19 replies to this topic

[msbmustang]

Good Evening Everyone,

Just took my GT500 to the body shop on Sat after a bit of a crash on Friday. Looks like all the front end body parts will need to be replaced.

The biggest problem thus far is a 4" long, 1/4" deep, 3/8" wide crease in the very front lip of the hood on one side. My specialty car body shop “Grace” (who I trust and have known for over 15 years) says the entire hood will have to be replaced as AL hoods cannot be "worked out" like normal sheet metal body parts! Seems a shame to have to replace the entire hood for such a small dent. Can anyone explain to me why this is so. (I forgot to ask the owner of the shop why.)  I already turned the accident in to my insurance company and they will pay for everything (after my rather large detectable) so cost is not the issue. (And of course my isn rates just went up. 1 accident in 30 years with AAA and they told me I will be "dinged" right away!) Anyway, I am just curious why this is so with the 2007 GT500 aluminum hoods?

Also with a new bumper and all new plastic grill work being put in does anyone have any suggestions on improvements while we are putting it all back together?  (New headlights too as the mounting brackets snapped even though the housings were not touched.  I was pulled over 2 blocks from my house by a San Mateo County Police Officer who, it turns out, was concerned because one of my headlights had broken off the last piece of plastic holding it to the frame and was pointing straight down!  All the officers involved in the incident were Great to me!  They also had lots of questions about the GT500...like how fast had I driven it.  I said 145...at the track!  Police officers all seem to like "Cool Cars".)  

After 111,000 miles the front plastic parts should look much better with all new parts and stripes! (Ford had painted in a large section of one of the front bumper stripe sections by hand.) The front was the most beat up part of the car when I bought it in 2007 from a dealer in Ohio who bought it from the Ford Testing Grounds with 50K miles on it. It will be nice to have the front section of the car now being the best looking part after being the worst part for the past 5 years.  (Now If I can just get someone to buy my brand new Nitto 555 Extreme tires that I just put on the car, and hate, the car will be nearly perfect again!...other than the 111k miles on the engine!)

MSB Mustang – Mark  
(You will all recognize me on the roads in and around Silicon Valley CA the next month as I will be the one "not smiling" and driving an Impala rental car with the bumper sticker that says “My Other Car is a Shelby GT500”)


PS - Air bags DO NOT appear to go off with a low speed, 3-8 mph, "destructive" front end “Hard Bump”. I think that is a very good thing and I know I did not need the air bags to go off as I feel no ill effects from the “Hard Bump”. The other car that was involved, a Honda Van, however had to be towed away. That was the worst part of the entire incident but the other driver said he also did not feel any ill effects while we talked at the accident scene... Which of course is the most important thing!

[SVT NAJA]

Mark,

I'm sorry to hear about your mishap, but fortunately no one was injured. As you've pointed out, she will be as good as new when the repairs are completed. Just in time for the upcoming car season too! Does James Ford have a body shop or do they send their work to someone else in town?

[Blotto]

have you looked a buying a used hood on ebay? Or maybe it's time to get a carbon fiber hood. Could be cheaper than factory aluminum.

[GT350conv]

Sorry to hear about your bump.  Aluminum body panels are not forgiving like standard sheet metal.  When AL bends, it work hardens as it's bent.  When it's bent back to it's original state, it wants to break at the bend because it's now brittle.  In general, hoods are horrible and costly to straighten.  I've always recommended to my customers to change the hood.  I'll eat the extra cost.  These days, body panels are fairly inexpensive and as long as they are CAPA certified, they fit well.  Most customers would rather have a new panel Vs a repaired panel.   Make sure the correct primer is used over bare AL or else it will peel!!!

[Rev Dennis]

FWIW I would take a new hood over a repaired hood.

[msbmustang]

SVT NAJA - My buddy at James Ford (who no longer works there) was the one who sent me to the "Grace Body Shop" in SSF to work on my wrecked Taurus many years ago.  They have done all my body and paint work since then.  Their work is outstanding and they are great people too!

