1978 Mercury Grand Marquis Base Hardtop 4-door 7.5l on 2040-cars

I have a 1978 4-door Mercury Grand Marquis for sale and I am hoping to find a buyer that loves this car as much as I do.  The wife demands that I sell it because of too many boy toys.

Ok, here is the scoop on the car as much as I know it. I am the 3rd owner of this beauty. The second owner lives in Seattle, WA and I saw the car while I was out there for work purposes. I knew I had to buy the vehicle once I saw and heard it. I still talk with the second owner every once in a while because he was that cool of a guy and he knows this car like the back of his hand. He is a gear head in its truest form and he is the person that did the transformation that I am going to explain to you. First of all, by the pictures you can tell that the car was and still is taken very good care of. The car runs like its on steroids!! The second owner made changes to the car just so that he can run it on a drag strip to see how fast it can go. The second owner had the motor and transimission professionally rebuilt and he spared no cost. The rebuilt drive train cost him $7000 alone so he was very serious about it. The car has a 460, 7.5 liter engine in it. The engine has been bored out .030 and new hardened piston rings installed to add as much horsepower as possible. The engine was rebuilt with a high performance cam and lifters. There is a 4-barrel Holley carb and a dual flow master exhaust system. And take a look at those chrome heads. Awesome!! As part of the transmission rebuild the second owner had a special first gear installed specifically designed to go on the dragstrip. The second owner explained to me that the first gear he had installed allowed the car to go from first to second very quickly which gives you quicker times on the track. I am not a gear head but again, this car sounds bad a$$ and when I step on it at a stop light it acts like it wants to chew up the street. The car's drive train has been built for speed and it is fun. You have to be careful though because you will not realize how fast you are going. This car is a Marquis and it was built for riding comfort and it just glides on the road going fast before you have time to realize how fast you are going. The second owner only took it to the track in Seattle a couple of times. He ran it twice and got in the 15 second time range and then decided to not run it anymore as he liked the car too much to run it anymore and potentially damage it. The car currently has 127800 miles on it. I purchased the car with 120,000 on it so I have only driven the car 8000 miles or so I have owned it. The rebuild of the engine, transmission and rear end was done around the 108,000 miles mark so they only have 20,000 miles on them.

As you can see the car has been lowered one inch as well to give it a cool, sleek look. I call this thing my "Christine." If you are a Stephen King fan you will know what I mean. Anyway, I become a different person in this thing to say the least. The car has a tachometer guage on the steering column, a temperature guage and a oil pressure guage on the driver's side door frame or pillar. The a/c system has been professionally converted to the new freon and everything works inside the car as intended from the factory except the radio antenna.  Unfortunately some jerk in a store parking lot bent the antenna at a 90 degree angle at the base so I had to cut it off at the base.  I have been looking for an OEM antenna but I am not having any luck.  There are after market antennas that will work but they bypass the switch in the dash that raises and lowers the anteanna on command.  The aftermarket antennas will automatically go up when the radio is turned on and automatically go down when the radio is turned off.  I wanted to keep being able to use the dash switch.  That is the only reason why I have not purchased a new antenna for the car. The car has chrome American racing rims on it and it was repainted back in 1995. Although the paint job is not show room quality anymore and there are a few scratches here and there, the car still shows nice when it is waxed. I have owned it for the last 7 years and I have always kept it in my garage and the second owner always had it kept in his garage so it is a rust free car. Oh, the car also has the "limosine" window tinting. The tinting was done by Expert Electronics in Loves Park, IL. I wanted to get the windows tinted to help with the sun and the guys at Expert Electronics explained to me that cars built in 1979 or ealier do not have any window tinting regulations. They recommended the "limosine" tinting which is the darkest window tinting you can get and said it would set the car apart. I have to admit that the car looks extremely cool and mean with this tinting on it. Take a look at the pictures to see for yourself.

Here are the official specs of the car:

Enginge: 460 professionally rebuilt. Motor was balanced, bored .030, Crane Roller Rockers, Comp Cam, Edelbrock Performer Intake, Holley 4150 750CFM Carb, Heads Ported, Police Interceptor Exhaust Manifolds, K&N Filter, New Alternator, Water Pump, and High Flow Fuel Pump. Dyno of 390HP and 55 Ft Lb Torque on 87 Octane gas.

Exhaust: 2.5" Aluminum with DynoMax Ultra-Flow Mufflers.

Suspension: Lowered with PST Sway Bars, Gas Shocks and New Rear Suspension Bushings.

Transmission: Completely Rebuilt C-6 with Trans-Go Kit & New Torque Converter.

Rear End: Rebuilt 3.00:1 with New Power Trax Locking Differential.

Air Conditioning: Upgrade to R134.

Brakes: Complete Rebuild with New Hoses, Rotors, Calipers, Master Cylinder and Wheel Bearings.

Other Features: Leather, Power Windows, Power Stearing, Power Seats, Power Antenna, Tilt Wheel, Cruise Control, Power Trunk, Guages, Tach, Newer Front Seat Belts.

The car is also for sale locally and is subject to removal from the auction at anytime should is be sold.  If you have any questions please call Chris at 815-262-6235. I will help with shipping in any way I can. Thanks for looking.