crazymayhem
Well-Known Member
- Thread starter
- #1
I should of done this a while back... but I never did get around to it....
So - here she is. Beauty & Beast - all in a single package!
Obligatory background information - this is my first car well over the 300 HP. Actually - this is my first brand new car that I bought for myself as well.
Up until now its been 1-5 year olds, leased or company leased cars. My best friend growing up in Michigan had a few older Cutlasses between him and his dad they always worked on. Very memorable in my mind is the Olds 442 they had - the few trips I remember in that beast were awesome! Ive always loved the 65-68 Shelbys and Mustangs in general, but a good old Shelby will run a lot of money, and NOS parts even more. Ive given up on that idea - unless I win in the lottery - but for now its just not realistic. Finding a convertible is an easier task, but still not that easy - finding one that isnt a restomod of some sort, numbers matching, not restored but in decent condition for a decent price turns out to be night impossible...
Enter the 2015+ Shelby GT350. Ive had this thing on my radar since rumors first started - probably 2014, if not earlier. IMHO, this is a back to the roots car, its a drivers car, it captures the essence of the original GT350. I knew I wasnt going to swing a 2015 with the limited supply, and I wasnt convinced on the 2016 packaging. Finally 2017 corrected that, and I could order both the track and electronic goodies in one package. Finding a dealer that had GT350s or could order them was easy enough, confirming that they actually had an allocation impossible though. And then came the ADMs, but ill leave that debate. Between a few dealers, I settled on Bozard Ford in St. Augustine, and ordered my 2017 in May with a moderate ADM. Fast foward half a year and couple of calls later - she gets delivered late November, and I pick her up early December on the first Saturday. I took Monday off to enjoy a leisurely drive back to Fort Myers, and thoroughly enjoyed the almost 700 miles back. Yes - it aint 700 miles from St. Augustine back to Ft. Myers, but why take the direct route? I spent the first 450ish miles completely off the highway. Took Route 1A (or is it 1A1 - whatever) down the coast to Miami, with a few excursions to see a few things. Seeing as it was dark already Monday evening, and I was still in Miami - I took I75 home, instead of taking old 41 through the Everglades. Made it home in one piece, no tickets, a lot of stares, a lot of questions, a lot of requests to rev her, and a lot of positive feedback.
In short - even without driving a GT350 before buying it, this car is everything I expected it to be and more. Its a blast to drive. The closest comparison I could get was a GT with PP and manual, which was fun, but it was only half of what the GT350 offers - if even that....
My Impressions after 1050 smiles sofar:
Paint
I asked them not to wash the car. The respected that. I dont see any orange peel, nor any blemishes or scratches. I dont think its that easily scratched. Ive only got one minor hit in the front bumper and thats it so far. I am planning the get the full car done in Xpel though - and am even thinking of doing that myself (I know - crazy huh? :headbonk: )
Panel Fitment
Nothing major. Not sure yet, but I might have very minor rear bumper sag passenger side. My hood will need minor realignment, its slightly higher on the passenger side by the windshield. Im hoping that if wont affect stripe alignment to the bumper, but i just know it will....
Interior
Im not complaining. Sure - its not a high level Audi, Mercedes or BMW trim. No Porsche, Ferrari or Mclaren trim. But its pretty good, its a good step up from what the interiors used to be, and I like it.
Sync 3 & Audio
Cant really complain. Its not topnotch HiFi - but its not bad either. It does miss a lot of Bass, if not totally miss it. But - youve got a Symphony Orchestra in front of you, and that is freaking awesome. Its perfectly fine for some easy listening. I mainly drive with the windows open to listen to the singing of that 5.2L beast in front of me. Sirius reception is fine, the usually issues between tall buildings, but thats usual for everything satellite related.
