16 Mustang GT Premium & PP Conversion & Flood/wreck rebuild

[Vroom]

I got tired of searching for something affordable to have fun in and wanted a project, so i got desperate as can be and bought a really cheap 2016 base mustang GT at auction that was probably headed for a scrap yard. Did not know it had a good engine so i got lucky there, but even then it still possibly should have been scrapped. Story behind it is there was a large amount of flooding in FT worth TX and someone drove it across a flooded bridge with moving water at which point the driver had to be saved by breaking the driver side glass as it floated away sinking to the bottom. The muddy flood water piled inside that window covering everything inside with mud and destroying every bit of the electronics. Nothing survived inside, but the frame was completely straight and "only" required new electronics, ongoing bodywork, and a few nonessential upgrades to get going. I work a full time job so progress has been slow but i got it running in a month and within 5 months mostly road worthy with no codes or drive-ability issues besides abs and stabilatrac issues(no nannies). It is still a work in progress and needs a lot more work as soon as the $ permits. Still using a gross flood seat and cracked/bent hood for now.

The rebuild/build?:
-Cleaned thoroughly and Disassembled taking loads of pictures to help me put it back together
-shot water out of the plug holes of every cylinder by turning crank manually without spark plugs in.
-Drained all the water in engine oil, 6 speed trans, and rear differential "there was alot"
-New fluids in all of vehicle, slowly turned engine manually clockwise at the crank squirting small amounts of oil to work cylinders for a few days
-2017 Coils and PP engine harness(had correct coil plugs and oil pressure sender unit wiring)
-Premium PP Front Engine Bay Harness(used correct version besides not having rain sensor fuse...so i need to splice or replace again)
-Removed/Reused Dash and modified vents for PP guages, PP HVAC duct swapped, Premium PP dash wiring harness
-Upgraded to Dual zone climate(premium) HVAC unit, its that big sob behind dash.
-PP Gauges, PP rear diff temp sensor, PP oil sender unit
-Rear body loom from dash to rear replaced (wrong one used... replacing with a premium package version soon costs alot of $$$)
-Carpet and inner firewall insulation pad replaced
-Headlight replaced
-fog lights and front bezels bought
-Front and rear bumper replaced
-Front valence and new splash shields
-Rear bumper and its wiring harness replaced
-Replaced every module from front to back.
-Premium Center dash controls/bezel
-Sync3 unit, usb module, gps antenna added "backward under dash lol, base gt's dont have roof hole"
-Donor car ECU/PCM with keys, dash display, & body/security modules (was important to get from a single car because i couldn't go to dealer to get them reprogrammed easily. these have to match each other).
-Driver door & glove box re-keyed to match donor cars key set
-Maintained the existing 3.55 rear diff gears
-Ford performance starter
-Battery
-ABS module was swapped but the module i swapped it with wasn't communicating so i need a to buy another PP module. (edit: i ended up using my original base GT ABS module, these things are waterproof, edited hexidecimal location for VIN & options to match donor parts and i was good to go with zero abs lights, steering modes & cruise all functioning. - the modules are not cross compatible with the pump section of abs system.)

Fun stuff:
2018 GT intake manifold with plug and play harness for imrc's
Ford's LU47 injectors to run E85
Roush CAI Intake without insert
Lund Tune
JLT Catch Can
Cervini Side exit exhaust "didnt use body skirts"
Anderson Composites carbon fiber GT350 look side skirts

Fun facts:
- Concerning fluids: The coolant and brake fluid were only things uncontaminated with water.
- The only electronics to survive were the alternator, windshield wiper motor, steering rack, one headlight due to other being cracked, both taillights, rear taillight module(replaced regardless), door modules, ABS module. All of the wiring itself was salvageable but i opted just to replace it due to corrosion concerns.
-The old intake manifold was bad(EDIT: May have just been gearing was 3.55 when computer was looking for 3.73 gears so it was pulling power in certain RPMs throwing misfire codes), which i assumed was due to dirt in vacuum lines or broken imrc valve shafts, caused quite a few misfire codes which in turn caused quite a few empty jack D bottles.
- i realize this was way too expensive and i should have just bought a mustang but i learned everything about these cars, so it was a learning experience and if anyone needs help ever just ask. If anyone ever does this just buy a complete wrecked donor car, it will be cheaper.


