Mach 1 Front end conversion on a GT?

[ToolboxTay]

Looking into putting an aftermarket Mach 1 front end on my 2020 GT premium but wanted to know if anyone had recommendations on brand/tips to get quality results.

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[BLACKMACH1NE]

I put the Vicrez Mach 1 bumper on my 22GT. You reuse the stock fog lights and wasnt too hard of an installation. If you dont have a PP1 it will probably be easier as its made for the non PP belly pan.

 

[ToolboxTay]

Sweet, I appreciate the recommendation!

 

[amatsubara]

I have two EcoBoost Mustangs converted with Mach 1 faces, one with real Mach 1's face (with the turn signal bracket modified to accommodate Diode Dynamics units with fog lamps) and the other one with Triple Seven Performance's Mach 1 face. The Triple Seven's kit is identical to the real Mach 1 face in outside dimensions and comes with brackets that hold 2018-2023 turn signal units.
The Triple Seven's bumper cover can be used with OEM upper and lower grilles with very minor modifications. (The OEM grilles attach to the "crush isolator", which sits between the bumper cover and inside bumper to add some rigidity to the bumper assembly. Alternatively, the crush isolator can be zip-tied to the internal bumper.) The real Mach 1's bumper cover is designed to be used with turn signal assemblies for 2015-2017 Mustangs. So, unless you get a hold of now out-of-production turn signal/fog light assemblies by Ford Performance, you will lose fog lamps with the real Mach 1's bumper cover. Triple Seven makes "GTE Lights" that can be installed into the upper grille nostrils. But I am not sure if they can be used legally as fog lights (My Triple Seven GTE lights were swapped with Diode Dynamic's combo lights and linked with the high beam through a relay that I installed behind the bumper cover). Triple Seven's older GTE lights came with bezels that can be used with Diode Dynamics DOT foglight units. But their current GTE Lights' bezels are not compatible with Diode Dynamics units.
I would strongly recommend against installing lower chin splitter. It sticks out too far and too low. If you were to go with the Triple Seven kit (Vicrez is probably the same), I would recommend installing only the upper chin splitter although the kit comes with the lower one too. If you have some money to spare, I would recommend using OEM upper chin splitter ($400-600 depending on where you get them). The upper and lower chin splitters of the Triple Seven kit are open on the bottom with cheap feel and crack easily.
As far as the belly pan, both real Mach 1 face and Triple Seven kit can be used with non-PP. But if you purchase real Mach 1's belly pan (~$300) and wheel well flaps (~$60 each) you can even have air conduits from the lower grille towards the front disc breaks. For the spaces where transmission cooler and oil cooler are on the real Mach 1, I installed cut black trash cans from Home Depot so that windshield washer fluid reservoir, etc. don't peek through the side grilles.
Side grille inserts are very difficult to install / remove and easily crack. So be careful. OEM and Triple Seven side grille inserts can be installed on either kind of bumper cover but they have to match to harness either 2018-23 (for Triple Seven) or 2015-17 (for real Mach 1 face) turn signal assemblies (i.e. the attach points of turn signal assembly are both on the insert and the bumper cover).
The first picture is my EcoBoost Premium with real Mach 1's face.
The second one is my EcoBoost Premium with Performance Package with Triple Seven face and real Mach 1 upper chin splitter.
The third one is the same car as the second picture with Triple Seven's upper and lower chin splitters painted in gloss black (Ford "G6," I think).

 

[emg75189]

How did you get a oem Mach 1 bumper?

 

[amatsubara]

There was a compete face of Mach 1 for sale for $1,300 (I believe that's what I paid) on this forum.
It was taken off of a Mach 1 damaged during transport and still had protective vinyl strips attached to it.
The forum member who sold it to me was planning on converting his GT but ended up buying a Mach 1. So he had it for sale.
As it turned out, the damage was really only on the surface, mostly grease that got rubbed on.
So, I got a great deal.

 

[amatsubara]

Mach 1 bumper parts can also be purchased from many online Ford part stores if you have part numbers.
Part numbers can be found on this page:
https://www.mustang6g.com/forums/th...icial-bumper-swap-info-and-parts-list.165836/

The part list on the page does not seem to list a few parts that are in real Mach 1s though, such as air deflectors behind side grilles and air conduits for break disks that run between the corners of the lower chin splitter and the wheel well liners.

