In defence of early cars

[TEXAS GT]

I've been reading posts on this forum for several months and some of you seem to think the early cars that had the suspension recall should be avoided because they are not of the same quality as later cars. The logic seems to be that Ford had problems early on and that they fixed them as they went. After reading about all the problems and quality issues posted about on the later cars, I think the opposite might be true.
I had a chance today to take my early '05 (#298) out for a drive for the first time in almost a month. I've never used a battery charger with mine (it didn't come with one) even though I do have several that I could hook up if I needed to. But I've never yet even had it turn over slowly much less not start. She fired right up and I didn't have any gauges jumping around or acting funny. The doors on my car open and close perfectly with one finger as well as the engine cover and hood. I have perfect paint with no flaws, it shifts into 2nd gear like butter even when stone cold as well as all other gears up and down. My halfshafts haven't fallen out, my wheels haven't fallen off, no weird noises anywhere and my body gaps are damn near perfect.I have had NO oil leaks, no coolant leaks, my stripes all match in color and are perfectly aligned. The car has almost 1500 miles on it, has seen the north side of 120 SEVERAL times and is no stranger to tire smoke. I also think my machined aluminum recall A-arms are much prettier than the later replacements.

Am I really just lucky or is it possible that the early cars were built a little slower with more attention to detail? I'm sure everyone will have an opinion on this but I'm just happy to be fortunate enough to have a trouble free car. :biggrin

Any other early car owners willing to share their experiences?

 

[BlackICE]

Maybe you are right about more care being exercised in building the cars in the beginning. I think all of the problems with the cars can be fixed successfully with the exception of the crankshaft oil leak. A speed sleeve is not an acceptable solution. The machined A arms are nicer, but I would pass on that to avoid getting a car that need a speed sleeve. Ford should have fixed the problem right by replacing the crank. However then you might have other problems with the tech making mistakes in re-instaling the engine.

BlackICE

 

[Kirby Vieira]

In defen...

I think your good experience thus far is pretty typical of most GT owners. Problems are magnified because they get the attention. A very intuitive car guy with extensive mechanical expertise once told me there is a bell curve rule which applies to virtually all models of all major manufacturers. 10% of the cars are almost perfect, 80% are good cars with nominal problems and 10% are awful. If this is true, it means the average person who has owned 10 cars, has only had 1 awful experience, but it also means 1 of every 10 GT's (and Mercedes) will be someone's nightmare until the problems are corrected.

 

[SteveA]

My car was at the dealer 3months. When I picked it up they had a 50amp "doing a quick charge so I wouldn't have a problem". It lasted 14mi and blew. :bored
The only problem I've had, the car just turned 1000mi.
I have met another OC owner with 3800mi and his only problem was a minor off by the dealer after an oil change "test drive". (This story hasn't been told at his request). The off resulted in new tires and all new under pannels front to rear.
I have lemon lawed only one vehicle. It was a very high end motorcycle that was delievered in great working order. After many, many trips to the dealer, the 1st only for service, the bike got replaced.
IMHO many problems are dealer inflicted.

 

[66GT40]

I have 2 cars, an early 05 #246 and a later 05 # 1481, don't ask how that happened it just did. 246 has the recall A arms. It has had an intercooler hose come loose at speed and sprayed fluid throughout the engine bay. A 4 week repair at the dealer. The rear stripe is out of alignent by about 1/8". I will adjust this once I get back in the garage. The hood releases intermittantly, although it is much better since it was at the dealer. The rear deck opens and closes with no trouble. My son called me one night to tell me he was using the power shammy and a small inter-corner panel from the rear bumper had come off and the paint had begun to peel away. Fortunately the painter was there with him at the time and he took it into the booth, mixed color, and shot it before I returned a few days later. Gaps are very good on both cars, no complaint there.1481 has had no problems at all and is a very, well made car.
I believe you are correct in your analysis of early car production, however there are proceedures that can improve quality that only come to light after numerous repetions.

 

[biffom]

LOL !! I've had situations like that too :biggrin

When I bought mine I closed the deal over the phone and then remembered that I still had the highest bid on another one on eBay. Spent an anxious few days hoping they were not going to drop the reserve.

In hindsight, it may have been nice to chop the roof of a second one....

 

[ENZO BTR]

Interesting theory on the production date versus quality. The one piece of information I have regarding the issues comes directly from multiple Ford employees who were close to the GT during development and early production.