SBlotto - I had not considered carbon fiber?  I will ask my shop about that and start looking for info on carbon fiber hoods online.  Thanks.

GT350conv - Thanks for the insight on AL Hoods.  I have bent AL before making electonics boxes for the equipment I design in my various audio jobs.  Because of that I can see what you are talking about just how AL does not really bend well...especially re-bending.  Looks like a new hood for me.

I heard my isn will go up either 233 a year or 950 a year (already 1100) depending on wether or not the other party claims injuries. (1 isn point or 2)  He and I were both fine at the accident site but I know from first hand experience (being rear ended in my Taurus a decade ago) that injuries can show up a week later.  In my case it was a bad left elbow that was caused by bracing against the steering wheel while we were being hit from the rear. (Note: always let go of the steering wheel in a rear end crash!...well unless you can be pushed into on coming traffic!!!)  

Any suggestions from everyone on a new isn company that won't mind one accident caused by me in 35 years where no one was really hurt?

Anyway I am getting my 3 - 4 week loaner Impala tomorrow.  Yippie!

Now I have to go research carbon fiber hoods vs AL hoods.

Thanks everyone for taking my mind off my broken GT500 SVT#12,

MSB Mustang / Mark

[GT350conv]

]I'm not a big fan of C/F hoods for 2 reasons.  A few years back , a customer of mine wanted his Honda DelSol redone. He had supplied an $800 C/F hood.  Looked awsome against the Porsche Red paint but the hood did not fit at all.  Length was good, a bit narrow but worst of all, there was a bow that could not match up to the fender lines.  He had me install it anyways, but the poor fitment ruined the whole car IMO.  My brother picked up a C/F at Carlisle last year for his 06' GT.  Looks ok, but the hood must be pinned.  The latch and hinge mounting points are weak and made poorly.  Just my limited experience with C/F hoods.  As with anything else in life, you must do your research.

[m81mclaren]

Bummer on the bump! Here are a few hood options if you want to stay factory paint
http://www.newtakeof...005-2008-1.aspx
they will discount if your body shop buys direct

http://www.ShelbySto.../s7sb-16612.htm
takeoffs but may not have tungsten

Maybe you post on the classifieds to see if there are any SuperSnake takoffs out there?

Good luck and hang in there driving just some rental jellybean car!

[msbmustang]

Well it is still in the shop and we decided to go with the stock AL hood.  Today markes the start of the 4th week...driving the Altima replacement car!

My shop is one of the best in the Bay Area so I am certain the car is going to look better than when I picked it up in Ohio from the Ford Testing grounds.

I will post some pics when I get it back in a week or two.  (Had to pay for a left headlight assembly so the lenses on both sides would match.  The insurance company did not care about cosmetic lens matching!)

I do hope that the new stripes match the older ones on the roof.  The light grey stripes on the Tungsten GT500 should be fairly forgiving with regards to matching.

Driving the 4 cyl Altima has been a bit depressing...until I pull up to the gas pump!  If gas hits $5 a gal my 100mile a day commute will have to be in a higher mileage
vehicle!  Can you say Focus?

MSB Mustang - Mark

[Moncho]

Mark - Any updates?  Hopefully things are coming along.

Cheers,
Moncho

[msbmustang]

Hi Moncho and the rest of the group,

Well it has been an adventure.  Firstly the new stripes had a jagged edge (they came that way from Shelby although Shelby says they come from Ford for the 2007 GT500's) and will have to be redone and one of the lower bumper stripes has a big blotch in it and the hood stripes also have a tear and a bump by the air vents in the hood.  The paint however looks great and it is nice to have a new splitter and new headlights.  (Grace is the body shop and they did a great job but they hired a specialist to do the stripes and he screwed up AND the stripes were bad from Ford/Shelby.  We will see what the new ones look like.)