 

[ToolboxTay]

I have two EcoBoost Mustangs converted with Mach 1 faces, one with real Mach 1's face (with the turn signal bracket modified to accommodate Diode Dynamics units with fog lamps) and the other one with Triple Seven Performance's Mach 1 face. The Triple Seven's kit is identical to the real Mach 1 face in outside dimensions and comes with brackets that hold 2018-2023 turn signal units.
The Triple Seven's bumper cover can be used with OEM upper and lower grilles with very minor modifications. (The OEM grilles attach to the "crush isolator", which sits between the bumper cover and inside bumper to add some rigidity to the bumper assembly. Alternatively, the crush isolator can be zip-tied to the internal bumper.) The real Mach 1's bumper cover is designed to be used with turn signal assemblies for 2015-2017 Mustangs. So, unless you get a hold of now out-of-production turn signal/fog light assemblies by Ford Performance, you will lose fog lamps with the real Mach 1's bumper cover. Triple Seven makes "GTE Lights" that can be installed into the upper grille nostrils. But I am not sure if they can be used legally as fog lights (My Triple Seven GTE lights were swapped with Diode Dynamic's combo lights and linked with the high beam through a relay that I installed behind the bumper cover). Triple Seven's older GTE lights came with bezels that can be used with Diode Dynamics DOT foglight units. But their current GTE Lights' bezels are not compatible with Diode Dynamics units.
I would strongly recommend against installing lower chin splitter. It sticks out too far and too low. If you were to go with the Triple Seven kit (Vicrez is probably the same), I would recommend installing only the upper chin splitter although the kit comes with the lower one too. If you have some money to spare, I would recommend using OEM upper chin splitter ($400-600 depending on where you get them). The upper and lower chin splitters of the Triple Seven kit are open on the bottom with cheap feel and crack easily.
As far as the belly pan, both real Mach 1 face and Triple Seven kit can be used with non-PP. But if you purchase real Mach 1's belly pan (~$300) and wheel well flaps (~$60 each) you can even have air conduits from the lower grille towards the front disc breaks. For the spaces where transmission cooler and oil cooler are on the real Mach 1, I installed cut black trash cans from Home Depot so that windshield washer fluid reservoir, etc. don't peek through the side grilles.
Side grille inserts are very difficult to install / remove and easily crack. So be careful. OEM and Triple Seven side grille inserts can be installed on either kind of bumper cover but they have to match to harness either 2018-23 (for Triple Seven) or 2015-17 (for real Mach 1 face) turn signal assemblies (i.e. the attach points of turn signal assembly are both on the insert and the bumper cover).
The first picture is my EcoBoost Premium with real Mach 1's face.
The second one is my EcoBoost Premium with Performance Package with Triple Seven face and real Mach 1 upper chin splitter.
The third one is the same car as the second picture with Triple Seven's upper and lower chin splitters painted in gloss black (Ford "G6," I think).

Firstly, thank you for the info

Secondly, beautiful builds

Thirdly, what made you want to go with both (real Mach 1 parts and a conversion kit)? When initially looking into swapping a Mach 1 front end onto my GT, I came across a few posts explaining how the entire process would cost somewhere in the ballpark of $5k+ for genuine Mach 1 front end and parts, which is why many buy an aftermarket conversion kit instead. Was this the case for you or where you able to leave some OEM parts out to help with cost? I know you said they are the same outside dimensions, but did you notice a significant difference in quality and fitment between the OEM and Conversion kit?

 

[amatsubara]

Thank you for the complement on my cars.

When I first started looking into Mach 1 conversion, I didn't know that Mach 1 face could be purchased. So I bought a kit from eBay (which I have never installed but used some parts of it) and then another one from 777. Later, I found this forum's tread on Mach 1 conversion and then the Mach 1 face for sale. And that's how I ended up using OEM Mach 1 face for the second conversion.

The 777 kit does fit the car very nicely just like the OEM parts. However, the tabs used for attachment are some different and require modifications of brackets and fasteners.

OEM and 777 (and eBay kit) bumper covers seem to be made of either the same or very similar material but OEM parts feel slightly thicker and stiffer.

OEM and 777 grille inserts are, material-wise feel about the same and are interchangeable. While OEM grille and side vent inserts are magnetic gray color, 777 inserts come as raw plastic (OEM upper grille insert is magnetic gray/gloss black 2-tone). In my opinion, magnetic gray inserts add to the chic look. My painter wouldn't use paint with texture, but Late Model Restoration (LMR) sells very easy-to-use spray cans of this color (they also sell a special primer to be used on raw ".SEM SAND FREE ADHESION PROMOTER"-- a must).

Upper and lower grille inserts of 777 lack attachment tabs for the "crush isolator" that sits between the bumper cover and the internal bumper. Although the crush isolator can be zip-tied to the internal bumper, without it the bumper would feel soft and hollow. The use of OEM Mach 1 belly pan and fender liners will add to the over all stiffness of the front end.

