Initial Thoughts

[MAV]

Yep, drove it a couple hundred miles and changed the oil and filter to get rid of the nasties that live in a brand new engine. I'll keep this oil in it for another 800 and change it again. After that, it should be on a regular oil change schedule.

Is it overkill? Probably. But with a car like this, I'd rather spend a little extra up front for some insurance to reduce the chances of casting sand, gasket material, or metal flaking from the new components getting caught up in the oil galleys. Not to mention it's good to get rid of the assembly lube that's been emulsified in the original oil.

Body panel fit was average. Not perfectly flush and aligned, but acceptable in my opinion. Most people are used to looking at cars that don't have perfectly aligned panels, so most people don't actually notice misalignment. There is a slight mismatch in paint between the metal and plastic panels. That catches my eye more than the misalignment, but this stands out on a white car probably more than most colors. Again, it's a common issue, and thus not usually a big deal.

I found one piece of trash in the paint, and it wouldn't bother me so much except it's located on the driver's door just behind the mirror and under the window. It's *right there*. It catches my eye every time I get in the car. Damn. Underhood paint "boogers" are there, most are clearcoat bubbles, and I don't expect any of them to pop. No exposed metal anywhere that I've found so far.

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[MAV]

any idea to prevent oil onto the belly pan ??

The funnel idea is the only thing I can think of. The filter has an anti-drainback valve AND it's diagonally mounted, meaning that it's always going to dump oil when the seal is broken. I wrapped a rag on the wires that hang down below it to protect them, and promptly made a giant mess all around. The wires stayed dry though... :headbonk:

 

[PP0001]

Yep, drove it a couple hundred miles and changed the oil and filter to get rid of the nasties that live in a brand new engine. I'll keep this oil in it for another 800 and change it again. After that, it should be on a regular oil change schedule.

Is it overkill? Probably. But with a car like this, I'd rather spend a little extra up front for some insurance to reduce the chances of casting sand, gasket material, or metal flaking from the new components getting caught up in the oil galleys. Not to mention it's good to get rid of the assembly lube that's been emulsified in the original oil.

Body panel fit was average. Not perfectly flush and aligned, but acceptable in my opinion. Most people are used to looking at cars that don't have perfectly aligned panels, so most people don't actually notice misalignment. There is a slight mismatch in paint between the metal and plastic panels. That catches my eye more than the misalignment, but this stands out on a white car probably more than most colors. Again, it's a common issue, and thus not usually a big deal.

I found one piece of trash in the paint, and it wouldn't bother me so much except it's located on the driver's door just behind the mirror and under the window. It's *right there*. It catches my eye every time I get in the car. Damn. Underhood paint "boogers" are there, most are clearcoat bubbles, and I don't expect any of them to pop. No exposed metal anywhere that I've found so far.

I agree with all of your comments with respect to an extra oil change or two as never too soon to change oil on one of these HP engines. Extra cost is not an issue here.

As far as body panel fits again I find pretty much have the same thoughts based on a massed produce vehicle.

The paint mismatch from metal to plastic has been around for many years and with all brands of manufacturers so not an issue from my standpoint. Not much we can do here.

Hopefully the paint issue on the driver's door can be rectified which will allow for a better feeling for your car!

My 2015 was left out in the Michigan sun, heat, acid rain and snow for the better part of ~6 months so I am in the process of getting that all rectified and suggest that you can do the same with your car.

Good luck!

 

[R 350 gt Donson]

Yep, drove it a couple hundred miles and changed the oil and filter to get rid of the nasties that live in a brand new engine. I'll keep this oil in it for another 800 and change it again. After that, it should be on a regular oil change schedule.

Is it overkill? Probably. But with a car like this, I'd rather spend a little extra up front for some insurance to reduce the chances of casting sand, gasket material, or metal flaking from the new components getting caught up in the oil galleys. Not to mention it's good to get rid of the assembly lube that's been emulsified in the original oil.

Body panel fit was average. Not perfectly flush and aligned, but acceptable in my opinion. Most people are used to looking at cars that don't have perfectly aligned panels, so most people don't actually notice misalignment. There is a slight mismatch in paint between the metal and plastic panels. That catches my eye more than the misalignment, but this stands out on a white car probably more than most colors. Again, it's a common issue, and thus not usually a big deal.

I found one piece of trash in the paint, and it wouldn't bother me so much except it's located on the driver's door just behind the mirror and under the window. It's *right there*. It catches my eye every time I get in the car. Damn. Underhood paint "boogers" are there, most are clearcoat bubbles, and I don't expect any of them to pop. No exposed metal anywhere that I've found so far.

This is the same routing the VIPER guys do on oil changes.....2 rapid oil changes under 500 miles..humm???

 

[MAV]

I forgot to mention the transmission. I didn't know what to expect since some of the reviews have been mixed. Admittedly, I don't have much of a frame of reference since the last manual transmission I had was a Tremec 3550 TKO behind a GT40 351W in a 93 Mustang Cobra. It was anything BUT smooth shifting, and that was only before third gear grenaded so hard that it tripped the inertia switch on the fuel pump.

Anyway, I'm impressed with the Tremec in the GT350. It's solid, relatively quiet, and gives very positive feedback through the shifter. Shifting effort is dependent on oil temperature, but the warmer the transmission gets, the better the shifting feels. I will say that I've found it somewhat difficult to hit a specific gear if not shifting sequentially, but at this point I would still classify that as driver ineptitude rather than a fault of the car.

 

[5.0 435]

Glad your happy and many miles of enjoying Ford ownership.

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