June 8th, 2002 - Chapter Three - Well, the Marquis is finally insured! And, it also has temporary plates! Wooohooo! All thanks to the great help of Miss Jetty Staszko and the wonderful DMV Staff. Now, please let us have a moment in prayer so that we may pray it passes the safety inspection. I think I will have work done to the exhaust system before I try and get it to pass. Overall it's been acting pretty good. The engine is still rather rough. Burhoe's Garage says everything's fine with it, and it's to be expected with an old car like that. I may take it to Bundy Motors in Tolland, CT. An old co-worker of mine from my Nordstrom days had a 1971 Lincoln Mark III that she took there and swore by them for old cars, especially Lincolns. As I was driving around aimlessly today in the car, I noticed another Marquis going the opposite direction down Rte 83. I turned around, and caught up with the driver whom I recognized to be Tim from Somers, CT! He had signed my guestbook, and we chatted on AOL a few times this winter. We stopped and talked for a while comparing our cars, and took a few pictures:

Tim's car is a 1978 Mercury Marquis Brougham.

He has the optional 460 engine that came standard in the Grand series:

Just look at those sexy rear-ends! *Grrrrowwwlll*

He has the wire wheel covers I want! (Bastard!)

Differences between my Grand Marquis and his Marquis Brougham are mainly trim-level oriented. As you can see, he has a spear that runs three-fourths the length of his car that is his door guard; I have the color-keyed vinyl trim that runs the length of my car. Because of that, he gets the aluminum trim that runs the bottom of his car, I do not. In comparing our Vinyl Roofs, we determined that mine may be after-market, as the vinyl is smooth, and doesn't have a deep-grain texture. Other trim differences are noticeable in the bumper... I have the guard that runs the full length of the bumpers, and he doesn't have it at all. Inside, our interiors were almost identical! He has vinyl seats though, and an analog clock.

He has silver badges on the headlight doors, and C-Pillars, whereas mine are golden.

Later on in the afternoon, I replaced the stock AM/FM stereo that came with the car with a Jensen AM/FM/Cassette deck that doesn't look *too* bad. It's a shaft mounted model, so it doesn't look too out of place. Tomorrow, I will attempt replacing the rear speakers, because they sound as though they are blown.

Well, the sun has set on another chapter of the Marquis Diary! Goodbye for now.

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