Yesterday’s CC (here) made me hungry, being the same color as a Thanksgiving turkey and all. So today, some cranberry for a side dish. Or maybe dessert?
The box Panther (particularly the later ones) is not a turkey in the sense that most of the cars featured here this week have been. In fact, it may be one of the most durable cars produced in the 1980s, a decade not normally associated with great cars.
In yesterday’s CC, I told you how my oldest son Jimmy is looking for his first car. So, when I saw this ad in my local newspaper (it’s true!) for an 80,000 mile rust-free survivor, I had to go look, because he would really like one of these.
But even some non-turkeys can become turkeys when you make a 35 minute drive during the middle of a workday to go and see a one of a kind gem that turns out to be something not nearly so nice as described.
The owner’s grandfather had owned it for a long time, but the current owner has had it for about a year and a half, letting it sit outside and hardly driving it. The car gives the appearance that the current owner has done nothing to the car at all other than to let it sit and deteriorate.
Rust free? Of course. Unless you are looking under the doors. Or on the front fender over the wheel arch. Or under the deck lid or through the trunk floor or in the rear lower quarters. In other words, all the places where these cars always got cancer. The owner boasted a new exhaust system too. He must have come from a place that defines an exhaust system as starting after the catalytic converters, because from the converters forward, the system was a rusting, leaking mess.
And just ignore the dents in the left rear quarter and both left side doors. Maybe he just didn’t notice. And the really good tires were at the place where all of the tire stores tell you is past time to replace them.
Even though there is a website that values the car at over $5000 in collector condition (which this plainly was in the seller’s mind) he was generously offering it to me for only $3,100. Although the red leather seats were very comfy, I pointed out all of the rusted areas and the need for immediate tires and exhaust work. I passed on buying the car. My job is not so much to pick a car for Jimmy to buy as his first car as it is to pick what will NOT be his first car. And you are looking at one of those.
The man had a pretty nice $1200 car that is about one year from becoming a heap for all to see. Only the dark color has kept it from screaming “I am really, really rusty!” We were looking for outstanding, and this car did not qualify. I chalked it all up to a difference in standards. There are probably a lot of people out there who wold consider this a real creampuff. And it is certainly nicer than average in this climate and will probably be reliable transportation for somebody. But I did not get out of a smoking three-colored Cavalier and was led to expect nicer.
And then yesterday, I saw the same car offered online. It was described as rust-free and having great tires and a new exhaust (and was photographed in a much nicer neighborhood than where I saw the car), maybe there is more than a difference in standards involved here. It may be the same color as the cranberries, but I know a turkey when I see one.
I had one of these as a car that I bought on the curb to “flip”. Later I found the floorpan under the drivers feet rusted through. This was in sunny Florida. They are good cars though. Happy Thanksgiving all. Off to the Central Florida Car Show today!
Was the left quarter suspiciously less rust free than the right? Look at the left quarter/trunk lid alignment. Not even on a Wednesday at 4:59 pm production line would Ford have let that get through. It’s been wrecked.
I suspect that you are right. This may also explain the water in the trunk and the driver’s door with the bad fit and floppy hinge. But once I saw all of the rust, I never really got any farther in the quality analysis.
I liked the styling of these and their brethren, after all, they were the direct influence of the K-Car – a 5/8 scale. I don’t believe these were turkeys at all. I do believe the Chevy Impalas/Caprices were better cars, but I liked the lines of these – linear – while the GMs had that subtle arch along the sides and the top of the sideglass line.
Oh, phooey – I liked them both, who am I kidding!
Wrong! Far more ’80’s Crown Vic/Marquis still on the road than Caprice/Impalas of the same vintage. So who built the better car??
Yup even though more B-boxes were sold than box Panthers you see way more box Panthers on the road and they usually look much better than the remaining B-boxes, excluding those that have recieved the lift kit and 24″+ wheels. Of course it is highly debatable that those look good and in fact many are 50′ cars at best.
Yeah, you have a point there, for sure.
Youre right! I never thought of the similarity of these to the 85-86 Le Barons and New Yorkers…. Interesting analogy.
I was going to suggest a Panther in your thread the other day. However that one is waaay over priced with all of its issues. I don’t think I’d even offer $1K for it, but then again I prefer the upgraded frame and suspension of the Aero Panthers.
