More P71 lovin' - Getting some work done!

I'm road-tripping the P71 to my sister's wedding next weekend, so I did a ton of work to it. New Falken FK452 tires (255/45/17 and 275/40/17), fresh oil & filter, fresh trans fluid & filter (with a J-Mod added in for good measure, it crisped up the shifts nicely), fresh rear axle oil w/LSD additive, cleaned & oiled the air filter, re-loaded the Superchips tune (had to do some work under the hood with the EVAP and EGR and clear codes after replacing the parts), got the cruise and horn fixed, new headlights & bulbs, and even installed a stereo! Pics in the Reader's Rides:

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/reader-rides/121/

I'm still debating on whether or not to grab fresh calipers and swap them out with some fresh fluid. That's the only item left besides a good wash-and-wax. I drag raced it last night (1.971 60'!!!!) so I know it's running well. The new headlights were nice for the drive home from PIR in the dark. At least one of my cars works.

I get that last sentence so true.

I have been getting my challenge car up to par, today I am actually doing very little for the first time in weeks, it was a strong suggestion from the wife....

Nice work! Love the headlights.. seem like jewels on the front. Where's the pics of the new shoes? Have a great trip... watch out in CA for the BMW CHP motorcycles... they're a bit harder to spot. Of course, you'll just blend in....... :)

I didn't think tires were exciting enough to take pictures of, but I'll take care of that for you this week The new headlights are menacing at night. I set a record for idiots slamming on their brakes in front of me on the way home last night... as I came up on them at a massive 70MPH (in a 70).

P71 wrote: I didn't think tires were exciting enough to take pictures of, but I'll take care of that for you this week The new headlights are *menacing* at night. I set a record for idiots slamming on their brakes in front of me on the way home last night... as I came up on them at a massive 70MPH (in a 70).

ROFL! I thought of you Friday on my way to work in Atlanta. There was a P71 stopped on the side of the road with the door open (like the State Troopers do when they're running Laser). A sea of brakelights in front of me. When I passed it, I saw it was a recently de-commissioned one, still wearing the blue/silver GHP colors..up on a jack with the poor guy changing a flat.

That would be pretty damn embarrassing! I accidentally did something like that once. I was driving around late at night taking pictures and came up over a bridge with a perfect view of some mills lit up in the fog. I stopped, rolled down the window, and starting taking pictures. As soon as I finished a lone car drove by with the headlight out and I pulled in behind him content to go home and look at the pictures. Poor guy slammed on his brakes and went a good 10 under for miles, always making the same turns I needed to go. Being a 2-way, solid-double-lined road I couldn't pass him anywhere and I just wasn't realizing what he was doing (this was back when I first got the car). Finally it dawned on me, I burst out laughing, and purposefully stopped until he disappeared before I gave the poor guy a nervous breakdown.

I changed out my headlights the first month I had mine. they're barely more expensive than bulbs.

belteshazzar wrote: I changed out my headlights the first month I had mine. they're barely more expensive than bulbs.

No kidding! The set of headlights and corner lights was less than new headlight bulbs, marker bulbs, and blinker bulbs. Gotta love eBay sometimes.

P71 wrote: That would be pretty damn embarrassing! I accidentally did something like that once. I was driving around late at night taking pictures and came up over a bridge with a perfect view of some mills lit up in the fog. I stopped, rolled down the window, and starting taking pictures. As soon as I finished a lone car drove by with the headlight out and I pulled in behind him content to go home and look at the pictures. Poor guy slammed on his brakes and went a good 10 under for miles, always making the same turns I needed to go. Being a 2-way, solid-double-lined road I couldn't pass him anywhere and I just wasn't realizing what he was doing (this was back when I first got the car). Finally it dawned on me, I burst out laughing, and purposefully stopped until he disappeared before I gave the poor guy a nervous breakdown.

ROFL! Man, you guys with P71s need to start a "P71 Stories" thread. There's a lot of old Crown Vics here in Atlanta Metro as well...ex-taxicabs. during the day, I can ignore them because they have no push bars, but at night, all I can see is the headlight pattern.

I've got a sad thing to pass along...on the way to work today, I saw the same car from my previous post on the shoulder of the road, about ten miles away from where he'd changed his flat. It had one of those "move it or lose it" stickers that the cops around here put on cars when they've been sitting on the side for more than a day. I hope he can get it fired up and home before it gets towed...the fees for towing/storage that most Atl Metro PDs charge are so steep that once it's "in the system", you'd spend more than the value of the car to get it out.

I'm sure the 1300+ mile round trip to Cali and back for my sister's wedding this weekend will produce some hilarious stories My P71 is ex-Oregon State Police, and nearly all of their cars are the same blue color. I have a story every time I drive through that state...