In going through all of the threads related to the differences between 2005 & 2006 cars, it occured to me that it might be worthwhile to prepare a summary for other members of all the various items listed. I have done that below. If there are additional differences, please post them here and I will update the summary so we can all have a final version.
Ford GT
Variances Between 2005 & 2006 Models
Grille - The grille was changed at some point (deleted) supposedly to improve cooling. The front grill cost $175 with an extra 1,000 cars being produced saved $172,000, and so it may have been cost related.
Engine Cover Clip - The ’05 has a painted clip that covers the body seam on the engine cowl right at the top of the rear window on both sides. The seam clip was discontinued sometime during the ’05 model run. The later model
‘05’s don’t have it. 2005 VIN 786 does have this clip. The so called
“band aid’ clips, which were a patch on early to mid clam shells were for poor finish on the seam of the clam shell, 1314 doesn’t have it, I think around 700 or so the panel was just better made.
Engine Cover Springs - One of the better changes was the rubber stops that catch the engine cowl were changed to springs. This makes the hood spring open much better so you can get your fingers under it to push the latches. On my ’05 I have to pull up on the air intake to get it to open after I pull the release. The spring thing saved 13 cents from the bolt and grommet which is off the defunct T-bird. A neat trick is if you want your GT to look like a prototype buy 2 T-bird ones they have a rubber boot protector just like the proto’s. They also saved 3 cents by pulling the rubber boot off the GT ones. Inside the clam shell on real early cars the serial numbers are painted stamped on, not tape stamped on like the rest, also there are all chalk markings, line up markings on the real early ones.
Tires - The tire tread was improved. The ’06 has much more tread for some reason.
Front Hood - The inner front hood between the early and late cars, some were smooth and some were rough fiberglass. It apparently is not related to production date.
Transaxle - Early ’05 cars have a solid tube and fittings to connect the transaxle “pump out” to the “pump in” on the transaxle. The transaxle cooler bypass hose is solid steel on the ’05 and steel braid on the ’06.
Oil Reservoir - The brackets that secure the Oil Reservoir to the frame are silver on early ’05 cars and black on late ’05 and ’06 cars.
A-arms - All a-arms were to have been cast. Early ‘05’s were recalled because of the failure of an a-arm on one car. Thus if you’re a-arms are machined, done by Roush, they have the replacement a-arms which were installed to correct the problem while the casting process was being corrected. These early cars were either impounded at the factory, dealership, or a flatbed truck sent to the owner’s house to bring the vehicle back to the dealership for repairs. These repairs took several weeks to be made and in some cases maybe even 2 months because of the backlog. ’05 cars built post recall were built new (not retrofitted) with the billet arms. Production had not ramped up on the new forged arms so several hundred
‘05’s were built new with the “fancy” arms. In September 2007, there are a few sets of these billet arms still available but they are pretty expensive. It has not been stated just how many ‘05’s had them, but they did use up what they made, so we may never know exactly which number they stopped with. For reasons still unknown, the blank aluminum blocks were all shipped to the Wixom shop first, before being sent to Roush and Multi-Matic to be machined. Sure was a pretty site, pallets full of 40 pound aluminum blocks. Word had it that each arm ended up costing $2000 to $3000. When they started building the ‘06’s, they switched to the forged arms. Not as pretty, but a heck of a lot cheaper to make, and just as strong if not stronger. The first design was a casting process which, I believe at one time, they were even touting it as a new “breakthrough” technology –“squish cast”- a cheaper, faster casting method “almost as strong” as a forging. They had to delete those words in the 2006 Product Information Guide (page 12). The new design actually was forged instead of cast, and the beautiful billet ones were virtually “hand-made” while they worked on the tooling for the new forgings. They actually switched over to forged arms in August of ’05 prior to the ’06 launch. The event that triggered the change was availability of less expensive forged arms. They switched over when they could no longer build up a complete car with the billet arms.
Were the new A-arms the reason for the MSRP increase? That is a good question. There was a $10,000 mid year increase following essentially a $10,000 increase in cost due to the A-arms. Another owner had stated he was accidentally handed the bill for the A-arm change and it was right about $15,000. Maybe the increase was a partial recovery for Ford.
Seats - Very early bottom seats were creaky or fraying, and the Velcro and material were changed.
Door Panels - All ’06 door panels have the holding clips so they don’t fall off.
Windshields -Windshields on early cars are different (how/where the antenna and connections are).
Door Latches - Door latches were changed over to a quieter version and had cable/lever relationship changed so interior door handles functioned properly with less effort.
Side Scoops - On the top/back rounded center of the side scoops, on the
‘05’s, there is a small section of rubbed away paint; on all the ‘06’s I’ve looked at, the fix is a narrow piece of tape.
Seats - On the ’06 there is a section at the bottom of the seatback that is suede or rough-out leather. The ’05 has the same smooth leather as the rest of the seat. You have to look close or slide your hand between the seatback and bottom cushion to notice this.
