Returning to the fold....
Thread Starter
Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 10
From: Ohio
Returning to the fold....
After many years of function over form, I'm happy to return to the fold of performance cars. A couple of weeks back, I picked up a stock, 2002 Mustang GT convertible with about 99k miles. He's red and in very good condition, but apparently he spent the last ten months on various dealer lots and auction houses so the abuse is unmistakable.
I've already hit all the general maintenance items - brakes and rotors all around, front calipers; replaced the leaking AC compressor; replaced a leaking rear pinion seal; new/slightly upgraded clutch kit; full tune up including plugs and the like. I'm about to replace the tires and then he goes to a professional detailing shop for a serious cleaning inside and out. I have a leak somewhere that is letting water into the trunk when it rains, so that still needs to be tracked down.
This fall, I'm having him opened up so he can breathe...cold air intake, headers, delete the cat, new exhaust. I may upgrade the throttle body then as well (depends on the $$$). Of course, a custom tune is a given at that point. I'd imagine I'll see somewhere in the 300-350rwhp range after these upgrades; not bad for a car without a blower.
On the exterior cosmetics...I already replaced the tail light harness to get sequential tail lights, and new head lamps, fog lamps, and tail light enclosure are all on the short list (I like the Raxiom smoked lights). Still debating the grille delete, and I have my first decal design done so that will be around the corner as well. I'll do the deck lid and fuel tank cap at about the same time.
Interior mods are still under consideration. I'll definitely be replacing the stock radio with something a bit newer; at the moment, I'm looking seriously at a JVC deck (KW-HDR81BT). The only real restoration work needed on the interior is to replace the rear speaker covers (grilles), give him a hardy scrubbing, and maybe replace the sun visors (they're a bit worn). I'll be updating the look of the gauges, maybe adding some new *****/buttons to flush out the design, and probably a steering wheel wrap but that's about the extent of anything I'll be doing with the interior.
I'm buying most of my aftermarket gear from American Muscle or Late Model Restoration. They seem to have the best selection and reasonable prices.
So...there's my introduction. I'm always open to suggestions on any upgrades or such that might give good bang for the buck. I'll try to share as I make my planned updates as well. Thanks!
I've already hit all the general maintenance items - brakes and rotors all around, front calipers; replaced the leaking AC compressor; replaced a leaking rear pinion seal; new/slightly upgraded clutch kit; full tune up including plugs and the like. I'm about to replace the tires and then he goes to a professional detailing shop for a serious cleaning inside and out. I have a leak somewhere that is letting water into the trunk when it rains, so that still needs to be tracked down.
This fall, I'm having him opened up so he can breathe...cold air intake, headers, delete the cat, new exhaust. I may upgrade the throttle body then as well (depends on the $$$). Of course, a custom tune is a given at that point. I'd imagine I'll see somewhere in the 300-350rwhp range after these upgrades; not bad for a car without a blower.
On the exterior cosmetics...I already replaced the tail light harness to get sequential tail lights, and new head lamps, fog lamps, and tail light enclosure are all on the short list (I like the Raxiom smoked lights). Still debating the grille delete, and I have my first decal design done so that will be around the corner as well. I'll do the deck lid and fuel tank cap at about the same time.
Interior mods are still under consideration. I'll definitely be replacing the stock radio with something a bit newer; at the moment, I'm looking seriously at a JVC deck (KW-HDR81BT). The only real restoration work needed on the interior is to replace the rear speaker covers (grilles), give him a hardy scrubbing, and maybe replace the sun visors (they're a bit worn). I'll be updating the look of the gauges, maybe adding some new *****/buttons to flush out the design, and probably a steering wheel wrap but that's about the extent of anything I'll be doing with the interior.
I'm buying most of my aftermarket gear from American Muscle or Late Model Restoration. They seem to have the best selection and reasonable prices.
So...there's my introduction. I'm always open to suggestions on any upgrades or such that might give good bang for the buck. I'll try to share as I make my planned updates as well. Thanks!
Former Sponsor
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 2,271
From: PA
After many years of function over form, I'm happy to return to the fold of performance cars. A couple of weeks back, I picked up a stock, 2002 Mustang GT convertible with about 99k miles. He's red and in very good condition, but apparently he spent the last ten months on various dealer lots and auction houses so the abuse is unmistakable.