Essentially they all told me the same thing (at different times/places and without me prompting them):
"Be glad you got a later car"

I have #1456, and my problems have amounted to a slight rattle in the driver's door, a somewhat stubborn to open/close passenger door, and some very minor paint flaws that I've now decided not to mess with because they are too small to notice without having them pointed out -- and I could easily see the "fix" looking worse. The doors were fixed by my dealer, along with an oil change and full fluid/brake/tire inspection -- free of charge and all completed in three hours. My car was built before the factory replacement A-arms were ready, but long after the fuel tank issue was resolved. That means I got the cool looking (and $5,000 per car) billet aluminum A-arms, but not the weak door hinges, noisy door seals or painted center stripe issues.

I've been told, and confirmed, that I could have fixed the door issues myself with a simple/easy adjustment of the latches in the roof area. That's probably why the dealer fixed them, and did the oil change/inspection in three hours. My body panel gaps are very consistent, through the side stripes don't line up as well as they should (I'm convinced it's because I have the thicker door seals, which make the car quieter at highway speeds but keep the doors pushed out a bit further when closed -- versus the original seals).

At this point I'm thrilled with my ownership experience.

 

[GT374]

Early Car Experience

I am a new owner (3 weeks) of an early 2005 car Vin#374. I bought it because of the option package & color being exactly what I wanted at a very good price. It had 1,300 miles on it when purchased from a Texas car dealership. So far I have had no leaks of any kind, the paint is flawless including the stripes. Seam alignment is perfect. No squeaks rattles or road noise or wind noise. The Ford Warranty repair history had no reports of any work being done on the car. I have had the following problems now that the car has 2300 miles on the odo. Intermittent Secondary Fuel Pump Driver Off-line code triggering a check-engine light. Very loud screatching sound & intense vibration from the Supercharger when engine is cold and run hard. Tachometer beginning to jump in 500rpm increments instead of smooth transissions.
Does anyone know if my car was suposed to have had the A arms replaced? The Vin is 374 but there is a crayon number on the underside of the clamshell that reads 453.

 

[Neilda]

The Vin is 374 but there is a crayon number on the underside of the clamshell that reads 453.

You've got 453! :eek :eek

We all wondered what happened to that one!


Just kidding! :lol:cheers

The A arms, if replaced, will look quite different - check out someone else's GT or have a look though some of the pics on this site, there'll be some shots to help. Almost certain that they would have been replaced on the recall.

 

[Kingman]

I am a new owner (3 weeks) .

GT374 - Welcome aboard! There are quite a few of us in SoCal. One recommendation is to show up on a Saturday morning for Cars & Coffee at Ford's PAG facility (behind the Mazda bldg) in Irvine (I have posted a map on this site previously). There will typically be a few GT owners in attendance with whom you can ask questions and compare rides (men grasp concepts better spatially (the addition of an alcoholic beverage and a buddy notwithstanding)).

You are also extremely lucky to have three men - NOT4RE, ANALOGDESIGNER, and COBRAR1339 that are extremely gifted technically with the inner-workings of the GT, who are also SoCal based. Shadowman is a little farther north of us. I highly recommend that you search for all 4 of their various posts on this forum. We are very fortunate that they share their expertise and time with us so willingly.

Above and beyond these gentlemen, this forum will be your best resource.

Again, welcome!

 

[gtjoey]

GT374 AND TEXAS GT, Whether it was vin 50 or vin 2006? in o6 you own a unique piece of history. There have been many posts on this , yes early cars had there early production tweeks, overall ford took the neccesary steps to correct just about all of it. :thumbsup Again in 20 years from now your car will be a true collectors car and refinishing the car to original, like old split window sting rays and all the rest will be to preserve how it came from the factory. 25 years ago who would OVERSPRAY AN ENGINE BLOCK OR SMUDGE A CHALK OR CRAYON MARKING ON A CAR, people who hand rub out the frame in 20 coats of laquer just like IT NEVER CAME OUT OF THE FACTORY. At our last gathering car# 60 and #110 both very early dec 04 cars SHOWED SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS JUST FROM THAT BATCH ALONE! We have taken over 800 pics. of them and you never get bored with all the little changes. The point here is you own a hand built ,rare super car, will earlier become worth more or less , who knows, who cares for the most part if your dead and cant enjoy it! RIGHT! So in closing am i saying the later car better fit and finish YES! PAINT QUALITY YES, but OVER ALL ITS THE SAME BEAUTIFUL ONCE IN A LIFE TIME DREAM COMES TRUE. SO ENJOY BUNKIE BEFORE YOU FORGET HOW TO SHIFT ANYMORE AND ENJOY THE RIDE BABY!!!!!:thumbsup GTJOEY 1314 AND STILL LOVING IT!