The "flood or submarine Stang" started at first try running a bit rough and took quite a few days/months of swearing, compression tests, days of disappointment, and mostly days of excitement which is why I/we do this. This thing runs so damn good i see why its loved. Desperately need seats, hood, stickier tires/ and wider wheels. I will post more pictures of the process later, and possibly a write up along the way about all the modules, part numbers and how best to attempt this task for anyone in future

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[Vroom]

YUCK! These twigs and mud made it everywhere!! I'm talking in engine bay, around every suspension components and around hot exhaust making this thing extremely flamable. I had to get it cleaned before i could even think about trying to start this fire hazard. I ended up with 4 large trash bags full of just dirt, glass, twigs tree limbs. And even more considering the junk electrical parts i had. I stripped this thing down to metal and cleaned the hell out of it the best i could, re-wired the entire car, re-furbished my dash, and started swapping in new or used donor parts.

This thing was quite a pain to get up the driveway and out of sight of my neighborhood's HOA, but at least it was a roller. Roped a tire onto a steel bumper of a truck and pushed it on up with the assist of some 2x4s to help me stop and readjust to get it into the garage. Before puting it into garage it was cleaned and new front glass installed by someone who knows what they were doing.

Fun fact i learned about base mustang fender liners is that you can trim them to work with the performance packages engine splash shields with the "duct" hole, i'm fairly certain ford makes the pp version by trimming the base models fender liners, they wouldn't have two molds. I had bought some new ones but i ended up just using them as templates and selling them off and using my existing ones. Very easy to do if for some reason your swapping for pp valence and spash shields. Looks same as pp versions after and it will save you roughly 240$ or more.

HVAC UNIT, "Premium version" pedal assemblies, interior carpet and foam insulation, all wiring replaced.

EVEN WITHOUT A FLOOD THIS IS CLOSE TO WHAT YOUR DASH FRAMING LOOKS LIKE FROM THE FACTORY!!!, i looked at used replacements but they all looked like this so i painted it.

Removing the dash was a massive pain in ass because i didn't know how, but not too difficult after the fact. If i had any advice to give its that you should take lots of pictures, label everything and remove as much as you can from it to lighten it up and not break displays, put foam at where it meets the center console or anywhere you think you might bump the leather, foam on shifter. Remove steering asm, center console, seats, dash trim before hand. Disconnect all harnesses at upper and lower L&R and under center console. Make sure your car can fully open both doors and its not up against a wall as there are long bolts that you need to remove in between body/door on outside of vehicle. At the same time as this from the inside, use a large wrench(25mm?) to turn hex nut that this previous bolt aligns with. Two Sets of Bolt/Hex nut per side of vehicle. Take note of the number of threads of this inner hex nut for reinstall position adjustment. It took me forever to find these as i thought all bolts to remove dash were from inside car. There are bolts located from the windshield wiper motor area outside of car under cowl, remove wipers and wiper motor arm asm, bolts exposed behind that are threaded into nuts that are welded to dash framing, a new seal or sealant will need to be used on these bolts on reinstall. The rest of larger bolts need to be removed at lower center of dash and side brackets from the inside. If your removing the HVAC unit another thing is to remove the intake manifold, covering head holes with tape, exposing bolts from engine bay side. I may not have covered everything, but feel free to ask for detailed explanation of how and i might do a write up, alot of people may want to replace passenger airbags, hvac units or other mods.

The dash was dirty but otherwise re-usable as no airbags deployed. I swapped a PP Premium mustang harness which i now regret using the sync3 version primarily because the other harnesses i bought were from a base PP mustang without all the wiring for speakers, rain sensor, GPS unit, ect.. which will create more work for me in future. I put the PP gauges in the base dash by cutting away the center vent plastic and replacing the HVAC ducts(qty3) with those from a performance pack version so i didn't have cold air hitting the gauges, very cheap new but hard to access part for most people doing this swap. A smart person not wanting to take dash out could just block that hole off and be done, but i was deep into this thing so why not. As for cutting away the actual dash to fit gauges, i speculate that ford does this from the factory because in the end the dash looked just like the actual PP or Gt350 versions so another way to save $.

sorry for the out of focus pictures, my phone is garbage.

