My Winter 2012/2013 Project (03 GT) UPDATED 2-12-13 post #55

03DSGGT · Dec 31, 2012

Hey fellas, Im doing some stuff to the car this winter, and Im using this thread to document and share with the project. Its nothing fancy like building a motor or installing a blower, but I figured Id share anyways. Some of you may or may not recognize my car from the site, but for those who dont, Ill share a basic rundown of the car. Its an 03 GT 5 speed, its got a 97 NPI bottom end that a buddy and I rebuilt, Trick Flow 38cc heads (11.3:1 compression), MHS Stage 3 cams, PI intake, rest of the basic boltons, Centerforce DF clutch, MGW shifter, built 31 spline rear, 4.30 gears, Cobra seats, miscellaneous Cobra, Mach 1, Bullitt, V6 body panels, etc. Anyways, I am freshening up the front suspension this winter, and I just bought a V6 rear bumper and 99/01 tail lights that will be making their way onto the car. Here are a few pics of the car all together to get an idea of what the car looks like when its together (which isnt often lol):

So here it is as I put it away for the winter. Drag season just ended and didnt take the Prostars off since I knew it was coming apart:

Heres where Im at as of today. I ordered most of what I need, and will be ordering the rest shortly. A rundown of what is getting done is poly front control arm bushings, Steeda X2 ball joints, rebuild my UPR bump steer kit, upgrading control arm mounting bolts to Grade 8, and Maximum Motorsports caster camber plates. I will be blasting and painting/powdercoating parts as I redo them as well.

Here are the parts that are all getting replaced, refinished, upgraded, etc. Front springs are fox body 4 cylinder springs:

Bushings and ball joints out of the control arms:

Car with the C/C plates, and front suspension removed:

And heres a pic of what Im starting out with on the UPR bumpsteer kit. I decided to rebuild this for two reasons. First being that I can rebuild it for cheaper then buying a new kit, and I can rebuild it with better parts than the kits come with for cheaper. I ordered a set of FK rod ends that are a 3 piece teflon lined rod end that is used in circle track cars, and a new set of Grade 8 nuts and bolts that mount through the spindle. I will be blasting and painting or powdercoating the sleeves. I got the rod ends, rod end jam nuts, rod end rubber boots to protect them from dirt and water, and Grade 8 mounting hardware all for under 70 bucks, which is half of buying a new kit from UPR or Maximum Motorsports.

Heres the 99/01 Cobra tail lights that were an ebay score. The right side is NOS with the harness that I got for $75 bucks. The left side was listed separately and I got it for $75 bucks as well, and I just happened to come across a correct harness on ebay at the same time for $25 bucks:

And heres the rear bumper that I got off ebay. Ive been looking for a V6 bumper on and off for the past few years, but couldnt justify spending $125-150 for a junk bumper before shipping and then have to have it fixed and painted. Spending $350 on a downgraded bumper didnt sit easy with me, and I didnt want to trade a V6 guy for mine because I have 3 different exhaust setups that I run on my car, and sometimes I run tips, and sometimes I dont. I just happened to find an NOS V6 rear bumper still in the Ford wrapping for $60 bucks plus $50 shipping, so that was kind of a no brainer. I also have a brand new 99/01 Cobra front bumper still in the Ford box that is going on as well. The Cobra bumper thats on my car is all cut out underneath for an intercooler that was on the car that the bumper used to be on. So I want to get the bumpers painted soon and put them on:

Thats all for now. Ill try to keep this updated as I go. Thanks for looking!

the.greg · Dec 31, 2012

I like the progress. Would love to see a video of the exhaust with the stage 3 cams, I bet it sounds great. Looks spotless too!

03DSGGT · Dec 31, 2012

Thanks! Ill lhave to get some springtime videos of it idling. My buddy took a couple at the track from the last time out, but he still hasnt sent them to me. Once I get them, Ill post them up

McCloud · Dec 31, 2012

I love the combination of the 01 Cobra front bumper with 03 Cobra sideskirts. I'd love to do that to my Mach 1.

BlOwNXT · Dec 31, 2012

Subscribed! Anxious to see the progress. Looks great!

Orange 94 · Dec 31, 2012

Looks great!

Barner1 · Dec 31, 2012

Your car looks wicked bro! Definitely suscribing to this one!

Barner1 · Dec 31, 2012

Hey just wondering, (assuming you drive it on the street some) how "street friendly" are those 4.30 gears with a 5-speed?

03DSGGT · Dec 31, 2012

Barner1 said:
Hey just wondering, (assuming you drive it on the street some) how "street friendly" are those 4.30 gears with a 5-speed?