I think that 777's kit combined with OEM upper and lower grille insert may be the most economical way to build real Mach 1 looking face with solid feel, especially if you also use crush isolator, Mach 1 belly pan and fender liners.

If you use the Mach 1's fender liner and replace the wind washer fluid reservoir to FR3Z-17618-G, then you can also install the Mach 1's break cooling air ducts (MR3Z-17F804-A and MR3Z-17F803-A) (compatible with the radar unit for adaptive cruise control).

 

[ToolboxTay]

Thank you for the complement on my cars.

When I first started looking into Mach 1 conversion, I didn't know that Mach 1 face could be purchased. So I bought a kit from eBay (which I have never installed but used some parts of it) and then another one from 777. Later, I found this forum's tread on Mach 1 conversion and then the Mach 1 face for sale. And that's how I ended up using OEM Mach 1 face for the second conversion.

The 777 kit does fit the car very nicely just like the OEM parts. However, the tabs used for attachment are some different and require modifications of brackets and fasteners.

OEM and 777 (and eBay kit) bumper covers seem to be made of either the same or very similar material but OEM parts feel slightly thicker and stiffer.

OEM and 777 grille inserts are, material-wise feel about the same and are interchangeable. While OEM grille and side vent inserts are magnetic gray color, 777 inserts come as raw plastic (OEM upper grille insert is magnetic gray/gloss black 2-tone). In my opinion, magnetic gray inserts add to the chic look. My painter wouldn't use paint with texture, but Late Model Restoration (LMR) sells very easy-to-use spray cans of this color (they also sell a special primer to be used on raw ".SEM SAND FREE ADHESION PROMOTER"-- a must).

Upper and lower grille inserts of 777 lack attachment tabs for the "crush isolator" that sits between the bumper cover and the internal bumper. Although the crush isolator can be zip-tied to the internal bumper, without it the bumper would feel soft and hollow. The use of OEM Mach 1 belly pan and fender liners will add to the over all stiffness of the front end.

I think that 777's kit combined with OEM upper and lower grille insert may be the most economical way to build real Mach 1 looking face with solid feel, especially if you also use crush isolator, Mach 1 belly pan and fender liners.

If you use the Mach 1's fender liner and replace the wind washer fluid reservoir to FR3Z-17618-G, then you can also install the Mach 1's break cooling air ducts (MR3Z-17F804-A and MR3Z-17F803-A) (compatible with the radar unit for adaptive cruise control).

Thank you again for the all the information, you've been a massive help!

 

[amatsubara]

You are welcome.
I had a lot of fun describing what I enjoyed working on! Double fun!

Just one more thing. Remember that the choice of OEM or 777 pretty much determines which turn signal assemblies to be used. Real Mach 1 uses the less functional 2015-17 turn signal/park light assembly. 777 version allows you to use more functional turn signal/park light/fog light assemblies. Which kind can be used depends on the attachment points on the bumper cover -- which are provided by the bracket that is plastic-welded on the bumper cover -- and the attachment points provided on the side vent insert. In my case, I had an extra but defective 777 bumper cover that I got to keep when 777 sent me a replacement. I ripped off the turn signal assembly brackets from the defective 777 bumper cover and transplanted them onto the OME bumper cover. That's how I got to use the Diode Dynamics turn signal units with nice bright fog lamps.

If you were to use 2015-17 units on your 2020 with the OEM Mach 1 bumper cover, you will need some wiring modification. You can find appropriate connectors (YF1Z13411CA -- 3-pin) on Amazon and, with the help of the wiring diagrams, convert the original connectors. To use the 2015-17 unit also as driving lights, you may want to use the Diode Dynamic's adaptor, which you place between the headlight assembly and its connector, to pull electricity from the driving light wire without having to mess with the wires for headlight assemblies. Also, in order to do this, you want to get 3-pin bulb sockets (9E5Z-13411-B) instead of the original 2-pin socket (on the real Mach 1 the turn signal assembly does not light up as driving light). Turn signal units for 15-17 (same casing) may come with 3-pin sockets -- especially if the assembly is also used as driving lights. Although 9E5Z-13411-B does not have the bend that the original socket does, it fits fine without issues in the OEM Mach 1 bumper cover. Diode Dynamics also makes white/yellow switchback bulbs, with which you can have white driving lights that match the original driving light in the headlight assembly.