Originally i wasn't going to swap for a different intake manifold,but when driving i kept getting misfire codes cyl 1 and 6. The compression tests i did at the beginning of build made me cringe before realizing that a bad starter & low battery can affect compression readings severely. Even after replacing starter it still had some bad and variable compression readings on a lot of cylinders Many months later of troubleshooting the engine magically was showing good compression all around and i will assume it was due to sticking valves? Still the codes persisted, and after constantly clearing the codes i found this only happened while driving and at the exact time i apply throttle, sometimes the car would go and sometimes when applying throttle nothing happened at which point the codes 0300 0301 03060 popped up fluttering the gas pedal would allow the car to continue at full power. I swapped the throttle body and still the same thing happened. At this point i had researched that the stock gt manifolds were having imrc's ("the intake manifolds flippy flappys") failing on one side of the engine. Cylinder 1 and 6 were not on the same bank but it seemed possibly related at least to it being the imrcs not functioning. Obviously this car literally had mud in every crevice. I though that oil, mud or water might have screwed up/clogged the vacuum lines or actuators on the back of manifold. I don't believe in replacing, only upgrading so i opted for the 18 GT manifold with a slight port job and with the plug and play harness(keeps imrcs), LU47 injectors to run E85, and a lund tune to seal the deal and it worked, no more misfire codes and smooth throttle. Now the only codes i had was from the evap checks. P0456 was solved by replacing vent valve at intake, and now i just have P0457 which says gas cap? but i think its somewhere in the filler neck or the vapor canister by the gas tank(yes i drained it before all this) and its valve. I tried funnel banging "lol" the fuel neck as some have suggested but it still popped up. After replacing these i should be ready for inspection. I've been insured since i started driving this for testing, but explain to me how we are supposed to get through all the vehicle checks from the driveway. ABS and advance trac are not required to get it inspected, so ill work those out later. Lots of work still to be done.

Don't have any pictures of car with side exhaust, will have to find or take some.

These GT350 anderson composite fenders were a pain, so much trimming and adjustment was necessary and they still don't fit properly with the lines of hoods most rear point and even damaged it a little on drivers side only. I was careful but they just do not fit well at all. Will need trimming at that point, fiberglass and paint eventually. I do feel they are slightly lighter than stock but barely. These are wider by 0.4 in and will let me run wider tires up front eventually.

On the front end it wasn't necessary but i replaced the front radiator support due to headlight slightly bending headlight mounting tabs where the headlight got ripped off. Sold it to someone else who could use it, but i didn't want to fight headlight alignment. The front crash bar obviously had to be replaced with a tow hook version to match the bumper due to it being bent in process of pulling this car out of a river. The frame rails were still straight, only needed to bend the end flanges flat at mounting point for crash bar. Used front and rear bumpers were bought so i didn't have to paint it right away, paint isn't perfect on it but it will do for now. Added the CS grill, newish RH headlight, new set of fog lights, new pp splash shields and valence lip. I don't have rear exit exhaust like it shows on here anymore so i will need to block of the holes for the tailpipes. I did not like the look of the cervinis kit so i opted to leave those and the side skirts off for now.

EDIT:
I've done a pretty accurate calculation to help my sanity here for obviously spending too much.
Nobody likes to calculate what they have spent on their mods lol, below are my exclusions to total:
GPS Conversion
Performance pack stuff
Performance upgrades
Aesthetic upgrades
Fixable metal parts that i replaced for no good reason or unused purchases
Standard maintenance items

The car was roughly 4,350 for a roller with a good engine. Should have bought at about 1,000 less, because i had little faith at time of the engine being usable. Gambled like an idiot and got in a small bid war and then after the insurance company i bought from still wanted more(8k), but i ended up getting it anyway at earlier price.

