Got my black coupe three days ago. Salesman phoned me to inform me that it had arrived and was coming off of the carrier as he was speaking to me. He told me not to come into the dealership until he contacted me again - after it was through tech and detail.
That was his first mistake. I was at the dealership within 20 minutes (the dealership is 40 minutes from my home).
It was the first 03 that I have seen in person. It was the best looking Mustang I have ever seen (thought I'd never say that about the new body style since I am traditionally a 89-93 notchback lover).
The odometer read 3.8 miles. I spent an hour looking over the car under a microscope. There is a scratch on the cluster guage lens between the tach and the speedometer. No problem, I can live with that until a replacement lens comes in from Parts.
Their SVT technician took it for a test drive. He indicated that it was standard procedure to ensure quality. When he got back it had 11.2 miles on it and he blazed the tires; as the rubber tits were cleaned off of the back wheels but still completely intact on the front wheels. That situation progressed into a bit of a incident between me and the dealership management but I eventually let it go after putting up a big stink. The sales manager's words to me were, "After all, it's a race car. It's made to be driven like that". My reply to him was, "Made to be driven like that by who? Your punk technician or the customer that is paying $38,000? I now see that the problem is not the tech but rather management. I DO NOT like your attitude." The sales manager spoke with the tech and got back to me: "Part of his inspection was boost levels and traction control". The tires chirped a couple of times but that's all". My reply was, "Your best bet is to let it go and let me cool down. Adding insult to injury is not helping your case with me".
At any rate I let it go and when I test drove the car, the "SVT Tech inspection" findings were consistent with my findings: the car was completely sound. No rattles, no drifting, no mechanical defects whatsoever that I could find.
But there was no front license plate bracket to be found anywere. I told my salesman that I expected the dealership to order me the bracket in time for my registration (front plates are required in NJ). Also, the car had no car lighter or ashtray. Not that I will use those things but the car lighter was missing and there was only the hole in the console. Hmmm...that can't be right on a $38,000 purchase! The salesman told me that the car was ordered "without a smoker's package" and that is should have come with a cap for the lighter hole. He ordered me the cap. Does anyone have a similar experience with this? No lighter? No ashtray? Only a black cap? Am I being hornswaggled by Miller Ford?
Those minor things notwithstanding, I left the dealership with my long-awaited prize; with deep-felt joy and excitement. I have never in my life been so nervous driving a car as I was during that trip home. A very annoying squeak developed during the ride home-a constant squeak. But I pulled over and found the source. The passenger seat was rubbing against the passenger arm rest/door handle. I put a piece of paper in between the seat and door and it was gone- quiet as a mouse. "A little Armorall will cure that", I thought to myself.
Speaking of which, my favorate thing about these cars is the quiet!! You get on it a little and all you hear is that roots blower sucking air and she pulls like hell. I think that this thing is quieter than my Ford Explorer. I absolutely LOVE THAT!!! It's incredible. After owning 2 muscle Mustangs with 2-chamber FlowMasters, Hooker chamberless mufflers, off-road x-pipes, etc...I am burned out with loud cars. I absolutely love the quiet of these cars! I am hoping that I can find good performance without touching the exhaust. I really don't want to lose that sound. Exhaust is now my "last resort" upgrade. My goal is to consume all bowties and mopars with only that factory "floor-waxer" roots blower sound. What could be better than that??? "SSSSWOOOSHHHH....what was that? It looked like a Cobra but I didn't really hear anything..."
Anyway; getting back to my drive home from the dealership, my wife, who has been indifferent about this whole ordeal to date, could not contain herself as I pulled in the driveway for the first time. A HUGE smile on her face and..."It is absolutely gorgeous!!". I handed her the keys and away she went on a 10-minute drive. While I was nervous about her driving the car; I do not put material possessions above people that I care about. The car is awesome but, after all, it is ONLY A CAR. It is a big hunk of metal. I feel bad for people who put too much value on material possessions - it's a moral deficiency. A good old proverb: LOVE PEOPLE AND USE THINGS...NOT VICE-VERSA. It is good to keep perspective on life's priorities.
It is day-three and I have 300 miles on the car. I spoke in detail with my esteemed performance Mustang expert friend Chris Winter at Crazy Horse Racing about the new car. "During break-in period, vary your speed but no red-lining. Allow the rings to seal for at least 500 miles. Do the first oil change at 500-1,000 miles and use traditional Pennsylvania crewd oil. After that, then start using synthetic. Using synthetic before ring-seal can cause blow-by". Chris Winter is among the top performance Mustang mechanics around and I completely trust his opinion. Crazy Horse Racing (Chris' shop) is located in South Amboy NJ (about 5 minutes from JDM) and is well worth a look. His shop is in MM&FF each and every month and all the 03 Cobra mods that Evan Smith is doing lately for the feature article are being done by Chris at Crazy Horse. So he knows these cars very well already. So between Chris@Crazy Horse and JDM, we in NJ are covered on our 03 Cobra mods.
I am scheduled for a base dyno pull on Monday afternoon (it'll have 500 on the clock by then) at Crazy Horse Racing. I will do 2 passes with no mods whatsoever then pull off the silencer and add the K&N filter for another pass or two. I will dyno document each and every tiny mod to this car. I will report to you guys and post the dyno sheets on the web as I go. After all, 1 dyno session at Crazy Horse (3-5 separate dyno pulls) is under $100.
I also will be paying JDM a visit this week as well. I am fortunate in that I live about 30 miles away from JDM Engineering. I have never done work with them before because they are traditionally a Lightining shop but now the 03 Cobra changes that. I had a nice telephone conversation with them and will stop by and introduce myself and see what they got cooking.
