Where are all the Box Panther fans? Wagon content

I don't need more projects. I don't need more cars.....
My daughter will get her license next year. I mostly drive hobby cars ¾ of the year which leaves my truck shaped appliance('04 B-ranger) idle for good chunks of time unless called upon for truck type duties. SWMBO and I have decided that my truck is going to become a household appliance and that Blockhead R will have full access once her license is obtained. I declared that this means I must have a replacement, despite having six hobby vehicles and the fact that the truck will still be in the driveway for at least a few more years.

Logic be damned, I began hunting for something to drive while hobby cars are off the road. I really want a '72-76 Ranchero. Turns out Mrs. gumby is repulsed by such things; so much so that if, when we met, I had still been driving the '77 I previously owned, we likely wouldn't be married today. Scratch those off the list. Keeping in mind that I don't have to buy anything, and certainly not until at least sometime next year, I had time to find a good deal on something I liked, right? Yeah, I tend to fixate... so when I came across this '90 Country Squire, Robbie did me a solid and put eyes on it today.

Ad pics because we create new threads before we take possession around here.

Fairly clean CarFax confirming what the pics show, this is NOT a Chicagoland area ride. This car is from central Missouri. Robbie confirmed that the body is solid with the exception of the honestly disclosed, small areas behind each rear mudflap. Bottoms of the doors and rear gate are clean as well. After a test drive, Robbie issued a seal of approval and gave the thumbs up to arrive'n'drive this wagon home, so I bought me a bus ticket for Friday!

There is a laundry list of 30yo car quirks. Mission critical deficiencies will obviously be addressed, others I am sure will be fine to just live with. First order of mods will be wheels/tires and any associated altitude adjustments, a hitch receiver so I can drag racecars around, and probably some window tint.

Anybody want an SHO?

Long roof fan here!   Congrats on the wagon.  What are you thinking for mods?

Huge wagon fan here. Gonna Repaint?

My first ford was a $500 89 crown vic, tan, with flex pipe duals and glasspacks because i bought it with the exhaust missing after the cats and i had about $40 to get it out the back so they could emissions test it.  The front tires were bald and the rears i had 15 year old used tires mounted on so i had some tread.  It leaked/used 3-4 quarts of oil per tank, most leading from valve cover to exhaust manifold causing many a drive through employee to tell me my car was on fire.  I drove it for 5k miles only adding used oil my dad had accumulated over the years. Some days it was transmission fluid, some days gear oil, some days tractor oil, but it kept going.  Also i made a little rack in the trunk to hold my tools and shot some screws not knowing the gas tank was right there.  Pulled them out, caulked and reinstalled.  I'm probably lucky to not be dead from that car

Patrick-the long term fuel vapor exposure may have made you who you are today!   

I worked in a plastics injection molding shop back in the day.  Foreman’s Pinto leaked and burned oil so badly that he would regularly top it up with the hydraulic oil we had on hand.   

They are great cars. Make sure you replace the TV cable bushing on the AOD.









Enjoy the ride.

I still regret selling my 81 marquis 2 door and have a strange love of station wagons. I'll follow along

I've always been a wagon fan! Wish they made a wagon in the later years of the panthers. Just showed my wife a picture of a 06 Falcon wagon, and she loved it, but unfortunately, not avalable except down under

I want to put her in a 56 ford wagon one day, but they are way out of our price range.

Looking fwd. to seeing where this goes...

I'll trade you a Ford Probe for the SHO. Wait, I'll trade you 2 of my cars for the wagon and the SHO. 

Awesomeness! Crown Vic wagons of this generation always did have nice stately proportions to them. It’s easily the last “good” wagon Ford built in my mind.

Can’t wait to see what direction you take this... I approve. \m/

I am gladly avoiding typical rust belt salt damage, and will deal with the UV damage this car has suffered. No plans to repaint.

My thoughts on mods change by the hour. Once it is here, I have the opportunity to really go over it and start positioning it in my fleet, I will probably firm up a plan which will subsequently be changed several times....I am sure it will end up at some compromise between pro-touring and daily utility.
 