To get it running and mostly road worthy was about another 6,500. Sourcing a mix of used and New parts.
Still needs a hood (500-1600 depending on what i get). Have seen nothing used in good condition where i live for many months.
Needs a good bit of body work for tiny dents here and there, its not necessary but i'm tempted to re-weld a new roof on for gps antenna and because of dents in inconvenient places (New at $365 + welding & paint). Not necessary because i could just bondo it, primer and wrap this thing. Was never meant to be a show car, just a track machine that if i wreck i wont take as big a hit as someone with a brand new one. Also considering ditching all the GPS sync3 idea entirely and just do a base PP like god intended this car to be.

Car 4,350
Parts current 6500
Parts Future 1,600(anderson comp hood)


I spent way too much when i consider everything including upgrades 1k lund tune 1.8k exhaust, intake mani, roush intake and injectors, gt350 front fenders and the list goes on. I understand that alot of the upgrades were needed to get the car going, but when you consider the cost of a new car + same upgrades it made more sense so shhh.

Originally i was going to go the donor car route, but I did not have the extra garage space and i did not want to kick my daily ride or my wifes vehicle out of garage(don't piss off the wife). It would have been so much cheaper and obviously i would not have to have had such a hard time sourcing parts correctly and cheaply, that in itself was a major p.i.t.a. So i made the dumb decision to buy all the parts the most expensive way, part sellers on ebay and online ford dealerships, do not do that for a project this large.

EDIT: ADDED MORE PICTURES
I have all the interior bits and door panels but still need to swap door wire harnesses for premium version so this is how it will be till then. This shows the car "dirty and dented" with all its skirts, front valence lip, and current exhaust setup.

I like the look of the Cervini exhaust without all the extra side skirts and rear bits, just my preference. A bit less ground clearance but this car does not go on bad roads.

 

[kz]

Holy crap. All this work is very impressive.

 

[Vroom]

Holy crap. All this work is very impressive.

Thanks

 

[90Notch]

Crazy! That’s a ton of work and parts sourcing. What do you think you have in it getting it back road worthy?

 

[jacknifetoaswan]

Wow! Great work!!!

JR

 

[Vroom]

Crazy! That’s a ton of work and parts sourcing. What do you think you have in it getting it back road worthy?

I updated the very end of my second post to include your answer and an explanation to how i got that number.

In short somewhere around 6500 to where it is now excluding Aesthetic and Performance upgrades.

 

[canyon ed]

How did you interface the PP1 wiring for the gauges, do you have a part # and any pics of that harness and where to hook it up? I am adding the PP1 gauges as well as the dash parts. thanks

 

[Vroom]

How did you interface the PP1 wiring for the gauges, do you have a part # and any pics of that harness and where to hook it up? I am adding the PP1 gauges as well as the dash parts. thanks

I'm sure i saw a post on here at one time about someone adding it to an eco-boost stang by just buying the pigtail(connector), new oil pressure sensor. He then used custom wiring, tapping the existing harness.
Couple things to get you started at least:
- the ECU/Dispay/instrument cluster is programmed differently and i believe ford can reprogram but i'm unsure on the specifics, might not be required depending on how you do this. My tuner can do this from what i understand its simple.
- different oil pressure sensor(CM5Z9278A).
-Replaced dash harness & engine harness. Optional depending on your wiring skills.
-Main rear body loom only needed to be modified if you want rear diff temp sensor which your car isn't even programmed for(instrument cluster/PCM). The rear temp differential plug(9L8Z6G004E). I couldnt find the diffs short wire harness to save my life so i cut up a gt350s rear diff harness and spliced it in to the PP body loom(you dont have). If you do reprogram car and not do this it will constantly say over temp rear axle or something like that.

If you would want to know more PM me:
VIN#, your year, build date, transmission
Do you just want just the gauges or all of the PP wiring?

