[Vogon]

Let me start this topic appropriately:

HOLY CRAP!

I picked up my Vista Blue 40th Anniversary coupe last Tuesday (welcome back from the short honeymoon, Bubbles!). My brother and I drove down from Calgary, and got to SAI just before closing on Monday. It was a fairly uneventful trip down (that's a good thing), and the radar detector was working well. We took it pretty easy, but there were lots of LEO's oot 'n aboot. We drove my vert down, and SAI agreed to tuck it away until it's my turn to be SS'd. There were 68 cars ahead of me when I brought it in, with more to come. I might see it by Christmas(?), but really I have no idea. Here's the GPS data:



The picture of the bugs didn't turn out very well, but there were, you know, bugs, all over the front of the car. I had waxed it before the trip, as per all the advice on another thread (thanks!), so hopefully they came off okay. Less than the trip down in May...

Bryan brought the coupe out so I could see it even though I couldn't pick it up until the next morning. He wouldn't let me take it for a drive so I had to settle for pictures. I know you love pics, so there's a bunch here for you:






Gotta love the wheels and brakes. The blue calipers are a pretty close match, but a little softer than the car body. I really like the look:



The polished Kenne Bell is impressive, to say the least, and that's just looking at it:





Gary Davis came by, whether by design or accident, and we discussed the break-in for the rear-end gears and supercharger for the trip home. I noticed that the stainless steel pulley plate was missing, as per Kenne Bell's service note, but Gary assured me that the bolts had been tightened to the proper torque with loc-tite, but just to be thorough, he said they'd put it back into the shop at 6am and put the plate on. I hadn't noticed, but the gauge pod was coming up a bit on the passenger side. Gary did notice, so he had that replaced in the morning as well, before we arrived.

It was past quitting time for these guys, so we finally left, but it wasn't easy. After checking in to the hotel, eating, gambling with my brother's money (i was winning, but he then lost it all LOL), and touring the strip, we were too late to find a car wash. Shoulda planned that better, but I think the heat affected both of my brain cells (one of them is dead). The next morning Bryan said he thought he could get all the bugs off, but we'll see.

Bright and early Tuesday morning, 8am, we arrived at SAI. We wanted to get on the road in order to get back to Calgary early Wednesday evening, without pushing too hard, especially with the extra stops required for break-in. I took the car for a 10-15 mile drive, stopped back and said goodbye to Cynthia, Adrienne, and Bud, and we were on the road at 9:30. I noticed a front-end shake through the steering wheel, and thought that maybe I had lost a weight from the wheel balancing. I kept going, and we stopped a couple of times after about 25 miles. Each time I re-started the car, I got a "Tire Pressure Monitor Fault" on the LED. I phoned Gary, and said I'd like to bring the car back, as we were only 70 miles north, and I didn't think things would improve. Bud brought the car back into the shop, and they re-balanced all of the wheels. There was one front wheel that was a problem, so they completely replaced the wheel and tire. They fixed the tire monitor, and while the car was on the lift, showed me how to adjust the ride height with the Eibach's if I wanted to. They spent a lot of time getting it right for me, and by the time it was all done and we stopped for lunch, it was 2:30 when we left again. Oh well, at least it was getting broken in, and the problems resolved early. The shop guys were great for working through their breaks to get us going again.

It was HOT in Vegas! I heard 113F when we arrived Monday, no better on Tuesday. The air conditioner was on, fan at 3, and it helped a bit. Here's the fuel and oil pressures when leaving; about 52 psi fuel, and 80 psi oil:



The next morning when starting out from Brigham City, UT, it was cooler, and the fuel pressure started out around 38 psi. I'm not sure what others are seeing, but after a few days at home, it's about the same. Oil pressure seems steady at 80 or so.

