I think that if the door opens and closes fine, the damage to the A-pillar area can't bee too severe if there is any. Everything bolts up in pretty close proximity to eachother, I'd think you'd have hinge alignment issues if there were any significant damage. Probably just shoddy work and a not-quite-right fender, looks like it has black "e-coat" and not the tan/greenish primer Ford uses so its probably aftermarket. This is why I'd take a 2nd-hand OEM fender over an aftermarket replacement any day.

Yeah I'd agree. My comment was more tongue-n-cheek than anything else, given that way due to my displeasure over Ol' Blue's treatment by the previous owners. I too would be surprised if there was any A-pillar damage and I concur with your OEM fender replacement proclivity. Perhaps I should have included an emoticon along with my comment to bring my attempt at humor to the forefront.

Speaking of OEM stuff, I didn't see any fenders at the salvage yard on Sunday that were worthy of bringing home, else I would have done so. Most had dings and/or dents that were appreciable in size/scope and those were the good ones. Fortunately, some time last year I managed to find an 03 CVPI at this same yard that was white in color and that had no front end damage whatsoever. So that day I brought home the hood and both fenders. Thus I have stock to draw from. Once I do, I'll be down to 0 driver's side fenders so I'll be on the hunt for another for the very reason that BigMerc96 describes.

Finally, I want to be clear that when I express my displeasure with what I'm finding in/on Ol' Blue, I do not intend to come across as being too negative. Or negative at all really. Rather, as an automotive enthusiast I simply disagree with those who abuse their vehicles, especially ones as cool as Ol' Blue once was, and how she will hopefully be again soon.

FWIW.

Thanks!
Jerry

Is the parts but the one who advertises on CL in Bastrop? I'm out near Dripping Springs, always good to know where some good places are for parts.

Yeah there is the guy in Bastrop. He's a bit of a wild cannon, but he has lots of parts. Is there anyone out West by you?

Nothing out here. LKQ in S Austin is my go to for parts on past projects.

In facts, I've been surprised how tough it has been to find a good, late model GM or CV with leather that doesn't have either 200k miles of flaming white paint. These southern cars must be heading up north!

When I read through your thread, I was impressed you went out to Lubbock to grab the blue Sport. However, now looking I can see it is tough to find ANY versions with the bucket seats. There was a 2003 Sport in S. Austin last week that sold before I could get into town to check it out.

I'll have to be quicker on the draw!

Yeah I saw that 03 LX Sport on Craigslist too. Had planned on looking at it last weekend as a parts haul. However it sold long before the weekend came around. In a way I suppose that's better, presuming that whoever bought it had plans of keeping it on the road.

You didn't say: is there a CV/Panther parts source out your way?

Yeah the LX Sport variants are becoming even more rare, so I made the journey to get the one I found on Craigslist in Lubbock. Judging from the pictures it was kinda rough and sure enough, it lived up to that initial assessment. So the plan was to keep it as a parts car/project. However as I've mentioned the wife saw it and fell for it due to the color. She has a thing for the dark, rich blue pearl I suppose. So now it's a project of a different type: one in which I must give it a complete transformation to its former-self. This is definitely one of those projects for which I wish I had a magic wand or an "easy button."

However life doesn't work that way. I haven't posted much lately, as I am off trying to finish the gantry crane so that I can remove the entire drivetrain in one fell swoop. The problem there has been the rain we've been experiencing in the Central TEXAS area ... it's been brutal and has left most everything saturated, if you will. So all of my projects are kinda waiting for things to dry out a bit.

Anyway thanks,
Jerry

The rain has been something, for sure! During the Friday deluge, we had water come in the front Corinthians to a drain stopped up outside.

No parts places out here. Just one more housing subdivision after another. I love the bill country, but getting crowded quickly.

I saw your mention of a gantry - why doesn't a simple engine hoist do the trick?

