Retrofitting a '13 GT500 carbon fiber driveshaft to an '07-'12 GT500

[stkjock]

Tob

FWIW - I was at the NYAS last night volunteering at the Shelby Booth. I was asking about the DS in the Shelby 1000, they take out the CF and put an alum in, I asked why, they made comment about concerns with heat and suggested that one would want to keep the exhaust as far from the CF DS as possible.

just passing it along, no idea if there is any validity to the concerns.

 

[Tob]

On its face - sounds plausible. Not knowing the specs for the high end of the temperature scale, I'd venture to guess that its up there. I believe the hottest portion of the exhaust is in and around the cats and those temps can get plenty hot. But convective heat aft of the cats somehow weakening the fiber wrap? I'd love to hear Ford's take on that...

Wait a minute....does this mean you have the 'hook up' on take off shafts?

 

[19COBRA93]

.

Wait a minute....does this mean you have the 'hook up' on take off shafts?

I've already tried. They're locked in pretty tight with a buyer for all their takeoff parts.

Top notch install here. Excellent as usual.

 

[stkjock]

Wait a minute....does this mean you have the 'hook up' on take off shafts?

Sorry no, he told me they sell all the take off parts to a "recycler" his word. They had too many issues trying to sell them, not worth the headache.

 

[cluscher]

Very impressive work, Tob. It must be killing you not to go out for a test ride. I look forward to hearing your first impressions.

 

[cluscher]

Sorry no, he told me they sell all the take off parts to a "recycler" his word. They had too many issues trying to sell them, not worth the headache.

Maybe you can talk them into reconsidering. Sounds like you have easy access at the moment.oke:

 

[Tob]

I've already tried. They're locked in pretty tight with a buyer for all their takeoff parts.

Sorry no, he told me they sell all the take off parts to a "recycler" his word. They had too many issues trying to sell them, not worth the headache.

That's crazy. Ya know, I was in contact with someone in sales at Shelby and was trying to purchase a pair of take off Recaro skins. He was trying to set everything up and told me he'd have to call me back. He did call back but only to apologize and inform me that his manager had stated that it was not going to happen. I thanked him and explained that I understood, still trying to pry some kind of information from him. He remained very tight lipped and wouldn't comment any further.

I did finally get through to someone there and they set me up with someone who can make a custom pair of skins. I'm fine with that and look forward to getting them. But whatever 'deal' they have with certain take off items is odd. While I have seen a number of used items for sale (and I have purchased things like take off '07-'09 skins, strut tower braces, a hood, etc) I have yet to see Recaro skins or the CF shafts for sale from whoever is buying them from Shelby. Just where the hell are they selling this stuff?

Very impressive work, Tob. It must be killing you not to go out for a test ride. I look forward to hearing your first impressions.

It is indeed killing me. But it snowed here yesterday and as such there is still salt all over the roadways. Temps are still in the 20's and 30's so I wouldn't be driving the car anyway. And you have no idea how anxious I am. I want to reach the point where I've driven it enough and sensed no new harmonics/vibrations. That will make me a very happy man.

Maybe you can talk them into reconsidering. Sounds like you have easy access at the moment.oke:

Oh, I'm sure the available network he had just grew quite a bit.

 

[stkjock]

Maybe you can talk them into reconsidering. Sounds like you have easy access at the moment.oke:

I did push him on it a little. But he was not giving up any info.

That's crazy. Ya know, I was in contact with someone in sales at Shelby and was trying to purchase a pair of take off Recaro skins. He was trying to set everything up and told me he'd have to call me back. He did call back but only to apologize and inform me that his manager had stated that it was not going to happen. I thanked him and explained that I understood, still trying to pry some kind of information from him. He remained very tight lipped and wouldn't comment any further.

I did finally get through to someone there and they set me up with someone who can make a custom pair of skins. I'm fine with that and look forward to getting them. But whatever 'deal' they have with certain take off items is odd. While I have seen a number of used items for sale (and I have purchased things like take off '07-'09 skins, strut tower braces, a hood, etc) I have yet to see Recaro skins or the CF shafts for sale from whoever is buying them from Shelby. Just where the hell are they selling this stuff?