I had the car for several days and noticed it was drifting right (It was crushed on the right front side).  My body shop told me to take it to the local Ford dealer for a front end alignment and it has been in their shop for several weeks now and everytime they tell me it is fixed I go there to drive it and it still pulls right.  They did find that my right front wheel had a dent on the inside edge from the crash and that was replaced Friday...but alas it still pulled right.  Then they swapped the two front tires and still the same thing.  Now the local Ford dealer shop wants to rebuild the front end but AAA says that is not the problem and they are going to inspect the car again on Monday!

Anyone have any thoughts on why it is pulling right after the accident but the alignment machines say it is all correctly set up?  I do not believe it is the tires (3 month new 555 extremes-that I still hate by the way.  For sale for 1/2 price if anyone wants them).

The second set of new stripes are supposed to arrive in another two weeks (much better than the 3 months they said it would take when we first requested a new set of hood and bumper stripes).  Maybe we will get the "drifting right alignment problem" solved before the stripes arrive.  I am almost out of the free rental car time from the insurance company.

Thanks,

Mark / MSB Mustang

[LuckySnake]

msbmustang, on 14 April 2012 - 02:08 PM, said:

Hi Moncho and the rest of the group,

Well it has been an adventure.  Firstly the new stripes had a jagged edge (they came that way from Shelby although Shelby says they come from Ford for the 2007 GT500's) and will have to be redone and one of the lower bumper stripes has a big blotch in it and the hood stripes also have a tear and a bump by the air vents in the hood.  The paint however looks great and it is nice to have a new splitter and new headlights.  (Grace is the body shop and they did a great job but they hired a specialist to do the stripes and he screwed up AND the stripes were bad from Ford/Shelby.  We will see what the new ones look like.)

I had the car for several days and noticed it was drifting right (It was crushed on the right front side).  My body shop told me to take it to the local Ford dealer for a front end alignment and it has been in their shop for several weeks now and everytime they tell me it is fixed I go there to drive it and it still pulls right.  They did find that my right front wheel had a dent on the inside edge from the crash and that was replaced Friday...but alas it still pulled right.  Then they swapped the two front tires and still the same thing.  Now the local Ford dealer shop wants to rebuild the front end but AAA says that is not the problem and they are going to inspect the car again on Monday!

Anyone have any thoughts on why it is pulling right after the accident but the alignment machines say it is all correctly set up?  I do not believe it is the tires (3 month new 555 extremes-that I still hate by the way.  For sale for 1/2 price if anyone wants them).

The second set of new stripes are supposed to arrive in another two weeks (much better than the 3 months they said it would take when we first requested a new set of hood and bumper stripes).  Maybe we will get the "drifting right alignment problem" solved before the stripes arrive.  I am almost out of the free rental car time from the insurance company.

Thanks,

Mark / MSB Mustang

Call your insurance company and let them know you lost faith in the Ford dealership fixing your car and have to take car elsewhere for proper evaluation/repair. Let them know you are counting on them to supply you with a rental while all repairs are made.
Again, get your car out of that Ford stealership ASAP, they don't know how to fix your car correctly and want to start throwing parts at it. Google wheel alighnment shops in your area and trust your instincts when talkings with the manager, find an older guy that has done this for years if you want it done right. If there is damage still there from the accident or caused during the repairs, he will tell you.
I would PM Mr. Farmdog and seek advise on the stripes.
Keep us updated and good luck.

[SVT NAJA]

Mark,

LuckySnake is correct about getting ahold of mrfarmdog (John http://www.teamshelb...6284-mrfarmdog/ and http://www.stuckonyougraphics.com/ ) to resolve your stripe problems. As respects the front end drift issue you're experiencing, most Ford dealers are not properly equipped to diagnose what your problem is, especially James Ford. You'll most likely get positive results from a performance suspension shop on the peninsula. Good luck, you're almost finished...

