lakeguy77's Build Thread
 

One asterisk here: I do not own a good camera and have no photography skills whatsoever. Most of this thread will be done with smartphone pics. :shame:

Fresh off the truck...

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Year 1 Mods:

GT500 Mufflers
Boss 302 Quad Exhaust
MGW Shifter
Moroso Air/Oil Separator
MMD Decklid Panel
MMD Hood Struts
AM Front Splash Guards
Boss 302 Coil Covers
BBR Shorty Antenna
Intake Sound Tube Delete

Just before winter storage, Fall 2014:

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3956/...b9ec9bf9_c.jpg
DSC_2679 by SoloSnapshots, on Flickr

2015 Mods:

Suspension:
Steeda Sport Springs
Steeda Panhard Bar
Steeda Adjustable Upper Control Arm
Steeda Chromoly Lower Control Arms
Koni STR.T Shocks/Struts
Whiteline LCA Brackets
FRPP GT500 Strut Mounts
FRPP Jounce Bumper Kit

Driveline:
SR Performance Stainless Clutch Line

Exterior:
AMR 19x8.5 / 19x10 Dark Stainless Rims
275/40/19 Pirelli PZero Rosso rear tires (stock fronts)
Cervini's GT500 style front lip
Boss 302 Rear Valance
Roush Side Splitters
Cravenspeed Stubby Antenna

2016 Mods:
Roush Rear Corner Splitters
K&N FIPK Intake Tube & Drop-in Filter
MMD Fog Light Delete Covers

Coming Spring 2017:
BMR Panhard Bar Brace
BMR Front Lower Control Arm Brace
Blowfish Racing V3 Shifter Bracket
Husky Floor Liners

Delivered!

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:grin: I can't wait for mine!!!

Just keep hittin' F5 brother. :nice:

Honestly though, COTUS still says it's 23 days away. :rofl2:

Lmao wow. Well my sales guy is telling me the same thing COTUS is so we'll see. He said the estimates are never really accurate though - sometimes they're 5-10 days early, sometimes 5-10 days late. When I have to book a flight, though, it makes it a little more difficult. :(

Yeah that's definitely an issue. My wife is working so I gotta take a cab to get mine this morning. Little easier on short notice. :nice:

So I picked her up today in the pouring rain, and nursed her home very gingerly. She settled into the garage with 25 km (~15mi) on the clock. Hood up, let's get to work... :D

First things first, I put on the AM front mud flaps. They look great, match the stock rears really well in profile (texture could use some work) and are a snap to put on.

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Next, I moved on to the engine bay. I started by pulling the strut tower brace and engine shroud to install my Moroso oil separator and Boss coil covers. It was also a great excuse to bust out my pony fender grippers.

http://i1369.photobucket.com/albums/...psv0aclopy.jpg

I was surprised when I pulled off the passenger side PCV hose, how much oil had already accumulated in the hose. Definitely felt vindicated that an oil separator is necessary with these engines.

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Moving on, the Moroso can was a straight forward install, and the instructions were very good. They tell you what length to cut the hose to, and then later in the proceedings they recommend some trimming for proper fit, which you do need to do, and made everything fit really nicely. And I think the can looks great as well. The Boss covers are a huge visual upgrade in the engine bay. There's just no comparison. For $80 and 30 seconds of your time you'd be hard pressed to make a bigger impact.

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You'll notice from that last pic, there's some hood struts there. Well, yes, they're there, but installed incorrectly thanks to poor photos in the instructions. I mounted the bottom mount to a hole about 6" forward of where it's supposed to be, so it couldn't close. No biggie, just move the mount right? Well, no. Operating on 5 hours of giddy restless sleep, it was right around this point that I was plagued by an affliction of dropsies. Right under where the hood hinge is on the driver's side, there's a little hole behind the strut tower where a wiring harness goes through. And everything I touched went through that hole. Bolt. Lower strut mounting bracket. Flashlight. Pliers. By the time I gathered myself, undid the fender liner and emptied the hurricane debris I had deposited there and got everything together, my last job was to actually hook that driver's side strut back up. *Ping* the little C-clip that keeps the ball seated in the cup breaks in half and pops off. I don't feel comfortable with the semi-snug state of that, so I pull both struts off, leave the mounts in place, and close up shop for the day.

I had planned on the engine bay and exhaust/shifter bushing for today, but the forecast tomorrow is another day of rain, so exhaust can wait.

Oh, I also installed a BBR shorty antenna. I really liked it in the pics, but in person, it doesn't quite look right. I think I'm going to order the Cravenspeed Stubby from Amazon instead.

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How much is the Craven Speed on amazon? It's $25 shipped directly from them...

I'm in Canada so shipping is a lot. But I've got Prime so free 2 day shipping and its $25 CDN from Amazon. :nice:

Yeah just saw that. Lol I should've just done that! But their standard shipping is fine I guess since I don't have a car :P

What really has me choked? I bought it back in March from LMR. $27.99. Didn't pay for shipping because they shoved it in the box my GT500's came in. As of right now, the EXACT SAME antenna is listed on LMR under the SVE brand name for $15.99. The BBR is still there at $27.99...but they used the same stock photos!

I actually liked dealing with LMR on that order (got the coil covers on that order as well) but AM had some other stuff that LMR didn't, so I ended up ordering from AM after that...and they've been amazing as well. I know they get a bad rap sometimes, but everytime I've called or used the webchat to ask questions, ordering or not, they've been really good.