I've already hit all the general maintenance items - brakes and rotors all around, front calipers; replaced the leaking AC compressor; replaced a leaking rear pinion seal; new/slightly upgraded clutch kit; full tune up including plugs and the like. I'm about to replace the tires and then he goes to a professional detailing shop for a serious cleaning inside and out. I have a leak somewhere that is letting water into the trunk when it rains, so that still needs to be tracked down.
This fall, I'm having him opened up so he can breathe...cold air intake, headers, delete the cat, new exhaust. I may upgrade the throttle body then as well (depends on the $$$). Of course, a custom tune is a given at that point. I'd imagine I'll see somewhere in the 300-350rwhp range after these upgrades; not bad for a car without a blower.
On the exterior cosmetics...I already replaced the tail light harness to get sequential tail lights, and new head lamps, fog lamps, and tail light enclosure are all on the short list (I like the Raxiom smoked lights). Still debating the grille delete, and I have my first decal design done so that will be around the corner as well. I'll do the deck lid and fuel tank cap at about the same time.
Interior mods are still under consideration. I'll definitely be replacing the stock radio with something a bit newer; at the moment, I'm looking seriously at a JVC deck (KW-HDR81BT). The only real restoration work needed on the interior is to replace the rear speaker covers (grilles), give him a hardy scrubbing, and maybe replace the sun visors (they're a bit worn). I'll be updating the look of the gauges, maybe adding some new *****/buttons to flush out the design, and probably a steering wheel wrap but that's about the extent of anything I'll be doing with the interior.
I'm buying most of my aftermarket gear from American Muscle or Late Model Restoration. They seem to have the best selection and reasonable prices.
So...there's my introduction. I'm always open to suggestions on any upgrades or such that might give good bang for the buck. I'll try to share as I make my planned updates as well. Thanks!
I've already hit all the general maintenance items - brakes and rotors all around, front calipers; replaced the leaking AC compressor; replaced a leaking rear pinion seal; new/slightly upgraded clutch kit; full tune up including plugs and the like. I'm about to replace the tires and then he goes to a professional detailing shop for a serious cleaning inside and out. I have a leak somewhere that is letting water into the trunk when it rains, so that still needs to be tracked down.
This fall, I'm having him opened up so he can breathe...cold air intake, headers, delete the cat, new exhaust. I may upgrade the throttle body then as well (depends on the $$$). Of course, a custom tune is a given at that point. I'd imagine I'll see somewhere in the 300-350rwhp range after these upgrades; not bad for a car without a blower.
On the exterior cosmetics...I already replaced the tail light harness to get sequential tail lights, and new head lamps, fog lamps, and tail light enclosure are all on the short list (I like the Raxiom smoked lights). Still debating the grille delete, and I have my first decal design done so that will be around the corner as well. I'll do the deck lid and fuel tank cap at about the same time.
Interior mods are still under consideration. I'll definitely be replacing the stock radio with something a bit newer; at the moment, I'm looking seriously at a JVC deck (KW-HDR81BT). The only real restoration work needed on the interior is to replace the rear speaker covers (grilles), give him a hardy scrubbing, and maybe replace the sun visors (they're a bit worn). I'll be updating the look of the gauges, maybe adding some new *****/buttons to flush out the design, and probably a steering wheel wrap but that's about the extent of anything I'll be doing with the interior.
I'm buying most of my aftermarket gear from American Muscle or Late Model Restoration. They seem to have the best selection and reasonable prices.
So...there's my introduction. I'm always open to suggestions on any upgrades or such that might give good bang for the buck. I'll try to share as I make my planned updates as well. Thanks!
Post up some pictures of your Mustang, we'd love to check it out. It sounds like you got a good deal and are already working on restoring! Keep up the great work with your build and feel free to hit us up if you ever have any questions!
You'll meet a lot of great people and find a ton of awesome reads on this forum! So, get out there and enjoy the forum..
-Dan
Thread Starter
Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 10
From: Ohio
Thanks - it's nice to have a real car again and I'm looking forward to modding it as well. :-)
I posted a pic from the dealership, along with some basic specs, in the garage. After it's all cleaned up tomorrow, I'll be taking a new set of pics to post as well. The garage is the right place to post them, correct?
I posted a pic from the dealership, along with some basic specs, in the garage. After it's all cleaned up tomorrow, I'll be taking a new set of pics to post as well. The garage is the right place to post them, correct?
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