Well if you've ever removed the drivetrain as a whole with a non-modified (read extended) engine lift, you are likely aware of the PITAs (Pain In The Ass) that such an endeavor affords. I've only had the need to/made the decision to do that a handful of times but have removed one or the other many times (too many times really, but...). Each time I did the two together I have sworn that would be my last. And I found myself swearing during said process too as it was progressing (or not) to boot. So I'd prefer not to travel down that road again if possible. Sure, I could remove them separately but the PITAs seem like they'd be fewer in number and smaller in scope if I pulled them together via a gantry. This will be my first attempt at doing that, to be clear, as I have never owned, built or otherwise used a gantry. So it'll be an experience-builder. That's a good thing in my book.

And just for the record, my workshop/outbuilding isn't tall enough for a lift, which is why I am building the gantry in the first place. But I digress..

The gantry is actually for other projects that I have in the pipeline in which I need to lift heavy and/or unwieldy stuff. However, given that it's far enough along in its respective build, I figure I'll just finish it off, then put it to good use to remove the meat-n-potatoes from Ol' Blue. As mentioned, I should experience less in the way of PITAs with this approach, or so the hope goes.

Yeah the rain we've had...sheesh. Tonight was the perfect example. I checked my phone and there was supposed to be no precip for the rest of the evening. It was a tad overcast but otherwise things had kinda dried out enough to get in a little work. So I drag out the 4-gauge extension cords, fire up the lawn "tractor" (as my son calls it), pull the welder and all of my crap over to the crane and configure. I ran a few beads only to feel the light drip-drip of a sprinkle on the back of my neck. 'Raised my helmet to see what was going on and was less than enthused to see that more rain was falling. So....I shut everything down, apply primer to the beads that I had just ran, load up the cart, reign in the extension cord, drive everything back into the outbuilding, shut all of the doors ... then the sprinkle stops. [insert your favorite swear phrase here]

Too close to dark to do it all over again, so I locked 'er up and went for a jog. SOB. Oh well, maybe tomorrow, though the forecast is for more of the wet stuff to come our way.

Anyway, I should be able to finish it off with just a couple of afternoons of work. Then I can revisit Ol' Blue. Sheesh but I get irked when I see what the previous owners did to that car...and I still don't have the title. Should arrive anytime in the mail, we'll see.

Here are a couple of pictures from the last time we had halfway decent weather; I was welding the gussets to the verticals as well as the gussets' support plates to the main beam. Only got one side done that day because ... yup, you guessed it: the ever-mother-lovin rain.



Anyway thanks,
Jerry

Well the sun returned to central TEXAS yesterday and today. So I managed to get in a little work on the gantry yesterday. I decided to maintain modularity throughout, so the plan is to bolt the verticals to the legs/feet, as I am doing with the verticals to the main beam. So that meant that welding a few plates. I finished up the ones for the legs/feet:


And got started on the plates that will be at the bottom of the verticals:


While I was rummaging around, I found the friggin rear CVPI springs that I knew I had:


They were on the other side of the outbuilding with some other CVPI parts. Wouldn't ya know it?!?!

Anyway, I mention that stuff only in passing. I'm posting today primarily because I have encountered an issue with Whitey. For some reason the PATS is acting strangely. I can program a new remote, no problem. However that remote will work for only a short amount of time, then mysteriously discontinue working. I usually get 1 or 2 uses out of it then need to resort to using the key and the lock on the driver's door. I've also learned during this particular process that the key I have doesn't actually open the trunk, but that's a side issue. When I attempt a re-program of the fob, it usually works, but sometimes not. And during that re-program I am following the same procedure that I have used on my CVPI and hell even Ol' Blue prior to taking it offline for a rebuild.

Being unfamiliar with this system (PATS), I thought I would inquire to see if anyone has a starting point or suggestion. I am more familiar with other systems, but really most work approximately the same. What I'm hoping for is that someone reading this post will chime in with a response of "...oh yeah, that's a common problem. Here's the fix, it's easy, takes 5 minutes..." though that is likely wishful thinking.

Anyway, does anyone have any pointers, having been there themselves at some point in the past?

Thanks,
Jerry

ps-I haven't had an opportunity to connect with the scanner (AutoEnginuity with the Ford package) yet ...