I must admit that I am ITCHY to bring this car up to snuff. It won't be babied much longer and I won't stop until it PISSES ALL OVER every Z06 and Viper on the road.
That was his first mistake. I was at the dealership within 20 minutes (the dealership is 40 minutes from my home).
It was the first 03 that I have seen in person. It was the best looking Mustang I have ever seen (thought I'd never say that about the new body style since I am traditionally a 89-93 notchback lover).
The odometer read 3.8 miles. I spent an hour looking over the car under a microscope. There is a scratch on the cluster guage lens between the tach and the speedometer. No problem, I can live with that until a replacement lens comes in from Parts.
Their SVT technician took it for a test drive. He indicated that it was standard procedure to ensure quality. When he got back it had 11.2 miles on it and he blazed the tires; as the rubber tits were cleaned off of the back wheels but still completely intact on the front wheels. That situation progressed into a bit of a incident between me and the dealership management but I eventually let it go after putting up a big stink. The sales manager's words to me were, "After all, it's a race car. It's made to be driven like that". My reply to him was, "Made to be driven like that by who? Your punk technician or the customer that is paying $38,000? I now see that the problem is not the tech but rather management. I DO NOT like your attitude." The sales manager spoke with the tech and got back to me: "Part of his inspection was boost levels and traction control". The tires chirped a couple of times but that's all". My reply was, "Your best bet is to let it go and let me cool down. Adding insult to injury is not helping your case with me".
At any rate I let it go and when I test drove the car, the "SVT Tech inspection" findings were consistent with my findings: the car was completely sound. No rattles, no drifting, no mechanical defects whatsoever that I could find.
But there was no front license plate bracket to be found anywere. I told my salesman that I expected the dealership to order me the bracket in time for my registration (front plates are required in NJ). Also, the car had no car lighter or ashtray. Not that I will use those things but the car lighter was missing and there was only the hole in the console. Hmmm...that can't be right on a $38,000 purchase! The salesman told me that the car was ordered "without a smoker's package" and that is should have come with a cap for the lighter hole. He ordered me the cap. Does anyone have a similar experience with this? No lighter? No ashtray? Only a black cap? Am I being hornswaggled by Miller Ford?
Those minor things notwithstanding, I left the dealership with my long-awaited prize; with deep-felt joy and excitement. I have never in my life been so nervous driving a car as I was during that trip home. A very annoying squeak developed during the ride home-a constant squeak. But I pulled over and found the source. The passenger seat was rubbing against the passenger arm rest/door handle. I put a piece of paper in between the seat and door and it was gone- quiet as a mouse. "A little Armorall will cure that", I thought to myself.
Speaking of which, my favorate thing about these cars is the quiet!! You get on it a little and all you hear is that roots blower sucking air and she pulls like hell. I think that this thing is quieter than my Ford Explorer. I absolutely LOVE THAT!!! It's incredible. After owning 2 muscle Mustangs with 2-chamber FlowMasters, Hooker chamberless mufflers, off-road x-pipes, etc...I am burned out with loud cars. I absolutely love the quiet of these cars! I am hoping that I can find good performance without touching the exhaust. I really don't want to lose that sound. Exhaust is now my "last resort" upgrade. My goal is to consume all bowties and mopars with only that factory "floor-waxer" roots blower sound. What could be better than that??? "SSSSWOOOSHHHH....what was that? It looked like a Cobra but I didn't really hear anything..."
Anyway; getting back to my drive home from the dealership, my wife, who has been indifferent about this whole ordeal to date, could not contain herself as I pulled in the driveway for the first time. A HUGE smile on her face and..."It is absolutely gorgeous!!". I handed her the keys and away she went on a 10-minute drive. While I was nervous about her driving the car; I do not put material possessions above people that I care about. The car is awesome but, after all, it is ONLY A CAR. It is a big hunk of metal. I feel bad for people who put too much value on material possessions - it's a moral deficiency. A good old proverb: LOVE PEOPLE AND USE THINGS...NOT VICE-VERSA. It is good to keep perspective on life's priorities.
It is day-three and I have 300 miles on the car. I spoke in detail with my esteemed performance Mustang expert friend Chris Winter at Crazy Horse Racing about the new car. "During break-in period, vary your speed but no red-lining. Allow the rings to seal for at least 500 miles. Do the first oil change at 500-1,000 miles and use traditional Pennsylvania crewd oil. After that, then start using synthetic. Using synthetic before ring-seal can cause blow-by". Chris Winter is among the top performance Mustang mechanics around and I completely trust his opinion. Crazy Horse Racing (Chris' shop) is located in South Amboy NJ (about 5 minutes from JDM) and is well worth a look. His shop is in MM&FF each and every month and all the 03 Cobra mods that Evan Smith is doing lately for the feature article are being done by Chris at Crazy Horse. So he knows these cars very well already. So between Chris@Crazy Horse and JDM, we in NJ are covered on our 03 Cobra mods.
I am scheduled for a base dyno pull on Monday afternoon (it'll have 500 on the clock by then) at Crazy Horse Racing. I will do 2 passes with no mods whatsoever then pull off the silencer and add the K&N filter for another pass or two. I will dyno document each and every tiny mod to this car. I will report to you guys and post the dyno sheets on the web as I go. After all, 1 dyno session at Crazy Horse (3-5 separate dyno pulls) is under $100.
I also will be paying JDM a visit this week as well. I am fortunate in that I live about 30 miles away from JDM Engineering. I have never done work with them before because they are traditionally a Lightining shop but now the 03 Cobra changes that. I had a nice telephone conversation with them and will stop by and introduce myself and see what they got cooking.
I must admit that I am ITCHY to bring this car up to snuff. It won't be babied much longer and I won't stop until it PISSES ALL OVER every Z06 and Viper on the road.
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