84,000 mile colony park-- overhauling, what would be on your list?

[BerniniCaCO3]

...btw, does dual exhaust necessarily = police package? I haven't looked for a rear swaybar, and i left the car at work, so I won't check until monday;
but NAPA lists the calipers as different between police package and non-police-package.

[gadget73]

dual exhaust was an option. Unlikely its a police packge car, though they do exist. If it doesnt have a 140 speedo, its not.


If the heated windshield is still there, you can't upgrade the alternator. It uses the 100 amp model to crank the voltage up to deal with the windshield. They aren't real inclined to melt down like the 65 amp model. The output isn't hugely better, but there is no stupid rubber plug to fail, so they're generally reliable.

Not sure what starter your 90 has, but if you have the gear reducer starter with the solenoid on top, they do spin much faster than the old big case starters do. Bad battery cables are probably more likely to roll the starter over slowly than a weak battery, though its 5 years old and probably pushing the end of its useful life anyway.

[1987cp]

Dumb chance to take with a borrowed license plate. No idea what's advised/allowed where you live, but here in Michigan, the vehicle-registration website specifically recommends driving a newly-acquired car straight home with no plate at all rather than running a borrowed plate, since the former is allowed and the latter isn't. When I bought the P72, I got a temp tag just to be on the safe side.

[gadget73]

yeah here in NJ if you get caught without a plate, you get a ticket for an unregistered vehicle, and possibly an impound. If you get caught with plates from something else, its driving with fictitious plates, a guaranteed impound, and bigger fines and such.

[johnunit]

If you get pads to match, police calipers will swap right over to non police. I bought new police calipers to go with new police pads. I'm not sure there's a benefit to that. The point is that if you're getting both pads and calipers just get both police or both civi and it'll fit nicely.

[Piece-it pete]

If a cop gives you a ticket for taking a new to you car home I posit they are a complete ass.

In Cleveland the cop cars have their motto on the side: "Proud to Serve". I've pointed to it and said 'Proud to serve who??!'

Pete

[1987cp]

If you get pads to match, police calipers will swap right over to non police. I bought new police calipers to go with new police pads. I'm not sure there's a benefit to that. The point is that if you're getting both pads and calipers just get both police or both civi and it'll fit nicely.

My impression at the present time is that the fleet calipers use more durable anti-rattle clips. But I've not yet serviced the front brakes on my fleet model, so whether they squeal within a few hundred miles after servicing like my civvie calipers on the wagon (which suffered from perpetually broken anti-rattle clips) will help tell whether that impression is accurate.

[BerniniCaCO3]

Let me go look and double check, but what I believe I observed Monday night when I did these (and got the police calipers, why not? cheaper too), was that the piston is of a larger diameter on the police calipers.
Via hydraulics 101, that would suggest a brake pedal that traveled a little bit further (pushed more fluid), but with more square inches behind the piston, would push with more force.
So it should take less effort, but further pedal travel, to generate the same braking force as compared to non-police calipers.
Dunno the real advantages. Certainly, it might make it easier to lock up the wheels, which would be no good.

[BerniniCaCO3]

Oh, and as per earlier advice, a fresh battery AND fresh battery cables made it start right up. Not a weak starter at all.

...as per the tags: my sister was supposed to have arranged for temporary tags with the seller ahead of time. I was going to reimburse him the $50 they should roughly cost, whether or not we bought the car.
My sister gave me some bullshit about how she would have to be there, it would have to be a weekday, yada yada. All I know is that 20 months ago when I bought my own colony park from pennsylvania, the seller was easily able to arrange for temporary tags before I even got there.
But Saturday came and she still hadn't arranged the temporary tags, so I figured fuck it, we've both got colony parks, unless they check the VIN would they know?

[1987cp]

Ouch. The IN temp tag I got for transportation purposes was more like $12. And I did it myself, just had to hit up the DMV office with proof of liability insurance on that vehicle, didn't matter that it was MI insurance either. Ho, hum.

[BerniniCaCO3]

hah! update. apparently even though they told her they only needed the signed title, they saw that PA requires a notary, so they want it notarized-- in pa. So mailing the title BACK to the seller and then BACK to iowa. Godammit.
Well, that's her problem now. I'm just fixing up the car, she can deal with bureaucracy.

By the by, she's getting an insurance policy (in Iowa) for her new 1989 colony park with full coverage: liability, comprehensive, and collision, with NO deductible, and 2 drivers on the policy, for $350/year.
In maryland, with the same clean driving record she has and a 1990 colony park, I've got liability+comprehensive, no collision, and just me myself and I on the policy, for $960/year. Good grief! I need another state of residence. Housing is cheaper there too, like 1/2 the price.

[mercurygm88]

yeah here in NJ if you get caught without a plate, you get a ticket for an unregistered vehicle, and possibly an impound. If you get caught with plates from something else, its driving with fictitious plates, a guaranteed impound, and bigger fines and such.

But you also have to take into account the fact that you cannot legally pump your own gas in the communist republic of new jersey

[marquisman]

"hey pale, what the freak you think you doooin, pumpan yous own gazz? huh? yous know this is full soivice station owned by thee union. yous know what that means? no gaz or fuels can be pumped with out labour and/or cleaarance of the union!" lol

[gadget73]

You can't mail it back to the seller to have it notarized. Both of you have to sign it in the presence of the notary. PA is funny like that. Kind of surprised Maryland is being dumb and making you follow PA state title requirements for a title transfer. NJ doesn't even do that nonsense, and our DMV is kinda braindead.


and Kyle, I've been pumping my own gas here for years. Go to the truck stop and use the RV lane. Nobody stops you. Most of the time, they really don't give a shit. It might be more retarded in larger population areas but I live in the least populated county in the state. Its a little bit different down here.

[mercurygm88]

You can't mail it back to the seller to have it notarized. Both of you have to sign it in the presence of the notary. PA is funny like that. Kind of surprised Maryland is being dumb and making you follow PA state title requirements for a title transfer. NJ doesn't even do that nonsense, and our DMV is kinda braindead.

Ohio is the same way but most notaries dont really give a care. I've bought two cars with the titles pre notarized and already signed off by the PO. Which is kinda funny because I bought the merc from a guy who was selling it for his brother this brother lived nearly 200 miles from me the car was only 60 miles away. So the owner signed the title and had it notarized and mailed it to his brother whom I purchased the car from. Since the most distant brother was the original owner I wanted to get ahold of him just for the hell of it (good idea too as he mailed me two large envelopes of service receipts). The funny thing is when I was looking for his current address to get into contact with him I came to find out he is an attorney who owns his own law offices. Recently while cleaning out the merc I found a pen from said office. Leave it to a attorney to set up a (technically) illegal vehicle sale.