Unk's *Bagged* Magnetic Metal 2018 GT Convertible

[UnkTob]

Hey all!

I decided to start a post with details and photos of my 2018 GT Convertible in Magnetic Metal Metallic.

This is my 3rd Mustang, and I'm loving it so far in the month and a half that I've had it! (Purchased on my Birthday this year, July 4th).

Here the different mods and stuff I've done to the car, and links once I add details and photos for each:
Exterior:
RTR 19" Tech 7 wheels (9.5" front & 10.5" rear)
Nitto NT555 G2 tires
MMD by Foose rear wing
Big Worm Graphix Dual wide full stripes in Gloss black with gloss red pinstripes
Close up of rear stripes, as requested
Blacked out 5.0 side emblems
Paint matched rear GT emblem
Paint matched front pony emblem
Dupli-Color red caliper paint w/Vinzdecalz Metalic Grey Mustang decals for brake calipers
15% tint all the way around from The Boise Tint Shop
15% tint on marker/fog lights and reverse light (not installed yet)
Speedform Motorized License plate mount -Installed but I barely scrapped a parking curb and it "taco'd")
STO N SHO License plate bracket - replacing the stupid taco'd one.
Velossa Tech Big Mouth Air Rams (also kind of an engine mod too) including lots of cutting up of the stock front grill. (Yikes!! )
J&M jacking rails... in red, of course!
Engine:
Roush Cold Air Intake
Roush h-pipe resonator delete
Billet fluid caps
RedLine Tuning Hood Struts (Seriously Ford?!?! A hood prop?!?! Seriously?!?!)
LED under-hood lights and hood-pin switch
Anchor-Room engine cover vinyl stuff to try to "un-boring up" the engine cover.
Liqui Moly CeraTec
Lund Tune
Tinted Fog lights, backup light and amber part of headlights
Interior:
nGauge installed in left vent
LED bulbs
Modern Billet Speaker trim rings for Tweeters and Mid-range
Anchor-Room sun visor safety sticker cover-up's
Anchor-Room Windshield Ford Oval highlight
Controller holder
Red stitching on seats and door cards
Suspension:
Air Lift Performance 3H system - (Links will be added as details are added for each step)
"Why", overview, design and building of the platform
Custom painted air tank
Annoying issues with tank fittings and fixing them
Rear suspension install
Front suspension install
Rear ride height sensors install
Front ride height sensors install
Operation of controller, settings overview and the finished product!
Trunk:
LED light bar tied into the stock trunk light
Brakes:
Power Stop drilled & slotted zinc coated rotors with Z23 Evolution Sport Ceramic Pads
Security:
Waylens Secure 360 4G dash cam with OBD wiring (having issues with ODB share for nGauge, so changing to hardwired)
Other random stuff:
Show Board by showcarsillustrated.com




I've learned so much from the posts on this awesome forum, but a HUGE shoutout to bjstang and his ridiculously helpful posts in his "Double Race Red Journal". Many of the things I've done to my car I either learned how to do, or flat out learned that these things exists and/or are possible! LOL

Thanks for checking this blog out!

Here's a recent picture of it with the latest mods/updates at our local Mustang Club Car Show on June 13, about 10 minutes before the downpour started and the thunderstorm roared in.

Here's a little better photo of it from July 4 2020. (not all mods are blogged yet):

Here's one of my car leading a car cruise for the local Mustang club (I'm the VP of the club for 2021, President for 2022)from October:

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[UnkTob]

Once Upon a Time (history)-
I traded in my Ruby Red 2014 V6 Convertible, which I fricken loved! That Ruby Red sure is an eye catcher, and despite not being an overly special car, it was one of the most frequently photographed cars at our local club events. I did a fair amount to it- Foose 18" wheels, side scoops and floor mats. Cold air, bigger throttle body, Magnaflow axle backs, Bama tune, Eibach Pro-line lowering springs, Koni yellow adjustable struts/shocks, MMD hood struts, some engine dress up stuff, plus other things I'm not remembering off of the top of my head. Here is a photo of it at one of our cruise events, and the second is at the car lot, trading it in for the 2018 GT!

On to the new one!

I really loved the ruby red, but finding a decent 2018 Ruby Red GT Convertible is a pretty tough task, unless I was willing to pay a whole lot more! lol Then, I saw a magnetic metal fastback with some black stripes at my local dealership, and was very impressed! It's a bad ass combination! I then started getting all sorts of other ideas on how I'd design it. A couple of months later, I came across this one in Washington state. (I’m in Idaho, so about an 8 hour drive). Yes, as most of the used 2018 convertibles for sale are, this was a rental. (There's a whole other thread about the pro's and con's, titled "Things to check when buying a GT that was a rental". If you feel like weighing in, please post there. ) Still had 6k miles left on the bumper to bumper, engine felt and sounded good, ride was awesome, and only somewhat minor "rental rash". Ended up getting it on my Birthday, July 4th and made a nice road trip out of it.

