Jmeo's 2020 Shelby American GT500 SE Wide Body Build (+ "Phase 2")

[Jmeo]

Damn..... baby got back!!!

Yah she does, and she’s about to get sprung.

 

[Jmeo]

The guys at Shelby work 10 hour days, Monday through Thursday. The person working on my car was nice enough to put in some extra time on a Friday to get my car moving along. One thing I can say with certainty, the people who work at Shelby are some of the nicest people that I have ever dealt with. From the president of the company right down to the newest hire in the building, really great people.

The calipers were taken off so they can be sent to paint, which may be one of the longer timelines to be finished, so that's good news. Now the new coil over springs can go in, along with the new sway bars before the newly painted calipers go back on.

Also, the hubs will get the new ARP studs installed. I am embarrassed to show the condition of the hubs, it was one of the things that I wanted to address during last winter storage. The car went to Vegas in September before I could get to it. I am told that he will clean them up some before they go back on the car, but I will definitely address them when I get the car back. Man do they look horrible.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

I am embarrassed to show the condition of the hubs, it was one of the things that I wanted to address during last winter storage. The car went to Vegas in September before I could get to it. I am told that he will clean them up some before they go back on the car, but I will definitely address them when I get the car back. Man do they look horrible.

I'd tell them to put new ones on. Then clean the old ones up at your leisure without disassembling the car or taking it out of service. And you'll have replacements ready when the ones on the car wear out.

 

[Stage_3]

Awesome news Jaime.
Great seeing progress on the beast!

 

[Jmeo]

I'd tell them to put new ones on. Then clean the old ones up at your leisure without disassembling the car or taking it out of service. And you'll have replacements ready when the ones on the car wear out.

I considered that for a minute, but it is not worth it to me. They will clean up fine, and I will not have to take them off to do it. They all do this, every one of my other mustangs did it too. I will take care of it when I get it, if not during winter storage.

My car has finally started production, and I do not want to create any reason, such as waiting for new hubs, for them to stick the car back in storage, and to move on to someone else's car.

 

[Idaho2018GTPremium]

I’ll admit when I first saw this thread I thought why do this? Why wait almost a year for a Shelby makeover? This is not something I’d personally do, but after reviewing the mod list and pics, I can definitely see the appeal. I like the upgraded cooling mods for the S/C, and the extra power from the smaller pulley. The Shelby seat covers will look amazing. With the CF hood, forged wheels, and additional material for the wide body, how much weight will be saved compared to factory weight? I’m guessing 30 lbs lighter but probably not very substantial. Every bit helps, though!

My other question is wouldn’t your Shelby already contain FP suspension parts? I hope those new FP parts are a noticeable improvement over the factory FP parts. The factory stuff is developed by FP with Billy Johnson to be a solid cohesive system.

I’d have to see it in person but I’m not sure I’m a fan of the wide body. Looks...sort of odd with the regular front and it probably increases drag. But anyway, thanks for posting updates and it’s going to be one awesome ride!

 

[Jmeo]

I’ll admit when I first saw this thread I thought why do this? Why wait almost a year for a Shelby makeover? This is not something I’d personally do, but after reviewing the mod list and pics, I can definitely see the appeal. I like the upgraded cooling mods for the S/C, and the extra power from the smaller pulley. The Shelby seat covers will look amazing. With the CF hood, forged wheels, and additional material for the wide body, how much weight will be saved compared to factory weight? I’m guessing 30 lbs lighter but probably not very substantial. Every bit helps, though!

My other question is wouldn’t your Shelby already contain FP suspension parts? I hope those new FP parts are a noticeable improvement over the factory FP parts. The factory stuff is developed by FP with Billy Johnson to be a solid cohesive system.

I’d have to see it in person but I’m not sure I’m a fan of the wide body. Looks...sort of odd with the regular front and it probably increases drag. But anyway, thanks for posting updates and it’s going to be one awesome ride!

I struggled with myself over the wait, that's for sure.

Upgrading the intercooler brick, the heat exchanger, the pulley, the sway bars, the wheel studs, hell even the interior is great, but these are things that anyone can do to a car. What I like and wanted, was the Shelby American specific touch. The dry carbon hood, the painted stripes (my car is non CFTP), the Shelby American exclusive coil over springs which keep the magnaride and are custom tuned by Vince, the painted and branded calipers, the "Signature Edition" branding, Shelby by Weld forged wheels, the wide body (the only wide body IMHO that is done right), and most of all the CSM. Anybody can customize their car, and I have done this many times myself. What I wanted at the end of the day was a car that wasn't "just a GT", and what better car to start with than the greatest car ever produced by Ford & Ford Performance.

To answer your questions, Vince has done his homework, and the modifications that he has made to the car are performance improvements over stock. Much like every other special version of the mustang, there are things that can be done to make it perform better. The suspension that Ford put in this car is proven to be very successful, but at the end of the day it is a car which is sold to also be used on the streets, leaving room for improvement.

