I finally got the car I really wanted; 2008 Mustang GT content ahead

In reply to mblommel :

I totally agree about the appearance packages.  I'm going to find some low profile plugs to paint body color then remove my wing front lip and scoop.  If I screw up removing the front lip it may get a California Special front end some day.

My ideal 05-09 package would be the GT Premium in rental lot light blue, black leather, no wing or scoop with a CS front end.  Some or all convertibles came with the SC front from what I see on the street.  A Bullett edition is the closed Ford made to this.

Loweguy5,

I think you will retain or increase the value of your GT by keeping it stock.  Did you check Ford for OEM parts, I have found somtimes they are cheaper or the same price as aftermarket and some dealers off a discount.

05-09 Mustangs will continue to hold their value for many reasons.  Just another reason I'm trying to keep mine gently and tastefully modified.  

Keep up the good work and enjoy.

I think you are 100% correct.   I am retaining every stock part.  Since I want to run a HPDE event or two, the car needed some minor upgrades.  

Essentially the only significant changes are the shifter, the panhard bar and reinforcement, the slotted rotors and pads, the front strut tower brace and the axle back exhaust.  To the casual onlooker I doubt it appears modified at all. All of that can be reversed with the factory parts easily.

akylekoz said:

In reply to mblommel :

I totally agree about the appearance packages.  I'm going to find some low profile plugs to paint body color then remove my wing front lip and scoop.  If I screw up removing the front lip it may get a California Special front end some day.

Not a canoe.

Try www.bumperplugs.com. They offer a lot of options already painted in factory colors. I used them on the front license plate holes on my 993.

Interesting chatter about stripes. Today, on a customer's Camaro I looked close and noticed the stripes look like crap. Probably a factory stripe but now all cracked.

Overall, the car looks good but the stripes are very haggered taking down the whole car.

Congratulations on finding a nice example. I will eventually get another one. They are really good cars. 

Loweguy5 said:

I think you are 100% correct.   I am retaining every stock part.  Since I want to run a HPDE event or two, the car needed some minor upgrades.  

Essentially the only significant changes are the shifter, the panhard bar and reinforcement, the slotted rotors and pads, the front strut tower brace and the axle back exhaust.  To the casual onlooker I doubt it appears modified at all. All of that can be reversed with the factory parts easily.

This is the smart way to go.

As I've said, the most annoying thing about Mustang shopping is all the modified cars. What's even more annoying is that people think their E36 M3ty mods make the cars worth more, not less.

I would have said just shop for a V6, but those clowns modify their cars too...in a very Pep Boys sort of way.

I've used heavy restraint on mine. The front seemed to be missing something. The smallest chin spoiler I could find fixed it. The rear wing got put in the garage rafters for a GT500 duck spoiler that uses the same mounting holes, so I can always go back to original.

I love vintage Mustangs and bought my car based solely on it's looks. It has impressed me with what a good basic car it is, though. As long as I can still get in/out of the thing I'll continue to drive it. Every time I do drive it I mutter, "I love this car".  I took it on a week long trip from PA to AL. Just a lot of aimlessly touring back roads. I had the greatest time. I've had cars more fun to drive but less comfortable and less attractive. It's just such an excellent overall package. If only they had designed the door panel upholstery better...

The reason so many of them have stupid hoods is because the aluminum stock ones corrode. Once that starts there really isn't anything you can do to stop it. The OEM hoods are so absurdly expensive the fiberglass ones look like a good option.

What you said about the S550 kind of put my own thoughts into words. It's a great car, but...it feels like going from a 1965 model to a 1973 model. I should want to upgrade to the nicer interior and IRS...but I don't.

ddavidv said:

The reason so many of them have stupid hoods is because the aluminum stock ones corrode. Once that starts there really isn't anything you can do to stop it. The OEM hoods are so absurdly expensive the fiberglass ones look like a good option.

Ugh, I didn't think about that, but it makes perfect sense. We got the hood of our '08 Taurus X repainted for free because the paint started peeling when it was about 3 years old. And the paint is coming off the aluminum hatch of my Expedition. Kind of amazing to me that after all these years, Ford still hasn't figured out how to get paint to stick to aluminum. 

In reply to ddavidv :

I had the same feeling. I test drove an early S550 GT with the performance package and 6 speed. It just felt huge. 

In reply to akylekoz :

I agree 100% on the wing. The S197 has a really nice fastback shape, why did the have to tack on that useless wing?

In reply to mblommel :

I think I'm respectfully disagreeing with the group here, but I'm a fan of the low pedestal wing like my car has.  No "boy racer" vibes IMHO.

But that's why this is such a fantastic hobby!  Every owner has the right and ability to change the car to suit their personal taste.

I looked a lot at my car when I had the wing off for stripe removal and couldn't wait to put it back on.  In part it may be that I spent so much time with these cars new that I'm just used to it and they look "naked" to me without it.

In other news, does anybody know how I would go about having a replacement window sticker generated?  I would gladly pay for one.  The original owner threw it away (sacrilege!).

Loweguy5 said:

In reply to mblommel :

I think I'm respectfully disagreeing with the group here, but I'm a fan of the low pedestal wing like my car has.  No "boy racer" vibes IMHO.

But that's why this is such a fantastic hobby!  Every owner has the right and ability to change the car to suit their personal taste.