I hate how so many sellers have blinders on when they describe the car. I’ve been considering a new commuter car that gets a little better mileage than my Scouts and Panther. I went to look at one last Sat. The biggest thing that really made me mad is that in the add it stated that it had AC. So I get there and the first thing I notice it that it had been hit in the rt front, not terrible but enough to crack the paint and let the rust monster get a grip. When I opened the hood to take a look I noticed that the rf headlight had taken some of the damage too with it’s mounting bracket covered in globs of glue. The bigger thing was a lack of the AC condensor, what the heck, then Iooked for signs of the compressor and it was non-existent. So I went back in and looked at the control panel sure enough the selector dial had the AC positions but of course nothing happened when I turned the dial to that position. See this was one of the Fords with the integrated Radio and Climate control. So who ever decided to change the radio apparently got the conversion panel for an AC car, presumably used. When I said something to the seller he looked at me funny and said when I drove it around last summer I used it and it seemed to blow cold air.
That was that and it may be all for the good as I have found the rarest of rare Panther the P75 Touring Sedan, with the rarest interior color white. Unfortunately there are no pictures so I’m expecting it to not quite live up to what it is advertised. With 76K supposedly on the clock and most of the items that are needed present and in good condition that can be swapped over from my 195K current driver I’m definitely going to look at it tomorrow and see what I see.
There are certainly tradeoffs between the boxes and the aeros. The downside of the aeros includes those nasty window regulators.
There is actually an amazing number of nice old box panthers around here. We have looked at two that are contenders, and plan to check on a 3rd tomorrow. I owned an 85 and we currently own a 93 (Crown Vics both) so I at least know what to look for. Jimmy prefers the style on the boxes, so we are concentrating on these for now. I have restricted our search to post 85 models, and find that the little added oomph in the newer 5.0s makes the old AOD a lot less obnoxious than I had remembered in my ultra lopo ’85.
This is a much harder way to look for a car than my time-honored method, which was to drive around with my eyes open and let the right car find me.
There was also a 351W option on the 79-85. More torque and power, less room to work.
I checked an article from the October 2009 of Collectible Automobile about the Mercury Colony Park wagon. They mentionned the 351W was offered in the US until 1981 but soldiered in Canada a couple of additionnal years.
Indeed, my dad had an 85 Marquis that looked an awful lot like the one in this article, and it had the rare “police package” that founds its way into the Mercury side.
I believe Stephane is correct that the 351 was dropped from U.S. Panthers after 1981, except for police package models. I don’t know if Canada was different.
I’ve seen references to the police package being available in the 1980s on both the Ford and Mercury versions, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Panther Mercury police cruiser.
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) had the low-trim Canada only “Marquis Meteor” as cruisers in 1979-80.
I STILL HAVE THE 1981 GRAND MARQUISE WITH THE 351 CB
AND IT STILL RIDES LIKE A DREAM !
WE GET A LOT OF LOOKS /THE 4 DOOR LIMO WITH CARRIDGE ROOF
Yeah the port EFI 5.0 (175hp wohoo) is the way to go and the 85-6 up AOD has the problems of the early ones mostly fixed for better longevity and shift quality. The window regulators are the only real drawback to the aeros IHMO. In fact the P75 I’m supposed to go look at tomorrow has it’s driver’s broke. But that is a easy and relatively cheap fix and it is supposed to have the very rare and pimptastic white leather interior.
It reminds me of a Range Rover that was advertised as great shape but needs a transfer case. I looked at it and found the radiator full of oil. I pointed said fact out to the man who turned around, walked half way into his house and closing the door said “get the hell outa here, I don’t need no tire kickers wasting my time”. I latter saw it advertised with an even more glowing description and noticed it sold and was advertised latter by another guy.
Back in the 90s, I called a guy about a sweet original 62 Mercury Monterey that was advertised. He went on and on about how his grandfather had lovingly cared for this car and how gorgeous it was. I drove about 40 minutes to see it. What a pos. No headliner, no carpet, all of the chrome looked like the car had been sitting out in the weather since 1962. It was absolutely filthy inside and out. I arrived before the owner did and was so disgusted that I didn’t even wait for him.
Some people are clueless and some are dishonest. And all of them seem to own cars that people like you and me want to buy.
