This, my friends, is Bertha. I didn't name her that, I adopted her already named. Bertha started life in Chatham, Virginia. She was bought new by Dr. Wayne Massey. Massey got a job at Bluefield College (also in Virginia, but two feet from West Virginia literally). Bertha remained in Bluefield until March 23, 2007 when she came home with me. Click here to read the newspaper article on how I acquired her.
December 11, 2008
New wheels and tires! Wheels are the turbines from my old '87, this time with a full set of '80-'87 center caps with red centers (to match the paint). Tires are Douglas Xtra-Trac II's in P215/75-R15 because they were cheap and have a fairly aggressive tread for snow.
Take a close look at the rear wheels and you'll notice they sit out a little more than stock. I installed 1in spacers to help correct the appearance of the factory sticking the wheels up under the car a little too far. I think all Box Panther's need this addition. Really makes the car look better.
New Duals are doing well, the passenger side sounds like it has asthma though. Cannot figure out why, but at least she's breathing better now.
Installed a new EGR valve and sensor to get rid of a trouble code. The code remains...
August 19, 2008
Bertha has been doing well over the last year. I touched up the paint so she looks like a real factory tutone car now. Bertha has also recieved a dual exhaust system using Cherry Bomb glasspack mufflers and modified sedan tailpipes. I left the catalyic converters in place so the car wouldn't be too loud. MPG was up to 23 before the new exhaust system; I haven't checked it since. I also installed new front swaybar endlinks since the old ones were rusted and broken.
In other news, I got a '94 Mustang GT and sold the '82 LTD.
Here's some pictures of the exhaust work on the wagon:
October 23, 2007
Bertha has returned to Bluefield! I drove her back up there without a hiccup. She got 21 MPG, and should get better on her return trip next week.
I've been busy with school, but managed to get in a tune-up, replacement of hoses, water pump, and lower intake rear seal (which was installed incorrectly from the factory). Here are some photo's for your enjoyment. Oh yeah, the smog and A/C are MIA now...
No wonder the smog didn't work.
Smog and A/C gone.
The problem
The cure
The solution
September 05, 2007
I sandblasted all the brake and fuel lines this weekend. The brake lines had been replaced for the most part, so they cleaned up well. The fuel lines were in terrible condition, and after sandblasting they began to leak. Working on replacing the drivers side fuel line right now.
August 22, 2007
Wow, summer goes quickly! Got the slicktop finished on the '82 and got Bertha's rust repair and bodywork mostly finished. Unfortunatly for Bertha, I am a dummy. My plan was to paint only half the car since the top portions of her paint were generally okay. This would have worked fine, until my stupidty got in the way.
Bertha's original color code is 2G, a color code not listed in the factory service manuals for the full-sized cars. According to the service manual, I had the following codes to choose from in the red section: 2D, 2E, and 2H. The original data sticker had some overspray from a previous paint job. It was clear the first numeral was 2. The second was not that visible; it looked almost like a 0. Given the codes I had to choose from, it had to be 2D, Scarlet Red. Just as they say in The Scarlet Letter, Scarlet is bright red, almost a red-orange. To make a long story short, Bertha is now two-tone for the time being.
Take a note of the Ventshades I scored on eBay. They are the "old-school" stainless steel versions that aren't produced anymore.
Up next for Bertha is a good tune up, for which I am gathering parts like the Accel SuperStock spark plug wires.
Forgot to add that I installed a Tripminder, a clock/computer that calculates fuel economy among other things. It was a factory option and replaces the original digital clock. No pictures yet.
The plug wires I scored off eBay for $25 shipped. Sevensaturdays was the seller. Highly recommended.
April 24, 2007
Here are a few new pics of Bertha in her current state.
The '87 LX Radio installed.
The vast wagon space.
April 17, 2007
I said no more updates for a while, yes I know. It's just that CarDomain seems to have lost the pictures I took and uploaded. God knows the only time I don't back up something, I'll need it and it disappears. Oh well. Guess you guys don't get any new pics for awhile. I can take some when I get home later this week if I get a chence.
April 12, 2007
I installed the radio from my '87 LX into Bertha today to replace the non-working Craig unit. I am thinking about installing the complete premium sound system from the LX into Bertha, all except for the door speakers (still a possibility if I find some maroon door speaker grilles).
I scraped most of the loose paint off to see what I am dealing with. It didn't make the car look any better, but at least I know what I am facing now. It's not that bad.
The school newspaper is writing an article on me and the car for the next issue.
The entire exhaust is rotted all to heck. There is some rust on the underside of her, but it isn't that horrible yet. I sealed the holes with duct tape to keep the mice out.
Anyway, here are some new pics. Prolly no more updates until May when I go junkyarding and being working on the car.
April 1, 2007
I figured I'd go ahead and make a CarDomain page for Bertha today. She is a 1988 Crown Victoria Wagon, a P76. She is a base model wagon with manual locks, mirrors, and windows, which have become fairly rare at this point. About the only option she does have is ATC, which doesn't work of course. Rear gears are 3.27, which is about perfect since she will see 90% highway.
The bad part about Bertha is that she has a pretty bad case of Cancer due to the bad weather Bluefield recieves during the winter. You can see it in many of the pictures.
My plans include to make this a reliable car that won't look as bad as it does now. Dual exhaust is in the works, as is a Baumann shift kit. Otherwise, the lo-po is staying stock. I need MPG more than anything.
I will be addressing the rust issues this summer along with some paint. I am thinking two-tone, since this is a budget build and the top paint side is fine. A dark silver, metallic beige, or black comes to mind, and it will be cut right below the pin stripe for a factory two-tone look.
I may use my blackout turbines from the '87 parts car (see my LTD's page). I'm also considering "dog dish" style hubcaps, although that too would require a wheel change do to the current wheels not having the proper provisions. The one's I am considering are the '90-'91 police car style or the '57 Ford style.
Thanks for looking! Be sure to check out my LTD (The LTD), too.
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