2000 Mercury Grand Marquis
Discussion
Finally have arrived home in London after picking it up 25 miles east of Inverness on Saturday and doing a bit of a tour on the way back.
Phone pic of the car outside a guest house near Fort William. I'll upload more once I have sorted the camera out.
So it's a 2000, registered here in 2001 and only has 53k kms on the clock. It's immaculate and the interior is like new. No better way to test a new purchase than by putting it through 700 miles of fast but windy A roads in the pouring rain for the first day followed by more of the same the next day but with some sunshine then big A and M roads down to Yorkshire.
Did Snake Pass (A57) across the Moors this morning, which was interesting
although I have to say that the big Mercury did very well and I would have been a lot more confident had I been sitting on the correct side of the car 
Busy London traffic was an eye opener to say the least and it just made it through the entrance to my parking space.
On the motorway it was smooth and fast and no problem even at 1.0 Leptons. Vague steering caused by the overly assisted power but non of the weaving horror stories that I have read about which brings me to where it was originally from.
I spoke to the garage that sold it a year ago and they told me it was from Canada hence the speedo being in kms but a little research and the fact that the passenger mirror has the standard warning about things being smaller than you think is in Arabic, make me think its a GCC model that was destined for the Middle East.
Its a GS yet has the twin exhausts so higher power and the 40/20/40 front seats of the Lincoln Town Car although the centre bench is missing yet the lap belt is still there. I wanted to check the axle code on the plate on the inside of the driver's door to see if it had the better gear ratios, as it certainly seems fast for a big 'un, but this has been removed at some point.
Anyone know of a way of getting info from the VIN? and if any of you are members of the Crownvic.net forum, would you let the mods know that I have been waiting to be approved for over a week now, ta. Same user name btw.
So apparently the Middle East model has the HPP (High Performance Package) similar to the the cop P71s so this might explain the reasonable handling and quicker response.
Love to find out more of it's history. I have MOTs going back 8 years which would appear to show that the car was originally from down here. Well Slough and Tonbridge actually. Any help would be gratefully received and like I say I'll stick some more pics up when I have sorted the camera cards.
Phone pic of the car outside a guest house near Fort William. I'll upload more once I have sorted the camera out.
So it's a 2000, registered here in 2001 and only has 53k kms on the clock. It's immaculate and the interior is like new. No better way to test a new purchase than by putting it through 700 miles of fast but windy A roads in the pouring rain for the first day followed by more of the same the next day but with some sunshine then big A and M roads down to Yorkshire.
Did Snake Pass (A57) across the Moors this morning, which was interesting
although I have to say that the big Mercury did very well and I would have been a lot more confident had I been sitting on the correct side of the car Busy London traffic was an eye opener to say the least and it just made it through the entrance to my parking space.On the motorway it was smooth and fast and no problem even at 1.0 Leptons. Vague steering caused by the overly assisted power but non of the weaving horror stories that I have read about which brings me to where it was originally from.
I spoke to the garage that sold it a year ago and they told me it was from Canada hence the speedo being in kms but a little research and the fact that the passenger mirror has the standard warning about things being smaller than you think is in Arabic, make me think its a GCC model that was destined for the Middle East.
Its a GS yet has the twin exhausts so higher power and the 40/20/40 front seats of the Lincoln Town Car although the centre bench is missing yet the lap belt is still there. I wanted to check the axle code on the plate on the inside of the driver's door to see if it had the better gear ratios, as it certainly seems fast for a big 'un, but this has been removed at some point.
Anyone know of a way of getting info from the VIN? and if any of you are members of the Crownvic.net forum, would you let the mods know that I have been waiting to be approved for over a week now, ta. Same user name btw.
So apparently the Middle East model has the HPP (High Performance Package) similar to the the cop P71s so this might explain the reasonable handling and quicker response.
Love to find out more of it's history. I have MOTs going back 8 years which would appear to show that the car was originally from down here. Well Slough and Tonbridge actually. Any help would be gratefully received and like I say I'll stick some more pics up when I have sorted the camera cards.
Edited by croyde on Monday 21st July 15:52
Can I marry you?
I love american metal!
Where do you look to find cars like this? I have looked on AT and there isnt a huge selection of wallowy american barges. There a loads of lovely old muscle on Car and Classic but many of those are expensive! (as an aside, Dodge Rams seem to ask for strong money! You could probably buy a new one and ship it over for the asking price of some of them!)
I love american metal!
Where do you look to find cars like this? I have looked on AT and there isnt a huge selection of wallowy american barges. There a loads of lovely old muscle on Car and Classic but many of those are expensive! (as an aside, Dodge Rams seem to ask for strong money! You could probably buy a new one and ship it over for the asking price of some of them!)
Edited by Otispunkmeyer on Monday 21st July 16:41
This content stolen from someone else
Identification Codes
The vehicle identification number (VIN) is a seventeen-digit combination of letters and numbers. The VIN is stamped on a metal tab riveted on the instrument panel, top upper left of the dash. The VIN number is also found on the vehicle certification (VC) label.
Item Description
1 World manufacturer identifier
2 Restraint type code
3 Line, series, body type (passenger car)
4 Engine code
5 VIN check digit
6 Model year code
7 Assembly plant code
8 Production sequence number
Vehicle Identification Number
World Manufacturer Identifier
The first three vehicle identification number (VIN) positions are the world manufacturer code.