Here it is on the way home at Hood River along the Oregon & Washington border.

Then it was time to start working on making it not look like a stock rental car. LOL I decided to start with cosmetic mods, and seeing where it took me. So far, where it has taken me is waaaaaay beyond what I budgeted for! I'm sure that's pretty relatable!

More posts and details to come.

 

[UnkTob]

Thanks Bill! I am going to try too figure out how to link to posts in the thread and make a table of contents type of thing like you and some of the other guys have done and try to document the stuff I’ve done, am doing and will do to the car. Again, thanks for your awesome blog and build updates! I’ve learned so much already! And my car is looking better because of it! More photos to come soon! (Actually, more installs happening very soon!)

 

[2017GBGTPP]

Thanks Bill! I am going to try too figure out how to link to posts in the thread and make a table of contents type of thing like you and some of the other guys have done and try to document the stuff I’ve done, am doing and will do to the car. Again, thanks for your awesome blog and build updates! I’ve learned so much already! And my car is looking better because of it! More photos to come soon! (Actually, more installs happening very soon!)

The post # at the top right of each post (like the #5 in my post) is a link, just copy the link and when editing a post select the text you want to be the link and click the thing that looks like a chain to add it. Easy peasy!

 

[UnkTob]

The post # at the top right of each post (like the #5 in my post) is a link, just copy the link and when editing a post select the text you want to be the link and click the thing that looks like a chain to add it. Easy peasy!

OH... Dang! So. It’s a little something like... “Thanks for showing me that, Dan, in this post.”

That is easy peasy! Thanks!! You rock!

 

[UnkTob]

What the hell is that thing, Ford?!?! (spoiler install) -
One of the things that made me scratch my head the first time I saw a convertible from this generation of mustang...

... was the "spoiler".

COME ON FORD!!! REALLY?!?! WHAT THE HECK IS THAT THING SUPPOSED TO BE?!?!
I'll tell you what it is... It's a cover for bolt holes for a real spoiler! So this was the first thing gone when the mods started!! I actually ordered it a couple of days before I officially bought the car!

I didn't take pictures of the process, but here's a link to the spoiler. It is an MMD by Foose rear spoiler, paint matched for the Magnetic Metal Metallic. The paint is awesome! Really is a good match and they did a good job on it!
https://www.americanmuscle.com/mmd-foose-prepainted-rear-spoiler-2015.html

I didn't take any pictures of the install, but there are lots of good guides for the install. (The one on AM's site for this part was really good!) It wasn't a difficult job, but certainly a little nerve wrecking, and tedious. Drilling and widening existing holes on my "new to me" car was a bit stressful, but also kinda fun! (Although, really... how hard would it have been to design the frickin wing to use the holes that are already there?!?! Seriously! One set of holes was an inch or so away from the factory holes, and the other wasn't even a full width of the hole away and you had to widen the original. So annoying! ) But any who... I digress... Back on track... Getting the old one off was a little challenging, but nothing unexpected. Removing the adhesive from the old one? Much more tedious than I expected. And yes, I knew it would be somewhat of a pain. Goof Off just kind of smeared it all around. The best method I had available that day... rubbing it with my fingers? (Uh... what?) Not that, you sicko! Pushing the adhesive over on to itself with my fingers was the only thing I found that actually removed it. Then a little Goof Off afterwards for the residue. I actually had blood blisters on the tips of some of my fingers afterwards. LOL However, I'd say it was worth the effort overall.

As a fan of the show "Overhauling" I've been a fan of Chip Foose for awhile now, and had some of the parts he designed on my 2014. He does a great job of following the lines of the car so his stuff looks like it could have come from he factory that way, as he says. In hindsight, I think it kind of looks a little too stock. I'm wishing it was a little bigger. () "It isn't the size of the spoiler, it's how you use it." is only said by people with small spoilers.

In summary, a fairly fun install, the paint match from AM is amazing, and it definitely looks better than what ever the heck that thing was that was stuck to my trunk before.