Oh, I'm sure the available network he had just grew quite a bit.

He didn't say who, what or where, believe me first thing I thought of was this thread when he said the take out the CF shafts.

Oh, I'm sure the available network he had just grew quite a bit.

 

[Tob]

Finally. Today was the day.

I started by bolting in the passenger side Recaro I had just finished up. With both seats now done, I gave the rest of the car a quick once over and lowered it to the ground. I fired it up for the first time in months and let it warm up before heading out to roam the streets.

With my senses on high alert I got on my way. It didn't take long to realize that the drive would prove uneventful. In other words, I found there to be no new NVH - none. I drove for about an hour, traversing various road conditions at different rates of speed, including a quick jaunt beyond the century mark. Accel/decel, full throttle, coast, upshift/downshift...you name it, I tried to get some noise from my new driveshaft combination. It was dead silent in all aspects of operation.

I dare say the driveline seems to be smoother than before. Of course, going from gentle tip-in to full throttle, the car responds instantaneously, like a heyday Tyson uppercut.

I can't stop smiling.:burnout:

 

[stkjock]

glad to read you got her on the road, a lot of time and effort went into this mod, must be very satisfying!

 

[cluscher]

Great to hear. You definitely took on some lofty challenges this winter....usually that means having to get her back up in the air at least once to reassess. As they say, do it right the first time so you only have to do it once. BTW, your car looks awesome....I really love the stripped down look, especially with those wheels.

 

[19COBRA93]

Car looks amazing. Glad all the upgrades worked as predicted. That's to be expected when you're using top quality parts installed with top quality work. Very nice.

 

[Tob]

Thanks brother(s). I did make quite a few changes and tried hard to research and implement the necessary detail work to ensure success. It definitely paid off.

I'm talking now to Tom, the machinist extraordinaire, about making a few more. I'd like to get one in the hands of someone that frequents either road courses or the strip...

 

[Devious_Snake]

Damn that car looks good, so clean and simple! Nice work! :beer:

 

[03 DSG Snake]

Thanks brother(s). I did make quite a few changes and tried hard to research and implement the necessary detail work to ensure success. It definitely paid off.

I'm talking now to Tom, the machinist extraordinaire, about making a few more. I'd like to get one in the hands of someone that frequents either road courses or the strip...

I'd be willing to give it a shot on the road course or standing mile. :burnout:

 

[cluscher]

^^This!

 

[moncho]

Congrats what a milestone/accomplishment! Even those that are stock like myself which aren't many in these neck of the woods I'm very interested. Wonder if you recall with the old drive shaft on second gear going relatively slow how there was a weird sound coming from the drive line, possibly the driveshaft itself. This was with minimal acceleration. If you recall this sound can you tell if it's gone away or at the least simmered down? Sorry can't really describe the sound @ the moment maybe its best recorded. Anyway great job and we are very grateful for all you're efforts in this and in many other projects you've shared with the gang.

Cheers,
Ray

 

[Tob]

Javier, Ron, Chris, thanks for the kind words. I appreciate it.

Ray, I never had any noise from the stock shaft under any conditions. For me, the replacement was deemed necessary by virtue of the Whipple. As I stated when I started this project, my desire was to stick with Ford's piece as opposed to the aftermarket. The nice thing is that it can be serviced just as if I rolled into the dealer with a '13.

On Edit....Javier, you picked up on something - the simplicity. Not liked by many, that is pretty much what I was shooting for. One more from yesterday's drive...

 

[force recon]

If you ever sell this car I call dibs

 

[moncho]

Tob - appreciate the response. The slight noise I here more then likely has to do with being in 2nd gear when I really should be in 1st. For goodness sake these things can do 60 on 1st so more then likely I'm going too slow on 2nd gear and that's where the noise comes from particularly with the rear being @ 3.31 ratio.

BTW - After seeing several GT500's w/o the stripes I'm now a believer that strips doesn't necessarily make a GT500. Yours looks darn good!

Cheers,
Ray