With the wheel replaced and the others re-balanced, and with duct tape on the wheel weights, the ride was MUCH smoother. I'm really happy we went back and got this fixed. And maybe it was a good thing for another reason: on the second day, we got a flat on the right rear, and I don't know if the tire pressure monitor would have warned us if the fault wasn't cleared. There was a nail or screw puncture, and it happened about 20 miles out of Great Falls, MT. I used the sealer and compressor that comes with the GT500, and had my doubts that it would work. The leak was still bubbling after inflating the tire, but following the directions and driving 2 miles, the sealer seemed to work. We hobbled in to Great Falls, and got it fixed at Tire-Rama. I was told that just about all the staff owned Mustangs, and Josh took care of me right away. He wanted my wheels, tho...

The brake upgrade worked great. DEER!! It ran out on the road about 100 feet in front of me, while on cruise-control at 85mph. The car stayed in a straight line, and fairly level, while full on the brakes. Wasn't really close as it turns out, but would have been with the stockers. Plus there would have been major nose dive... I let up when he crossed into the next lane, and steered around him. Okay, we're awake now!

All in all, a great road trip. Home around 10:30pm on Day 2, instead of 6pm, but no big deal. The most I paid for gas was around $4.50/gal in the US, but $1.40/Litre at home ($5.32/US gallon!). And we're an oil producing province! Yikes!

Oh, and did I mention the HOLY CRAP factor? Others have, but nothing matches FEELING it! This car LEAPS when you hit the throttle (after proper break-in, of course. Right, Bud? ). I didn't do any burnouts, but when rolling, at 2500-3000 rpm or more, and then stepping on the gas, you get launched down the road in a hurry. And then you start to laugh. And you keep laughing like you're a little insane. And then you just smile a lot, before starting to laugh again! It was way too much fun, and I propose that Montana remove speed limits again.

After getting home, I sent Bud an email, suggesting 2 more options for the SS package:

1) a grab rail; and

2) a diaper dispenser.

Amazing...

[Rarecat]

Great looking Shelby and great story, glad Bambi didn't ruin your adventure

[INDYSHELBY]

What a trip glad you got your problems solved sounds like a great ride

[QuietShelby]

I'll Trade You Stock GT500 for your 40th 725hp?????? It's also Vista Blue???



But Really it looks Amazing! Congrats on the Package and Do enjoy it...oh and if you ever need a babysitter for her just let me know and i'll be right up.

[Aussie67]

That car looks great Vogon. I really like those calipers in blue and the rims look great in general.

Sounds like an interesting drive home, bu all's well that ends well.

Well written and thanks for sharing.

[MY500SS]

Great car, great pics and great story. Thanks for posting. Glad the issues were taken care of quickly. Aren't they the best at SAI .

[ken07gt500]

congrads, I love mine... I noticed the pic of the super charger, there is a small plate that needs to be installed, you can find more info under saibuds post Have fun, Ken ps whats your csm #

[Vogon]

Thanks, guys. The SAI folks took care of everything so we could get on the road. I never waited for them to start the work, they just took it right in and started. Great service!

The small plate on the S/C pulley wasn't installed originally, but Gary had it put on first thing Tuesday morning.

The silver wheels match the silver stripes really well. I'm glad I went with them. This combination looks great on the Vista Blue, and man, it gets a lot of looks and compliments. I had a motorcyclist give me the thumbs-up when he was going the other way on I-15, where the median was pretty wide. The car's easy to spot, so I'll have to watch for the LEO's...

As for coming up from GA to babysit, you'd have to drive here in MM's red SS. I know, it's a little slow compared to the blue, but that's just something you'd have to put up with - haha.

CSM 07XL0093. When I was called in, the next number was in the high 200's I think, but someone must have dropped out. There was nothing special about any of the numbers offered, so I just took the lowest one available. Actually, now that I think about it, Doug Gilmour may have worn #93 for the Toronto Maple Leafs, so it is special. Great player...

[aobrien]

Really Nice! Glad the trip home was safe. The smile factor is well worth the wait.

If your ever heading through Kelowna give me a call.


Al

[Alexandros]

Congrats and good choice...The car looks great ...enjoy and stay safe.....

[SpeedRacer]

Vogon, on Jul 9 2008, 01:49 AM, said:

Let me start this topic appropriately:

HOLY CRAP!

