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Mat8754

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So I was finally able to pick up my car last week!
A little backstory, I became very interested in the GT350 in early 2015.
I was able to attend the NYC auto show where I saw it in liquid blue at the Ford section.
After seeing it in person and knowing it was going to have a high revving V8 with a FPC I knew I had to have one.
It was at this time I started lurking around mustang6g whenever I had time.


My previous car was a 2010 Honda Civic Si which I absolutely loved.
It was my daily and I never had any problems with it in my 6 years of ownership.
It was fun to drive and I could redline it up to 8K pretty much anywhere without getting into any real trouble.
The shifter and clutch were the best I've ever driven only second to a Porsche GT4.


Fast forward to summer 2016 I started seriously searching for where I could order a vehicle or find one in my color combination without ADM.
After searching for weeks I was able to find a few dealers who would sell for 1K over MSRP.
After some long thought I decided it was not the right time to purchase the vehicle as I currently live in NYC and the car would be garaged up north and I would not be able to enjoy it, so I waited some more.


Around February of this year I started seriously searching for my vehicle again as I learned that avalanche gray would not be available in model year 18.
After weeks of searching on the ford website where I would put in random zip codes all along the east coast and search within 100 miles I was finally able to locate two cars.


The first car was about 2.5 hours away in NJ and the second car had been ordered by a dealer just outside Pittsburgh.
I called both immediately ready to put down a deposit.
The NJ dealer would not come off their 5k ADM however the Pittsburgh dealer worked with me and we settled on 1K.
I put down a deposit and patiently waited.


The car was optioned exactly how I wanted it, avalanche gray with black stripes and electronics package.
The dealer Bud Smail Ford was super easy to work with and they listened to my every request.
I had asked them to leave on all plastics in the interior and they forwarded the ford performance splitter installation video to the service manager per my request.
The car finally arrived at the dealership on the first of April.


Living in Manhattan the best option for me to get to the dealership was to take a 7 hour night bus from port authority to Pittsburgh where my salesman was gracious to pick me and my brother up from at 6AM on April 5th.
The dealership was then an hour drive outside of Pittsburgh.
Can't say enough good things about Bud Smail Ford as they made the experience very pleasant.


The paperwork took very little time and I went ahead and used Xpel tracwrap to cover the entire front of the car for the drive back to Rockland county where the car would be garaged.
I also stuck in the rock blockers in the side skirt while there.
The drive back was actually a lot more comfortable than what I was expecting and I made sure to the vary the RPMs throughout the entire drive.
The tracwrap did its job wonderfully and the car was brought back in one piece.


As of right now I have installed the steeda clutch spring and I definitely like it more than the stock spring, however, there is a tiny bit of mushiness at the very top of the pedal while releasing.
The sound of the FPC is everything I expected and more, videos do not do it justice.
I still have a lot of getting used to but I did take it on some back roads and the handling is superb.
Right now the car sits with about 380 miles covered in a garage and I only get to drive it once every week or two weeks, that is until I move out of Manhattan this July and take it with me.


Right now I am looking for a good front plate option.
Nothing seems perfect but I think I will go with Craig's.
Planning on Xpel paint protection late this summer.
I am also planning on swapping out the leather on the shift boot and e-brake to alcantara once I get some time.
Steeda G-trac brace will come after that hopefully.
I considered doing catch cans but I will hold off for now as the car will just be used for spirited drives on back roads and canyon carving but no tracks.


Thanks for reading, I know I am going to enjoy every minute I am in the car for years to come. I've added some cell phone pics
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Bossing

attacks tracks
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Just can't get enuff!
Congrats on your new Avalanche Gray! Worth the wait indeed right! Enjoy!!
 

cdq85

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may be a huge coincidence, but what day were you here in greensburg? I think I was driving right next to you as you were leaving. I saw a gt350 (fairly rare in this town) last week with a temp tag on the rear. I was in a black GT. Congrats on the car. Looks great!
 
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Mat8754

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I was there Wednesday last week and definitely saw a black GT there so it must have been you. Thanks!
 

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NYC350

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2019 GT350R,2011Raptor Supercharged,2018 Raptor , 2018 Alfa Romeo Stelvio
Congrats on your new GT350 !!!
 

Darth Cobra

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Congrats, happy you got your dream car or one of em anyway. Your pics almost look white on my iPad. Must have been a bright day!
 

TDC

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Congrats. After the break in period get that thang on the track or autocross!
 

SHLB DNA

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Great story, similar to mine. I traded in my 2008 Civic SI for a 2017 GT350 up in Minnesota...had to ship my car up to them from San Diego. I also loved the SI, specially the gear box and loved the high rev on it. I also had great help from small dealership in Worthington MN. I have nothing but good things to say about Marthaler Ford and their folks, I got mine for MSRP in white with blue stripes. These guys even gave me more for the trade in than I could ever get in California. Now go enjoy that beast!
 

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Mat8754

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Quick question for those of you who have black stripes. Since I picked it up the stripes have had swirls, I assume from dealer prep. Is there any way to get rid of swirls on the stripes?
 

Darth Cobra

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Really not much you can do. The factory vinyl is crap...who knows what dirty towel or sponge they used. A lot of guys put new stripes from Big Worm Graphics.Better vinyl but will still scratch.

Chances are if you let them wash your car, you probably have some spider web swirls in your paint.

If you are worried about swirls. You should look into Ceramic coating.
 

Shift

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Congrats on your beautiful car! Don't forget to do the resonator delete to unleash the motor's true sound. Double check with Craig's to see if their plate will work with the clear bra since you're planning to do Xpel.
 

Tank

9/11 - Never Forget
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Great write up, great story :thumbsup:
Congrats on your AG, the only color (except the classic white/blue stripe combo) to get imho :lol:
Good for you to be keeping out of Manhattan, I love the place but wouldn't want to have my GT350 there :D
 

AGGT350

AG Tech Black OTT
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Ugly color :D
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