[twobjshelbys]

Aluminum body panels can be repaired but it is a very labor intensive project.  The metal has to be annealed by heating it, and then can be remolded.  The process is lengthy and time consuming and outlined here:



The Ford GT is almost all aluminum (except the hood).  The recommendation for body work is to find a body shop certified for Aston Martin or Jaguar body work.

[msbmustang]

Well after another few weeks it was determined that my problem was a bent rim and worn tie rods. AAA paid for the rim but not the tie rods.

The play in the front end because of the worn tie rods (remember I have 112K miles on mine) may be contributing to the slight drift.

So should I buy the stock tie rods from Ford or is there an upgrade I should consider?

Also while we were experimenting with putting the tires on different wheels to locate the drifting right problem we discovered that the my 2007 GT500 feels/rides much better with the 285/40/18 tires in the front. Anyone else tried this? And if I do put 285/40/18's on the front then can I mix my 285/18 Nitto Extremes (that I am not happy with at 2k miles) with a pair of Continental Extreme DW's of the same size?   I know I should buy 4 Continental Extreme DW's at 285/45/18 or 2 Nittos to match the two 285 rears I already have (again I hate the Nittos) but buying four more tires after spending around 1k$ on the set of 255 and 285 Nittos is too painful to even consider!  Again if anyone wants the 4 Nittos cheap let me know.

Also since I got the car back I found that the stripes on the bumper were put on wrong also.   Emailed MrFarmDog but he did not know of anyone in the SF bay area that could put the stripes on for me properly... for the second time!  Anyone else know of a stripe application expert in the SF Bay Area...or even beyond?

Thanks MSB Mustang / Mark

PS Dream Machines in HMB was great fun today. I spent 5 hours helping with getting all the cars parked. (Sun Burned now though!) Tons of Shelby’s of all years and types were there. Open again tomorrow at 10am at the HMB Airport if anyone is interested. This is the first time the show is open for two days instead of just Sunday.

[LuckySnake]

msbmustang, on 28 April 2012 - 09:01 PM, said:

Well after another few weeks it was determined that my problem was a bent rim and worn tie rods. AAA paid for the rim but not the tie rods.

The play in the front end because of the worn tie rods (remember I have 112K miles on mine) may be contributing to the slight drift.

So should I buy the stock tie rods from Ford or is there an upgrade I should consider?

Also while we were experimenting with putting the tires on different wheels to locate the drifting right problem we discovered that the my 2007 GT500 feels/rides much better with the 285/40/18 tires in the front. Anyone else tried this? And if I do put 285/40/18's on the front then can I mix my 285/18 Nitto Extremes (that I am not happy with at 2k miles) with a pair of Continental Extreme DW's of the same size?   I know I should buy 4 Continental Extreme DW's at 285/45/18 or 2 Nittos to match the two 285 rears I already have (again I hate the Nittos) but buying four more tires after spending around 1k$ on the set of 255 and 285 Nittos is too painful to even consider!  Again if anyone wants the 4 Nittos cheap let me know.

Also since I got the car back I found that the stripes on the bumper were put on wrong also.   Emailed MrFarmDog but he did not know of anyone in the SF bay area that could put the stripes on for me properly... for the second time!  Anyone else know of a stripe application expert in the SF Bay Area...or even beyond?

Thanks MSB Mustang / Mark

PS Dream Machines in HMB was great fun today. I spent 5 hours helping with getting all the cars parked. (Sun Burned now though!) Tons of Shelby’s of all years and types were there. Open again tomorrow at 10am at the HMB Airport if anyone is interested. This is the first time the show is open for two days instead of just Sunday.

Hello Mark,
Do you have your car back? The stock tie rods are what you need, you will need a wheel alignment after the new rods are installed. I would stick with the stock size tires, less wear and tear on the front end suspension components.
Good Luck

[msbmustang]

Thanks for the advice LuckySnake,

I am going to get the tie rods ordered from one of the online Ford Parts Shops this week.

