99 TC gauge cluster - thx for help!

Crownvic

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Hi Guys,

I've sold the 99 Continental because its torque oversteer scared me and it was so cushy and comfortable at high speed that I kept getting tickets thinking I was cruising slowly...

Now that the grieving is over I am trying to fix up and detail my 99 Town Car to equal pristine condition. Here is where things get sticky. I was foolhardy enough to ask the guy in charge of detailing at the Volvo dealer what he used to clean car interiors. He told me to use SuperClean without explaining that it should be used highly diluted and never in no case should it be used on transparent plastics.

Move forward to my mopping down my Town Cqr interior with this product only to find that it clouded my perfectly new condition instrument gauge cluster. Then I parked the car in the barn for winter storage and upon taking it out of its car jacket in the summer I found that the plastic had cracked all over the place where the scratch marks used to be. Now it looks like somebody took a hammer to it and smashed it.

The dealership says you can't buy just the plastic cover but need to purchase the entire setup complete with its connectors. Don't even ask at what price. So I need some advice on where to look, the online junkyards I contacted didn't pan out. It would really help if anyone here had already taken one apart and knew if it is indeed a separate plastic casing that can be found somewhere at a reasonable price.

So I thank you in advance for any advice... !

Cheers,

Vic
 
Thanks for the LEAD ! ! !

Find a U-pull-it. A bunch up here always have at least one towncar from those years.

Hi V-Tally,

Thanks for the advice. I would do that but I am quite a ways up North, not far from the Canadian border in the State of Vermont. There are precious few Town Cars up here and even less junkyards around. I will however take your advice but it isn't exactly the cheapest route given the 14 hour round trip drive to NY City and a few nights at a motel scouring around junkyards looking for a simple used part.

Would you know of any junkyards anywhere in the country where they have parts for our Lincolns and not just Japanese econo-boxes? In Vermont other than for a Volvo or a Subaru and assorted German 4WD they are hard to come by. Travelling far isn't therefore the ultimate proposition.

If I do drive down to New York City, which is probably the area of the USA where there are the most Town Cars, then would you be able to steer me to a U Pull It that is likely to be the safest bet? I do very much thank you for your helpful suggestion. I can also maybe take a sightseeing trip to the big apple to make it less of a crazy trek.

Cheers,

Vic
 
I will try to find one for you, My dad works for a parts warehouse dealing in Taxi (Town car, crown vic, etc.) parts. He will ask around the shops he deals with, maybe there may be one laying around. I'll find out the price and update you. Also I'm going to PA this week, and if I hit up a U-Pull-it maybe Ill pull one out for you, I'll let you know.
 
Possible source for online "pulled parts" purchase?

Hi V-Tally,

That's mighty good of you to offer such help to other forum members here - extra cool! There are cars they made lots of but they are located in certain places more than others. I know lots are around New York, some in Boston while the rest may be concentrated in Florida where retirees buy them. So junkyards will have either tons of them or almost none of them depending in where you live.

I checked out threads here where others are seeking parts and one place that came recommended was an online search at car-part.com:

http://car-part.com/cgi-bin/search.cgi

I ran one there for a 99 Town Car Instrument Cluster and it came back with a number of items, some in A condition, for prices running from $20 to $100. This of course doesn't include shipping and handling or other fees. But it sure beats driving all day wondering if one will find one. So let me know if you'd rather I wait or check further with them to see if this is indeed that clear plastic panel which is all scratched up in my dash. A number of them mention "Bezel only" so I assume this means just the plastic cover I need?

I also noted that you want to hotrod your TC? I am also interested in similar bang for the buck power improvements and maybe we can pool our research? I've been a long time member of CrownVic.net and am also in the Marauder forum as I'm dropping a factory crate Marauder engine into my lightweight Crownvic. That took a lot of research so I've got a head start, but moving these heavier cars fast is an altogether different story. Dropping in a 5.4 will do the trick but cost more in gas. So I'd opt for fuel efficient get up and go. I think dual exhaust with a 3.55 rear axle, something which came with my Crownvic when new, will give it kick. No computer reprogramming or getting into engine stuff. Next if you want there's the inevitable reprogramming after adding a larger MAF and pulleys or what not. IMHO less gains for more cost.

Thanks again, I'll scout this thread later to see what you advise for my dash, and if ever you come across a full dual exhaust at a 'U Pull It' you don't want, please let me know...

Cheers,

Vic
 
You should check with car-part, call and see if they have what you need. My trip to pennsylvania got cut short, and to make matters worse I lost my wallet upon coming back and now Im sitting in a hospital because my father had a stroke, so its a real unexpectedly screwed up week. My stepdad hasn't gotten back to me about the cluster, I think under 100 is not too bad for the piece, as long as it is in really good condition. I actually have an 06 town car now, and with the dual exhaust and minor upgrades it offers it is a much better improvement over the 2000. Ive always wanted to build a hot rot town car, and wedging a marauder engine in is a dream of mine. Ive thought about getting a high mileage ex-limo service townie and just building it for speed and power, it would be awesome to see the look on someone's face when the town car lights em up and leaves them in the dust, especially an old livery cab. If i come across a dual exhaust sytem i will definetely let you know. I'm always glad to help someone on LVC if I can, I love this community, It is a top notch group of people.
 
Hi V-Tally,

So I'll go ahead with that parts network. It's really rough what happened and you should give your father as much undivided attention as possible. My old man died of that same thing. Nowadays they actually have a new gizmo if he's gotten hit really bad, it is an implanted box that actually reboots the heart if it stops just like those huge metal shockers in the ambulances. They embed it in the patients chest and it monitors and intervenes. Had my father had one of those he might still be here today.

Best of luck with all that. Regarding adapting a Marauder engine into another Panther, I happen to know quite a bit. You may want to check out my MUTANT MARAUDER threads in the forum CrownVic.net. It is a heck of a lot easier to do in a 2003+ Panther so a more recent Town Car is a MUST. I think that these days you can find a livery limo with tons of miles and a worn out engine from that Vintage. It is well worth the extra bucks to not have to modify the fuel system, computer or harnesses. Otherwise the engine will just slip into place with maybe needing the marauder's manifolds too. I'll help out happily if you get serious about this.

About that older Town Car, it does make a real difference to have dual exhaust on those cars. At slightly less weight I had the same on the original engine of my Crown Vic of similar vintage. It did however also have the towing package which came with stiffer rear axle gearing making it fly off the line at green lights. This was incidentally the same gearing as the Police Pursuit package patrol cars which were pretty quick to react. To get that performance, unless you already have it with the "towing package" on your Town Car, all you need is that axle adjustment and then if you still want more acceleration power the smaller 15" wheels. I think this will tell you, without having to do an extensive VIN number analysis, whether you have these features or the more common "touring package" which came with 16" wheels but and less get up and go.

Cheers,

Vic
 

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