2020 GT350R Heritage Build Thread (Heavy Build)

[Hangman77]

UPDATE: I have installed more items and ordered additional parts. List has been updated with recent changes.

Hello, new to this forum. Joining because I’ve been reading posts from others about different setups and modifications to the Gt350. There have been several really good in depth reads. Anytime I see that type of info, I just dive in and keep reading more and more. I’m posting my build thread to get input from others on areas that can be beneficial to my setup. Hopefully I also show something to others that they can learn from and try as well.

Modding is expensive, we shall never forget this.

So to start 2021 with a bang. I’m going full on into my GT350R. I debated allot of different setups and directions to go with this. And like most any build this extensive, it’s subject to changes along the way and will most certainly take months and months of testing along the way to get the car “dialed” in. I’m still in allot of research phase. I’ve been in the mopar world for the past 3 years and haven’t been back to mustangs for a while. Half mile and 1/4 mile have been fun. But ever since my dad bought me the two day Ford performance driving school, I got the road race bug.

I am going to road race this car. Locally here in Palm beach they have the Palm beach Driving Club. This gets us on the track every week for 4 hours to run as hard as we want. It’s a 2 mile track and there are a bunch of Porches and other exotics to play with. I’m in the process of getting my competition license with SCCA, im in the very beginning stages of that. Will be lots of fun. Don’t know much about the types of classes etc, and also NASA has a cool Florida chapter that I want to check out. The car will have fun on the street as well. Although I already have a Hellcat running 1000 whp on street setup now and a terminator as well. So this GT350R won’t get tons of street mileage.

I want to keep weight as low as possible. So I will be measuring these parts along with the stock components to see where the gains and loss is at. Ultimately I hope to complete this build and at the least I want to remain back at stock weight.

As for power levels, I do not plan on high boosting the car for the track. For track I don’t see the need for more than 650-750 whp. I would like to get it around 650-700 to start and work up from there. The idea is a very solid powerband and turbos that bring the power on smooth. Tuning will be key, and I have a good Tuner who has done some other cars of mine.

So on to the build.

The Engine will be fully built by MPR racing engines in South Florida. Going full tilt. This is a brand new engine being built separately. My stock engine is still in my car. I’ll be driving it and racing it while I’m procuring parts for this build. I’ll keep my stock engine as a backup once I make the swap. Engine will be able to hold 1600-1800 crank HP. RPM good to 8800-9000. Although I don’t plan on setting it that high, maybe 8500.

Intake Manifold: Stock

Throttle Body: still researching, open to ideas from others.

Power Adder: centrifugal supercharger maybe?? I’m back and forth. This will be the last item added to the car. Or…Hellion Twin Turbo under mount kit. Looking at different turbo options. My builder likes the PTE 62mm ball bearing turbos. I want something that can spool quick and work well with the RPM ranges of this car. I’m open to suggestions and am still researching this. Will be calling Hellion as well. This is primarily a road racer.

Clutch: I’m in between the Mcleoud Twin disc or the Mantic Triple disc. Will be calling Mantic to discuss road racing. Also looking at a Tilton carbon clutch as well.

Trans: Stock tremec. We will see how it lasts.

Shifter: MGW short throw with stock knob. INSTALLED

Competition Motorsports Roll bar custom powder coated in Guardsman Blue. INSTALLED

Sparco QRT-C Racing Seats: 12.5 lbs each INSTALLED

Shelby 5 point racing harness INSTALLED

HANS device Ultralight carbon INSTALLED

Stilo ST5 2020 Carbon Helmet with integrated Ear Muffs and Mic. Racing electronics receiver, push to talk, Motorola, and roll bar mounted Antenna. INSTALLED

SRP Racing Pedals INSTALLED

Steeda Sub frame alignment kit INSTALLED
Steeda Vertical links ordered INSTALLED
Steeda Road Race K member (around 25lb savings) IN STOCK
Steeda IRS support brace ordered INSTALLED
Steeda Rear toe links INSTALLED
Steeda Rear adjustable camber arms. INSTALLED
Steeda Jacking rails INSTALLED
Steeda Adjustable Caster Camber Plates INSTALLED
Steeda Intake Heat Shielding IN STOCK
Steeda IRS Subframe Support Bushing Kit INSTALLED

Zl1 Titanium Tow Hook IN STOCK

Exhaust: Borla Atak Catback INSTALLED

Antigravity Lithium battery INSTALLED

Driveshaft: QA1 Carbon fiber shaft. INSTALLED

Titanium Brake shields REMOVED (INEFFECTIVE)

Cool Tech Brake Completion Kit INSTALLED

Ford Performance Oil Separators driver and passenger INSTALLED

Head Cooling mod IN STOCK

I’ll play with losing weight as the build progresses.