 

[UnkTob]

Black is very slimming! (Blacked out 5.0 emblems)-
When I first saw that Magnetic Metallic in the showroom with it's black stripes, I immediately started thinking of what I would do if I owned that color of Mustang, and that's what lead me down the path to turn in my beloved Ruby Red 2014. The one I saw had matte black stripes, which yeah, they looked cool, but it had the performance pack gloss black wheels, gloss black front & rear panels, and chrome emblems all around. To me, it looked very miss-matched. So in my head (and to some degree in the Forza video game paint booth (some degree since you can't change color of emblems...yet. Hint hint Forza!!)) I thinking how much better it would look to have the 5.0 emblems blacked out, plus a few other things, which we'll talk about later. ;)

Both AM and CJ Pony carry replacement emblems. Due to stock issues, and that CJ had a couple other emblem things I wanted, I got these from CJ:https://www.cjponyparts.com/ford-performance-fender-emblem-black-5-0-pair-gt-2015-2019/p/EMF118P/

Install was simple, but... as to be somewhat expected, removal of the old ones was a bit tougher than I thought. I tried using the tried and true fishing line method, but didn't quite think about the alignment pins. There's only so much the fishing line can get to. I used a plastic trim tool to pry the rest off. I think used the "finger it up into a ball" method for the adhesive and rubbing alcohol to help remove the rest of he residue and prep the paint for the new adhesive. The emblems came with an adhesive promotor (or might have been one of the front or rear emblems, don't 100% recall) and of course the install of the new ones was super easy, especially due to those alignment pins. **Important Install Note** The emblems are side specific! The side of the emblem which is towards the front of the car has the lower pin, the side towards the rear of the car has the higher pin location. (This is helpful to know while working the fishing line thru!)

Here they are installed:

I'm not sure what caused this issue, but if you look really closely (much more obvious in person) the clear coat around the emblems is scratched up, but doesn't look like a pattern from removing the emblems, it looks circular, like when I was using the rubbing alcohol or the adhesive promotor. It happened on both sides. I tried waxing but that didn't help. I'll actually try to polish the areas at some point as see if that helps.

Overall, I really like the look of the black emblems, especially with the design scheme I'm going with- The metallic grey paint with gloss black as the primary highlight, and another color as the second highlight to add a bit of a "color pop", to sound all design-y and stuff. LOL Those 5.0 emblems fit perfectly into this design scheme. (hint, hint )

 

[UnkTob]

We don't need no stinking chrome badges! (Paint matched rear GT badge)-
Since the plan for the design is a darker, meaner look, I wanted to get rid of the chrome emblems. Side markers done! (See above) Next up, was supposed to be the easier of the two things left to de-chrome... the rear GT emblem. I guess it was easier than the front, but not easy. LOL

I was thinking of buying some black emblems and going and getting a rattle can of J7 from my local paint supply shop. (Haven't tried with the Magnetic Metal Metallic but had good luck with other colors) But then, while looking around for the black side 5.0 emblems, I found paint matched emblems on CJ's site! Fricking awesome!!
https://www.cjponyparts.com/gt-emblem-rear-decklid-gt-2015-2019/p/EMT44-V/

The emblem arrived and the paint match is AMAZING! Looks great!

I love how the color of the emblem appears differently, depending on the light, just like the J7 of the body! Sweet!!

The install: The website says, "Installation of the emblem is super simple with tabs that match up to the OEM locations, and using 3M adhesive to adhere the emblem to the tail light panel." UH... yeah. Not so much. So first of all. That gloss black panel is super susceptible to scratches, but no news here. We all know that! Also, as it turns out, it is fairly brittle too. When I bought my car I noticed it had one little crack around the emblem. While trying to remove that rear panel (took some fairly serious prying, even using panel pry tools) I could hear cracking sounds. Sure enough, there were more cracks showing up and the first crack grew. Once the panel was off, the instructions made it sound very simple to remove the original. Nope. The mounting tabs were melted/glued overly aggressively when the emblem was mounted to the panel, and it took lots and lots of careful drilling and prying to remove the stock emblem. Unfortunately, despite trying to take my time and being very careful, the cracks grew. I've decided I'll have to replace that panel.

A bummer, but since apparently not much care was given when washing this very scratch susceptible panel before I bought the car, this just helped push me over the fence on if to buy a replacement or spend money on things like bills.

 

[UnkTob]

My Little Pony Hurt Me!! (Front pony emblem in Magnetic Metal Metallic)-
The last bit of exterior chrome to replace was the running pony on the front grill. I see others that get different grills which remove the pony, and I get it... everyone likes what they like, and that's cool, but personally I like the pony as a call back to my 1968 Mustang. However, with the meaner, more aggressive look I'm going for, the chrome had to go. As I mentioned in the last post, while looking for gloss black 5.0 emblems in stock on CJ Pony Parts, I came across the option for paint matched emblems, which I was thinking of doing myself for my front pony and rear GT. The price they had for them at the time was the same (or maybe cheaper) than gloss black versions.
https://www.cjponyparts.com/pony-emblem-front-grille-v6-ecoboost-gt-2015-2019/p/GO40-V/

Again, paint match is very good, and I think it looks amazing now that it is installed!

