Ford... What is your problem? GT500 owners, you need to read these quality control issues...

[Ninjak]

Hail the 351w ! I love my 351 in my 68 and my 65 stangs. You can do a lot with them, and make it mild to wild. Though I have to say I am more tilted to the "wild" side of things

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[Strokerswild]

Back in the early 70's the 4v Cleveland heads were all the rage, ports/valves were huge. Looking back, they were too big and lazy. When the Mustang started to take off again in the early 80's the Cleveland fell out of favor and was replaced with blown 302's, 351 Windsors, and a plethora of dropped in 429/460's. Bottom line was now about weight and we finally saw aluminum Windsor heads and a more efficient port and chamber. Ford then got their modular shit together and now all that 60's iron is being forgotten, sadly. That said, my small block engine sounds better to me than any of the modulars but for damn sure can't compete with the power. Oh well.

The 4V 351C is an all-time favorite.

The key to them is camming and not being afraid to rev them. The heads were indeed a bit too large on the intake side, and port filler plates helped; I did some flowbench work involving them for a senior mechanical engineering project back in the day.

The only real drawback of the Cleveland versus Windsor is in the oiling system, which only has two oil galleries. Only the #1 main bearing got oil directly from the pump, and the other four mains got oil after feeding the lifters and upper valvetrain; the cam bearings were also fed off the mains. If you wanted to run a Cleveland past 6,000 RPM or more with any regularity, you had to install oil passage restrictors in the 2-5 main saddles to help keep oil on the bottom end (no can do with a hydraulic cam). The other fun fact with this weirdo oiling system is if you had a rocker arm or pushrod failure and the lifter got smacked out of its bore into the lifter valley, it would cause an immediate "bleed" of pressure to the mains. My 4-barrel Cleveland ran high 11s in a 1970 Cougar, and the engine lives on today (slightly detuned) in a 1970 Fairlane that my brother owns.

Now, back to ranting about Ford's horrendous QC. Tom's latest pics make me cringe. I'd be livid too if I had to pull the front end off a new car to fix this nonsense....

 

[kilobravo]

Now THAT is the inside scoop...thanks, Strokers...

 

[fastergt350]

This 500 owner read this and many other posts, I bought the car to drive, not to worry about what is next, or time in the shop to have it fixed, or go through it myself. So I did what was best for me, I traded it in. I loved this car but not all that did or could go wrong with it. I ordered a new Mach 1 on Saturday, loaded, this is a platform that they are familiar with, this HURT to do but I am not putting up with all the Bulls--t. Chris

 

[Jmeo]

This 500 owner read this and many other posts, I bought the car to drive, not to worry about what is next, or time in the shop to have it fixed, or go through it myself. So I did what was best for me, I traded it in. I loved this car but not all that did or could go wrong with it. I ordered a new Mach 1 on Saturday, loaded, this is a platform that they are familiar with, this HURT to do but I am not putting up with all the Bulls--t. Chris

Sorry to hear about this. I think it’s unfortunate that a thread like this would cause someone to trade their car in. Most of us have no issues with our car. I wish you the best with your Mach 1

 

[fastergt350]

Sorry to hear about this. I think it’s unfortunate that a thread like this would cause someone to trade their car in. Most of us have no issues with our car. I wish you the best with your Mach 1

It is not just this post, this has been going on since the beginning, the issues far exceed the expectations, hoses, gas tanks, ect.

 

[yosv0610]

This is really disappointing and scary at same time. That makes me to think if I choose the right Brand. Ford needs to care more about clients like Tom, or us. Clients that care about their money, their investment. How can Ford sale those cars like this. They need to see who is the responsible for this and take action. My car (I love it but) has a lot of issues too. See pictures and you will see. And now, what I can do? Nothing, because they already end the GT350R production . So, I guess I need to live with that. And I don’t have Tom knowledge, maybe my engine bay has a lot of craziness inside!
Paint also has an small factory defect, and the clear has some of them too.
‍

 

[Jmeo]

It is not just this post, this has been going on since the beginning, the issues far exceed the expectations, hoses, gas tanks, ect.

It’s absolutely your decision. I will say all the issues you had are completely possible in any version of the mustang you get. I’m not saying it’s right to have to deal with these issues, especially on a GT500, but you are trading it in for a car that is built in the SAME way, on the SAME line, in the SAME factory, and by the SAME people as the car you are walking away from.

Again, and with sincerity, I wish you the best.