If your 2020 has fog lights and if you want to go with an OME bumper with 15-17 turn signal/park light assemblies, you can hook up 777 GTE lights -- which snap into the nostrils of either OEM or 777 upper grille insert -- to the fog light wires.
I am using the "nostrils" for auxiliary high beams assembled from the older 777 GTE lights swapped with Diode Dynamic's SS3 Max lights. I connected them directly with the battery and control them with a toggle switch next to the steering and a relay switch regulated by the feed from the high beam wire for the headlight assembly. This way, as long as I turn on the automatic high-beam-dipping mechanism, I can use the real bright SS3 Max lights without the risk of blinding fellow drivers.

I hope you will have as much fun as I did!!

 

[amatsubara]

Diode Dynamics' 15-17 turn signal assemblies (and most likely cheaper LED units on eBay too) will work the OME Mach 1 bumper cover. The Diode Dynamics may be stopping the production though. Units with smoked lens are still available on the net, but clear-lens model is out of production and nobody has it left in stock anymore.

 

[amatsubara]

One more thing...
I recommend getting extra U-nuts (W704823-S439), belly pan screws (W715060-S450B), wheel well rivets (W714040-S300).
Also the screws 777 provides (I lease when I purchased the kit) for fixing turn signal assembly seem too big -- will likely crack the bracket. I would recommend using Park Lamp Screws (W507043-S450B).

 

[amatsubara]

777 YouTube video for Mach 1 bumper cover installation is pretty much applicable to the OME one and also describes the removal process. However, I disagree to what they instruct for the use of support brackets (JR3Z-17C947-B and JR3Z-17C947-C) -- which go in the "jaw joint" parts of the bumper cover. Do never apply them from the top like the video says. The plate of the bracket needs to push up the attachment tab from below to push the ~entirety of the tab against the body frame. Otherwise, the the jaw joint will likely open up over time. The attachment tab on the bumper cover may get overstressed around the screw holes and crack too. To use the support bracket for the 777 cover, the only thing that has to happen is to saw off one end (if I remember correctly, the back end) the bracket.

 

[ToolboxTay]

You are welcome.
I had a lot of fun describing what I enjoyed working on! Double fun!

Just one more thing. Remember that the choice of OEM or 777 pretty much determines which turn signal assemblies to be used. Real Mach 1 uses the less functional 2015-17 turn signal/park light assembly. 777 version allows you to use more functional turn signal/park light/fog light assemblies. Which kind can be used depends on the attachment points on the bumper cover -- which are provided by the bracket that is plastic-welded on the bumper cover -- and the attachment points provided on the side vent insert. In my case, I had an extra but defective 777 bumper cover that I got to keep when 777 sent me a replacement. I ripped off the turn signal assembly brackets from the defective 777 bumper cover and transplanted them onto the OME bumper cover. That's how I got to use the Diode Dynamics turn signal units with nice bright fog lamps.

If you were to use 2015-17 units on your 2020 with the OEM Mach 1 bumper cover, you will need some wiring modification. You can find appropriate connectors (YF1Z13411CA -- 3-pin) on Amazon and, with the help of the wiring diagrams, convert the original connectors. To use the 2015-17 unit also as driving lights, you may want to use the Diode Dynamic's adaptor, which you place between the headlight assembly and its connector, to pull electricity from the driving light wire without having to mess with the wires for headlight assemblies. Also, in order to do this, you want to get 3-pin bulb sockets (9E5Z-13411-B) instead of the original 2-pin socket (on the real Mach 1 the turn signal assembly does not light up as driving light). Turn signal units for 15-17 (same casing) may come with 3-pin sockets -- especially if the assembly is also used as driving lights. Although 9E5Z-13411-B does not have the bend that the original socket does, it fits fine without issues in the OEM Mach 1 bumper cover. Diode Dynamics also makes white/yellow switchback bulbs, with which you can have white driving lights that match the original driving light in the headlight assembly.

If your 2020 has fog lights and if you want to go with an OME bumper with 15-17 turn signal/park light assemblies, you can hook up 777 GTE lights -- which snap into the nostrils of either OEM or 777 upper grille insert -- to the fog light wires.
I am using the "nostrils" for auxiliary high beams assembled from the older 777 GTE lights swapped with Diode Dynamic's SS3 Max lights. I connected them directly with the battery and control them with a toggle switch next to the steering and a relay switch regulated by the feed from the high beam wire for the headlight assembly. This way, as long as I turn on the automatic high-beam-dipping mechanism, I can use the real bright SS3 Max lights without the risk of blinding fellow drivers.

I hope you will have as much fun as I did!!

How difficult was it to transplant those turn signal assembly brackets over? I would much rather run the newer/more functional lights if possible. I would also rather spend a little extra money on an aftermarket bumper cover for parts than run the risk of starting a fire by me messing with wiring.

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