metroplex

I got an estimate from the dealer for rear bumpers on my 07 GT. To repair the current bumper would cost about $500. To get the GT500 (Shelby GT on the invoice) rear bumper, it would be just over $800 all said and done.

My GT is Vista Blue and I was curious if these are good prices, and whether I should get the entire lower portion of the GT500 bumper in black, or just the center lower section - or if I am better off getting the stock repaired?

Kevin509

I don't have a good answer for your questions, but just curious, is the Shelby bumper different than the GT/CS bumper? I guess I never looked closely.

Also, if it were me, I'd pay a little more and get the upgrade. You might get a quote from a good quality independent body shop though too, to see if they can do better than the dealer.

metroplex

I think the GT/CS and Shelby bumpers are physically the same, but they are painted differently. I might go with the GT/CS scheme with just the center part in black with the rest in Vista Blue, but I'm not sure if the center is actually painted black or if it is left as-is.

catman

You are indeed correct that the Shelby and GT/CS are essentially the same. The former has the lower area with the air vanes between the exhaust pipes "blacked out," whereas the Shelby also has the lower 5-6 inches painted black to match the black side rails.

I had this done about a year ago on my 06 GT after getting rear ended. Part and paint ran $750 US. I'd vote in favor of the new *** end!

metroplex

So is that blacked out part really black paint, a special process, or just the thermoplastic material?

Did you ask the dealer/shop to do anything special or did they know what to do if you tell them GT/CS/Shelby GT Style?

I hope the dealer body shop knows what to do.

withinavoid

+1 for the Shelby bumper

houtex

There is a shelby/gt500 accessory bumper that is cheaper than the other. The ONLY difference is whether the rear 'insert' between the pipes is painted already or not.

*rummages about*

Here we go:
https://themustangsource.com/f700/lo...456360/index3/

That is the info you need. The part numbers determine which is the better option, but you should check current pricing for them, as I'm sure in 2 years or so, there's some difference by now.

Hope that helps, and I got one of these bumpers. They are the 'correct' bumper for these cars, IMO.

catman

+1 for the info Houtex has provided.

If you give them the correct part number, they should be able to make it work for you.

metroplex

I'm going to let them figure out the part # and ordering, since they should be able to do it in the shop. It looks like they are quoting me full MSRP ($466) on the estimate, but Tasca is $297 online, and about $32 shipping. The savings is about $130, but I'm not sure if I want to do that much leg work.

I asked around, and everyone's saying that they'll most likely drill relief holes for the front fender in order to pull out the crease. I wonder how it impacts corrosion protection or if they'll apply new rust proofing. I rarely bring my cars to body shops, but I hate seeing the Mustang all banged up. The "reconditioned" wheel also makes me wonder, but I bought the car from this dealer and I liked the overall experience.

silversky545

Get the gt/cs rear... Exact same thing as gt500 but much cheaper... It's all on how u paint it... I would never gov through the ford house to get it painted tho

spike

Both bumpers are exactly the same except they are primed ready for paint differently. The entire lower portion of the bumper is textured black plastic. On the gt/cs it is primed over on the sides but still textured. After a nice rear ending a few years back, I put the gt/cs bumper on mine. From memory, I think the bumper was $400 and then had to get it painted.

Edit: watch out, the center mounting tab is different than the gt so you'll have to drill a hole to mount it without it being really flimsy in the middle. The guys who installed mine just ripped the mounting tab off when they couldn't figure out where to mount it (not cool) but I was able to rig up a fix that ended up being stronger using two plastic putty knives and two existing bolts under the car.

metroplex

I'm a bit confused about the rear tab. Do you have a photograph that shows where the GT/CS tab is supposed to go?

metroplex

Here's a photo of my center tab on the 07 GT. Is it very different from the GT/CS/Shelby? The reason I ask is that the GT/CS, Shelby GT, and Shelby GT500 all debuted in the 2007 model year, IIRC. I'm not sure if there is a different in the bumper from MY06 and MY07. The parts catalog shows the same price for the Shelby GT and GT bumper itself (the metal thing) so I assume the hole is there??

spike

The gt/cs center tab is completely straight. It does have the bends that your table has so it will not line up with existing mounting hole. I'll see if i can find a picture. I thought I saw one at one time on here.

Edit: found a picture that sorta shows what I mean. You can see the straight mounting tab sticking out in this picture. Instead of mounting up like your current tab, it mounts straight back. I think this is because the curves of the stock gt bumper make the bumper inherently stronger where as the gt/cs bumper might need a little more reinforcement in the center because it's flimsier.

catman

This is a handy tidbit of information. I just looked for the tab on my cover, and it was tucked under it. I placed it in its proper position, so I'm assuming that a small hole and a sheetmetal screw will do the trick.

Always learn something good when I'm on this site!

metroplex

I got my car back today.

I paid for the California Package rear bumper (over $100 less than the Shelby Cobra rear bumper), and it apparently came out of the box with the entire lower part in that textured plastic finish (ala GT500). I asked them to paint it ala Shelby GT / California style, but they ended up just giving it to me in the GT500 style. I guess it was easier to just mask off that entire section and paint the top portion Vista Blue.

The center tab wasn't a problem for my 07. There was a hole already on that bracket for the emissions canister. Looking at spike's photographs, the hole is just to the left of the dimple. I was expecting the dealer to hack off the center tab, only to find it plugged to the hole already on my 07. I took a before photograph luckily, and saw the hole - so they didn't have to drill anything new.

The GT500 rear bumper looks badass. I was worried the black textured finish would clash with my body colored sills, but I think it looks alright. The diffusers ought to reduce my aerodynamic drag for a few extra MPH top end speed...

silversky545

Man I want this rear bumper bad!!!!!!!!!!