Front Fender - Early GTs have an extension of the plastic front inner fender to protect the shock.
Ford GT
Variances Between 2005 & 2006 Models
Grille - The grille was changed at some point (deleted) supposedly to improve cooling. The front grill cost $175 with an extra 1,000 cars being produced saved $172,000, and so it may have been cost related.
Engine Cover Clip - The ’05 has a painted clip that covers the body seam on the engine cowl right at the top of the rear window on both sides. The seam clip was discontinued sometime during the ’05 model run. The later model
‘05’s don’t have it. 2005 VIN 786 does have this clip. The so called
“band aid’ clips, which were a patch on early to mid clam shells were for poor finish on the seam of the clam shell, 1314 doesn’t have it, I think around 700 or so the panel was just better made.
Engine Cover Springs - One of the better changes was the rubber stops that catch the engine cowl were changed to springs. This makes the hood spring open much better so you can get your fingers under it to push the latches. On my ’05 I have to pull up on the air intake to get it to open after I pull the release. The spring thing saved 13 cents from the bolt and grommet which is off the defunct T-bird. A neat trick is if you want your GT to look like a prototype buy 2 T-bird ones they have a rubber boot protector just like the proto’s. They also saved 3 cents by pulling the rubber boot off the GT ones. Inside the clam shell on real early cars the serial numbers are painted stamped on, not tape stamped on like the rest, also there are all chalk markings, line up markings on the real early ones.
Tires - The tire tread was improved. The ’06 has much more tread for some reason.
Front Hood - The inner front hood between the early and late cars, some were smooth and some were rough fiberglass. It apparently is not related to production date.
Transaxle - Early ’05 cars have a solid tube and fittings to connect the transaxle “pump out” to the “pump in” on the transaxle. The transaxle cooler bypass hose is solid steel on the ’05 and steel braid on the ’06.
Oil Reservoir - The brackets that secure the Oil Reservoir to the frame are silver on early ’05 cars and black on late ’05 and ’06 cars.
A-arms - All a-arms were to have been cast. Early ‘05’s were recalled because of the failure of an a-arm on one car. Thus if you’re a-arms are machined, done by Roush, they have the replacement a-arms which were installed to correct the problem while the casting process was being corrected. These early cars were either impounded at the factory, dealership, or a flatbed truck sent to the owner’s house to bring the vehicle back to the dealership for repairs. These repairs took several weeks to be made and in some cases maybe even 2 months because of the backlog. ’05 cars built post recall were built new (not retrofitted) with the billet arms. Production had not ramped up on the new forged arms so several hundred
‘05’s were built new with the “fancy” arms. In September 2007, there are a few sets of these billet arms still available but they are pretty expensive. It has not been stated just how many ‘05’s had them, but they did use up what they made, so we may never know exactly which number they stopped with. For reasons still unknown, the blank aluminum blocks were all shipped to the Wixom shop first, before being sent to Roush and Multi-Matic to be machined. Sure was a pretty site, pallets full of 40 pound aluminum blocks. Word had it that each arm ended up costing $2000 to $3000. When they started building the ‘06’s, they switched to the forged arms. Not as pretty, but a heck of a lot cheaper to make, and just as strong if not stronger. The first design was a casting process which, I believe at one time, they were even touting it as a new “breakthrough” technology –“squish cast”- a cheaper, faster casting method “almost as strong” as a forging. They had to delete those words in the 2006 Product Information Guide (page 12). The new design actually was forged instead of cast, and the beautiful billet ones were virtually “hand-made” while they worked on the tooling for the new forgings. They actually switched over to forged arms in August of ’05 prior to the ’06 launch. The event that triggered the change was availability of less expensive forged arms. They switched over when they could no longer build up a complete car with the billet arms.
Were the new A-arms the reason for the MSRP increase? That is a good question. There was a $10,000 mid year increase following essentially a $10,000 increase in cost due to the A-arms. Another owner had stated he was accidentally handed the bill for the A-arm change and it was right about $15,000. Maybe the increase was a partial recovery for Ford.
Seats - Very early bottom seats were creaky or fraying, and the Velcro and material were changed.
Door Panels - All ’06 door panels have the holding clips so they don’t fall off.
Windshields -Windshields on early cars are different (how/where the antenna and connections are).
Door Latches - Door latches were changed over to a quieter version and had cable/lever relationship changed so interior door handles functioned properly with less effort.
Side Scoops - On the top/back rounded center of the side scoops, on the
‘05’s, there is a small section of rubbed away paint; on all the ‘06’s I’ve looked at, the fix is a narrow piece of tape.
Seats - On the ’06 there is a section at the bottom of the seatback that is suede or rough-out leather. The ’05 has the same smooth leather as the rest of the seat. You have to look close or slide your hand between the seatback and bottom cushion to notice this.
Front Fender - Early GTs have an extension of the plastic front inner fender to protect the shock.
