Despite rolling on an ancient platform and being known mostly as police and bingo hall cars, there’s something interesting about the Ford Panther platform cars. They offer low prices, V8 power, rear wheel drive and a big dose of simplicity. Today’s example solves the biggest shortcoming, which is the exclusive use of automatic transmissions by Ford.
Had the Panthers won the Super Bowl, we wonder if this would have been up for sale in February with a ridiculous price. Probably not…
The seller mentions some (hopefully minor?) rust issues,but this is – fittingly – in Florida, where cars just rust away in the salty, humid air. Hopefully, this can be saves, as the MT swap was a great idea and the other mods are relatively subtle.
The non-functional hood scoop is from a 1983 Mustang and it looks like the fog/driving lamps were added. Beyond that, this appears to ride low and have a small rear spoiler. The driver confesses some cosmetic needs and indicates that rear shock are needed. We’d investigate what’s already on the car and use the opportunity to maximize suspension performance. If the price stays close to this opening bid, this could be a fun driver for someone. Mileage is low; so this should be around a long time – again, as long as rust is stopped.
Click for eBay ad
Sarasota, FL, USA
$2,500 with ZERO bids and two days to go
The exterior mods take away the sleeper effect to some extent; but this will always be mistaken for a police car when viewed in a rear view mirror.
Profile looks mostly stock; but the hood scoop does protrude and we’re not sure these Crown Vic wheels were available on the Merc. Maybe they were??
The ad indicates the car was “slightly sideswiped” on this side. We’re not sure where.
Here’s the intimidating front end and another look at the thoroughly-non-functional hood scoop. Driving/fog lamps were an interesting idea and the installation could be worse.
Rear shows obligatory custom badges and extended dual exhaust. It’s not clear whether the exhaust system has any mods or these are just tips.
From this angle, the interior looks basically stock and reasonably clean.
Here’s the money shot for this car – really the only reason it’s here.
Ad text:
Custom 1998 Mercury Grand Marquis. Only 90k miles.Original 4.6 v-8 engine with a 2002 Mustang Tremec TR3550 five speed manual transmission.The conversion was done at 75 k. Mercury Marauder cluster, console, dual exhaust and trunk spoiler. K&N filter, SCT tuner. 1983 Mustang GT hood scoop. 327 Trac Loc rear. Runs, drives and stops well. Cold a.c., tinted windows and cd stereo with subwoofer. drive as is or restore. Has droopy headliner and cracked leather, typical of an 18 year old car. The lighting control module is in need of replacement as well as the rear shocks. the air bags are fine and the compressor is working. Slightly sideswiped on passenger side. Some rust on front fenders and on the frame is present, previous repairs have been done but more are needed. car is sold as is with a clean Florida title. No warranties expressed or implied.