6 Speed
Awesome! Short, crisp, fast, seems sturdy if not bulletproof. I found the manual in the GT was good, but sticky. I really like this manual gearbox. The only thing I may consider is switching out the spring for a one piece spring. The two stage spring has sometimes caught me unawares when cold and I take it easy. I havent tried any other shifters like MGW, but personally I dont see a need for any changes there.
Brakes
Very big! Great stopping power. nuff said :lol:
Engine
Just plain freakin awesome. The 8250 rpm limit is awesome. its so high and it lets you have a lot of fun. I usually find myself in 3rd around town, that leaves me around 3-3.5k RPM, so right at the starting point for oomph. And that is a LOT of fun!!!! :eyebulge: :eyebulge: :hail:
Exhaust
Wow. The voodoo note is heavenly. It sends one of those shivers down your spine of pure joy. In sport mode this thing is just freaking awesome. Pure soundgasm. :hail: :hail: The only thing im considering is getting rid of the resonators. That involves cutting up the stock exhaust though - which I would like to avoid. That leaves me eyeing the FP by Borla exhaust. Side note - Ill be taking this car back to Germany with me, and the German TUEV is rather stringent regarding addon parts and certification. Not to mention a hacked up and welded exhaust which does not look factory. At least the FP by Borla has Ford stamped on it and looks factoryish.
Magneride
Very nice. Not to hard, choices for your personal taste/ flavor of the day/how bad work was settings
To sum up - extremely happy with this car. Not much I would change. Ford needs to put some work in QA regarding panel fitment. Minor things like shifter spring can be easily changed. Maybe exhaust/resonators, but im still on the fence about a good solution. Thats pretty much it. No tune is needed, suspension is great, shes really fast, and I see no need to fool around with the shifter itself.
Now all I need to do is schedule my first oil change. I dont have the tools to do it myself, nor do I have the space in my rental complex. So ill let the dealer do it and hope it works out.
And now on to the fotos if youve made it through my wall of text. I hope they come out in order - but not really important. The usual dealer pickup shots, the morning after - WTF did I do yesterday - a couple on my way back home, and the first real wash & wax.
Enjoy!
So - here she is. Beauty & Beast - all in a single package!
Obligatory background information - this is my first car well over the 300 HP. Actually - this is my first brand new car that I bought for myself as well.
Up until now its been 1-5 year olds, leased or company leased cars. My best friend growing up in Michigan had a few older Cutlasses between him and his dad they always worked on. Very memorable in my mind is the Olds 442 they had - the few trips I remember in that beast were awesome! Ive always loved the 65-68 Shelbys and Mustangs in general, but a good old Shelby will run a lot of money, and NOS parts even more. Ive given up on that idea - unless I win in the lottery - but for now its just not realistic. Finding a convertible is an easier task, but still not that easy - finding one that isnt a restomod of some sort, numbers matching, not restored but in decent condition for a decent price turns out to be night impossible...
Enter the 2015+ Shelby GT350. Ive had this thing on my radar since rumors first started - probably 2014, if not earlier. IMHO, this is a back to the roots car, its a drivers car, it captures the essence of the original GT350. I knew I wasnt going to swing a 2015 with the limited supply, and I wasnt convinced on the 2016 packaging. Finally 2017 corrected that, and I could order both the track and electronic goodies in one package. Finding a dealer that had GT350s or could order them was easy enough, confirming that they actually had an allocation impossible though. And then came the ADMs, but ill leave that debate. Between a few dealers, I settled on Bozard Ford in St. Augustine, and ordered my 2017 in May with a moderate ADM. Fast foward half a year and couple of calls later - she gets delivered late November, and I pick her up early December on the first Saturday. I took Monday off to enjoy a leisurely drive back to Fort Myers, and thoroughly enjoyed the almost 700 miles back. Yes - it aint 700 miles from St. Augustine back to Ft. Myers, but why take the direct route? I spent the first 450ish miles completely off the highway. Took Route 1A (or is it 1A1 - whatever) down the coast to Miami, with a few excursions to see a few things. Seeing as it was dark already Monday evening, and I was still in Miami - I took I75 home, instead of taking old 41 through the Everglades. Made it home in one piece, no tickets, a lot of stares, a lot of questions, a lot of requests to rev her, and a lot of positive feedback.