Went to lunch in the 5-O (pronounced "five-oohhh"). Came back home with this:


SOB. It was actually folded up against the door. I pulled it back into normal position to see how bad the damage was. Sigh...thank you to whomever, 'preciate ya!

'Guess I know what I'll be doing tonight. On the positive side of the matter, at least now I have a good reason to tear back into that door to figure out why the mirror moved in the reverse direction. lol

I am pretty sure that I have a spare pax mirror in the parts pile. The last two I secured from the salvage yard were heated, so that means that they are reserved for Whitey and Ol' Blue. Either way I'll need to head back out that way this weekend to pick up another, be it to use immediately or as the new spare...good times. Fortunately I enjoy seeing what I can find at the yard, just don't have much time for it with the family thing. It's about a 45 - 50 minute drive each way, plus the setup, time in the yard itself, checking out, packing up, etc. Oh well, enough whining. 'Is what it is...

Maybe I'll make a video out of it (as I've already stated - hah!)...

Anyway thanks,
Jerry

So I tended to the pax side mirror on the 5-O tonight. Straightforward stuff, but a good job to involve my son with, thus it was a good experience. As it turns out, I don't have any spare mirrors for the CVPI just sitting around. I do have these two from the salvage yard excursion last week (or so):


However as mentioned they're heated, so I'll reserve those for the LX Sports. That said, some time ago a guy was parting out a 2009 CVPI that he had removed the suspension from in order to do one of those F100 conversions. I grabbed several things from him at a bargain, including doors:


And as luck would have it, the pax door still had its mirror. That mirror appeared to be in good shape, so as it was the only option at present, I decided to remove it and install it on the 5-O:


I had my son help with some of it, but he was more interested in playing tonight, so that didn't last long.

Anyway I did manage to make a quick video out of it, the purpose of which is to help someone repeat the process, should they have the need and not be familiar with how to go about it:


Thanks,
Jerry

This thread is awesome! I need to post more, but I'm always looking through this when I browse CVN.

I am seriously jealous of your storage space though, I would love to have enough storage space for parts cars/parts.

Also... 5 speed swap the 2010 CVPI?

Chaplian - Thank you. I prefer to give back as much as I receive, so I hope that the thread is helpful and perhaps even somewhat entertaining/interesting. Yeah, living on acreage was always in my long term plans, having grown up in the country. Needed to live somewhat close however for work, so there's a balance to be maintained. Took a while to find a property where I could do both. Anyway, 'grateful for what I have. The 5-O is my daily driver, so with that in mind, I'll keep it stock. If I attempt a 5-speed swap, I'll do it with a CVPI that's not a daily.

I realize that it's only indirectly related to the subject of Crown Victorias, in that its first job will be to remove the drivetrain from Ol' Blue. That said, I won't revisit her until the gantry is finished, so perhaps it is of interest to folk in this forum, even if tangentially. For that reason, I'll include an update on that project. I managed to get in a little work on that build yesterday. The goal was to get the outer verticals mounted to the legs/feet by drilling the holes that secure the two together. I focused on that because I received the set of new annular cutters that I ordered and don't want to do any further welding until the holes have been completed. Kind of a proper-ordering-of-things dontchaknow. At any rate, I'll sinch-up 3/4" grade 8 bolts with "distorted steel" nuts through these holes. Those types of nuts are technically one-time-use only, so I bought 3/4" plain ol' vanilla nuts to use while I assemble and disassemble during the final build phases. So. I put the 13/16" to work straight away with the mag drill:


That's one down:


Starting on the next, fighting darkness to get it in:


Beginning to look like something!


That's where I'll need to leave it for now though. Tonight I worked on the F450 (still in the Ford family - hah!) by swapping in a different interior, changing the air filter, etc. I chose to focus on the big-rig (as my son calls it) to ensure it's ready for a trip. We are headed out of town this weekend. Things on the home front need tending to again, so we're off to my hometown to help the mom. A little more serious this time unfortunately. Therefore I'll be offline for a few days or so. Y'all take care 'til then. Hold those close to ya...(not to sound too cheesy, but...funny how life deals you these things at a seemingly random point in time. I digress.)

God bless,
Jerry