Awesome lakeguy you were prepared. I just ordered my bobs catch can I'm going to try and drive it as less as possible until that arrives. Your car is almost identical to mine only difference is the spoiler.

Do you happen to have discount codes from AM looking to order some stuff from them.

I def like dealing with LMR, but I don't like that they sell a rebranded part for $10 less and keep the other part on their website! I order from LMR, Hypermotive, Rehagen Racing and Lamin-X. Or Amazon. Haha

Amazon is the best for robotic mass distribution of a ton of ****. Nobody does it better, but if you got questions, that's where they fall down. I still buy from them all the time, that's why I signed up for Prime. :)

Hypermotive is where I first spotted the AG's in Mustang fitments and fell in love. When the time comes... ;) I like LMR's SVE wheels but I'd like some more fitment options.

One thing I should mention that I wasn't expecting in this car...the shift knob. I bought a Steeda black ball knob ahead of time, because I was expecting the black knob shaped like a giant ugly thumb with the aluminum top on it. What I got, was a gorgeous looking aluminum ball knob. I can see this knob branding the shift pattern to my palm when I get in on a hot day, but it looks and feels amazing. The car I test drove had "the thumb", but that was just the 55D brake package, not the Track Pack, maybe that's the difference? Or is it the 401A package that got me this knob? Either way, love it...until I high-five someone and get laughed at for having a scar the shape of a shift pattern on my palm. :p

401A comes with the aluminum ball...

I'll be getting the GT500 shift and e-brake boots, and I'm undecided if I'll get a Boss knob to do all of that at once, or just wait to install the boots with my future MGW and their black knob.

Today's Update:

Installed GT500's, Boss side exhausts and the ES shifter bushing. I haven't driven her yet because it's raining even harder than yesterday, but apparently it's supposed to clear up tonight so I might get it out.

I did the GT500's first. This install was truly cake. I did the rear mount removal method, switched the mount on the ground, then popped it back in. But I did one thing I hadn't seen in any instructional. On the passenger side, I pulled off the clamp first, like usual, and then the back bushing by the bumper. Here's the part I didn't see anywhere. I pulled the muffler towards the back as far as I could. This gave me complete unobstructed access to the vertical mount bolt with an impact and extension to zip it off. Then lower the tip towards the ground and you have tons of room to reach in with a ratcheting 13mm wrench and get the horizontal one. Same method on the driver's side, but there's the extra bolt on the mount. sitting at an angle at the back, that one will also require that 13mm ratcheting wrench because of space. Wish I took pics of everything but I was in the zone. :screwy:

Moving on to the Boss sides, it really isn't a bad install, but taking the stock H off is a bit of a *****. That was the only part I struggled with. Why they put the car together with the bolt head on the front clamp facing up I'll never know, but my 5.5 socket couldn't grab the other end, so I just had to wiggle a box wrench back and forth until it was loose enough to zip it out with the 5.5. Probably spent 1.5 hrs of a 2.5 hr job on just those two clamps. When I reinstalled, I broke the tabs on the clamps on the Boss H and spun them around so they're facing down. I did have to remove 2 plastic underbody air deflectors that were in the way of the side pipe routing. No tutorial or instructions I've ever read mentioned those, but that might be a 2013-14 thing that older models and Boss' don't have. Again, no pictures during the process because I was either in the zone or in a blind rage. I do have a pic of the tip though...

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I did fire it up in the garage after each stage. GT500's, wow do they sound FANTASTIC. People aren't kidding when they say that's how they should sound from factory. Really nice growl, it sounds like a muscle car. If they were stock, I'm thinking the aftermarket exhaust business would be cut in half.

The side exhausts, however. WOW. Just a touch more volume and adds a nice little bark to it. Now, I used baffles, but drilled them out to 3/4". Youtube does not do this setup justice. with the GT500's, the car just sounds breathtaking. Not annoying or abrasive, it's just... :wub:

My final job was installing the Energy Suspension shifter bushing. This thing is a dirt cheap upgrade, can find it in most places for like $10-15. It uses the stock bracket and just replaces the broken prophylactic sponge Ford uses from the factory. I can't comment on effectiveness because I haven't driven it yet, but I can say a shifter bushing is the easiest upgrade you'll ever do. I used a 3/8 ratchet, a 9" and 4" extension and a deep 10mm socket. Two bolts, quite a bit of room, 5 minutes, done. Again, zone, no photos.

I've said before, I really like the shifter action. The throw length and gate spacing feel perfect for me from what I'm used to, I just don't like the mushy/crunchy feel, particularly 2nd and 3rd gears. Hoping this cleans it up a bit.

This is looking great !

Just went for a drive on my lunch break and the sun is finally out. And I tell ya, you can watch all the YouTube exhaust videos you want, but until you're IN a car with Boss exhaust, windows down, you have NO idea how awesome it is. You get the primary roar from the mufflers at the back, but you get a dueling banjos effect of pops and gurgles and barks from the sides. Its a true surround sound experience. Should a saved myself some money and skipped the shaker pro. I'll never bother with it. :)

The shifter bushing made for a small improvement in shifting, particularly when the car is warmed up. I'm going to hold off on further upgrades in this area to give it some break in time, and pass further judgment when I've got a couple thousand kms on it.