Great Lakes 4x4. The largest offroad forum in the Midwest banner

Project Bo0sted

33K views 226 replies 24 participants last post by  greygoose 
#1 · (Edited)
Little back story to start..

I have always liked the ford panther platform cars. Well I always liked big 4 dr sedans. I've had a few gms and fords over the years. Grown to like the 03+ ford platforms. They have a lot of good things going for them.

Few yrs ago I had purchased a 05 p71 (crown vic police edition). I did a lot of work on it and it became a pretty fun car. I really enjoyed driving it, but I've always wanted a marauder. Not sure why I couldn't of been happy with the p71 as very little serperates the two cars from each other then mostly cost of purchase lol.

What I started with on the 05
FB_IMG_1526345592664 by Cheapthrillb2, on Flickr
This was the 05 before I sold it
Copcar by Cheapthrillb2, on Flickr

20180421_144644 by Cheapthrillb2, on Flickr

I ended up doing full obx header and xpipe and impala ss tailpipes.

Circle D torque converter and aggressive jmod with all the valve body upgrades I could find.

Had the 3.27s swapped out for 3.73 gears.

And a Tune from Marty at Mo's Speed Shop (kinda the go to for these cars and tunes).


Album on that
https://flic.kr/s/aHskYoV4eq

Enough on the p71.


So I decided earlier this year I wanted to get a Marauder. Those not familiar with them....03-04 specific
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury_Marauder

One of the most obvious differences in the MM vs the other panther cars is that the MM was the only one to get the dohc 4.6L which gave a little more power over the 2v 4.6L
E707DB5A-97E7-4C8D-8F6A-EA4AFFA5840F_25 by Cheapthrillb2, on Flickr


So I found one that i felt was a decent buy online in a suburb of chicago. It was a high mileage car out of texas. I was sold on the texas idea as it was most likely rust free (and it pretty much was). I rented a car and me and a buddy drove down to get it. Bought it, turned the rental in and drove the MM back home. I believe I purchased it in april.

Of course it had 20's on it, bit neglected mechanically and had a few other issues. The wheels were bent pretty bad and had really loose ball joints, struts worn out. Dead battery. We ended up rotating the tires so the "best" wheels were on the frt. and avoided every pothole we could on the drive home. Praying for no flats (no spare) or broken bj's lol.

E707DB5A-97E7-4C8D-8F6A-EA4AFFA5840F_5 by Cheapthrillb2, on Flickr

E707DB5A-97E7-4C8D-8F6A-EA4AFFA5840F_3 by Cheapthrillb2, on Flickr

20180420_152039 by Cheapthrillb2, on Flickr
 
See less See more
7
#184 ·
Took the car out to Gladwin Michigan for "thunder on the strip". They shut down the airport and run a 1/8 on the taxi runway. It was pretty cool, felt very nostalgic.

I met up with a guy from a local Facebook group for some races. He had a p71 that was pretty well gutted, 150 shot, drag slicks, 4.56s etc hes setup to run 1/8 pretty well. He took me to school at every light lol. I was trying to work on my 60' which I suffer at. Unfortunately they weren't tracking that on the time slips. But the first race I only launched at 1 psi, then the 2nd and 3rd around 4-6 and spun each time.

https://youtu.be/c2bs-zW6q-g
 
#187 ·
Well I got my goal, went to the track last night. Launched at 11psi and cut a 1.56 60' , seemed to hold and not spin. Hitt a peak of 18psi on the pull. But I was banging on the rev limiter top of 3rd at the end of the track. Track officials made a trip by me in the pits and gave me a warning for being to fast w/o a cage.

2019-10-04_11-18-27 by Cheapthrillb2, on Flickr

So I made some adjustments in the tune, raised the rpm shift point of the 2-3, and raised the rev limiter a couple hundred to drive and keep it off the rev limiter. Also bumped peak boost to 20-21psi. Unfortunately, my next pass the track didn't hold the launch and I spun. Got out of it, got back into it to the 1/8th then coasted to the 1/4, still ran a 14 sec lol. Then my fourth and final pass, I launched at 11 psi again and my yukon duragrip blew apart :(. Specifically the two smaller spiders gears broken in half.

