My 2002 GT Build Thread (over three years and still going)

[bobby_0081]

I have always wanted to tell my story of my New Edge and how I got to where I am today and hopefully I am able to help someone along the way.

Here's what I started with... 150,000+ mile Mustang GT that I bought in the end of May of 2011 for $6100. These pics are after I put tires on it and tinted the windows.

 

[bobby_0081]

Less than two months went by and the intake broke where the heater hose connected to the plastic nipple on the rear passenger side. That's why I bought the Bullitt Intake. Ignore the date stamp because the date is wrong...

 

[bobby_0081]

Right after I fixed the intake I was test driving the car with new Bullitt Intake and my zoom clutch pressure plate exploded on a 1st to 2nd shift at about 5K RPM's...

 

[bobby_0081]

The next bit of bad luck I had involved a ditch on a dirt road...



Oh yeah and the ditch also had a mailbox or two in it... These are a few I found after I was starting to put it back together.

 

[bobby_0081]

I bought the hood in the pics above and ended up not liking it so I swapped it for a factory 03-04 Cobra hood. Here is the car painted and put back together after the accident. I did the work myself and painted the parts in my garage. I used a new header panel, a replica 03 Cobra bumper a Used Mach 1 grille, and new reproduction Cobra fog lamps and Factory Ford fog lamp bezels. I had also by this time as you can see in pictures above bought JLT inner fender CAI and installed a SCT X3 along with a used TR-3650 to replace the trans that was ruined when the clutch grenade.



I also swapped the worn out leather seats for some Cobra seats

 

[bobby_0081]

Sometime in December of 2012 I was out and messing around and missed a 2nd to 3rd shift and I ended up putting it in 1st... The next day the 190K mile engine developed a knock. I drove the car knocking for about 5K miles as I collected parts to prepare for an engine swap. I sold my Bombardier DS650X Baja four wheeler and used that money to help with some of the cost of the heads and cams. I also bought a used 03 Cobra T-56 and all the stuff to install it and swapped it in to the car. I did the accutach box for the reverse issues and bought a new MGW shifter for it. I purchased a low mileage 2007 Crown Vic shortblock and bought the TFS 38cc heads and TFS Stage 2 cams. I also installed a windage tray, new aluminum flywheel, and reused my BBK shorty headers that I had put on the car earlier in 2012.



Here it is installed

 

[bobby_0081]

It didn't run well so off I went to Florida to see Tony at Tuners Inc. for some tuning. See this YouTube video for my first time at the dyno. http://youtu.be/eDyo2xCeIHQ

 

[bobby_0081]

So after nearly a year of no mods and just driving the car back and forth to work and my stock T56 not wanting to stay in reverse, it kept popping out. I decided I would buy a new T56 Magnum 6sp trans. I bought all the parts and then had my stock Cobra driveshaft cut down and bought a yoke from D&D performance. I wanted a whole driveshaft and I was in a hurry because this thing was and still is my DD and I guess the fellow at D&D didn't give a damn and sold me a yoke I couldn't use. I called him back because I had to miss another day of work and he got nasty with me and said he wished he never sold me the yoke because I didn't buy the trans from him in the first place, I bought if from Ford Racing because it was on sale and free shipping. I also bought the Ford Racing Clutch which is a Centerforce DF that the pressure plate is painted Blue instead of Orange.



Well within 10 miles the rear seal came out of the brand new trans. I got a new seal from Tremec and it was metal and stayed in but leaked as you can see from the photo below.



I got tired of the constant leak coming from my 3K dollar trans and called the guys at American Powertrain and they hooked me up with the part number for an SKF seal from NAPA and also a new custom made driveshaft that I got two days after I ordered it. That's good service.



No more leaks! I don't know if it was the wrong yoke, out of balance, or what, but the driveshaft fixed it. No more smoke when I stop at a red light.

 

[bobby_0081]

Then came my next trip back to Florida to the dyno. I needed to swap my 24# injectors for some new ones because the 24's were maxed out at 6K RPM's. I had also installed a colder range spark plug because I was having a little spark knock in the dead of the hot GA summer. The result was less power than my initial dyno run a year prior.

 

[bobby_0081]

Well then I decided to go a little further with the build and bought BBK long tube headers, BBK twin 65mm TB, and a BBK MAF meter. I also bought a Meziere water pump and the matching BBK short catted X-pipe. With all these parts and the 34# injectors that I put in before this is what I ended up with. http://youtu.be/xygze2QK9FY

 

[bobby_0081]

I have also done some suspension and brake work but need to finish the suspension work and install my tubular K-member. I am going to try and swap the K-member by the weekend and get some pics while I am doing it. Feel free to ask any questions. I have also gotten rid of the Cobra seats and put in the Mach 1 seats. I will get some pics of the interior later too. Here's what it looks like as of two days ago.



As you may notice it is lowered with springs in the rear and coilovers and tubular a-arms in the front. I would like the front to sit a little lower but I hit the long tubes on a speed bump or two and raised it up...

 

[SVTORANGE]

Very cool build and story - nicely done

 

[KLeech]

As much as I hate bullit wheels, the fact that your car looks absolutely 100% stock is awesome. Now granted you can obviously hear the cam I'm sure. But talk about a major sleeper GT, completely stock and 350 to the wheels, that's awesome!

 

[bobby_0081]

Very cool build and story - nicely done

Thanks. I still have some other stuff that I have done that I want to add to the story and I have some parts I haven't installed yet to add to the story. I am not going to buy a new car so I will keep fixing this paid off one...

 

[bobby_0081]

As much as I hate bullit wheels, the fact that your car looks absolutely 100% stock is awesome. Now granted you can obviously hear the cam I'm sure. But talk about a major sleeper GT, completely stock and 350 to the wheels, that's awesome!

It is idled at about 1000 right now and the cam isn't super noticeable. If I idle it down to 880 then you can really hear it. Thanks for the nice words.

 

[SVTORANGE]

Thanks. I still have some other stuff that I have done that I want to add to the story and I have some parts I haven't installed yet to add to the story. I am not going to buy a new car so I will keep fixing this paid off one...

Good decision my man car looks good

 

[bobby_0081]

Good decision my man car looks good

Thanks

 

[SVTORANGE]

Thanks

:beer:

 

[bobby_0081]

I finished up the K-member swap on Tuesday. I started it on Monday night and got the old one out and the new one in and then finished up everything Tuesday morning. It was a lot easier than I expected since I had already done the tubular A-Arms earlier this year. The Maximum Motorsports K-member fit like a glove and there were no suprises. I got the alignment done yesterday and the car definitely drives better. Here are a few pics from the install.

Oh yeah ignore the timestamp my daughter set the camera time and date and got the AM/PM mixed up.

 

[SVTORANGE]

That is awesome man gad you got it all doneepper: