My Mustang's evolution (Lots of pics)
07-27-2012, 12:58 PM
#1
1st Gear Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: KY
Posts: 112
My Mustang's evolution (Lots of pics)
Hey guys,
figured it was about time to make a build thread for my car. Just to keep as a point of reference as it changes over time. I won't be doing anything crazy, but it may serve as inspiration to a few of you all. If this is the wrong section, I apologize. I can delete it if needed, just let me know.
Anyway, here is a brief history of the vehicle.
I'm in college, and sold my Chevy at the end of May, and wanted something a little bit more snappy, and easier to drive in the city. I immediately thought of the Mustang GT, so I started shopping around. Personally, I find the 99-04 body style the prettiest one made, so I was pleased to find they were in my price rang.
Finally came across this '04 GT for a steal. It had a few small issues (some idiot had glued a GPS mount to the dash panel which left an awful residue, fog light was out, driver's side door panel was put on wrong, headlights a foggy mess), but I fixed them in a week and it was good to go. Car had 68K miles on it when I bought it. The women I got it off of was in her late 60's and had been driving it back and forth to the college that she worked at for the last 40K miles. Needless to say I was very pleased. Love this car to death. I paid $100 extra for the parking garage permit so I could keep this thing in the shade and try to preserve that awesome paint.
Now onto the pictures.
When I got it home and washed:
Headlight issue taken care of.
New vs. old
Much better!
Had it about a week and had to buy some goodies.
Engine bay before:
K&N filter
Magnaflow glasspacks!
BBK 75TB
BBK Longtubes and X pipe
Trick flow 75mm plenum
Engine bay after
Had the biggest headache in the world after the header install. Engine light was on showing 9 various codes and the car wouldn't idle anymore! Cliffyk came through as a life saver on the forum. Turns out one of the 02 and header circuits had the grounds switched.
Tracing the wiring issue at the shop
Went on another week or so and decided it needed a re-gear, so I got Ford Racing 3.73's and a SCT tuner with one of Bama's tunes on it. Wish I'd gone with 4.10's now, honestly. Still it was much more snappy. Barks the tires in every gear when it shifts!
I'd left the cosmetic side without any love for way to long by this point. So I went ahead and placed an order with American Muscle.
Mach 1 chin and grille delete:
Mustang letters, tail light tint, and rear black valance:
Hood decal
Finally, decided to start working on a blue LED interior swap. Got some white reverse glow gauge faces installed.
Before:
After:
And that's all for now! I'm waiting on the rest of the LED's to get here from Superbright, and I will update it when they are installed. Also going to do Redlinegoods shift boot, ebrake boot, and armrest cover this week.
As far as plans for the future go, I'm wanting new tires and wheels, nice cam setup, aftermarket stereo, and maybe a SC next summer, money allowing.
Any comments or recommendations are welcome. Thanks guys!
figured it was about time to make a build thread for my car. Just to keep as a point of reference as it changes over time. I won't be doing anything crazy, but it may serve as inspiration to a few of you all. If this is the wrong section, I apologize. I can delete it if needed, just let me know.
Anyway, here is a brief history of the vehicle.
I'm in college, and sold my Chevy at the end of May, and wanted something a little bit more snappy, and easier to drive in the city. I immediately thought of the Mustang GT, so I started shopping around. Personally, I find the 99-04 body style the prettiest one made, so I was pleased to find they were in my price rang.
Finally came across this '04 GT for a steal. It had a few small issues (some idiot had glued a GPS mount to the dash panel which left an awful residue, fog light was out, driver's side door panel was put on wrong, headlights a foggy mess), but I fixed them in a week and it was good to go. Car had 68K miles on it when I bought it. The women I got it off of was in her late 60's and had been driving it back and forth to the college that she worked at for the last 40K miles. Needless to say I was very pleased. Love this car to death. I paid $100 extra for the parking garage permit so I could keep this thing in the shade and try to preserve that awesome paint.
Now onto the pictures.
When I got it home and washed:
Headlight issue taken care of.
New vs. old
Much better!
Had it about a week and had to buy some goodies.
Engine bay before:
K&N filter
Magnaflow glasspacks!
BBK 75TB
BBK Longtubes and X pipe
Trick flow 75mm plenum
Engine bay after
Had the biggest headache in the world after the header install. Engine light was on showing 9 various codes and the car wouldn't idle anymore! Cliffyk came through as a life saver on the forum. Turns out one of the 02 and header circuits had the grounds switched.
Tracing the wiring issue at the shop
Went on another week or so and decided it needed a re-gear, so I got Ford Racing 3.73's and a SCT tuner with one of Bama's tunes on it. Wish I'd gone with 4.10's now, honestly. Still it was much more snappy. Barks the tires in every gear when it shifts!
I'd left the cosmetic side without any love for way to long by this point. So I went ahead and placed an order with American Muscle.
Mach 1 chin and grille delete:
Mustang letters, tail light tint, and rear black valance:
Hood decal
Finally, decided to start working on a blue LED interior swap. Got some white reverse glow gauge faces installed.
Before:
After:
And that's all for now! I'm waiting on the rest of the LED's to get here from Superbright, and I will update it when they are installed. Also going to do Redlinegoods shift boot, ebrake boot, and armrest cover this week.
As far as plans for the future go, I'm wanting new tires and wheels, nice cam setup, aftermarket stereo, and maybe a SC next summer, money allowing.
Any comments or recommendations are welcome. Thanks guys!
07-27-2012, 02:40 PM
#4
Hey guys,
figured it was about time to make a build thread for my car. Just to keep as a point of reference as it changes over time. I won't be doing anything crazy, but it may serve as inspiration to a few of you all. If this is the wrong section, I apologize. I can delete it if needed, just let me know.
Anyway, here is a brief history of the vehicle.
I'm in college, and sold my Chevy at the end of May, and wanted something a little bit more snappy, and easier to drive in the city. I immediately thought of the Mustang GT, so I started shopping around. Personally, I find the 99-04 body style the prettiest one made, so I was pleased to find they were in my price rang.
Finally came across this '04 GT for a steal. It had a few small issues (some idiot had glued a GPS mount to the dash panel which left an awful residue, fog light was out, driver's side door panel was put on wrong, headlights a foggy mess), but I fixed them in a week and it was good to go. Car had 68K miles on it when I bought it. The women I got it off of was in her late 60's and had been driving it back and forth to the college that she worked at for the last 40K miles. Needless to say I was very pleased. Love this car to death. I paid $100 extra for the parking garage permit so I could keep this thing in the shade and try to preserve that awesome paint.
Any comments or recommendations are welcome. Thanks guys!
figured it was about time to make a build thread for my car. Just to keep as a point of reference as it changes over time. I won't be doing anything crazy, but it may serve as inspiration to a few of you all. If this is the wrong section, I apologize. I can delete it if needed, just let me know.
Anyway, here is a brief history of the vehicle.
I'm in college, and sold my Chevy at the end of May, and wanted something a little bit more snappy, and easier to drive in the city. I immediately thought of the Mustang GT, so I started shopping around. Personally, I find the 99-04 body style the prettiest one made, so I was pleased to find they were in my price rang.
Finally came across this '04 GT for a steal. It had a few small issues (some idiot had glued a GPS mount to the dash panel which left an awful residue, fog light was out, driver's side door panel was put on wrong, headlights a foggy mess), but I fixed them in a week and it was good to go. Car had 68K miles on it when I bought it. The women I got it off of was in her late 60's and had been driving it back and forth to the college that she worked at for the last 40K miles. Needless to say I was very pleased. Love this car to death. I paid $100 extra for the parking garage permit so I could keep this thing in the shade and try to preserve that awesome paint.
Any comments or recommendations are welcome. Thanks guys!
Great build thread, I really enjoyed reading this & viewing your pictures!
The car has came a long way in a short period of time!
I see you ordered a lot of parts from American Muscle, We greatly appreciate the business & loyalty!
Keep us posted as the build goes on!
Let me know if I can be of any assistance in the future!
- Dan
07-27-2012, 04:18 PM
#6
When looking at tires/wheels, look at the staggered sets at AM. I got that for my '97 and could not be happier, the staggered setup really looks good with the wider tires/wheels.
Lots of people have complained about problems with the BBK throttle bodies. If you start having running issues, I would look there first.
Do you mind if we ask how much you got the car for? It looks like a great car, especially after your additions. Plus the low miles really add a lot to the car's value.
Lots of people have complained about problems with the BBK throttle bodies. If you start having running issues, I would look there first.
Do you mind if we ask how much you got the car for? It looks like a great car, especially after your additions. Plus the low miles really add a lot to the car's value.
07-27-2012, 09:36 PM
#9
1st Gear Member
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Ky
Posts: 126
I got the same instrument brezel as you but when I put my parking lights on it lights up blue, and when I click the lights on, they switch off to wer it's just the orange pegs illuminated. Did you have the same problem?
07-28-2012, 11:52 AM
#10
1st Gear Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: KY
Posts: 112
Thank you for the kind words, everyone!
Dan, thank you, your company has been awesome in every order that I have made so far. Believe I surpassed the $1K mark with American Muscle when I got the SCT tuner. You will continue to see me as a costumer in the future.
Old Mustanger,
I was planning on purchasing the wheels through American Muscle as you said. I really like the FR500 wheels that are black with the polished lip. Think I might as well get the Nitto tire combo since while I'm at it. I'm unsure if I was the staggered wheels or not. I like the idea of being able to rotate the tires front-to-back if I got 18x9s all around, but I have plenty of time to decide I guess.
The running issues were entirely from a bad wiring job on the O2 sensor. It was causing a fuse to blow and the EGR was going nuts, etc. The car runs strong now and has no engine lights or hiccups.
I paid $5900 out the door for the car. It did have a few other small issues that I forgot to mention in the original post though. Needed a new rack and pinion, and pinion seal for the rear diff case. By the time all that was done I probably had $6750 invested in the car to get it on the road, but still that isn't bad for the year and miles.
Shae04GT, my dash lights stay lit up on both the park light and head light setting. I would check your wiring. I used the frame rail at the back of the little opening in the dash behind the cluster as a ground. Took some sand paper and cleaned up the area, then crimped a small loop end onto it so I could use a sheet metal screw to secure it. I also cut off the dimmer that the aftermarket dash insert came with and wired the positive and negative together, then cut the blue and white wire from my headlight switch and tapped into that. That way I can control the dash lights with the same **** as the other lights. I hope that helps, if needed I can elaborate more and maybe get some pictures.
Dan, thank you, your company has been awesome in every order that I have made so far. Believe I surpassed the $1K mark with American Muscle when I got the SCT tuner. You will continue to see me as a costumer in the future.
Old Mustanger,
I was planning on purchasing the wheels through American Muscle as you said. I really like the FR500 wheels that are black with the polished lip. Think I might as well get the Nitto tire combo since while I'm at it. I'm unsure if I was the staggered wheels or not. I like the idea of being able to rotate the tires front-to-back if I got 18x9s all around, but I have plenty of time to decide I guess.
The running issues were entirely from a bad wiring job on the O2 sensor. It was causing a fuse to blow and the EGR was going nuts, etc. The car runs strong now and has no engine lights or hiccups.
I paid $5900 out the door for the car. It did have a few other small issues that I forgot to mention in the original post though. Needed a new rack and pinion, and pinion seal for the rear diff case. By the time all that was done I probably had $6750 invested in the car to get it on the road, but still that isn't bad for the year and miles.
Shae04GT, my dash lights stay lit up on both the park light and head light setting. I would check your wiring. I used the frame rail at the back of the little opening in the dash behind the cluster as a ground. Took some sand paper and cleaned up the area, then crimped a small loop end onto it so I could use a sheet metal screw to secure it. I also cut off the dimmer that the aftermarket dash insert came with and wired the positive and negative together, then cut the blue and white wire from my headlight switch and tapped into that. That way I can control the dash lights with the same **** as the other lights. I hope that helps, if needed I can elaborate more and maybe get some pictures.
Last edited by flyboy1294; 07-28-2012 at 11:57 AM.