99 Roadster; rotor and seat upgrade options

[sshrum]

Title sez it all. I'd like to start researching replacement rotors and just need the specs on the rotor sizes.

Additionally, if anyone knows off the top of their heads (as my Roadster is in transit for 2 weeks), what is the seat dimensions so I can start looking into that as well.

TIA.

[99panoz]

Congratulations on your new purchase and welcome to the forum.

The front rotors are from a 98' Mustang Cobra but the rears are from a 96' Thunderbird Super-Coupe. I purchased mine from Disc Italia in Greenville SC but wouldn't recommend them from some negative post sale issues that I experienced with them so with that said, caveat emptor.

When I purchased my first Roadster it was missing the owners manual as well. I tried to obtain a factory replacement but all they had available were the pages and not the actual binder that it fit into. I went ahead and purchased the pages from the factory ($33.25 in 2006') and simply purchased a nice leather binder from a luggage shop to put the pages into. Same size and color (actually a nicer leather than the factory version) but it just didn't have the Panoz crest screened onto the face of it. Had I've kept that car, I might have taken it and had the Panoz crest screened onto it. My second Roadster already had the owners manual so no problems there.

Regarding the seats.......from what I was told at the factory, they had experimented with several different manufacturers seats but the Konig's were the only ones that fit and looked correct in the Roadster. They installed some that were in "stock" form and some that had been cut down (from the height perspective). I have seen both and personally like the shortened format better (see attached pictures of each version).

Which unit did you purchase? They're essentially referred to by their VIN nomenclature. V=1997 models, W=1998 models and X=1999 models.
You said that you purchased a 1999 so yours would be X-** (the ** is the last 2 digits of the serial number).

[sshrum]

Last 2 digits are 30

[sshrum]

Just FYI. I'm compiling a large document on the Roadster including a lot of stuff from various sources (online stuff has a tendency to disappear over time). I'm including all the specs, recommended maintenance info, as well as including photos and such from those various websites. As soon as I have something more formal, I'll post a link to it as I will try to keep it updated.

[99panoz]

That'd be great. I always appreciate access to useful information and that would be a wonderful contribution.

Your car was originally sold to Knauz Motor Sales (see attached pic of X30) in November of 1999'.

With so few miles, it has obviously sat for a large portion of its life. There is still lots to be done to even such a new low mileage car but the most important thing to check for is to see if there is oil in the coolant. This can be accomplished by simply looking at the coolant bottle over the firewall and seeing if it has a cloudy dark color appearance (should be a bright emerald green) or opening the cap and checking with your fingers to see if the coolant has an "oily" feeling. If it does, this is not good and I wish you much luck and patience in getting it out of the block.
Panoz recommends changing the coolant every 3 years because the oil cooler that is mounted on the side of the block also doubles as the oil filter base. If not properly maintained, the coolant has been known to deteriorate the thin gasket that separates the two and thus enabling the oil & coolant to mix. You will find this to be a popular question on most Mustang forums - "why is there oil in my coolant"?
From Ford's service manual - "Engine oil is cooled on the 4.6L 4V engine in the engine oil cooler. The oil is cooled as it enters the oil bypass filter in the oil cooler by the engine coolant".

My advice would be to change ALL fluids and start fresh no matter what age you are told they are. This way it gives you the opportunity to better acquaint yourself with the car and establish you're own maintenance history going forward. Also note (and you may know this already) that your engine is not yet matured enough to run synthetic motor oils. This is best reserved for cars with 3K+ miles on them. My 99' which still just has 1,300 miles on it gets an oil change every year and I usually put less than 30 miles a year on it. If I had more miles and was using the synthetic oil, I'd likely only change it every other year.

[sshrum]

Good info. Thanks for the heads up. After it gets here, it will probably sit for a day while I wipe it down after sitting in the desert for 4 days collecting AZ dust (I left on Friday but show rules are no cars can leave until Monday). At least it's under a tent.

I'll check the coolant.

When you say "ALL" fluids: oil, trans, radiator, and brakes, right?

[sshrum]

Attached are the first 17 pages (currently sitting at 50).

I'm adding in photos and brochure artwork so the final file is going to be long and large.

Take a look and if you have time, dbl-check my facts. I couldn't find specification lists on the 97s or 98s (as they do vary from the 99s) but I can add them as someone supplies the info to me.

Also, there was some discussion about getting the paint codes in another thread (I have the yellow PPG code as a result). If someone knows some of the rest, I can add the codes next to the production entries.

Let me know what you think

[99panoz]

Good info. Thanks for the heads up. After it gets here, it will probably sit for a day while I wipe it down after sitting in the desert for 4 days collecting AZ dust (I left on Friday but show rules are no cars can leave until Monday). At least it's under a tent.

I'll check the coolant.

When you say "ALL" fluids: oil, trans, radiator, and brakes, right?

I would. Some people would do these things based only on mileage, so whoever has owned the car since new may have felt that it wasn't time to do it since it had less than the 700 miles you speak of.
I'm not sure what your expertise level is regarding auto mechanics, but I believe most people could do most of these items themselves. When I first purchased both of my Roadsters I sent them back to the factory for some other improvements and while it was there I let them go ahead with changing all of the fluids (except brakes). Since then, I have done all of my own maintenance (including the brakes). Changing the coolant is the easy part, its purging the air from the cooling system once complete that's the challenging part. I do mine every 3 years as instructed but absolutely HATE the purging part.
In regards to the brakes, I purchased a hand held brake bleeder. You will find this works much more efficient and less complicated than putting your wife on the seat and asking her to pump the brakes. Just follow the instructions that come with the unit and you will be fine and this can be done by just one person. Just remember not to use anything other than what was originally recommended for your car and NEVER mix different types of brake fluid (i.e. - DOT3 with DOT5, etc).

Also, while performing any maintenance on your car, be mindful of the proper jacking points before you lift. There is a channeled cover that runs the length of the car on the passenger side that houses the fuel lines and battery cables and is NOT to be used for lifting the car. Many Roadsters will have this type of damage where some mo-mo at the local tire store has tried to lift the car by. This was one of the items that was replaced at the factory when I sent mine there because of this very reason. If not too severely damaged it is also possible to remove the channeled cover yourself and straighten back out with a hammer and a dolly.

[PanozGTLM]

Attached are the first 17 pages (currently sitting at 50).

I'm adding in photos and brochure artwork so the final file is going to be long and large.

Take a look and if you have time, dbl-check my facts. I couldn't find specification lists on the 97s or 98s (as they do vary from the 99s) but I can add them as someone supplies the info to me.

Also, there was some discussion about getting the paint codes in another thread (I have the yellow PPG code as a result). If someone knows some of the rest, I can add the codes next to the production entries.

Let me know what you think

Looks really good.
Have you ever seen this from the factory?

[sshrum]

No I haven't...thanks for the link. I'm just in the beginning phase of collecting so if anybody has anything of interest, please send it my way.

[sshrum]

Called Brandon at the factory and he's going to see what they have in storage to send out to me.