Also can anyone tell me why the price online from Ford Racing (which is Ford) for a 2007 GT500 stock 18" wheel is around $230 BUT if a Ford dealer orders the exact same wheel (same part #) from Ford the price is around $630!
And if I order another new wheel and spare band how much should a tire shop charge me to move the TMPS sensor over to the new wheel?  (I did get a new wheel from the accident and it looks so nice I thought I would buy another one for the other side, on the front.  The old fronts of course were chewed up but the rears are still fine.  Plus that will allow me to carry a spare)

With regards to larger tires on the front, the specs for the new 2013 680HP GT500 are 265/19" on the front and 285/20" on the back so they are getting closer to the same tires on the front and back. I thought on the higher HP version they would go bigger in the back not the front!

MSB Mustang / Mark

[JeffIsHereToo]

Question to the group!  

Mark posted: "dealer in Ohio who bought it from the Ford Testing Grounds with 50K miles on it". Has anyone ever heard of Ford selling a "test car"?  To my knowledge, from the talks with various Ford people through the years, including the KR Durability car manager, that due to potential liability issues these cars are destroyed.  I was so bummed about the KR, which was just a car people drove around, not something pounded on at the testing grounds yet it was going to be destroyed.

I've just never heard this happening before.  

[msbmustang]

HI Jeff,

I was concerned about how "complete" the car was when I bought it online so I called Ford and checked it all out and they said it was a totally stock car. It turns out however that it was probably was a mistake that it was auctioned off. Port Clinton Ford bought it at an auction and was able to pick it up at the Ford testing grounds for a great price. I paid them just a few $K more than they paid as they just wanted a quick cash purchase turnaround. I was concerned about the warranty though as it was a new vehicle in 2007 and was I considering backing out even though I had flown out to Ohio to pick it up but after some calls to the Ford Factory they gave me a full factory 33000 mile warranty for an extra $2k.  To get this deal I had argued that since the car was never sold to the public it should have a warranty. That 2K was well spent with several TSBs being paid for with $100 deductible...especially the clutch tranny TSB that would have been $6500!!!  (The front popping spring problem also!)

When I got it home I called to get my SVT Certificate and was shocked to find out it was GT500 SVT#12! (I can post the SVT certificate from Ford if you want to see it) Later I discovered that my vin# and build date predates the 1st officially sold GT500 to Ron Pratte. (No one seems to know what the SVT# is for Ron Pratte's GT500 vin# xxxxxx001?)

When I called Ford SVT to get my certificate with the SVT# they did not believe I had the car. They even said it should not have been sold to the public. He also told me that the president of Ford (or it might have been Edsel Ford II) had GT500 SVT#7 but I could not verify that.  I also heard the same thing that you said that most of the first batch of "Test Cars" are destroyed in testing...but mine made it out somehow.

112K miles now and it is good to have it back. They say it will take quite awhile to get the second NEW set of hood and bumper stripes.  I am not sure who my body shop is going to get to put them on this time? The body shop is great and the paint and body work are perfect!!! But Dang did the stripe guy do a bad job.

When I was out of work for over 2 years I checked around to see if I sold it was it worth anything extra because of it being SVT#12?  However no one showed any interest in it and it was probably due to the high mileage on it.  Glad I was able to keep it though because it is still a blast to drive and I still get thumbs up from people on the road.  It actually looks much better now with new headlight assemblies, splitter, front grills and hood/bumper paint.  I kept the orig Snake Logo even though it has some small dings in it from the 111K miles.

I hope that answers your question about it actually being SVT#12 and a Ford test unit.  (However it was so clean when I got it I thought perhaps the mileage was put on by a dyno but there was some pitting in the windshield and plastic headlight lenses so I am fairly certain it was driven on the track at high speed.)

Best "Glad to have my GT500 SVT#12 back" Regards,

MSB Mustang / Mark

[JeffIsHereToo]

Interesting story...well, good luck and I'm glad you were able to hang on to it!