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S197 3V 2008 Mustang GT (@kevo_lo) Build Thread Profile - S197 Mustangs

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This Mustang was my first ever car, so it has tremendous sentimental value to me. This Build Thread will serve as a journal of sorts for me to keep history of the car.

Purchased new in 2007, it got me through high school, college, and moved me across the country coast to coast three times now (Florida to California, California back to Florida, then Florida to California once more where it currently is). It has been proven to be an extremely reliable car, most likely due to the fact that it is relatively simple.

For the most part, Florida has well paved and mostly straight roads (i.e. easy to focus on drag racing). In the first few years of ownership, the car was set up to have fun at the local drag strip. The suspension had Vogtland lowering springs and BMR rear arms and panhard bar, while the engine had a WMS intake ram air intake, long tube headers, and a tune. There was also a Gen 1 MGW shifter. The car was a ton of fun romping around on freeway on ramps and some (straight) back roads. Eventually, due to moving to California and having to deal with SMOG laws, I converted the car completely back to stock and sold off all of the components. Below is the car back to stock in 2015 after relocating to the Bay Area with about 80k miles on the odometer. This is what I would consider as the "start" of this build. Knowing how I am, I eventually got the itch to tinker and modify once again...

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Today (September 5, 2022) the car has 133k miles on the odometer. I'll add some posts chronicling at a high level how the car was modified from stock to its current state. Then I'll capture future updates as the car continues to develop from Street/Track to a Track focused car.
 
Last edited:

Bill Pemberton

0ld Ford Automotive Racing Terror
8,425
8,356
Exp. Type
Time Attack
Exp. Level
20+ Years
Blair, Nebraska
So cool you have had the car since it was new and though you said you modded the car for street and track, I approve that you leaned more heavily towards track, ha. Lots of great mods and envious of all the great tracks you have exercised your GT on, and wondering what shoes does she wear when on a road course. Lots of newcomers on here and it is always good to hear what experiences drivers are having with various tires, since that is the single best mod to go quickly -- whether on track or autocross. Great pics and thanks for listing your Black Beauty!
 

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