The other day my friend John Kreuz posted this car on his FB page. He’s a dedicated fan of the Panther platform, still has several to this day.
Anyway, for those in the know, the LTD Crown Victoria and Grand Marquis coupes ended production just before the 1988 ‘aero’ face-lift, which rounded the corners of these boxy full sizers. But the folks who still like these cars can get creative swapping different-vintage front and rear ends on their cars.
Which is what we have here. I’d be interested in seeing more pics of this, but John only had the single shot. Would it have sold? Highly unlikely. By the late ’80s full sized coupes were on the wane; the rival Caprice coupe also was gone after 1987, and the B body LeSabre and Delta 88 two doors were gone by ’85. But this is interesting!
“Would it have sold?” Is hugely speculative given the externalities, i.e. CAFE and other bullshit that led to the rise of SUVs and CUVs. In a perfect world people would realize that the wagon is the apex form of the automobile.
There is no substantive style to 80s Aero Ford’s with full width taillights but I love them!
If Ford has offered a factory “poked” wheel option together with a trunk mounted sound system capable of breaking glass windows, they might have attracted a lot of the Houston Slab buyers for their Marquis Coupe.
We need thumbs up Emojis!!! Just make sure you don’t pick a gang color for your ride.
In 1990, my father was in the market to replace his 1988 Taurus. I vividly remember shopping and test driving cars with him and the two cars he was most interested in were the Mark VII and Grand Marquis. I remember going very fast in the VII and thinking it was a no brainer which he should pick but ultimiately, he ended up with a very lightly used 1989 Grand Marquis GS (silver, grey roof, ugly ass hubcaps that I loved).
Would a Marquis coupe have sold? Yeah, probably. To my Dad.
Your dad is cool.
Sincerely,
Someone who has owned two Marquis coupes and a Town Car
That car has a Mexican license plate. The Grand Marquis was sold as a Ford in Mexico (the Crown Victoria was unavailable) and manufactured locally. I can’t find any proof, but given some of the oddballs that have been produced for the Mexican market over the years, it’s possible this car came this way from the factory.
If not, this is pretty easy swap, since the rear end sheetmetal is unchanged. I’ve actually seen the conversion done on the Crown Vic, too – despite looking very different, the facelift trunk lid and filler panels around the rear lights appear to bolt right on.
I wonder if the filler panels degenerate into nothing like the ones on all GMs of the era?
That coupe wouldn’t have looked bad!
What was it about Panthers of this period that they always ended up on their haunches? Just worn springs in the back, or something else? I presume Jack’s had to have that corrected, or will have to be, at some point.
The air-suspension cars all collapse. Neither of my steel-spring coupes had that problem. And in the case of my 1986, the fillers are fine. Must be a different material.
Late response—damn near every box Panther sedan that I would see from the early to mid ‘80s-vintage cars always seemed to have a droopy rear, including my best friend’s 1984 Grand Marquis as well as those of both her sisters; their Dad wanted to put his daughters in a big cocoon, so each received a similar car around college-age! The car wasn’t on the bump stops, but it certainly had weak suspension in back! Her AOD transmission was wonky too—she always put it into 3rd gear. (Those didn’t have air suspension before the rounded Panthers came out, did they?) Traded up to a Mercury Villager (old Nissan Quest) van from her Dad, then inherited her husband’s cars when he traded up, including his old Saturn which is still trucking along! (Her husband’s been driving a flawless Focus dual-clutch automatic for the past couple years, and damned if it doesn’t feel like a conventional slushbox! They got lucky on that! Probably need to remind him to have the fluid changed if he hasn’t already.)
The AOD was trash in the early years; my 1980 Marquis Brougham had the three-speed that performed without complaint, though it was hooked up to that worst of all worlds, the Variable-Venturi 302. I think my 1986 has the AOD, but I also think it was sorted out by then.
The more things change the less they change; it’s my understanding that Ford has started putting line filters in ten-speed truck transmissions to address some, ahem, metal-shaving issues caused by indifferent assembly.
Yes, those Ford Grand Marquis coupes were available in Mexico in the aero guise. I have seen them. I don’t know what year they were made up to, but they do exist, and as an American, I am jealous.
BTW, the Ford oval and “Grand Marquis” scripts are shaved off of the trunk on this example.