Door Trim – Karl on Cars

In August of 2007 my Ford GT got its first serious aftermarket upgrades (beyond the audio head unit I swapped out months earlier). The upgrades included more power, a short-throw shifter and a transmission cooler. The car also attended the second annual Ford GT Owners Rally in Newport Beach, though it didn’t complete the event because a failing shock had it banging over bumps. I also noticed some rubbing between the rear clamshell and the body above the side scoops. The odometer crossed 10,500 miles this month.

The Ford GT spent a day getting upgrades to its power and performance

Ford GT Gets Serviced by Ford GT Guys

August 1, 2007 at 10,058 miles

My Ford GT just spent a day in the spa-like, caring hands of The GT Guy. Rich and Dennis were part of the original team that maintained various Ford GTs during development and pre-production testing. They’ve done everything from replacing oil filters to rebuilding wrecked Ford GTs from the frame up. You might say these guys know a thing or two about working on the GT.

July of 2007 was a big month for my Ford GT. It was tested for acceleration times in stock form because I knew I’d be modifying it for more power and I wanted baseline numbers. I played around with the loose aluminum door trim while waiting for improved fasteners. I noted the car still felt tight after more than 9,000 miles on the odometer, I commented on why most 2005 Ford GTs have billet aluminum A-arms, and I noticed the door sill scuff plates were, unfortunately, living up to their name. The odometer reached nearly 10,000 miles this month.

The Ford GT still feels tight at 9,000 miles

Ford GT Still Feels New After 9,000 miles

July 2, 2007 at 9,068 miles

Vehicles age a lot like humans. In both cases you rarely notice the process because it happens slowly, but get away from a car (or person) for a good chunk of time and when you come back some additional chassis looseness (in both cases) is quickly noticed. I was in the unique position of driving the primary West Coast Ford GT PR car on several occasions. The last time I drove it the odometer read somewhere north of 23,000 miles, all of them accumulated at the hands of automotive journalists and Ford employees…