Speedkore Carbon Fiber Front Bumper FAILED QUALITY CONTROL WILL NOT INSTALL

Speedkore Carbon Fiber Rear Bumper IN STOCK FAILED QUALITY CONTROL WILL NOT INSTALL

Speedkore Carbon Fiber Front Fenders IN STOCK FAILED QUALITY CONTROL WILL NOT INSTALL

Anderson Composites Carbon Fiber Rear Decklid Ordered INSTALLED

Anderson Composites Carbon Fiber Vented Hood Ordered INSTALLED

Check on the front and rear bumper supports and see what they look like when the car is apart. Maybe 10-20 lbs?

Carbon ceramic rotors will get added once the stock rotors are toast. They are worth around 40 lbs.

Fuel system: Undecided

Radiator: C&R racing IN STOCK

Caliperfection Studs: INSTALLED

Titanium Lugs: researching

Verus Engineering rear diffuser: IN STOCK

I will add more or remove things as this build progresses. Estimated timeframe to completion is 3-5 months. The engine is ordered. And all the steeda stuff is ordered and few other items.

THE DAY I PICKED IT IP.

CERAMIC COATED AND WEARING STREET SHOES

 

[corrieb]

Wow. Hello from LR132. Love the detail here. Do please keep posting on this as there's lots of great ideas here. It would be great to add your chassis number to the 2020 GT350 spreadsheet if I don't already have it.

 

[Caballus]

Congrats. Great write up. If you don't already know him, you may want to reach out to @Tomster. He's in your neck of the woods and will certainly prove to be a good contact when it comes to things GT350. Good luck on the circuit.

 

[olaosunt]

Just wow!
will be following.

 

[Hangman77]

Looking at this hood. It’s pretty damn nice looking and seems to have the heat extraction I’m looking for.

https://madnessautoworks.com/ford-shelby-gt350-mustang-carbon-fiber-hood-dry-pid11724

Thinking of painting it to match the car and get the vinyl stripes added so it looks OEM. Would be kinda slick I think.

 

[Bluelightning]

Looking at this hood. It’s pretty damn nice looking and seems to have the heat extraction I’m looking for.

https://madnessautoworks.com/ford-shelby-gt350-mustang-carbon-fiber-hood-dry-pid11724

Thinking of painting it to match the car and get the vinyl stripes added so it looks OEM. Would be kinda slick I think.

That hood would look killer if you painted and striped it to match.

I think in the rpm band you will be running on a road course, you won't have an issue with those 62s spooling or keeping you in the power band.

 

[Mike5876]

Will be awesome...Ive had 6 Hellion cars....Best kits and customer service bar none..cant wait to see when you get it finished!

 

[Hangman77]

MGW Shifter arrived today

Competition Motorsports Roll bar arrived (I don’t like the color they did in Guardsman blue, it’s too light compared to the stripes on the car. I’m gonna take it somewhere local and have them redo it.

2 x Shelby race harness arrived

titanium brake shims arrived

Zl1 add ons splitter protectors in

cool tech brake completion kit in

racing electronics radio harness and gear in

verus engineering diffuser arrived (decided to add it)

qa1 driveshaft should be here shortly

Haven’t ordered the turbo kit yet. Waiting to get feedback on the turbo setup some more.

also want to talk to engine builder and see if I can get the compression back to 12:1. The final compression on the motor that is spec out is 11.5:1, I want all the compression I can get.

I have my scale to take weights of everything. And I’ll post pics next week. I have to go out of town tomorrow and I’ll be back Monday. More to come.

 

[Hangman77]

That hood would look killer if you painted and striped it to match.

I think in the rpm band you will be running on a road course, you won't have an issue with those 62s spooling or keeping you in the power band.

agree On the hood.

that’s the general consensus I’m getting on the turbos as well.