2019-10-05_01-29-35 by Cheapthrillb2, on Flickr

Shock loaded the drive train, so I'm gonna pull the trans as well and have it gone through for inspection. Car has 4.10s in it, they appear to have survived, but I have a set of 3.55's on the shelf I've been meaning to put in. Guess now is a good time. But I need to decide what direction to go for a new carrier.
 
#195 · (Edited)
Update, I purchased FRP 3.55's to replace the 4.10s. And A tru-trac to replace the duragrip. I've nothing but trouble trying to get the gears installed and set up correctly. Was doing it at home on jackstands, and with my wrecked back it was hell. I need to get the car out of the garage one way or another. So I just tossed them in sloppy after several hrs of messing around with them, to get it to move. That was a two weeks or so ago.

Yesterday I trailed it to a buddies who has a hoist to reset the gears, still, after hrs cannot get a good pattern. Ended up calling it a day yesterday after my back started to flare up. Can only take that carrier in and out so many times. I've set up way more then my share over the years, idk whats going on with this setup. The FRP 4.10s damn near dropped in perfect first try.

I also pulled the 4l80 out and had it gone through to make sure there was no collateral damage from the locker failure (shock load), we found nothing damaged. That was a relief.

2019-12-24_10-43-03 by Cheapthrillb2, on Flickr

2019-12-25_10-00-36 by Cheapthrillb2, on Flickr
Don't have a lot of winter plans for the car, probably change up the exhaust again. Run it out the back to mimic stock, and replace the boost valve with a electric cutout instead. Most my attention will be out towards the jeep this winter.

I did pick up a new daily driver/commuter car ( I hate driving my truck in the salt). Drove from Grand Rapids MI to Cincinnati OH and bout a 2004 Town Car ultimate with 70K on it. Was looking for a dark blue ext and black interior but those are apparently like unicorns. Spent two months looking and only found two and both weren't in the best of shape. Settled for a silver birch ext and black interior

20191215_201315 by Cheapthrillb2, on Flickr

Needed an old man car for my old man back
 
#196 ·
Gears and locker all done and car back in storage. Apparently I had a issue with the bearing and race for the lower pinion positions. I was mixing two brands that don't play together.

Rinse b4 slumber

20191228_185610 by Cheapthrillb2, on Flickr
20191228_185623 by Cheapthrillb2, on Flickr
20191228_195313 by Cheapthrillb2, on Flickr

Making a tune adjustment before test drive, as last time out was at the track and had the "kill tune" in it lol.

received_2538811643025563 by Cheapthrillb2, on Flickr


Ready for that test drive..
20191227_222329 by Cheapthrillb2, on Flickr
 
#209 ·
It's been 13 days since I brought it home (purchased) .... But I've....

Swapped the 4 wheel drum Manaul brakes for 4 wheel power disc brakes. W/new booster, valve, and master.
Complete new brake lines and hoses. Swapped all the 7/16 lug studs for longer 1/2 studs.
Swapped the 4 control arms for aftermarket arms w/ proforged ball joints. Lower coil buckets drop ride height 2"s retaining stock height coils.
New moog coil springs and bilstien shocks.
Swapped the sway bar for a Hotchkiss 1.5" bar.
New Hotchkiss rear 1.5" drop leafs with new shackles and bushings.
New mufflers 😂. And rebuilt/sealed the manifold to pipe connections.
Plugs, fuel filter and hoses, and fuel pump. Air cleaner.
Wheels and tires
Moser diff cover and fluid change.
New pedal pads lol.
Rear package tray replaced.
Rear bilstien shocks are on the way.

Can't wait to put some miles (and smiles) on it. Won't be as "fun" as my marauder to drive. But I bet I'll enjoy it more.
 

Attachments

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top