WTB a few 97-98 Mark VIII bits

theterminator93

theterminator93

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North Ridgeville, OH
Vehicle Details
1997 Thunderbird 4.6, 1998 Mark VIII LSC
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For you junkyard crawlers out there, please keep an eye out for a few things I could use! None of these are critical, but I'm OCD, so...... :smile:
  • 97-98 driver's side heated mirror glass
    No need to spend the time/effort trying to get the whole mirror housing off the door. The mirror glass just "pops off" the motorized base. Push the inside of the mirror in so the left side protrudes from the housing a little, then just pry it away from the housing. It will pop right off with a little effort. See the attached image for details.
    Mine was originally equipped with a heated and auto-dimming mirror but the PO swapped it out for a non-heated, non-dimming mirror (presumably because the auto-dim fluid got dark), and I could really use the defrost!
    Another option I am willing to consider is a trade+cash for my non-dimming, non-heated mirror if anyone who is driving one of these doesn't need the heat function.
  • 97-98 driver's side mirror puddle lamp assembly
    I cut mine open to try and fix intermittent LEDs for the turn signal, but the circuit board was pretty damaged and the LEDs were rusting away.
  • 98 Charcoal Gray steering wheel
    Mine is in decent shape, but if there's a nicer example out there, I wouldn't mind having one. This is a 98 specific color; in 97 they were black. If you happen across one of the super-rare collector's edition Marks, I would be interested in seeing how that might look. Who knows....
  • 98 Charcoal Gray driver's seat trim
    Mine has a couple busted mounts that no amount of epoxy has been able to (consistently) fix.
  • 98 Charcoal Gray fuse box cover
    I still have mine but one of the tabs that holds it in place snapped off. As such, it spends its time in the seat-back storage pouch instead of covering up the fuse box...
  • EVAP tray brace
    This is the 4' long or so V-shaped cradle that goes under the spare tire well that the EVAP tray screws to.
  • Glove box
    The tabs that keep it from falling to the floor snapped off on mine. Color is inconsequential as the front piece from mine can be transplanted over.
  • PWM bracket
    Whatever bracket holds the blower motor controller in place is nowhere to be found on my car. I'd prefer to secure it in place to keep the harness from shorting out (again).
  • Spare HID bulb
    Mine work fine, but if you happen across one I'd feel better about having a spare. Needs to be functional/tested.
I think that's it... for now. :smile:
 
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Charcoal grey looks like black unless you're looking at them side by side, it was 98 only and replaced the true black, I think both were called Ebony regardless. 99-04 Mustangs are charcoal as well

On that note, you can get a new FR500 from LMR in charcoal as a retrofit/upgrade. You just need to source the Mustang horn pads and cruise housings and swap the mark guts/switches on

 
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I may have the seat trim you're looking for but I'll have to wait until I get home to check and see.

I have HID bulbs too since I switched mine to LED. I also have the Competition Limited headlight wire harness if you want that.
 
Thanks guys. Yeah the interior looks black; as Matt says if it looks black and it's a 98 it's the right color. If it's a 97 it's a true black and wouldn't be a match.

Minor addition - the gray puddle light/LED turn signal warning lamp piece at the bottom of the mirror. I took mine out and cut it open to re-flow the solder joints (of the 6 LEDs, only 1-2 were still working) and ... turns out it was more of a LEDs rusting away problem. :facepalm:

The Mark VIII HID system was the first domestic use of such technology; as such the bulbs are proprietary as they use an integrated DC ballast. The donor bulbs would need to be from another 97/98 Mark. But, as you can see, bottom of the list. :smile:

1707260138123.jpeg
 
I found a few wrecking yards on car-part.com that say they have a LH mirror assembly, but none of them are local to me, ship, or respond to my inquiries. If anyone's open to taking a trip to such a facility on my behalf (build in a commission for your efforts!) drop me a line and I can get you a list of where the nearest yards are.

Gotta think outside the box... :idea:
 
There's one near me that I want to go to, that has two marks that I was looking at for control arms. Charlies in Dayton tn. I'm afraid to drive there, because of Lazarus' rod knock. What color do you have? Sorry I reread that; charcoal. I'll try to call and ask. They may ship if there's a local asking.
 
Thanks! Color doesn't matter since I'll just transplant whatever useful guts are in it over to my housing. :)

It's also fortunate that the only reason I want to replace the originals is because of "luxury" features - the mirror heater, LED turn signals, and (of least concern) auto-dimming.
 
Trunk Monkey said:
I may have the seat trim you're looking for but I'll have to wait until I get home to check and see.

I have HID bulbs too since I switched mine to LED. I also have the Competition Limited headlight wire harness if you want that.
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure the only seat trim that I have is through 97 not 98 and for Tbirds not Mark VIII's.
 
B, the red 97 that's at charlies is not auto dimming. And they'll call me before crushing any mn12's or fn 10's. He said they usually know ahead of time what's going to go, and the more parts they sell the more they make.
 
No worries about the seat trim, these are mostly scraping-the-bottom-of-the-barrel parts to quench my OCD for everything working perfectly. :)

No auto-dim is fine, in fact it's probably a blessing in disguise. The auto-dimming mirror on the 96 got dark and replacements were hard enough to find 8 years ago!

My main reason for wanting to replace it is to get the defroster working again, and if possible, replace the LED turn signal module.
 
theterminator93 said:
No worries about the seat trim, these are mostly scraping-the-bottom-of-the-barrel parts to quench my OCD for everything working perfectly. :)

No auto-dim is fine, in fact it's probably a blessing in disguise. The auto-dimming mirror on the 96 got dark and replacements were hard enough to find 8 years ago!

My main reason for wanting to replace it is to get the defroster working again, and if possible, replace the LED turn signal module.
Click to expand...

Oh, I understand the OCD for everything to be perfect! I'm the same way. Honestly, I'm looking at replacing the seats as my next upgrade. I want something with some side bolster and a bucket contour to sit in. I've always liked the Cerullo XR3 Sport seats.

xr3.jpg
xr3+detail.jpg
 
Grog6 said:
B, the red 97 that's at charlies is not auto dimming. And they'll call me before crushing any mn12's or fn 10's. He said they usually know ahead of time what's going to go, and the more parts they sell the more they make.
Click to expand...

Well, if they ever run across an MN12 with the folding rear seats, I'd certainly be interested. Barren wasteland out here for that crap, just regular MN12s and the occasional FN10.
 
I've been looking for years. I found the l-brackets years ago, but not the seats or frames.
 
Funny thing: down the road from me, there's an SC rotting away in someone's front yard, alongside a Fleetwood hearse and some non-memorable cars. I keep thinking I should ask if they're parting it out...
 
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