I picked up my Vista Blue 40th Anniversary coupe last Tuesday (welcome back from the short honeymoon, Bubbles!). My brother and I drove down from Calgary, and got to SAI just before closing on Monday. It was a fairly uneventful trip down (that's a good thing), and the radar detector was working well. We took it pretty easy, but there were lots of LEO's oot 'n aboot. We drove my vert down, and SAI agreed to tuck it away until it's my turn to be SS'd. There were 68 cars ahead of me when I brought it in, with more to come. I might see it by Christmas(?), but really I have no idea. Here's the GPS data:



The picture of the bugs didn't turn out very well, but there were, you know, bugs, all over the front of the car. I had waxed it before the trip, as per all the advice on another thread (thanks!), so hopefully they came off okay. Less than the trip down in May...

Bryan brought the coupe out so I could see it even though I couldn't pick it up until the next morning. He wouldn't let me take it for a drive so I had to settle for pictures. I know you love pics, so there's a bunch here for you:






Gotta love the wheels and brakes. The blue calipers are a pretty close match, but a little softer than the car body. I really like the look:



The polished Kenne Bell is impressive, to say the least, and that's just looking at it:





Gary Davis came by, whether by design or accident, and we discussed the break-in for the rear-end gears and supercharger for the trip home. I noticed that the stainless steel pulley plate was missing, as per Kenne Bell's service note, but Gary assured me that the bolts had been tightened to the proper torque with loc-tite, but just to be thorough, he said they'd put it back into the shop at 6am and put the plate on. I hadn't noticed, but the gauge pod was coming up a bit on the passenger side. Gary did notice, so he had that replaced in the morning as well, before we arrived.

It was past quitting time for these guys, so we finally left, but it wasn't easy. After checking in to the hotel, eating, gambling with my brother's money (i was winning, but he then lost it all LOL), and touring the strip, we were too late to find a car wash. Shoulda planned that better, but I think the heat affected both of my brain cells (one of them is dead). The next morning Bryan said he thought he could get all the bugs off, but we'll see.

Bright and early Tuesday morning, 8am, we arrived at SAI. We wanted to get on the road in order to get back to Calgary early Wednesday evening, without pushing too hard, especially with the extra stops required for break-in. I took the car for a 10-15 mile drive, stopped back and said goodbye to Cynthia, Adrienne, and Bud, and we were on the road at 9:30. I noticed a front-end shake through the steering wheel, and thought that maybe I had lost a weight from the wheel balancing. I kept going, and we stopped a couple of times after about 25 miles. Each time I re-started the car, I got a "Tire Pressure Monitor Fault" on the LED. I phoned Gary, and said I'd like to bring the car back, as we were only 70 miles north, and I didn't think things would improve. Bud brought the car back into the shop, and they re-balanced all of the wheels. There was one front wheel that was a problem, so they completely replaced the wheel and tire. They fixed the tire monitor, and while the car was on the lift, showed me how to adjust the ride height with the Eibach's if I wanted to. They spent a lot of time getting it right for me, and by the time it was all done and we stopped for lunch, it was 2:30 when we left again. Oh well, at least it was getting broken in, and the problems resolved early. The shop guys were great for working through their breaks to get us going again.

It was HOT in Vegas! I heard 113F when we arrived Monday, no better on Tuesday. The air conditioner was on, fan at 3, and it helped a bit. Here's the fuel and oil pressures when leaving; about 52 psi fuel, and 80 psi oil:



The next morning when starting out from Brigham City, UT, it was cooler, and the fuel pressure started out around 38 psi. I'm not sure what others are seeing, but after a few days at home, it's about the same. Oil pressure seems steady at 80 or so.