 

[canyon ed]

I'm sure i saw a post on here at one time about someone adding it to an eco-boost stang by just buying the pigtail(connector), new oil pressure sensor. He then used custom wiring, tapping the existing harness.
Couple things to get you started at least:
- the ECU/Dispay/instrument cluster is programmed differently and i believe ford can reprogram but i'm unsure on the specifics, might not be required depending on how you do this. My tuner can do this from what i understand its simple.
- different oil pressure sensor(CM5Z9278A).
-Replaced dash harness & engine harness. Optional depending on your wiring skills.
-Main rear body loom only needed to be modified if you want rear diff temp sensor which your car isn't even programmed for(instrument cluster/PCM). The rear temp differential plug(9L8Z6G004E). I couldnt find the diffs short wire harness to save my life so i cut up a gt350s rear diff harness and spliced it in to the PP body loom(you dont have). If you do reprogram car and not do this it will constantly say over temp rear axle or something like that.

If you would want to know more PM me:
VIN#, your year, build date, transmission
Do you just want just the gauges or all of the PP wiring?

Just wanna add the gauges. I heard some cars have the plug and some dont.

 

[Vroom]

Just wanna add the gauges. I heard some cars have the plug and some dont.

If that is the case you need to carefully remove all the trim pieces surrounding that area and check. Here is a youtube video that might help you a bit, its for boosted applications for people who already have the gauges to swap in ecoboost version, but it shows disassembly and the plug you may have. Watch out for the little yellow and blue clips that sometimes get left in dash when you remove panels, they are everywhere. Lastly if you didn't already source your gauges and dash trim watch out for ones that are broken from sellers online, ebay is littered with ones with broken tabs and screw holes missing but decent ones do exist.

I looked at part#14401 for your cars existing harness and it doesn't say "less instrument gauges" like all the other harnesses i am seeing on fords website, which may mean you have it. Basically what i'm doing is inserting your VIN on fords part site(https://parts.ford.com/) and finding the harness you currently have and then clearing vehicle VIN and searching based on a 2017 GT auto, ect... and im finding all the other harnesses by searching that same pt#14401 and comparing descriptions and build dates.

Just to let you know you will have to make a slight modification to vent area like i mentioned in the dash section of my posts above, very easy. Let me know what you find.

 

[1blkpny]

Great write up and congrats for all your hard work. Unreal the transformation. You truly will know how these cars are put together. Great job and thanks for sharing your progress.

 

[canyon ed]

If that is the case you need to carefully remove all the trim pieces surrounding that area and check. Here is a youtube video that might help you a bit, its for boosted applications for people who already have the gauges to swap in ecoboost version, but it shows disassembly and the plug you may have. Watch out for the little yellow and blue clips that sometimes get left in dash when you remove panels, they are everywhere. Lastly if you didn't already source your gauges and dash trim watch out for ones that are broken from sellers online, ebay is littered with ones with broken tabs and screw holes missing but decent ones do exist.

I looked at part#14401 for your cars existing harness and it doesn't say "less instrument gauges" like all the other harnesses i am seeing on fords website, which may mean you have it. Basically what i'm doing is inserting your VIN on fords part site(https://parts.ford.com/) and finding the harness you currently have and then clearing vehicle VIN and searching based on a 2017 GT auto, ect... and im finding all the other harnesses by searching that same pt#14401 and comparing descriptions and build dates.

Just to let you know you will have to make a slight modification to vent area like i mentioned in the dash section of my posts above, very easy. Let me know what you find.

That sounds promising. Any info is great.. When I get the parts and take it apart we will do a short video to help others. I will be in touch.thanks again.

 

[Vroom]

Great write up and congrats for all your hard work. Unreal the transformation. You truly will know how these cars are put together. Great job and thanks for sharing your progress.

Thanks. It was definitely interesting to learn how this car and all the trim variations of the mustang were built/differ. Id say it lessens the idea/stigma that new cars are too hard to work on. The 100's of pictures i took made it easy but next time i need to do a better job of labeling bolts instead of just throwing day 1 bolts here, day 2 bolts, dash bolts there and so on. Luckily i moved pretty fast so it was still all fresh in my head to where things went. When/if i did it again it would be much cheaper/easier.

 

[canyon ed]

Hey Vroom I need to find out which mounting screws to get for the gauges and or a part # thanks

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