In short - even without driving a GT350 before buying it, this car is everything I expected it to be and more. Its a blast to drive. The closest comparison I could get was a GT with PP and manual, which was fun, but it was only half of what the GT350 offers - if even that....
My Impressions after 1050 smiles sofar:
Paint
I asked them not to wash the car. The respected that. I dont see any orange peel, nor any blemishes or scratches. I dont think its that easily scratched. Ive only got one minor hit in the front bumper and thats it so far. I am planning the get the full car done in Xpel though - and am even thinking of doing that myself (I know - crazy huh? :headbonk: )
Panel Fitment
Nothing major. Not sure yet, but I might have very minor rear bumper sag passenger side. My hood will need minor realignment, its slightly higher on the passenger side by the windshield. Im hoping that if wont affect stripe alignment to the bumper, but i just know it will....
Interior
Im not complaining. Sure - its not a high level Audi, Mercedes or BMW trim. No Porsche, Ferrari or Mclaren trim. But its pretty good, its a good step up from what the interiors used to be, and I like it.
Sync 3 & Audio
Cant really complain. Its not topnotch HiFi - but its not bad either. It does miss a lot of Bass, if not totally miss it. But - youve got a Symphony Orchestra in front of you, and that is freaking awesome. Its perfectly fine for some easy listening. I mainly drive with the windows open to listen to the singing of that 5.2L beast in front of me. Sirius reception is fine, the usually issues between tall buildings, but thats usual for everything satellite related.
6 Speed
Awesome! Short, crisp, fast, seems sturdy if not bulletproof. I found the manual in the GT was good, but sticky. I really like this manual gearbox. The only thing I may consider is switching out the spring for a one piece spring. The two stage spring has sometimes caught me unawares when cold and I take it easy. I havent tried any other shifters like MGW, but personally I dont see a need for any changes there.
Brakes
Very big! Great stopping power. nuff said :lol:
Engine
Just plain freakin awesome. The 8250 rpm limit is awesome. its so high and it lets you have a lot of fun. I usually find myself in 3rd around town, that leaves me around 3-3.5k RPM, so right at the starting point for oomph. And that is a LOT of fun!!!! :eyebulge: :eyebulge: :hail:
Exhaust
Wow. The voodoo note is heavenly. It sends one of those shivers down your spine of pure joy. In sport mode this thing is just freaking awesome. Pure soundgasm. :hail: :hail:
The only thing im considering is getting rid of the resonators. That involves cutting up the stock exhaust though - which I would like to avoid. That leaves me eyeing the FP by Borla exhaust. Side note - Ill be taking this car back to Germany with me, and the German TUEV is rather stringent regarding addon parts and certification. Not to mention a hacked up and welded exhaust which does not look factory. At least the FP by Borla has Ford stamped on it and looks factoryish.Magneride
Very nice. Not to hard, choices for your personal taste/ flavor of the day/how bad work was settings
To sum up - extremely happy with this car. Not much I would change. Ford needs to put some work in QA regarding panel fitment. Minor things like shifter spring can be easily changed. Maybe exhaust/resonators, but im still on the fence about a good solution. Thats pretty much it. No tune is needed, suspension is great, shes really fast, and I see no need to fool around with the shifter itself.
Now all I need to do is schedule my first oil change. I dont have the tools to do it myself, nor do I have the space in my rental complex. So ill let the dealer do it and hope it works out.
And now on to the fotos if youve made it through my wall of text. I hope they come out in order - but not really important. The usual dealer pickup shots, the morning after - WTF did I do yesterday - a couple on my way back home, and the first real wash & wax.
Enjoy!
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