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Well, I Bought Joey Hand's GT500

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**I know this is the GT350 section, but you guys are my bro's and wanted to share**

Let’s start off by saying that I have been fortunate throughout my short time here on Earth. Been getting by on luck, good fortune, and the kindness of others. This is yet another installment in my series of fortunate events and happy to share it with you all.

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This all started at the GT500 Track Tour. Talked to Dan McKeever a bit about the car since he had one on order. He told me I would love it but wait until the Vegas event to decide. I Got to drive the Carbon Fiber Track Pack and base GT500’s. Fell in love but wasn’t ready to let go of my GT350R. So merrily on I went… Around December of this year I remember talking to Epiphany about the research and development I wanted to do on the GT500 for our Signature Wheel builds. Hearing about the wait for his car and other delays I figured Summer 2020 would be the move. So I went on waiting again.

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About January of this year I sent some Happy New Year and Merry Christmas messages to enthusiasts I worked with in the past. Asked for any leads out there and some great people came back with a few. I bought my Raptor locally from Elk Grove Ford and already knew their allocation was sold, but decided to reach out again. The owner, Cale, cryptically told me to give him a call. This is when luck struck.

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Joey Hand is one of the bad ass drivers that piloted the #68 Ford GT to victory at the 24-Hours of Le Mans. He lives near Elk Grove Ford and had his white FGT delivered through that dealership also. Joey was fortunate enough to get a VIP order from Ford for a 2020 GT500, and requested It have a matching #68 VIN and chassis number. Through luck this car was landed at the port awaiting delivery to Elk Grove Ford but was held up with many other early build cars for an unknown reason. Joey had decided not to take the car at this moment, so this was my opportunity to get one without the long wait. Cale offered me the opportunity to buy it, but it had to be cleared through Ford corporate. Chances were that Ford could say no, and to send the car back.

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On January 15th, 2020, I got the call that the car had been delivered to Elk Grove Ford. After a few days of getting the car prepped and wrapping up financing I was ready to bring it home. Joey Hand was nice enough to come to the dealership and sign the dash on the car when I took delivery. A truly cool guy, down to earth, and humble. He even brought me a signed poster of the winning #68 FGT. A great representative for Ford, and car enthusiasts in general. Hopefully I get to grab some pics with him again soon, but here is what I have for now.

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Excited about the opportunity to get this car, and very thankful to all the Signature Wheel enthusiasts I have had the pleasure to work with. Some wheels will be on it soon, and I am planning to produce some of my own custom aero components to include an adjustable Carbon fiber GT4/CFTP rear wing. To all those guys and gals waiting, just keep holding on. You are in the deep end, and you wont want to be saved.

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Epiphany

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I like to disassemble things.
Just wow T! Very cool to have spent some time with Joey and the car, very cool.

Your photography skills have gone through the roof! Really rich shots you took.

Looking forward to seeing what you come up with wing-wise. I wanted the GT4 wing since day one but the Willy Wonka Ticket garbage really turned me off. I already have a decklid for this swap so its a matter of layout, prep, paint, and bolt-on. I hope you can make it work. Suggestion would be optional mounts that raise the wing up slightly higher in the airstream such as on the actual GT4 cars vs the production car wing height.

And I laughed when you messaged me about how bad the fuel mileage is in these cars. It is terrible! Getting around 200 miles per tankful is pretty bad but for me it's a metruc that isn't on the list. Performance comes first!

So great acquisition my friend and I hope you enjoy it.
 

BeastAR

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Awesome story and find! So does that mean your getting out of the 350R? Or is this just a new addition to the stable?
 

alan0614

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Congrats sir, killer color combo.
 

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User5.2

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Congrats! Good things happen to good people (and the reverse is true too)! After you have some time with the new car, I would be interested to read your thoughts on the GT500 vs GT350R ownership experience.
 

Tank

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An offer you couldn’t refuse....

Man, what a great story! I’m very glad for you and that you had the means to act when opportunity struck! Guess I’m gonna have to follow at least a couple of threads in the GT500 section.

Congratulations T! Good luck w your new ride!!
 

hperea

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Congratulation !!! What a beautiful car. Enjoy and thanks for the awesome history.
 
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50 Deep

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Just wow T! Very cool to have spent some time with Joey and the car, very cool.

Your photography skills have gone through the roof! Really rich shots you took.

Looking forward to seeing what you come up with wing-wise. I wanted the GT4 wing since day one but the Willy Wonka Ticket garbage really turned me off. I already have a decklid for this swap so its a matter of layout, prep, paint, and bolt-on. I hope you can make it work. Suggestion would be optional mounts that raise the wing up slightly higher in the airstream such as on the actual GT4 cars vs the production car wing height.

And I laughed when you messaged me about how bad the fuel mileage is in these cars. It is terrible! Getting around 200 miles per tankful is pretty bad but for me it's a metruc that isn't on the list. Performance comes first!

So great acquisition my friend and I hope you enjoy it.
Appreciate that T. Had some good help from you and my buddy Brett. Its taught me a lot. The goal with the wing is to give it a greater angle of attack, adjustability, and a little more height. Hope it all pans out. Joey was a cool dude though. Would love to follow his racing line one day.
That is an amazing story and a beautiful car!
Thanks brother. Just happy I got to do it.
Congrats! I’m excited to see a non cftp GT500 with some good wheels!
You bet man. Its gonna look good.
Congrats! Good things happen to good people (and the reverse is true too)! After you have some time with the new car, I would be interested to read your thoughts on the GT500 vs GT350R ownership experience.
I will definitely keep some things updated in my build thread. The more I drive the 500 the more I like it. But I almost have to learn how to drive aggressive in an automatic, because how you control the car is so different.
An offer you couldn’t refuse....

Man, what a great story! I’m very glad for you and that you had the means to act when opportunity struck! Guess I’m gonna have to follow at least a couple of threads in the GT500 section.

Congratulations T! Good luck w your new ride!!
Well said. Once I knew the history on the car I decided to stick with it. I almost got pulled away a couple times.
 

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Wildcardfox

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Congrats on the car; thanks for the mention on photography. Your skills are definitely magazine quality now. Glad that I’ve helped in your evolution. Keep killing it!
giphy.gif
 

madlag

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Awesome story and and amazing pics. Happy for you T!
 

phinhead34

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Saw your post on FB through my phone. Now looking at it on the computer that color is so bad ass. Great story behind the car purchase. Congratulations on the whip it is beautiful.
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