Yea I mostly drive it on the street. The 4.30s are awesome. I went from stock 3.27s to 4.10s a few years ago and loved it. After doing heads and bigger cams, I needed a little bit more gear to get me to the correct RPM going through the traps at the drag strip. Going from 4.10s to 4.30s, there was no seat of the pants difference in feel to me. So if youre about to do gears and arent sure about 4.10s to 4.30s, Id say go 4.30s, but if you already have 4.10s, i wouldnt change to a 4.30 IMO. The small difference that it would make wouldnt justify the cost, unless your looking for a specific trap rpm or something more technical like that...Oh and my car with the 3650 trans is about 2300 @ 70mph which is about 400 rpm higher than it was with the stock 3.27s @ 70mph...

Tangerine96 · Jan 1, 2013

Back at it again i see. You just cant leave her alone. Aside from him id say i know this car better than anybody. Only the best goes into this car and is maintained much more than necessary. I mean the detail hat has been shown to this car is second to none.
I want to see your next project get started. You need to document that from the beginning. Anyways, ill swing out whenever i can and lend a hand and bs.

03DSGGT · Jan 1, 2013

Thanks man, appreciate it. Im looking forward to the next project, as well as planning out my next engine build for the 03. Im also looking forward to helping you do some upgrades to the vert. I think that I actually enjoy working on them more than driving them lol

Black Ice · Jan 1, 2013

Love your car man. I have a 03 dsg 6er that i put up for sale to get a gt but i now have changed my mind and will just put a v8 in it since the car is very clean, you also have the front bumper,hood and sideskirts that i want to do. I wish i would have seen you post on here that you were looking for a 6er rear bumper as i have one in great shape and in the color you neeed with the black lettering in the mustang logo i ended up going with the 03 cbra buper with the letters filled in.

03DSGGT · Jan 1, 2013

Black Ice said:
Love your car man. I have a 03 dsg 6er that i put up for sale to get a gt but i now have changed my mind and will just put a v8 in it since the car is very clean, you also have the front bumper,hood and sideskirts that i want to do. I wish i would have seen you post on here that you were looking for a 6er rear bumper as i have one in great shape and in the color you neeed with the black lettering in the mustang logo i ended up going with the 03 cbra buper with the letters filled in.

Oh that would have been perfect. But its cool cause I have a body guy that hooks me up with paint work, so when I have the front and rear bumpers repainted and the decklid reshot all at once, I should get a deal, granted not as much as buying one thats already my color, but itll work out. Only thing that I would change on my car is to get a set of Bullitt side skirts and shave the front mud flap. I like the sharper lines of the Bullitt skirts over the Cobra ones...

Tally_4.6 · Jan 3, 2013

Love the sideskirts, more new edge people should do the same.

03DSGGT · Jan 3, 2013

Tally_4.6 said:
Love the sideskirts, more new edge people should do the same.

Thanks, Im thinking about finding a set of Bullitt skirts and shaving the mud flap...I think the sharper lines of the Bullitt skirts flow better with the lines of the car...

chris91 · Jan 3, 2013

I always thought the Bullit and Cobra sides were the same. Learn somethin new everyday! I do know a guy down here in Cincy that has a set of Bullit Sides for sale. He is parting out a totalled Bullit and had a bunch of stuff. I think he was asking $300 for the sides. I could put you in touch with him if you were interested.

VERY nice car though man! I wanted to go with the Trick Flow heads myself but just couldnt fit them into my budget so I went with my Fox Lake heads. Cant complain though, its like a totally different car.

03DSGGT · Jan 3, 2013

chris91 said:
I always thought the Bullit and Cobra sides were the same. Learn somethin new everyday! I do know a guy down here in Cincy that has a set of Bullit Sides for sale. He is parting out a totalled Bullit and had a bunch of stuff. I think he was asking $300 for the sides. I could put you in touch with him if you were interested.

VERY nice car though man! I wanted to go with the Trick Flow heads myself but just couldnt fit them into my budget so I went with my Fox Lake heads. Cant complain though, its like a totally different car.

Thanks man, Im gonna have to assess the money situation for the side skirts. $300 is a good price if theyre in good shape. The lady and I just got married a couple weeks ago, and with the holidays and everyhting, Im trying to get back on track with money. But I sure wouldnt mind getting his info and getting more details, that would be great.

I almost pulled the trigger on some Fox Lake stage 2s right before the trick Flows came out...from all the research that I was doing, Fox Lake heads seemed to be the Cadillac of ported 2V heads...

chris91 · Jan 3, 2013

I know what you mean with the holidays drainin ya. With my two kids I tend to go a little overboard and regret it afterwards. LoL But yeah Ill get his email for you and you guys can talk prices. He has had em for a while so he may go a little lower on them for ya. They were in great shape when I looked at them when I picked up my center console. Car was totalled in the front and didnt come close to em.

Actually here is his post on Craigslist. He's a cool guy and Im pretty sure he'd work on the price for ya.

http://cincinnati.craigslist.org/pts/3426130954.html