Again, just like the car's Magnetic Metal Metallic paint, the emblem looks a little different depending on the light. Almost looks black above, but very much metallic grey in this photo-

The install: Good god. You'd think I'd have learned by now. 1000% not as simple as the video on CJ's made it out to be! In the video they show not removing the grill and just reaching down and either removing the retaining nuts off, or just breaking the mounting tabs off, and the pony slides right off. Boy do I wish that was true! I actually removed the bumper cover & grill assembly anyway, due to the modifications (major cutting!) for the Velossa Design Big Mouth Ram Intakes (See post following this one), and I'm glad I had it apart already. I would have been SUPER frustrated trying to remove the stock pony by just reaching behind the grill!! Without knowing what I was about to get myself into (trusting the video still, as a naive little child) I went to remove the retaining nuts, and low and behold... they weren't there. Instead were big blobs of what looked to be plastic. Hmmm... I tried to chip a bit off it off, and it was super solid. So I broke out the drill and carefully drilled away the material where the tabs are located. I then triumphantly one around to the front of the bumper cover & grill to easily pry the little pony off the grill, and Nope! It didn't budge at all. After some very colorful language which brought the ire of my old neighbor who was sitting on his back patio enjoying some nice morning coffee with his wife, I started really prying on the thing. It was very stuck on there. I went to the back and drilled out more of the material and mounting tabs, and eventually was able to pry my little pony off of the grill. (Hehe... My Little Pony) I was thinking that I was so happy to about to be done with this annoying project, (which I expected to take a couple of minutes but was easily up to about 30 minutes at this point), as I took the new pony out of his bag to install it. Nope!! In the area where the old pony used to be was this raised plastic looking blob. I wonder if it was some sort of adhesive or something. The emblem wouldn't install flat at all! So I then spent probably another 40-60 minutes with my Dremel trying to cut out and chip out the adhesive. I went through probably 20 Dremel cutting discs. When those broke it was fun seeing where the pieces landed. By “fun”, I mean like the “fun” of having little bits of molten lava dropping randomly on you from the sky. Here's where one of those pieces landed on my finger-

The piece landed on my finger, and I instinctively shook my hand to remove it, but it didn't budge. It was stuck to, and continued to burn, the skin on my finger. I had to flick it off. LOL By the way, I just took that photo today, and the burn happened about 3-4 weeks ago. So this is how it looks after about a month of healing. Good times!

Anywho... after 30-45 minutes and multiple burns (the finger, one on my arm, one that landed on my jeans and burn thru to my leg, and the really fun one that landed in the little gap between the side of my foot and my shoe ) I finally had the mounting area flat enough to mount the new pony.

On a sad note- Other than the skin on my finger, arm leg and foot, the other casualty was while chipping off the plastic/glue crud, I had my flathead screwdriver slip off and put a nice big scratch in my gloss black grill. Gonna try some of that 2-stage black touchup paint.

Was a huge pain. (both figuratively and literally!) For something that took 10 seconds in the install video, it was tremendously frustrating. I don't know if there was some unreported accident with my car before I bought it, or if they changed how they mount the emblems starting with the 2018's, but just know that if you do this, it might not be as simple as they say.

However, I have to say that now that it is done, I fricken love how it looks!

Plus years from now, when I look at the scar on my middle finger, I'll fondly remember the joy of installing that little beauty!





(Sorry... too many jokes about the burn happening to my middle finger that I couldn't decide on one. Feel free to insert a joke yourself. )

 

[BeastAR]

Awesome build story. Keep up the good work.

 

[UnkTob]

Awesome build story. Keep up the good work.

Thanks BeastAR!

Wow! That paint looks good from the photo! I wonder if some clear film protection type of company will make something to protect it. I wonder if now that you painted yours if a clear coat could help protect it. Or if I get a new panel, could I clear coat that? If so, I wonder if it would still match the black on the rear brake lights? Hmmmm... pondering...

 

[UnkTob]

Those are some crazy airbrushed panels! Cool! Not for me, but still cool! Yeah, the clear PPF might be a good option. I don't think it would change the look of it too much. I might do some digging around on that.

By the way... BEST TOWEL RACK EVER!!!

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