2000 GT Convertible cleanup

Mustang5L5 · Apr 14, 2024

Swapped in a 1999 Cobra cluster.

I did it the not-so-common way and used ForScan to pair the IC module to the ECU and then mate the PATS keys to the cluster. WOrked perfectly. I assume the speedometer will read 100% correct, however the mileage is off.

My car has 70K miles, this cluster has 65K. Yeah it's close but I don't want to much around with mileage issues on a 70K mile car I may sell one day. Unless i can find a solution to this, i'll likely just do the board swap method. This will keep the mileage the same, but the speedo will be off slightly since the GT is a 150MPH speedo ad cobra is 160MPH. It's not a speedo gear calibration issue, it's a display issue. The odometer is right but the board things its sweeping a needle on a 150MPH face.

Just want to verify the speedo is dead on and then i;ll board swap to get my mileage correct.

But I love this look

Mustang5L5 · Apr 17, 2024

Pulled a hard vacuum. Refilled with nitrogen and then another hard vacuum and recharged the AC. Held the N2 pretty well so I think I got all the leaks.

Not much left to do. Have some issues with the convertible top motor. I’ve topped it off a few times and it struggles to lift the top at times. If I stop the top halfway and leave it it slowly returns down. It’s 50/50 on cylinders or motor and based on what I’m seeing I’m going motor firsts

Alignment, tint, done. Sell it. Buy a Cobra (just kidding…for now)

Mustang5L5 · Apr 19, 2024

So this car has always had a stinky exhaust. Not rich, but dawned on me that it may be lean.

So I plugged in my data tool and decided to look at the O2s and sure as hell they register as lean. The voltages swing down to near 0 frequently indicating it’s trying to add fuel.

Quick Look at fuel trims and it’s definitely adding fuel.

Both banks go lean frequently, so probably a vac leak somewhere. Of course I loaned out my smoke tester to a friend. Grr.

Also traced an accessory whine to an aftermarket tensioner on the car. Ordered up a new Motorcraft tensioner.

Mustang5L5 · May 15, 2024

Replaced all 4 O2 sensors about a week or so. Seems to help a lot with the smell. Very noticeable immediately. Never had codes at all for O2s prior.

Also taking care of minor odds and ends. Fuel filler grommet pretty much fell apart. I knew it was bad so had been keeping the tank to 1/4 tank or less. Fortunately not much spillage.

Mustang5L5 · May 24, 2024

Finally got the car aligned.

Got to cruise on the highway. What i noticed is that there is a decent amount of slop in the steering. Going straight, I have about an hour of play wiggling side to side before the car responds. Going to have to dig into this because it's annoying.

Control arms are new. Inner and outer tie rods are new. Balljoints new, new poly rack bushings. Those parts are all tight. It's either something in the steering shaft, or the rack itself. I'll have to dig into this now.

Can handles great and feels tight, it just feels loose when i go the other way on the steering.

Mustang5L5 · Jul 11, 2024

Wanted rear cobra brakes on the GT to match the fronts. Wanted to move my 18” wheels over so didn’t want to see those puny GT brakes.

Got these used and cleaned and painted them up and refurbed the caliper slide pins with new hardware. New rotors and pads as well along with axle bearings and seals

Probably be my last mod…unless I can convince the kids to let me do a styling bar

Slice · Jul 11, 2024

You mean the leather roll bar? I have one on mine, with the high-mounted center brake light. Makes the car look terrific!

optionizerSS · Jul 11, 2024

i put a styling bar in our '95 and our '05. Looks great. Our 10 yo granddaughter rides in the back with no issues or complaints

Mustang5L5 · Jul 11, 2024

My 6-year old is the one to convince. We got to try out an SN95 with the bar and he hated it. Won’t let me get one. He’s my weekend cruising buddy so his opinion matters to me.

Slice · Jul 12, 2024

Can he articulate why he hates it?

Bronco2Fan · Jul 12, 2024

That's because you need the speedster cover and a styling bar lol.

Mustang5L5 · Jul 12, 2024

Slice said:
Can he articulate why he hates it?

Blocks his view. He prefers it more open like how it is without the bar.

Snorky · Jul 13, 2024

Slice said:
You mean the leather roll bar? I have one on mine, with the high-mounted center brake light. Makes the car look terrific!

Pics!

Mustang5L5 · Sep 20, 2024

Swapped wheels between my Fox and SN95. Now the polished 17” wheels are on the Fox and put my 18” wheels on the SN95

I think I like this better. 18” wheels really fit this body perfectly. They looked too huge on my smaller fox

Couple more good weeks of nice weather and then I’ll toss the rear cobra brakes on, change the oil and put the cover on and call it a season. These wheels really emphasize the puny GT rear brakes so looking forward to addressing that.

I’ve got some stuff planned for the Fox so looking forward to wrenching on that.

Mustang5L5 · Sep 22, 2024

Top down. I like them. Wish I did this at start of summer

Mustang5L5 · Oct 17, 2024

Took a few months of searching, but finally scored a decent trunk.

For reference, my trunk had all these odd chips on top. Also, since I changed to the 01+ spoiler, my trunk still had the staining from the 99/00 spoiler that I couldn’t buff out.

Been stopping into local junk yards lately and finally came across a clean V6 01+ car. Not even sure why the car was junked, as it looked to be in decent shape other than being dirty from the junkyard. So I stole the trunk off it for $80.

Freshly removed at pick-a-part.

Quick wash to assess. This paint is no worse than the paint on my car when I first acquired it. I'm actually quite pleased with what it looks like now.

So I’ll need to give this the same treatment as the rest of the car. Wash, clay bar and then 2-step cut and polish and ceramic coat. Then we will mount it up and call that a wrap. I really think it will clean up nicely and match the condition of the paint on the rest of the car.