Interesting article about the control arm recall


MHedges24

New member
Jan 17, 2021
2
Dallas, TX
Hey Guys,

Came across this article about the control arm recall on the early GTs and it was pretty interesting. Thought I would share.

 

2112

Blue/white 06'
Mark II Lifetime
Thank you for sharing this article.
.
 
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roketman

GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Oct 24, 2005
7,994
ma.
I thought Ford handled it brilliantly
 

GT Tech

Ford GT Team Alumni
Aug 13, 2006
678
Kingman, Arizona
Hey Guys,

Came across this article about the control arm recall on the early GTs and it was pretty interesting. Thought I would share.

Great story by my friend Huibert. I was there .
 

Joe Dozzo

Well-known member
Mark IV Lifetime
Le Mans 2010 Supporter
May 22, 2006
763
Canon City, CO
Don't know why, but I thought it was just the fronts. Learn something new every day!

Thanks for sharing.
 

Kpgarage

GT Owner
Mar 17, 2019
86
I remember this back in the day. I agree Ford did it right and the billet arms are simply works of art visually. My 2005 has them and I still kid my son that his 2006 has the plain boring looking ones.
 

GT Tech

Ford GT Team Alumni
Aug 13, 2006
678
Kingman, Arizona
I remember that when the billets were acquired, they were all sent to Wixom as a distribution point before going to Roush & Multi-Matic for machining. One whole isle was filled up with pallets of approximately 2'x2'x 4" chunks of Aluminum blanks. A beautiful sight to see.
 

GTinTN

GT Owner
Jan 17, 2019
222
Brentwood, TN
Thanks for sharing! My GT was one of the early ones and now I know something new about it!
 

twobjshelbys

GT Owner
Jul 26, 2010
6,053
Las Vegas, NV
Intriguing! I knew of the issue but never head heard any of the details. The metallurgical explanation was interesting.
 

analogdesigner

GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Nov 15, 2005
949
San Clemente, CA USA
I remember seeing some early GTs at the dealer with "billet" machined arms. Roush did the machining of these in a timely manner. Aluminum Precision Products in Santa Ana, CA did the forgings for the balance of the production cars. It's hard to beat a good forging!
 
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PeteK

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Apr 18, 2014
2,268
Kalama, Free part of WA State
Yeah Jay, from an engineering point of view, I’d choose the forgings, but from a mechanical jewelry point of view. It’s hard to beat the appearance of the machined pieces. Maybe if they were anodized blue!
 

daytrayd

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Apr 23, 2010
557
Austin, TX
Awesome to get the inside scoop, I’ve got the billet arms. One detail they didn’t mention was the Camilo prints also given out as an apology for the inconvenience!
 
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Specracer

GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Nov 28, 2005
7,081
MA
Great article, have been lucky enough to hear these stories along the way, from team members. The more you hear and learn about how dedicated Ford, and the entire team was to getting this car done, the more you wonder how on earth they they pull this off. Was an amazing project, and obviously we all love the result.
 

sahlman

Ford GT Team Alumni
Jul 21, 2011
329
Verona, WI
I remember that when the billets were acquired, they were all sent to Wixom as a distribution point before going to Roush & Multi-Matic for machining. One whole isle was filled up with pallets of approximately 2'x2'x 4" chunks of Aluminum blanks. A beautiful sight to see.
We were battling Boeing for sourcing every certified billet of 6061-T6 and then still ultra sounding and x-raying each billet before going to Roush and Multimatic. I can't recall if Wixom held these pieces before or after this testing step.
 

sahlman

Ford GT Team Alumni
Jul 21, 2011
329
Verona, WI
I remember seeing some early GTs at the dealer with "billet" machined arms. Roush did the machining of these in a timely manner. Aluminum Precision Products in Santa Ana, CA did the forgings for the balance of the production cars. It's hard to beat a good forging!
I sourced the machined upper control arms to Roush and the Lowers to Multimatic. I split them due to risk and nearing capacity limits.
 

extrap

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Jul 16, 2020
1,751
Gainesville FL
That's cool historical info, Scott. Somebody needs to compile all of these types of from-the-source forum posts into a book :cool:
 

GT Tech

Ford GT Team Alumni
Aug 13, 2006
678
Kingman, Arizona
We were battling Boeing for sourcing every certified billet of 6061-T6 and then still ultra sounding and x-raying each billet before going to Roush and Multimatic. I can't recall if Wixom held these pieces before or after this testing step.
Yeah. Was not sure at which way they were headed when they were at Wixom. Our hi-lo driver said they were going to Roush and Multi-Matic, but that was all we heard
 

sahlman

Ford GT Team Alumni
Jul 21, 2011
329
Verona, WI
That's cool historical info, Scott. Somebody needs to compile all of these types of from-the-source forum posts into a book :cool:
Glad you like it. There is so much.

I am looking at doing a '05-'06 Ford GT design/engineering video series from start to finish. So many details and good stories from the program. This would include interviews with many of my FGT engineering teammates (technicians and all - everyone but Camilo! LOL KIDDING!!) and owners. Interviews with Camilo about breaking his heart multiple times including 86ing his deep dish wheels at the beginning and fender clearances.

I have done enough writing so this is my preference along with on-track footage new and old. What do you think?!
 

twobjshelbys

GT Owner
Jul 26, 2010
6,053
Las Vegas, NV
Glad you like it. There is so much.

I am looking at doing a '05-'06 Ford GT design/engineering video series from start to finish. So many details and good stories from the program. This would include interviews with many of my FGT engineering teammates (technicians and all - everyone but Camilo! LOL KIDDING!!) and owners. Interviews with Camilo about breaking his heart multiple times including 86ing his deep dish wheels at the beginning and fender clearances.

I have done enough writing so this is my preference along with on-track footage new and old. What do you think?!

Oh yes!!!!!
 

GT Tech

Ford GT Team Alumni
Aug 13, 2006
678
Kingman, Arizona
Glad you like it. There is so much.

I am looking at doing a '05-'06 Ford GT design/engineering video series from start to finish. So many details and good stories from the program. This would include interviews with many of my FGT engineering teammates (technicians and all - everyone but Camilo! LOL KIDDING!!) and owners. Interviews with Camilo about breaking his heart multiple times including 86ing his deep dish wheels at the beginning and fender clearances.

I have done enough writing so this is my preference along with on-track footage new and old. What do you think?!
As Fred and I got to be pretty good pals, he would tell me stories of him and Camilo butting heads on more than a few occasions. Guess it got pretty "interesting" when it came to fixed door glass issue. Those were the days buddy. Time of our lives.