Jaime

 

[fastergt350]

This is really disappointing and scary at same time. That makes me to think if I choose the right Brand. Ford needs to care more about clients like Tom, or us. Clients that care about their money, their investment. How can Ford sale those cars like this. They need to see who is the responsible for this and take action. My car (I love it but) has a lot of issues too. See pictures and you will see. And now, what I can do? Nothing, because they already end the GT350R production . So, I guess I need to live with that. And I don’t have Tom knowledge, maybe my engine bay has a lot of craziness inside!
Paint also has an small factory defect, and the clear has some of them too.
‍

I also owned a 350, it spent the first week and a half in Fords Body Shop fixing all the misalignments and re-painting, but that was all that was wrong with that car.

 

[fastergt350]

It’s absolutely your decision. I will say all the issues you had are completely possible in any version of the mustang you get. I’m not saying it’s right to have to deal with these issues, especially on a GT500, but you are trading it in for a car that is built in the SAME way, on the SAME line, in the SAME factory, and by the SAME people as the car you are walking away from.

Again, and with sincerity, I wish you the best.

Jaime

Well at least I am back to rowing gears, missed that.

 

[Alan2955]

It’s absolutely your decision. I will say all the issues you had are completely possible in any version of the mustang you get. I’m not saying it’s right to have to deal with these issues, especially on a GT500, but you are trading it in for a car that is built in the SAME way, on the SAME line, in the SAME factory, and by the SAME people as the car you are walking away from.

Again, and with sincerity, I wish you the best.

Jaime

Ford has NEVER had world class fit and finish. They obviously don’t have the equipment capable of holding tight tolerances. Mustangs are definitely pot luck. Some are pretty good, some not too good. I had a 2014 and it was a fun car, but the panel fits were very poor by modern standards. I also briefly had a 2020. It wasn’t perfect but much better. The crappy 10 speed automatic and harsh ride are why I quickly dumped it. But I certainly get why people are disappointed in the fit and finish, especially on a 100k Mustang. Problem is it’s really a 30k Mustang body wise. The used 2018 Audi A5 convertible I bought puts Ford to shame on fit and finish. The DCT Automatic is very well mannered too. It can be done. Ford seems to lack the will. Hence their sinking market share. I’d love to try a Mustang again someday if they ever get their act together. It’s a fantastic looking car.

 

[Strokerswild]

Problem is it’s really a 30k Mustang body wise.

Back when I had my '07 GT500, I used to joke that it was a $20K car with a $30K engine.

Sad part is, the body fit and finish on both my S197s was better than my S550 by far. One would think that this would be a non-issue now as, like I mentioned earlier, other manufacturers do better with their low end vehicles.

 

[Tomster]

I've had very good fit and finish on my GT350Rs. Two of which went through VIP audit, one of which did not. I think the reason for this is many fold. You can blame covid, labor relations, work ethic, management and other reasons.

I can say this..... If there are enough eyes looking out for quality it will get built right. I seriously doubt that Mr. Ford gets the last GT350R, there will be nothing wrong with it. Likewise, when Mr. Barret got his VIN #1 GT500 CFTP, there weren't these issues either. Heck, even the job 1 cars that are out there are a much better product overall. This is because management was doing their job, there was a lot at stake when the car first came out. People payed attention.

So blame it on whatever you want. I've got to run, I'll catch you all in a bit. I have to call my service advisor to schedule the car to go back into the shop to get the door rattle fixed.

 

[RPDBlueMoon]

This is really disappointing and scary at same time. That makes me to think if I choose the right Brand. Ford needs to care more about clients like Tom, or us. Clients that care about their money, their investment. How can Ford sale those cars like this. They need to see who is the responsible for this and take action. My car (I love it but) has a lot of issues too. See pictures and you will see. And now, what I can do? Nothing, because they already end the GT350R production . So, I guess I need to live with that. And I don’t have Tom knowledge, maybe my engine bay has a lot of craziness inside!
Paint also has an small factory defect, and the clear has some of them too.
‍

LOL My GT350 has the same gap with the trunk, I thought that was how its supposed to look. Same with the door gap.

 

[fpa1974]

Back when I had my '07 GT500, I used to joke that it was a $20K car with a $30K engine.

Sad part is, the body fit and finish on both my S197s was better than my S550 by far. One would think that this would be a non-issue now as, like I mentioned earlier, other manufacturers do better with their low end vehicles.

My 2012 Boss quality and fit/finish are heads and shoulders above the joke of a quality my 2019 R was. It took me about a year to get everything straightened up (panel gaps, paint quality issues, sheet metal stamping issues, sloppy interior assembly, electrical harness installations and a lot more)- luckily everything could be done and all the paint on the car is original. I love my car even more now but I would not do this again.

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