With the wheel replaced and the others re-balanced, and with duct tape on the wheel weights, the ride was MUCH smoother. I'm really happy we went back and got this fixed. And maybe it was a good thing for another reason: on the second day, we got a flat on the right rear, and I don't know if the tire pressure monitor would have warned us if the fault wasn't cleared. There was a nail or screw puncture, and it happened about 20 miles out of Great Falls, MT. I used the sealer and compressor that comes with the GT500, and had my doubts that it would work. The leak was still bubbling after inflating the tire, but following the directions and driving 2 miles, the sealer seemed to work. We hobbled in to Great Falls, and got it fixed at Tire-Rama. I was told that just about all the staff owned Mustangs, and Josh took care of me right away. He wanted my wheels, tho...

The brake upgrade worked great. DEER!! It ran out on the road about 100 feet in front of me, while on cruise-control at 85mph. The car stayed in a straight line, and fairly level, while full on the brakes. Wasn't really close as it turns out, but would have been with the stockers. Plus there would have been major nose dive... I let up when he crossed into the next lane, and steered around him. Okay, we're awake now!

All in all, a great road trip. Home around 10:30pm on Day 2, instead of 6pm, but no big deal. The most I paid for gas was around $4.50/gal in the US, but $1.40/Litre at home ($5.32/US gallon!). And we're an oil producing province! Yikes!

Oh, and did I mention the HOLY CRAP factor? Others have, but nothing matches FEELING it! This car LEAPS when you hit the throttle (after proper break-in, of course. Right, Bud? ). I didn't do any burnouts, but when rolling, at 2500-3000 rpm or more, and then stepping on the gas, you get launched down the road in a hurry. And then you start to laugh. And you keep laughing like you're a little insane. And then you just smile a lot, before starting to laugh again! It was way too much fun, and I propose that Montana remove speed limits again.

After getting home, I sent Bud an email, suggesting 2 more options for the SS package:

1) a grab rail; and

2) a diaper dispenser.

Amazing...

Vogon,


She's gorgeous!!!! I'm going to have to go back and get the KB! Have fun and be safe.... Regards.

Stuart

[LSR]

Congrats. Vogon

Enjoy

[dukenrock]

My buddy just got his back for his 40th upgrade (725HP) about two months ago. Gorgeous car! Nice choice. Enjoy the ride!!

[SHELBY#18]

Sounds like the trip I would have loved if I had the time. Enjoy!

All the best...
Rick

[AFBLUE]

Great looking car! Congrats.

[Vogon]

SHELBY#18, on Jul 9 2008, 02:57 PM, said:

Sounds like the trip I would have loved if I had the time. Enjoy!

All the best...
Rick

Given a few more days, the trip back would have been northwest over to the Pacific Coast Highway, and then north to Vancouver . From there it's a day to get home, 2 if I add a stop in Kelowna to see aobrien and his SS! I read somewhere that the highway patrol was out in full force, so maybe it's just as well I went straight home, like a good little boy. At least, most of the time...

Lots of fun driving this car, and I'm glad my brother took some time off to join me. He sure seemed happy...

[SuperSnake08]

Vogon, on Jul 9 2008, 11:58 PM, said:

Given a few more days, the trip back would have been northwest over to the Pacific Coast Highway, and then north to Vancouver . From there it's a day to get home, 2 if I add a stop in Kelowna to see aobrien and his SS! I read somewhere that the highway patrol was out in full force, so maybe it's just as well I went straight home, like a good little boy. At least, most of the time...

Lots of fun driving this car, and I'm glad my brother took some time off to join me. He sure seemed happy...

Sweeeeeeet! That is super sharp! Enjoy it Vogon.- Tony

[Torrence]

Instant DROOL!

[QuietShelby]

I'll see if he'll let me take it out but i think he too attached to her. I guess it's kinda like a first born child you never wanna let anyone hold them.

Oh Thanks again for the new desktop background!

[Vogon]

QuietShelby, on Jul 11 2008, 06:17 AM, said:

I'll see if he'll let me take it out but i think he too attached to her. I guess it's kinda like a first born child you never wanna let anyone hold them.

Oh Thanks again for the new desktop background!

You might pry it out of his cold dead hands...

I'm going to take some pictures this weekend. Let me know if there's a specific shot you want.

Thanks for all the compliments; they belong to SAI!