My Ford Racing School GT350 #9

[azshelby350]

Great thread, fun story! I have to say sometimes on the forum I feel like the poor kid who rides his beat up bike over to the high end neighborhood and sits on the curb to watch the rich people go by. Whooo! But more power to the folks who can afford to enjoy these amazing cars.

*(a bit tongue in cheek since having a nice GT isn't a poor boy by any stretch.)

Haha, a GT is definitely something to be proud of! I work hard (and a lot) to be able to have play cars. It also helps that I’m single with no kids, haha. It’s hard to find a woman that fully understands my passion for cars and how expensive of a hobby it is!

Sponsored

 

[azshelby350]

Couple of pictures of the exhaust from when I dropped #9 this morning to get all the suspension bits installed

 

[azshelby350]

Quick update from the weekend - took #9 to a local track day and all I can say is wow! This car is setup the same suspension wise as my ‘19 but feels better on track - more predictable and confidence inspiring. I can credit two things. First, the 30-series Falken RT660 tires on square Apex wheels have way more grip and way less roll than the factory 35-series Michelin Cup 2’s. Second, I think psychologically I was more comfortable driving this car due to the supportive Recaro seats, 5-pt belts, and a roll cage behind my head.

The new trans combined with the McLeod clutch and MGW shifter worked great on track, although I am still getting used to the firmer throw of the shifter - I’ve missed the 2-3 upshift a couple of times because I wasn’t deliberate enough in pushing the shiftknob. The factory shifter almost glides between gears with a single finger.

I am amazed at how much faster the car feels with the Lund tune and free flowing exhaust. The power and comes in a lot lower in the RPM range and each gear has significantly more pull out of the corners. Plus the car sounds like a freaking NASCAR at full throttle.

If you are on Instagram check out my page to see some videos!

 

[Muligan]

I could be wrong here, but I think that you're the first of those of us here on the forum to get one of these former FPRS cars out to the track. Glad to hear you had a great experience, especially after the challenges you faced getting it in shape for the outing.

Sounds like you have a pretty well proven suspension set-up with the Steeda parts, so that should be very confidence inspiring. And, your exhaust and tune work sure sound like they woke up that engine!

Any other future plans?

 

[TonyNJ]

Great thread, fun story! I have to say sometimes on the forum I feel like the poor kid who rides his beat up bike over to the high end neighborhood and sits on the curb to watch the rich people go by. Whooo! But more power to the folks who can afford to enjoy these amazing cars.

*(a bit tongue in cheek since having a nice GT isn't a poor boy by any stretch.)

This is a good thread. I was that poor kid. It inspired me. These racing school cars are awesome. I would love to own one. Not easy to come by. I see them being featured in articles and coveted many years from now. You can also enjoy driving the hell out of them since they already were. I like that they're sticker bombed too but it was purposeful. Very authentic.

 

[azshelby350]

Any other future plans?

No more plans for right now - I’ve spent enough! Haha. Just drive it and enjoy it on track. Long term I’d like to do bigger aero front and rear but I’m not in a hurry. Besides that I will work with Lund to fine tune the tune based on data logs.

 

[460Fred]

I should have struck up a conversation.

 

[azshelby350]

I should have struck up a conversation.

Yeah you should’ve! Great day out there today, thanks for the pics!

 

[460Fred]

Yeah you should’ve! Great day out there today, thanks for the pics!

Everyone was so busy as they should be with limited time. Said hello to John (JBG0137) just as I got there.
Looks like you guys all had a good time.

 

[barstowpo]

She did get to meet up with

her sister.

 

[09cs]

I was there as well, had a blast and was amazing see these awesome cars/builds!

 

[Cobra Jet]

She did get to meet up with

her sister.

That's a great pics and glad to see some Ex-FPRS S550's back on a track!

 

[azshelby350]

Hey all, I haven’t provided an update on #9 for quite awhile so I figured I’d bring everyone up to speed.

After its second alternator replacement, my car would still throw a charging system code intermittently - sometimes at the track, sometimes randomly on the street. My tech took the car for a couple weeks and engaged with Ford engineers to track and pinpoint test every wire and system, only to finally locate a bad wiring connection down by the voltage regulator harness into the alternator.

At the same time my tech also replaced the spark plugs as the color of the current set was really off. Turns out incomplete fuel burn from using race gas caused over temp conditions in the plugs. Lesson learned.

The next thing that has finally been rectified is the constant CEL for the rear o2 sensors. Even after installing cat simulators the computer was still not monitoring the rear sensors. Turns out the passenger bank sensor was straight dead. New sensor and she’s good to go.

Finally, while replacing the plugs and doing a deeper dive into the electrical systems we also located a faulty evap purge control valve - yet another example of poor workmanship by a prior dealer during one of the engine replacements, most likely.

 

[Muligan]

Wow - that shop is really nice looking and it sounds like they are very thorough.

Thanks for sharing the charge system warning diagnosis - I'm getting something similar and I'm starting to think it could be a wire connection issue, as well.

Sponsored