1FA — Ford, USA, passenger car
1FD — Ford, USA, incomplete vehicle
1ME — Mercury, USA, passenger car
1MH — Mercury, USA, incomplete vehicle
2FA — Ford, Canada, passenger car
2FD — Ford, Canada, incomplete vehicle
2ME — Mercury, Canada, passenger car
2MH — Mercury, Canada, incomplete vehicle
Restraint System Code
The fourth VIN position is the vehicle restraint system type code.
L — Active safety belts — all positions, first generation driver and front passenger air bags
F — Active safety belts — all positions, second generation driver and front passenger air bags
Vehicle Line, Series and Body Type Code
Positions 5 through 7 indicate vehicle line, series and body type.
P71 — Crown Victoria (Base four-door)
P72 — Crown Victoria (Base four-door)
P73 — Crown Victoria (Base four-door)
P74 — Crown Victoria (LX four-door)
M74 — Grand Marquis (GS four-door)
M75 — Grand Marquis (LS four-door)
Engine Code
The eighth VIN position is the engine displacement and number of cylinders code.
W — 4.6L EFI (SOHC), eight cylinder (Romeo)
9 — 4.6L EFI, eight cylinder, NGV
Check Digit Code
The ninth VIN position is the check digit code (0-9).
Model Year Code
The tenth VIN position is the model year code.
Y — 2000
Assembly Plant Code
The eleventh VIN position is the assembly plant code.
X — St. Thomas, Talbotville, Ontario (Canada)
S — Pilot Plant, Allen Park, Michigan (USA)
Production Sequence Code
The last six VIN positions are the production sequence number.
Ford — 100000
Lincoln/Mercury — 600000
Identification Codes
The vehicle identification number (VIN) is a seventeen-digit combination of letters and numbers. The VIN is stamped on a metal tab riveted on the instrument panel, top upper left of the dash. The VIN number is also found on the vehicle certification (VC) label.
Item Description
1 World manufacturer identifier
2 Restraint type code
3 Line, series, body type (passenger car)
4 Engine code
5 VIN check digit
6 Model year code
7 Assembly plant code
8 Production sequence number
Vehicle Identification Number
World Manufacturer Identifier
The first three vehicle identification number (VIN) positions are the world manufacturer code.
1FA — Ford, USA, passenger car
1FD — Ford, USA, incomplete vehicle
1ME — Mercury, USA, passenger car
1MH — Mercury, USA, incomplete vehicle
2FA — Ford, Canada, passenger car
2FD — Ford, Canada, incomplete vehicle
2ME — Mercury, Canada, passenger car
2MH — Mercury, Canada, incomplete vehicle
Restraint System Code
The fourth VIN position is the vehicle restraint system type code.
L — Active safety belts — all positions, first generation driver and front passenger air bags
F — Active safety belts — all positions, second generation driver and front passenger air bags
Vehicle Line, Series and Body Type Code
Positions 5 through 7 indicate vehicle line, series and body type.
P71 — Crown Victoria (Base four-door)
P72 — Crown Victoria (Base four-door)
P73 — Crown Victoria (Base four-door)
P74 — Crown Victoria (LX four-door)
M74 — Grand Marquis (GS four-door)
M75 — Grand Marquis (LS four-door)
Engine Code
The eighth VIN position is the engine displacement and number of cylinders code.
W — 4.6L EFI (SOHC), eight cylinder (Romeo)
9 — 4.6L EFI, eight cylinder, NGV
Check Digit Code
The ninth VIN position is the check digit code (0-9).
Model Year Code
The tenth VIN position is the model year code.
Y — 2000
Assembly Plant Code
The eleventh VIN position is the assembly plant code.
X — St. Thomas, Talbotville, Ontario (Canada)
S — Pilot Plant, Allen Park, Michigan (USA)
Production Sequence Code
The last six VIN positions are the production sequence number.
Ford — 100000
Lincoln/Mercury — 600000
Thanks all. I paid a couple of euros to one of those on line VIN decoders that showed the model that I have and the exact options that it has. I'm just wondering about this Middle East connection as on top of everything else it has the slight boot lip spoiler that only the GCC models got.
Parked it next to my 1998 E36 323 Beemer and boy does it suddenly look very big
Parked it next to my 1998 E36 323 Beemer and boy does it suddenly look very big
Otispunkmeyer said:
Can I marry you?
I love american metal!
Where do you look to find cars like this? I have looked on AT and there isnt a huge selection of wallowy american barges. There a loads of lovely old muscle on Car and Classic but many of those are expensive! (as an aside, Dodge Rams seem to ask for strong money! You could probably buy a new one and ship it over for the asking price of some of them!)
I'll set the date I love american metal!
Where do you look to find cars like this? I have looked on AT and there isnt a huge selection of wallowy american barges. There a loads of lovely old muscle on Car and Classic but many of those are expensive! (as an aside, Dodge Rams seem to ask for strong money! You could probably buy a new one and ship it over for the asking price of some of them!)
Edited by Otispunkmeyer on Monday 21st July 16:41
To be honest, I have harboured this itch for years and have kept a constant eye out. The Crown Vic and the Grand Marquis are like rocking horse doo daa over here.
I took a punt, after a few phone calls to previous garages, on this one and bought it unseen off eBay after talking to the owner who has turned out to be a thoroughly nice chap. He has kept it in such good condition that I feel obliged to continue to look after his P&J and am now concerned that the scrotes and bad parkers of London will destroy it.
My attitude was that the cost of flying up and getting a train plus hotels, fuel and food for a 700 mile trip in the car was worth it on it's own. Anything else is a bonus.
Just took my son for a quick spin thru our overcrowded SW London area and I effing love it. Just wondering if it will make the 180 degree turn on the up ramp at my firm's multi-storey tomorrow
Workmate wants to see it.
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