 

[PP0001]

Really like your attention to detail and suggest that you will end up with a very cool and fast ride and looking forward to seeing the final result.

With respect to weight savings which of course is key to better overall performance and lap times I suggest that you might want to remove the 12 speakers and subwoofer from the B&O sound system that was ordered with your car as that should save you some weight.

Regarding a one piece CF driveshaft I can tell you that I installed one piece CF drive shafts in two of my 2012/2013 Boss 302 cars and ended up reducing ~25# of rotating mass from my driveline/gross weight and suggest that you may be able to do the same as these CF drive shafts are ~21# each and really liked the feel especially under full acceleration.

I worked with The Drive Shaft Shop in Salisbury, N.C. and had terrific success with their product and personnel . I ended up with absolutely no vibration issues either on acceleration or during constant speeds on the highway but again that was a much different car based on a live axle configuration and a much different body structure than the GT350.

Their 3 1/4" CF drive shafts are good up to ~1300 HP and suggest that you may have to modify/bend your emergency brake bracket a little but no big deal.

Lastly, interesting to note that you purchased your HEP R from Herlong Ford in Edgefield as many years ago prior to Herlong purchasing that dealership (2011) that dealership was called Yonce Ford and had the privilege of purchasing the very last car that Yonce Ford sold in 2011 after some ~85 years of ownership with it being a Race Red 2012 Boss 302.

I understand that the Yonce Family owned that Ford dealership for over 8 decades and was an institution in the Edgefield area.

A few years later I purchased a 50th Anniversary 2015 Mustang GT from Herlong Ford therefore have some history with your selling dealership.

Good luck going forward!

 

[volcanogod]

We need pictures.

 

[Hangman77]

Really like your attention to detail and suggest that you will end up with a very cool and fast ride and looking forward to seeing the final result.

With respect to weight savings which of course is key to better overall performance and lap times I suggest that you might want to remove the 12 speakers and subwoofer from the B&O sound system that was ordered with your car as that should save you some weight.

Regarding a one piece CF driveshaft I can tell you that I installed one piece CF drive shafts in two of my 2012/2013 Boss 302 cars and ended up reducing ~25# of rotating mass from my driveline/gross weight and suggest that you may be able to do the same as these CF drive shafts are ~21# each and really liked the feel especially under full acceleration.

I worked with The Drive Shaft Shop in Salisbury, N.C. and had terrific success with their product and personnel . I ended up with absolutely no vibration issues either on acceleration or during constant speeds on the highway but again that was a much different car based on a live axle configuration and a much different body structure than the GT350.

Their 3 1/4" CF drive shafts are good up to ~1300 HP and suggest that you may have to modify/bend your emergency brake bracket a little but no big deal.

Lastly, interesting to note that you purchased your HEP R from Herlong Ford in Edgefield as many years ago prior to Herlong purchasing that dealership (2011) that dealership was called Yonce Ford and had the privilege of purchasing the very last car that Yonce Ford sold in 2011 after some ~85 years of ownership with it being a Race Red 2012 Boss 302.

I understand that the Yonce Family owned that Ford dealership for over 8 decades and was an institution in the Edgefield area.

A few years later I purchased a 50th Anniversary 2015 Mustang GT from Herlong Ford therefore have some history with your selling dealership.

Good luck going forward!

that’s a really cool story. And what kind of connects the dots for me is what you just said.

my dad and I were wondering how this small dealership, kind of off the beaten path had access to some nice allocations. They had couple gt500 cftp, and gt350’s. My dad was like how the heck do they get these allocations out here. I said the owner has connections or he has been around for a really long long time. So this makes sense that that dealership has a long standing reputation with Ford, and they got some serious allocations.

 

[geezer stang]

calling "shotgun" forever!

 

[Biggsy]

Man I look forward to seeing the finished product even though we know our cars ar never finished lol.

I see you already got the Verus Diffuser. I would also check out https://www.archetyperacing.com for some of the best aero products on the market. He just released the Corsair diffuser that may have better gains than the Verus. And I dont know if you are adding a splitter but his splitters are nearly indestructible.

 

[edmd007]

Guys, anyone know how many heritage editions will be made? Sorta makes me wish I woulda waited on the R I got, although I do love the magnetic and black stripes. THe heritage is just really sweet looking.