I looked a lot at my car when I had the wing off for stripe removal and couldn't wait to put it back on.  In part it may be that I spent so much time with these cars new that I'm just used to it and they look "naked" to me without it.

In other news, does anybody know how I would go about having a replacement window sticker generated?  I would gladly pay for one.  The original owner threw it away (sacrilege!).

I've used this service in the past. It is $10 and shows all of the various packages, etc. It isn't identical to a factory window sticker, but it's close.

In reply to dyintorace :

I don't see the website/link.  Could you please post it?  Thank you!

Doh! Sorry about that!

https://monroneylabels.com/

In reply to dyintorace :

Thank you so much!  This has literally made my day.  

Funny related story:  I went to the site you suggested to generate the sticker and it told me my VIN was not legitimate.  I had carefully taken it off of my insurance documents.

I went to the garage, opened the drivers door and sure enough I have the wrong ID number on my insurance docs.  I would rather know that when it's safely sitting in my garage than right after I filed a claim haha.  Calling the insurance company now to fix it...

I'm glad it worked well for you. :)

In reply to Loweguy5 :

Fair enough and agreed we can all have different tastes. I apologize for any offense.

I guess what really bugs me is you can't find a Mustang GT without the obligatory  wing, so for those of us who prefer it without it's rather annoying to patch those holes.

I was car shopping back in 2017 and test drove a new performance pack GT. To get one without the <expletive> wing you would have to special order a car which usually exempts you from any special deals...

mblommel said:

In reply to Loweguy5 :

Fair enough and agreed we can all have different tastes. I apologize for any offense.

I guess what really bugs me is you can't find a Mustang GT without the obligatory  wing, so for those of us who prefer it without it's rather annoying to patch those holes.

I was car shopping back in 2017 and test drove a new performance pack GT. To get one without the <expletive> wing you would have to special order a car which usually exempts you from any special deals...

One thing I like about the Bulllitt cars: no wings.

In reply to mblommel :

Oh I wasn't offended no worries.  I don't roll like that haha.

Update:  much has happened since my last post!

As I alluded to earlier, I've had a variety of (orthopedic) health problems in the last 18 months which have prevented me from wrenching very much.  As a result, I enlisted the help of a friend who is a master mechanic and a true "Ford guy".

My role here was easier than usual;  order all the parts and deliver them plus the car to his home shop.

I decided to keep a stock look on the car.  I wanted to retain a stock-ish ride but improve the handling significantly.  I wanted to upgrade but keep the car close enough to stock not to ruin its value down the line if some day I give in to my inner child and order a C8.  

Here's what I ended up with:

Monroe-Matric loaded struts and new shocks (stock replacements)

BMR panhard bar with poly bushings

BMR panhard bar mount chassis brace

BMR strut tower brace

Powerstop slotted rotors and Z26 pads

(I went stock size as I didn't want to replace my wheels which I believe really suit the car)

Braided steel brake lines at all four corners

McLeod organic clutch

New Ford slave/throwout combo and pilot bearing

Summit flywheel (stock replacement)

Hurst shifter (with a white ball, totally matches the retro look of these cars)

MBRP axle back exhaust.

Motorcraft plugs

In addition to all of the above, every fluid in the car has been changed.   

I picked it up tonight and the difference is truly amazing.  The panhard bar and brace combined with the strut tower brace out front has really taken a lot of wiggle out of the car.  

The clutch is fantastic and the shifter is tight and significantly less vague than before.

The only near-term addition to the above that I think I will do is buy some upgraded sway bars.  I want to spend some time with the car though before I order anything else.  I'm hopeful I will feel I'm up to doing the bars myself so I can rid myself of the embarrassment of having paid someone else to do the lion's share of the work.  It's not my nature to do so-but I wanted to be able to enjoy the car this summer without risk of further injury.  My rehab is going really well and I think my days of wrenching will return soon.

It's funny that it came back home looking...virtually identical to when it left but the character of the car has changed significantly.  I'm really pleased.

Beyond the bars, I'm not done.  Next up is the proper cleaning and rejuvenation of the appearance to match the newfound athleticism!

I'm extremely jealous of that color.

And there's no shame in farming out your wrenching. It's all about finding balance in your life, and if having someone else mess with the dirty bits means that you get to enjoy the car more, go for it. Especially if you're dealing with health challenges. Here's hoping you continue to heal up!

In reply to Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) :

Thanks!  Thankfully compared to many my health issues are minor!  I had major back surgery January 2022 from which I would say I'm 85% recovered.  Recently the challenge has been a knee, but through rehab it's gotten better too.

I've dropped 60 lbs in just over the last year and over all I'm feeling pretty good.  My hope is that continued excercise, better eating habits and a little more rehab I get back to all activities I was into before (or more!).

Thanks on the color.  I believe blue to be the best color on the car, followed very closely by burgundy metallic.  However I've always thought the body style is so handsome that truly any color suits the car well!  Your car is already showing significant improvement!  

You can't beat black when its clean.

Excellent thread - kudos on the strip removal and the color is very alluring.

I agree with the point in your first post, the S197 Coyote cars feel like porkers. I had a 2011 GT and have a 2004 GT and while the Coyote was much faster, the 04 'feels' easier to drive and is perceptibly lighter.