably and quickly. Sucked a little too much gas during the time to, but I'll work out what's wrong with that soon anyways.

According to my little GPS phone app, the speedometer is about 7 MPH fast, which coupled with it being the gubbimint mandated 85 MPH max anyways means I spent most of the trip with the needle resting against its hardstop.

I'm gouing to have to get this gas gauge working soon though...

[SVT32V]

yeah, well I was leaning towards something a little cheaper, but I'm not going to turn these down.

Oddly enough, even though almost the entire rest of the Ford lineup had gone over to the modern MAF based injection system, this one is a holdout from the older system. Not a problem that a day in a junkyard, a couple hundred bucks and a mostly intact V8 explorer won't solve, but that will be when the weather gets warmer.

Out of curiosity, is it CFI, or is it the speed density MPI?

[Soup DeVille]

Out of curiosity, is it CFI, or is it the speed density MPI?

Speed density.

[Secret Chimp]

speed = destiny

At least put a crate-spec cam in it and a dual exhaust so it can kind of sound like Per's car. It's a 302ooooooooo.

[Soup DeVille]

speed = destiny

At least put a crate-spec cam in it and a dual exhaust so it can kind of sound like Per's car. It's a 302ooooooooo.

Right now its just "make it nicer" mode, which would include massaging out the little electrical failures and then taking care of the little bit of bodywork that needs it.

After that, well, there's a lot of things that can be done on this for cheap that will make it faster, and after scrounging for Cadillac 472 stuff for a couple of years, the parts are just so damned easy to find it'll be hard not to; but that's another project for another day.

[mzziaz]

Listen to chimp.

Then you can at least pretend to be as cool as me.