new guy

[scott12]

Heya folks,

I stumbled onto these forums a few weeks ago while looking for a new(er) car and info on them. If short, these forums were greatly helpful, which in turn helped me make a purchase and future work/maintenance.

The car: 2000 contour svt, tropical green, tan interior, 108k miles on it(a little higher than I would have liked but...). I bought it off the original owner,who also had owned a 1998 csvt which became a trade in for this one. The car's completely stock and overall very clean, also have all the service records from day one . Some nicks and scratches but nothing that takes away from the overall gorgeous appearance. It does have a tiny oil leak that I'll be searching for this weekend during an oil change. Also, the motor for the antenna isn't working properly either(junkyard time again).

After having this car for only a week, I'm already in-love . Good power, great handling, and great looks. A nice step up from my soon to be junked 1986 lincoln towncar(though I'll miss the floatyness of the boat).

Thanks for reading my ramblings.
Scott

[LUCA]

Welcome Scott.

Congrats on your SVT purchase also. Tropic green... A rare color.

I know you did some reading on this forum and hope you saw this piece of advice: Keep the coolant level at the top of the word MAX on the coolant tank. Coolant sensor is finicky and can turn on the coolant light if it's a bit low.

Use at least 6 quarts of oil, some here run 6 and a half quarts. This helps with the oil starvation issue on sweeping right hand turns at higher RPMs.

Do you know your build number? If not call 1-800-FORD-SVT and give them the last 6 digits of your VIN. They will tell you the build number and build date. You can also get a certificate with this info on it from Ford but they now charge $40 for it. To get the info over the phone is free.

Post some pictures of your new ride for us.

Wait, you're from the Lehigh Valley??!! Me too. I'm in Bethlehem.

Oh, and we're planning a junkyard meet very soon. You're more than welcome to join us.
Stop down to the north East regional forum and post in the "whos who" section when you are set free from this forum. You'll see a post in that section soon about the junkyard meet.

[Aaron88]

Tropic green. Very cool.

Looks like we need to have a NE photoshoot sometime with all 4 colors.

[garydh2000]

Welcome Scott!

My wife is from Tatamy, PA. You guys/gals ever been to the booming metropolis of Tatamy?

Gary

[LUCA]

^Tatamy is about 20 mins. away from me.
I've hung out there, even played softball at the fields near Equipto. We've been to the Tatamy car show too.
As small as Tatamy is, they at least have a speed shop.

If you ever come to the area you'd better let us know.

Right Aaron, we do need to have a photoshoot. We now finally have a Tropic green (LV area) to complete us.

[garydh2000]

I've played some ball at Tatamy Field as well and fished the Bushkill right behind it..

We will be coming to "the valley" over Thanksgiving.

Gary

[AliasJerk]

wasnt there only like 402 Tropic Green SVT's for the 2000 year?

[scott12]

Thanks for the warm welcome.

It's become to small of a world out there, I'm from Bethlehem too . Nearby Liberty High School. Damn kids always oogling my car, better keep their filthy paws off it hehe. I've been through Tatamy many times, and for some reason Tatamy Diner seems to ring a bell. I used to be a diner rat, I'm sure I've hit them all in a 2hr radius .

Anyway, back to car talk. The build number was the only thing the previous owner couldn't come up with(though he still had the 98 build # ). He said he'd mail it to me if he ever came across it. I'll give the number a call to find out though, thanks.

I had read about the coolant levels already, thanks for the reminder. As far as the oil went, I'm glad you added the why to it. I searched through and through, but couldn't find any of the reasons why some were adding the extra 1/2 quart, figured it to be a track thing.

As for pics, I'll get some up shortly. Got to wait till the rain and slop pass through and get the car nice a clean. No reason to show off a dirty car.

[LUCA]

Scott, you're about 5 minutes from me. !! I'm north of you just, off of Linden Street, close to Spring Garden Elem.

Yeah, frigging Liberty students. I can't blame you for not wanting them near your car.

There's a black CSVT on Main St. near Washington too.

I like to make sure people know why we say to add the extra oil & coolant. A small piece of knowledge can go a long way.


I'm sure we'll be meeting soon. Can't wait to see your car.

Gary: If you'll be in the area for a few days let us know. I'm sure we can get a few of the CEG'ers together for a meet while you are here. Post in the north east forum and let us know so was can plan something.

[scott12]

Just off linden, eh? Means I just 'kinda' went by you today on my way to Walmart. I needed to pick up a small plastic container for the trunk to hold fluids in(coolant,washer fluid, oil, you know the drill). The lincolns container was actually a full-sized rubbermaid tub, god that things got a big trunk.

As a little backstory to my csvt purchase...
While on my search for a new(er) car, I bought a Saturday paper around 830am hoping for some private local bargains. A first time ad for a 98 black csvt was listed: 84k miles, 1owner, asking $4500 for it. The seller was in hellertown(bout 3miles from me). I hadn't know about the contour svt, but knew about svt from the cobras, so I knew it was something special.I did some quick research. Finding out a little bit about the car certainly aroused my interest so I call the guy around 930-10am and the car is sold.

I was kicking myself for sleeping at the switch, but now my selection of choices were broadened even more. Found my greenie the same day on autotrader and got it by the next week. Haven't looked back since. Puts a smile on my face every time I walk out the door.

Sorry for the ramblings, but if anyone out there knows the feeling, it's you folks.

p.s. As for the group color photo, just give me a heads up when. Weekends are best as I'm usually getting home at dark now during the week. I'll think about some cool spots to park the cars for the photos.