Ford GT

Unleashing the GT

 

We have had the pleasure of doing a few upgrades to a beautiful 2006 Ford GT. Due to parts coming from various places and having to send some of the pieces to different parts of the country, the timeline was a bit unusual. But, none the less the end result was worth the wait.

Whipple vs. Stock

1st things 1st, tThe owner wants to extract some of the suppressed horsepower. Off comes the stock Ford blower (this one has a smaller pulley so at lower rpms it will pump a greater volume than the stock setup). The Shadowman has sent us a 3.4L Whipple Supercharger and all the necessary hardware.

Boost Gauge
We had to upgrade the boost gauge. Luckily, Shadowman knows someone that uses the OEM housing and builds a setup that can handle the higher boost.


Accufab 75mm Dual Blade Throttle Body
Under heavy throttle, the intake boots on the GT collapse partially. We insert a Accufab Air Inlet Support. We also installed a 75mm Twin Blade Throttle Body.

Short Throw Shifter


Some of the other upgrades we made were, a short throw shifter by Ford Racing and we also customized a shift ball so it sits recessed on
the shifter shaft. One of our Technicians has a small machine shop at home and recessed the bore in the ball and bottom tapped the threads.

Dave has also modified the polished Ford GT knob which we will supply if you want one. Following is a picture.
Polished Ford GT shift knob with modified recessed bore



We also found a gentleman that makes a neat seal for the bulkhead cover (Ford uses a messy bead of urethane to seal from the factory). Thanks to Jay at GTSaver.com who makes these.

Custom seat bottom
We sent the seats out to be customized. The bottom section is changed so taller people have more headroom. Tailored by Knights does a great job.

Transmission Cooler
If we are upgrading performance we should install a transmission cooler from Ford Racing!


The customer wanted to lower the car 1" in the front & 3/4"

in the back. We used adjustable spring perches to accomplish this.

stock tail
Here is the stock rear bumper set up for the GT.

before polish
We had to trim the plastic bezel because of the shape of the x-pipe. This shot is before we polished the tips. Note the awesome wrap job by the Shadowman.


Check out the tail lights. Killer Paint works a little magic. A glossy candy black is applied.

Sweet tail
Nice finished product.

Dailing it in!

Dialing it in at Carb Connection. Running 7,200 rpm in 4th gear (180 m.p.h.) and producing 685 hp at the rear wheels! LOUD in there!

685 Horsepower!

Ready for a run
Ready for a run!

UPDATE

Well, this beast had a makeover (complete wrap) and made a run on the US leg of the 2008 Gumball Rally. When the car returned we had a request to bump the horsepower (was dialed in on the conservative side due the varied elevations the car encountered) and the windshield took a rock. Also, we had to repair a very noisy power steering pump. We did a few odds and ends along with some maintenance while it was in also.

2008 Gumball 3000
Here is the car at the start of the 2008 Gumball 3000 Rally in San Francisco.

To replace the windshield on this beautiful car you first have to remove the fenders (because of the way they sweep back over the glass) and then you have to find a glass company that has someone that has the same passion as we do so no mistakes are made. We have the pleasure of working with Keith Miller at ALL-STAR Auto Glass and he performs his craft on all kinds of vehicles from Exotics to Classics.

Before the operation
Getting ready to take out the windshield.

Tape it off

We always use lots of painters masking tape because it prevents damage and does not leave a sticky mess and is easy to take off too.

Careful, careful...
Wow
Lots of components need to be removed to remove the fenders (which have to come off for the windshield replacement.

New Ford glass & seals
Out with the old and in with the new. Nice job by Keith @ ALL-Star.

The customer had the fuse for the radio blow and we found that someone had connected the radar detector (why would you need one of those?), the radio and the rear view mirror camera system (works really cool) together on a 5 amp fuse. The Shadowman turned us onto a neat fuse setup that works well with the stock junction block.

Fuse

This system will take power from the power leg so that the original circuit is left alone and then you have a fused link for another circuit. Works well without taking a ton of room. We use a label maker to mark the new circuit (fastened to the wire) so the next technician will know what it is.

Our next step was to work with the Shadowman at Discovery Automotive and Alex at Carb Connection to dial in some more horsepower. We were able to fine tune it and we pulled 720 HP out of it. What a car to drive! Nice power curve.

Click for large image
Click for larger image