Time to push Jimmy towards one of these:
We will see. I found a nice, straight 90s Accord. The reply was “I can feel my soul starting to shrivel just a little bit.” I found a nice looking Oldsmobile version of this car, but so far the box Panthers have the inside track.
We will see. I found a nice, straight 90s Accord. The reply was “I can feel my soul starting to shrivel just a little bit.”
Heh, you brought that boy up right!
Yep it was a 91 civic that drove me into the arms of my sport fury
The rust is free he only wants $3100 for the rest of it.The plymouth was a better buy this things just a POS.
Crack pipe!
I peruse my local online car classifieds with such high frequency that I often spot the same car advertised within a few months.
The buyer got burned and is now looking to burn some other sucker.
I always have to fight the urge to post my own ad warning potential buyers of this.
I’m reminded of the time I saw a very nice-looking 1966 Cadillac Sedan de Ville in gold with gold brocade and white leather interior. Took it for a ride, and it handled like a worn-out Chevy. The guy said he was taking it to the Portland Swap Meet the next weekend. I told him to bring a case of oil and three or four spare tires and he’d be okay.
Ugh, there is nothing that wreaks havoc on my blood pressure like the “rust free” car that isn’t. I have taken to asking the sellers on the phone or in email to “tell me about all the rust that you think is too insignificant to mention.” If the seller gets testy at me for asking, that’s all I need to know to move on.
I hope you and yours had a great Thanksgiving Paul! Happy Thanksgiving to all the CC readers as well 🙂
Well, that particular example of a Grand Marquis may not have been too good, but don’t you just love the name? “Mercury Grand Marquis” – I’ve always loved the sound of that! Hopefully I’ll own one in the future.
but dammit, they never offered a deSade edition!
Yes, that’s their biggest crime! Every year I’d buy the Car&Driver New Car Guide and turn to the Grand Marquis entry, but no, no deSade…
Descriptions that don’t match condition, the bane of used car buyers.
Ya, I had a 1980 version. A cast-off from my dad when I went back to school (sold my “84 Accord hatch and my ’77 F150). It was a beast. A comfy beast though.
They are complete and utter pigs in the snow (and I grew up not far from Lake Huron and I KNOW ABOUT SNOW). So, if Jimmy is going to be driving in snow, get him a nice FWD.
Anyway, it was comfy and that’s about all I can say for it. Until the day the brakes went on me (corroded lines). THANK GOD dad always used the emergency brake and it wasn’t seized up. Otherwise I would have been into the back of the guy in front of me. Actually was able to inch it through heavy traffic in Toronto and got it to the mechanic.
But that was about it for the old girl. It lasted a little while longer until a room-mate left the rear right door open and I backed up into a pole and took the door right off. $100 was all the wrecker would give me.
Too bad, that one’s a sharp color, and has leather seats too, which is fairly rare on ’80s panthers, unless you’re looking at Town Cars. One of those cars that looks good from 20 feet away, then you get closer and see the issues. It must have been grating to drive 30-odd miles to find out the car’s description was not accurate.
Are you looking at ’85-’89 Town Cars? There might be more survivors as they were more expensive and may be in relatively better shape. It would be great if you could find a garaged, 50,000 mile one from an estate.
It has been a while since I had a big deal of mismatch between the ad and what I saw in flesh.
I know that one cannot be too picky with just a handful of $100 notes in hand, but I take my time and very carefully screen the seller first and formost. Good neighborhood (Kijiji is a great help as it normally shows the postal index of the seller), clear pictures, normal description with details about the ownership…
But yeah, there are tons of deceitful ads and I normally do not think of them as kindly as the author of the post. They are flipping liars, in the simplicity of their small narrow minds hoping that the buyer will be deaf and blind when looking at the POS that they try to push.
I had a 79 LTD, which was the first year of the panther. I drove it until 2000, then replaced it with a 93 Aero. That car got totalled, but saved my wife’s life when she got hit head-on.
We took the insurance money and bought a 110,000 mile P71 with a civilian interior at auction. That car was in the family for 10 years and ~150,000 more miles.
i have a 86 grand marquis it has about 33,000 on it no has no rust i paid 700 for it it runs real good i drive it ever day that make good demo cars to