New Shelby Owner needing a bit of help

[dpAtlanta]

As someone who has ripped off the engine belly pan during an off track excursion, I can tell you that you might be able to salvage the belly pan as long as there aren’t any holes in it. There are 12’ish screws that hold the belly pan to the chassis. There’s also a large push-in style plastic retailer in the middle (left to right) and towards the back of the belly pan (rearward.) In the chassis there are insertable clips that receive the screws. If you’re lucky, the screws were yanked out still holding the clips. In this case you’ll just need to replace the clips and you’re good to go. Sometimes the clips and screws are still holding onto pieces of your belly pan and you’ll find a few holes in the belly pan. In that case, the belly pan is a pricing one.

I suggest getting a good look under the car and figuring out if you just need to replace the clips/screws, or if you’re looking at a full panel replacement. Then head to a dealer parts department and have them bring up the diagrams and figure out what you need. You’ll find some Belly pan removal videos online by googling.

Goodluck.

attached was my belly pan after a (cough) forceful removal. Areas in blue are where the clips and screws held on and ripped holes.

OP... As far as the belly pan goes, PilotGore has unfortunate first hand knowledge on pan removal (Le-Boom.... look out - oil spill on track).
As his photo shows, you will need to replace the OEM belly pan insulation. PilotGore chose a 23R-Value "Rockwool" brand as seen in the background.


INSULATION SARSACM DISCLAIMER
Do not place insulation between the belly pan and the vehicle.

When you do change the oil, it is messy. While the sarcastic insulation would absorb some of the mess, this is your best bet to avoid the mess:

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[pilotgore]

OP... As far as the belly pan goes, PilotGore has unfortunate first hand knowledge on pan removal (Le-Boom.... look out - oil spill on track).
As his photo shows, you will need to replace the OEM belly pan insulation. PilotGore chose a 23R-Value "Rockwool" brand as seen in the background.


INSULATION SARSACM DISCLAIMER
Do not place insulation between the belly pan and the vehicle.

First of all, operation “oil drop” was a different occurrence than operation “rapid grass collection” which is what led to my loss of aerodynamic paneling.

Second of all, although the the Rockwool isn’t as aerodynamic as the factory stuff, the sound deadening qualities were top notch. For example, I could barely hear the valve dropping in cylinder 5.






Thanks for not disappointing Dave!

Oil drop, valve drop, and grass collection videos submitted for proof:

 

[dpAtlanta]

Driving where they don't pave in a Shelby can be expensive it appears.

 

[pilotgore]

Driving where they don't pave in a Shelby can be expensive it appears.

As always, your powers of deduction are unmatched!

 

[key01]

No bought it at an auction straight from the insurance company. I don’t know why the insurance company would cut the vin out if it was a theft recovery? Ultimately as long as I can insure it and register it I’ll be happy. I bought this car to work on and have fun with my son as he grows up so I have absolutely no plans of ever selling it. Here is a pic of the windshield where they cut the vin.

I think the door is messed up because I suspect that’s how they broke in but not quite sure.

Yep, a glass cutter and punched it out. The windshield is not tempered glass so it can be cut. Still doesn’t seem like a car thief would gain anything by removing the VIN tag. Hey, it’s a beautiful car and I hope you get everything sorted and go rip it up with your son. Those are great times and this GT350 is a fantastic car that will do whatever you ask of it.

 

[effektz]

So I was working around the car tonight and I think you may be onto something @key01 . I looked at the door jam and the stickers are missing as well. They were removed almost too perfectly. Everything that could identify the car is missing, VIN plate, VIN sticker in door and the chassis number from the dash. It’s just so weird, even the jack and spare tire are missing.

In some good news, after looking at the splash guards on the undercarriage and looking at the links others provided, it appears that I am only missing a few clips and a couple bolts. Both appear to have no cracks or damage so I’ll order some clips and solve that problem!

Also it was mentioned that the door maybe caused by a battery issue and sure enough, that’s exactly what was causing it!

 

[K4fxd]

Somewhere a GT is wearing GT350 badges and ID numbers.

 

[Tomster]

I believe the belly pan was removed so that the perps could grind off the VIN etching off the engine and the transmission.

Also, here is a chassis dash emblem. I have a blank for a GT350R, but this one looks legit.

Ebay item 185699481288

Here is a stamped one ebay item 185532232960

 

[Tatonka]

So I was working around the car tonight and I think you may be onto something @key01 . I looked at the door jam and the stickers are missing as well. They were removed almost too perfectly. Everything that could identify the car is missing, VIN plate, VIN sticker in door and the chassis number from the dash. It’s just so weird, even the jack and spare tire are missing.

In some good news, after looking at the splash guards on the undercarriage and looking at the links others provided, it appears that I am only missing a few clips and a couple bolts. Both appear to have no cracks or damage so I’ll order some clips and solve that problem!

Also it was mentioned that the door maybe caused by a battery issue and sure enough, that’s exactly what was causing it!

The GT350 doesn't have a spare tire. They came with a tire repair kit only.

 

[key01]

So I was working around the car tonight and I think you may be onto something @key01 . I looked at the door jam and the stickers are missing as well. They were removed almost too perfectly. Everything that could identify the car is missing, VIN plate, VIN sticker in door and the chassis number from the dash. It’s just so weird, even the jack and spare tire are missing.

In some good news, after looking at the splash guards on the undercarriage and looking at the links others provided, it appears that I am only missing a few clips and a couple bolts. Both appear to have no cracks or damage so I’ll order some clips and solve that problem!

Also it was mentioned that the door maybe caused by a battery issue and sure enough, that’s exactly what was causing it!

Good progress! Yes, these late model cars require strong batteries for everything to work properly, or they can get glitchy.

 

[stanglife]

Looks like someone had a plan..and not their first time. Only reason to get matching VINs off everything that I can think of is for a car going out of US.

 

[Tomster]

You could buy one of those chassis emblems I listed above and ask Ford Performance if they would have it numbered based on the circumstances. I know it can be done because I have seen others that got emblems labeled before.

 

[Muligan]

Gonna be watching this one to see what develops when OP works it through the title and registration process. Wondering if the car was intentionally stripped of it's VIN markings as an EOL (end of life) action, which is done by scrap yards when cars are not supposed to be resold for other than parts.

 

[09cs]

Whoa - that raises some flags. You may want to check with your DMV or local law enforcement to see what, if anything, can be done to restore the original VIN to the vehicle. Altering that can have US federal implications, as well.

Also, based on the missing chassis (dash) tag and the VIN tag, I'm guessing that there is another stolen GT350 out there that is about to be re-tagged, so buyers beware of another car with chassis (dash) tag H4679.

It is possible, my dad's 1986 Fox Body was stolen in the 90's, and in CA at the time when he got it back, they re-VIN'd it in the door jam

 

[key01]

Looks like someone had a plan..and not their first time. Only reason to get matching VINs off everything that I can think of is for a car going out of US.

Yeah, I thought of the clone scenario with the stolen car, but the cloners will be careful to remove the windshield and replace all identifiers to avoid detection. They don’t normally just cut and break glass that would then need to be replaced.

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