Station wagon

[fwi]

One of the guys in my car club has a 1987 Mercury Colony Park wagon he wants to sell. I'm thinking it could be a fun driver/grocery getter. One owner, 55k original miles, always garaged, always in Florida. Body and interior are perfect, everything works, runs good, tires good. I can probably buy it for $4500 or a little less. Wish it was a Mopar wagon, but for this price and in this condition it could be worth it. What do y'all think?

 

[Richard Cranium]

Looks like it would make for a good Griswald cruiser clone.

 

[fwi]

Looks like it would make for a good Griswald cruiser clone.

You saw the front plate.

 

[Billccm]

I won't argue against it. I love old Mopars, but after ownership of two Crown Vics and my current Grand Marquise daily driver I firmly believe these were the best cars Ford ever built!

 

[Richard Cranium]

I'm looking at this on my cell phone and it is so small, I didn't notice until you said something

 

[Cranky]

Not sure if the Ford products got better in the handling department later on but the ones from the early 70's sucked big time. I know it a wagon but man, they were sooooo bad early on! White knuckle driving at anything over 80.....

 

[moparwacko]

I'm looking at this on my cell phone and it is so small, I didn't notice until you said something

You can see pictures on a bag phone?

 

[Richard Cranium]

You can see pictures on a bag phone?

My phone, not Submit's

 

[steve from staten island]

I like it. As a second car it may be just the thing. It is in exceptional condition,judging by the picture and your decription. Have you drove it yet? My one concern would be transmission. I don't know about a rear wheel drive ford,but some of there transmissions were not reliable. I know as I had a few.

 

[Billccm]

This car should have the AOD transmission, which is as bullet proof as a 727. Early AODE (1990 to early 1991) had some issues that were repairable without an overhaul.

This car probably has a base 5.0 EFI motor (165HP) and AOD and should be as reliable and long lasting as the SUN.

 

[kiwigtx]

I would rather buy this car than the rusty old 69 Charger posted today for $23495!!

 

[Billccm]

Biggest issue with this era 'panther platform' car is the AC. Ford dealer mechanics called the compressor failure "the black death of the entire system". If your compressor failed, it was a $2,000 job to get the AC system back into shape. Also, the auto climate control and blend door system can be problematic. Last on the list is the window regulators; the nylon cable drum will eventually EXPLODE in the door. Dorman aftermarket regulators are actually better than OEM in this case. Otherwise, this car will happily travel 250K miles with minimal repairs.

 

[wagonman]

Love old Wagons, Hence my name, Duh..

 

[Photon440]

Didn't Arnold drive something similar in T2 - Judgement Day?

 

[fwi]

Maybe some stiffer shocks to tighten up the ride and a couple of surfboards up on the rack.

 

[ws23jrt]

I too like wagons and had one --of sorts-- for several years in my teens.
It was a 51 cad hearse with three speed (LaSalle) column shift trans.
My dream at the time was to take 4ft out of it to make it a three door. And use a 392 hemi 4sp for drive.
Here is a pic of the car I had in black.

 

[Billccm]

Maybe some stiffer shocks to tighten up the ride and a couple of surfboards up on the rack.

If it has rear air suspension there is a police coil springs conversion that will help handling.

 

[Billccm]

Register at crownvic.net. Lots of good people there. I'm billccm over there, too.

 

[beanhead]

'Brady up' and buy it!

The Bradys didn't mess around when it came to their cars!

 

[Bruzilla]

This car should have the AOD transmission, which is as bullet proof as a 727. Early AODE (1990 to early 1991) had some issues that were repairable without an overhaul.

This car probably has a base 5.0 EFI motor (165HP) and AOD and should be as reliable and long lasting as the SUN.

I guess if you mean bulletproof as in the casing would stop a .22, I would agree. As for me, I had to have the AOD in my 87 Crown Vic rebuilt. I hated that transmission.

As for the car, I would say I see a two-ton pile of rolling problems. I used to see my Roadrunner the same way, but it had a lot of redeeming qualities. This car doesn't. It's just a nice older car, and good for basic transportation, which I usually put in the $1,000-$1,500 range. Is it worth more? Could be, but there's not a lot of people who want to trade potential problems, bad mileage, and more money for a car with such limited appeal. This car's value is 96% in nostalgia, so the seller should really be looking for someone who used to make family roadtrips in one of these and wants to relive them.