Pete6114

Thanks for the welcome!
I've worked for ford a good part of my life (40 years) and am retired now. Had a long list of fords in my garage during that time and will continue with that trend. I've decided to retire from motorcycling after 47 years and am replacing my bike with another seasonal vehicle. I'm about to purchase my very first Mustang, as soon as my dealer locates what i want, which is a GT convertible with Auto/California special/ Navigation/premium sound, but decided against the bremo brakes, because i want a spare tire, even if it's just a doughnut.
Never had a convertible before and hope that i wont regret it.
I'd prefer a 6-speed standard transmission, but since i have arthritis in my left knee, which could be a problem, and my wife wanting the Auto instead anyway, Auto it is. Haven't test driven a auto, since there are none in my area, with stock getting low, i'm hopeing that i wont loose to much of the GT experience and fun factor.
Thanks for having me!
Pete

rriddle3

Welcome to TMS.

Don't worry, you won't lose anything with the auto except the bother of shifting a stick in traffic.

Diode Dynamics

Pete,

Welcome to the forum!

If you are just getting the car as a weekend (seasonal) toy, why not go with the 6-speed and Track Pack?

You'll definitely feel a difference with the 3.73 gears vs. the 3.31's or 3.55's IMO

Nick C.

mustangfan410

Welcome to TMS!

GrnT

Pete welcome.

Phil_R

Welcome Pete. With the comment "but since i have arthritis in my left knee, which could be a problem, and my wife wanting the Auto instead anyway" I think your right in getting the auto. I bet you will love the ragtop as well. Post some pics when you get it!
Regards,
Phil

shaneyusa

Welcome... Thought I wanted an auto too, but then drove the stick and never looked back. Had to get the manual with track pack. It is a real kick in the pants. Great fun. Make sure you check it out.

berzerk_1980

I'm working on a thread for this with part numbers and stuff.

If you get the 18" spare for the non-Brembo/non track pack GT, it still will fit the rears (personally verified). You can fix a flat in the front by installing the spare on the rear then installing the good rear on the front. The diameter is like 1/2" different from the full size wheel.

I rounded everything up on eBay for about $300. Just something to consider. With stock dwindling, you could theoretically make the Brembo car work. The track pack cars are all manual so that's out.

Pete6114

I think you're right. Don't have a problem with sitting in the sun/wind/heat all day. Used to that riding the bike, but am a bit worried about waterleaks and idiots cutting the top, to gain entry into the car and will definitely post pics.


Aha.....good thinking! So...what you are saying is that this doughnut costs 300 bucks. Would that be from Ford or aftermarket? Thought even the rear brakes are larger then on cars without the bremo package.

Well, i drove a Auto yesterday afternoon. Never tried the select shift, but man....not having a problem with it at all. Problem is there are only black and white still available within a 500km range, unless i change some options. Now that the bremo brakes are back on the table, i dont care about the cali. special. Main reason i wanted it where the wheels i like.

FordService

Welcome to the forum, Pete6114! Be sure to post pictures when you get her!

Deysha

berzerk_1980

Before my stang I drove an s2000 convertible. There are just a couple factors that led me to buy a hardtop and they are interrelated.

1. The fastest way to destroy a soft top is to lower it frequently while it's dirty.
2. As a two seater, the blind spot is so bad that I didn't feel comfortable driving with the top up.
3. I live in southern Arizona.

The relationship is the only time I ended up driving the car was when it was clean and the temperature was mild. Over 10 years I only put 12000 miles on it. So if the blind spot isn't that bad on the Mustang I might have considered it as a DD. As far as the soft top security, don't lock the car if you think this is a risk. If you have a local agent your insurance company may be able to tell you how often they see this.
Not exactly what I'm saying. You need a wheel, tire, jack, lug tool, tool roll, jack bolt, J hook, washer and butterfly nut. The inflation kit includes the J hook, washer and butterfly nut. I got them all on eBay for about $300. I think I may have the wrong tool roll though. Anyway, my Ford parts guy was not capable of getting me the price for the spare and I needed it for a trip so eBay. I suspect the wheel only will be $300 so Ford will be more expensive than eBay (of course).

Edit: Missed a question. These are OEM parts purchased secondhand.

I like the CS. The only reason I didn't get it was I liked the saddle interior better and they aren't compatible. I still wonder if I would have liked the CS better.

Edit: Reread your original post. When you say "premium sound" are you talking about the Shaker Pro? If so, that's a good candidate for an aftermarket or retrofit as well. It's also fairly uncommon for dealers to have Shaker Pro cars in stock so I'm not surprised you can't find one. By the way, the Shaker 500 (standard in GT Premium) is "pretty good" by itself.

Pete6114

So, here is what i ended up with. Black on black convertible GT Premium, with electronics pkg/ camera/ Auto/ Alarm. Was located about 650km away and am going myself to pick it up today. Gonna be a long day, but loving it. Dropping it off at the dealer when we get back, so they can clean it up and taking delivery saturday morning.
Does anybody use regular gas in their GT? Dealer said, regular is fine, but expect a slight drop in HP.?

Edit: no brake pkg and no shaker pro, and no california special, which is fine with me. Other then the wheels, i never was to crazy about the california special, not being able to have the camera in the spoiler, which i don't care for anyway. And i have a spare tire! You're right berzerk_1980... the shaker 500 is great.
Happy with my choices and must say, it was in the nick of time! Not much i liked left on dealer lots. Super exited !!!

TripleBlack14

Congrats. Did you get the 401a interior with the seat stripe? If you did, we got almost the identical car with the exception of the trans.

berzerk_1980

Also not sure if this helps, but there is someone selling California Special wheels right now.

https://themustangsource.com/showthread.php?t=530986

Seems like there are always wheels for sale, so you can probably be picky.

I haven't tried regular gas in my GT. I suppose I could spare the 8 hp, but I don't drive that much.

Pete6114

Yes...got the 401a. And the shiny 19 premium nickel wheels.
Had a 7 hour ride back, and man....this engine putts right along and works good.

TripleBlack14

Yup...mostly identical car except for the electronics. Same wheels too, but I replaced them with Boss 302S wheels.

Post some pics when you get a chance.

Tom

Pete6114

Picking it up at noon today. Did you do anything to your paint? Sure shines...
I know some guys apply some types of coating, other then regular wax, that is apparently better, but have no clue what that is?

TripleBlack14

Being retired affords me the time to stay on top of it. A California Duster, a growing collection of microfiber towels, Meguiars Detailing and wax sprays and tire treatments, and regular washings are now part of my arsenal. If I was still in the working world I doubt if i'd have gotten black. It takes a lot of work.

It's garage kept and under a cover when not in use, but I've still managed to get swirls and surface scratches. Once the nice weather dissapears, so does my car. But before I put it away for the winter, I've decided to have a professional detail the exterior. I've never used a buffer before, and I don't intend to start practicing now on a black car.

Tom

Pete6114

Finally had time to take/resize pics for uploading. Here are a few.

td01gt

Congrats and welcome.