DIY: Smooth Decklid Mod for S197 Mustang
Ford’s retro badge on the S197 decklid stands out like a sore thumb. Here’s how to make it clean-looking like the S550.
If you’re a fan of the S550’s clean look but have an S197, this DIY video by YouTuber Jacob R. Doty is just for you. With minimal work, the big round chrome GT emblem on the rear decklid can be replaced with a clean, flat GT logo. In this instance, Jacob Doty uses a flat decklid sourced from Fred’s Parts. His goal was to complete an all-black look on his Mustang, but the removal of the round emblem looks good regardless of color choice.
Doty unboxes the new decklid, saying “now, there’s the Fred’s Parts decklid. I got that one because it’s all gloss black and it already has embossed holes where you can mount the 2015+ “GT” emblem.” He also notes that there are a number of other choices out there, but he preferred this one due to that GT emblem integration.
Removal of the old decklid isn’t too difficult, and made a whole lot easier with proper trim tools, but a thin butter knife can get you by in a pinch. Once that’s out-of-the-way, you do have to cut into the metal part of the trunk. Doty was nervous about this at first, noting; “it’s very scary—to me at least—to cut into your car. But you just take off the other decklid and cut the circle.”
Obviously there’s some other smaller prep work to seal off existing factory holes, but that’s all done through adhesives. The Fred’s Parts decklid is molded to wrap around the edge for a clean, factory look, and “instead of the OEM tabs, all it has is the 3M tape, so pretty simple install.”
Results from the mod bring the back-end up the S197 right up to date with a clean and simple look like the S550. For an all-black Mustang, it’s exactly what the car needed.
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