Transmission cooler blew
Engine/gearcase/diffs/transmission leaked like a sieve
Transmission blew
Frame broke (in 4 spots in 1 day)
Various windows
Power steering pump
Turn Signal lever / heater core /gas gauge
U-joints last 2 years
Floor rotted out, and body dropped
Headliner fell
Side window vents rusty
Radio antenna decayed
Engine mounts broke
This is only a taste!
Awesome car. Dropped a Chevy 355 into it with tuned port, a bit of a cam, headers, bigger valves, chipped, 10:1 and a 700R4 tranny with shift kit and cooler. About 350 HP and it changes the vehicle totally!
It's the most capable car I've ever owned. It's a bullet on the highway and it handles better than my wife's car ('92 Grand Marquis). With the stock rear end, it accelerates surprisingly fast. It's great off the road (body lifted about 1", suspension lifted about 3"), and you can't get it stuck unless you do something really dumb. Frame's been boxed and reinforced, body's about to get its second paint job. Gets about 10 MPG on the highway at warp speed (~80 mph), about 14 at 50 mph. I've had a lot of problems during the evolution of the car, but it's a huge laugh, and it always gets a second look. I'm keeping it forever.
I agree that the Grand Wagoneers of the 80's (and the Cherokees of the 70's) were good vehicles - great in the snow with Quadratrack. We had several of each in our family over the years. However, while we had a couple that were very reliable, a couple of the others were outright lemons, with endless problems, particularly electrical. All of ours had the original 360 and automatic, except for one that was a straight six with a four speed manual.
I imagine it is very difficult to find these nowadays, as they rusted away rather easily.
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