In reply to slowbird :

No trades, I know what I have 

Seriously though, I am above my own "one in, one out" comfort level and should really consolidate a bit around here.

I'm just here to inform you that this exists:

In reply to gumby (Forum Supporter) :

Sending you a big thumbs up 

I can fill in some details that y'all might find fun. 

1. The wagon is currently residing at a body shop on the opposite side of Chicago from me. That meant I had to venture out into real traffic for the first time in months. I have heard that traffic is back to normal or worse. So I was worried and left lots of extra time. Nope, wrong again. I followed the GPS, which said to avoid toll roads and take 90/94 (hot tip in Chicago - ALWAYS take toll roads and avoid 90/94, the $5 is much better than sitting in traffic for hours), I didn't believe it, but the GPS was onto something. Zipped right through downtown with nary a complete stop. Seriously I've done this exact same drive on a Sunday morning and had it take longer than it did yesterday. 

2. On the trip to see the car I passed a guy towing a Ferrari 308 on a uhaul trailer. On the trip home I was passed by an SUV with a plate that said "cleetus1". You can't make this stuff up. 

3. Seller was a high school aged kid and his dad. Dad owned the body shop. Dad had bought a few old cars at auction to try and get his kids involved in the hobby. I tried to tell Gumby there was an old Bronco on the lot that was much cooler than this wagon (but I think the kid already decided that). There was also a lifted WRX wagon, and absolute junk pile jaguar, and a nice 80s buick regal on premises. When I asked about the jag, they told me their plan was to use the engine to make a coffee table. Nice. 

V12 coffee table. Must be a single Dad.

hobiercr (FS) said:

V12 coffee table. Must be a single Dad.

I didn't even look close enough to see, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't a v12 car. i6 coffee table. 

I approve the blackout of the derpy sticker on the tailgate window.  No politics allowed 

In reply to John Welsh (Moderate Supporter) :

This one even has A/C, and it works!
I really appreciate you going to look at that other one for me

Back when I had my 1991 Grand Marquis cast-off Fox Body engine parts were dirt cheap so I built a High Output 5.0L over spring break for not much money.  I found used E7 heads, an intake manifold, and HO cam for chump change.  The ECU was a Mk7 part if I remember correctly.  Mustang headers and h-pipe bolt right in and then I had the rest built at a local shop.  That was a quick and easy 60hp bump.  Even with that work the bark was much stronger than the bite, but I did have some fun in that car.  Even ran my first autocross in it!

This! 

I love wagons, currently have two, and total seven in my life.

My 79 LTD, first year of panther production, was my daily from 1986 to 2000. I drove it from my last year training Standardbreds, through ten years of college and vet school, and three more years after that. Still miss it.

It started out with the horrible variable venturi carb on a 134 HP 302.

The final version had a 40 over 302, with the usual suspects:

Holley, Edelbrock, ported E7 heads, roller rockers, competition cams 260h, headman shorties, high flow cats, 2 1/2 inch duals with three chamber flowmasters (of course), and a wide ratio gear set in the C4. 

I never replaced the 2.26:1 rear end, money was tight in those years, and I did a lot of road trips.

I had two more Crown Vics after that, would sure consider another.

I am on a bus and headed north. This is everything I remember it to be from my last Greyhound trip maybe 10-12yrs ago. The smells and the lack of social distance rank high on the recollection scales. Got the old bus, ready to be pulled from service, with the driver who is retiring after this trip!

And it is raining.... 4hrs to go

When you said bus, I figured I'd spring for a one way rental instead. 

I'm sure the bus is all the glamor of air travel but w/o the threats of federal aviation charges keeping misbehavior to a minimum. 

In reply to gumby (Forum Supporter) :

I LOVE panthers, especially boxes. I've owned many.

As said please replace the TV bushing before anything else, that'll kill the AOD quick if it fails.

Can't wait to see more. I've owned many 79-91s and they're still some of my favorite cars. Good luck!!!

Doing some paperwork. Then gonna hit the gas station and swing past Robbie's place to check out F-Dat on my way south. 

I love a shaggin wagon.  Gonna watch this with interest.