The hood itself is said to drop 30lbs compared to the stock hood. The wheels will drop some weight for sure, but I wont know how much until I get the car home and weight them. The rear quarter wide body extensions are fiberglass, so minimal weigh added for them.

The wide body isn't so much a performance thing, as it is a visual thing to me. The rear wheels are 13" wide with 345 wide tires so grip is much improved, which is a performance gain. The wide body is not for everyone, but it was a must do for me. I think if you saw one in person, you just might change your mind.

I look forward to sharing the end result with everyone.

 

[Jmeo]

Looks like my car may be moving right along..... assuming this is my car (I think it is).

 

[Epiphany]

The FP hood louver will be a better match to those side louvers. Hope that comes in for you soon too!

 

[Jmeo]

The FP hood louver will be a better match to those side louvers. Hope that comes in for you soon too!

I agree! I have one ordered, but you know how that's going. I also have something brewing that should arrive before the FR/Anderson one does......

 

[A3Herman]

You’re gonna have the most badass Shelby on the forum. Love that hood. It looks killer. Have watched a ton of tour videos of Shelby American at Las Vegas. Chris Ruby mentioned in one that the wide body cars lose 18% of their Hp due to the extra rotational mass of the 20x12 in rims, bigger disk breaks and heavy duty drive shafts. The narrow body loses about 15%. Your 2020 GT500 has a transmission that shifts fast, and applies the power to the street. The cool factor is your car will corner well. It will pull 1.5 g’s on the skid pad. It’s going to be a beast.

 

[Jmeo]

You’re gonna have the most badass Shelby on the forum. Love that hood. It looks killer. Have watched a ton of tour videos of Shelby American at Las Vegas. Chris Ruby mentioned in one that the wide body cars lose 18% of their Hp due to the extra rotational mass of the 20x12 in rims, bigger disk breaks and heavy duty drive shafts. The narrow body loses about 15%. Your 2020 GT500 has a transmission that shifts fast, and applies the power to the street. The cool factor is your car will corner well. It will pull 1.5 g’s on the skid pad. It’s going to be a beast.

Thanks for the kind words. The hood is definitely awesome. The fact that Ford originally wanted this hood on the car, and worked with Shelby to bring it to fruition for the SE is pretty great.

The statement by Chris is referring to the GT cars that are converted to wide body Super Snakes. They get the larger brakes, larger 1/2 shafts. The rotating mass in wheel size difference is plausible from standard GT to SS because they do upgrade from 18x8 to 20x13 rears, but the 20” forged wheels with 345 tires should weigh close to the stock weight I would think.

I will say none of this is relevant on the 2020 GT500. It retains its factory brake system, factory carbon fiber driveshaft, factory 1/2 shafts, and only steps up from a 20x11 with a 315 wide rear to a 20x13 with 345. The forged wheel should drop more than enough weight to overcome the slightly heavier tire. In fact the new rear wheel & tire may still weigh less than stock, so I am comfortable saying there is zero additional drivetrain loss due to rotational mass on these SE cars.

You are correct on the handling. The new to the SE coil over spring, beefier sways, and custom suspension calibration (along with 345 wide tears) will make this car handle incredible.

 

[Evolvd]

I want that hood with the side vents in chopped CF from @50 Deep lol

 

[gfcobra04]

Thanks for the kind words. The hood is definitely awesome. The fact that Ford originally wanted this hood on the car, and worked with Shelby to bring it to fruition for the SE is pretty great.

The statement by Chris is referring to the GT cars that are converted to wide body Super Snakes. They get the larger brakes, larger 1/2 shafts. The rotating mass in wheel size difference is plausible from standard GT to SS because they do upgrade from 18x8 to 20x13 rears, but the 20” forged wheels with 345 tires should weigh close to the stock weight I would think.

I will say none of this is relevant on the 2020 GT500. It retains its factory brake system, factory carbon fiber driveshaft, factory 1/2 shafts, and only steps up from a 20x11 with a 315 wide rear to a 20x13 with 345. The forged wheel should drop more than enough weight to overcome the slightly heavier tire. In fact the new rear whee & tire may still weigh less than stock, so I am comfortable saying there is zero additional drivetrain loss due to rotational mass on these SE cars.

You are correct on the handling. The new to the SE coil over spring, beefier sways, and custom suspension calibration (along with 345 wide tears) will make this car handle incredible.

The stock wheels are heavy. You should save weight with the forged wheels. The 12” signature wheels I have are lighter than stock.

 

[Jmeo]

The stock wheels are heavy. You should save weight with the forged wheels. The 12” signature wheels I have are lighter than stock.

Exactly, I agree.

Also, I learned the last picture I posted is not my car. It is what mine will look like, but it’s not my car.