Picked up a 2010 Hardtop GT

Thanks, I appreciate the advice and guidance I’ve received on this site. I do have the axle back exhaust to put on, and pulleys and suspension are definitely on the to do list. I’ve got a stripe kit and a front splitter coming. I will wait until they are on the car before putting some wax/ceramic coating on it. Looking forward to weather good enough to drive the car as I only drove it for about 150 kms before parking it for the winter.
 
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Well, after two days of warm weather, and some rain, the snow had taken a beating and the roads were bare and just about dry. I could not resist taking the car for a short rip to see how it was running after the CAI and tune. Definitely sounds better and the throttle feels much more responsive. Those mods were made on the recommendation of forum members, and once again I appreciate the expertise and advice that was given and is available. A few winter Mustang sighting pictures.
 
Now that this Car is 15 Model Years Old it would be worthwhile getting an Insurance Quote from Hagerty Collector Car Insurance.

You most likely had it on your 04.

Besides their Competitive Rates, the ability to Insure the Vehicle for what it is actually worth and not the Black Book Value that doesn’t distinguish the difference between a Base Model and a GT is a Great Advantage 👍
 
Put the car up on the new QuickJack for the first time this morning. Very impressed with the lift. Sprayed all the nuts and bolts that will have to come off to replace the exhaust with PB Blaster and will let them soak for a few days before attempting removal and installation of new exhaust.
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Ohtobbad said:
Looks same as mine, we love it, handy too and fully portable.
easy to move around and set. As good as you can get,
when you can't have a host and not insane money.
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I agree. Saw yours in the picture of your project. They were on sale at Costco for $1500, including delivery. Can lift up to 7000 lbs, good for anything I have. They will make it much easier, quicker, and safer, to change over mounted wheels/tires on several vehicles in Spring and Fall, as opposed to jacking on wheel up at a time.
 
KBStang said:
Put the car up on the new QuickJack for the first time this morning. Very impressed with the lift. Sprayed all the nuts and bolts that will have to come off to replace the exhaust with PB Blaster and will let them soak for a few days before attempting removal and installation of new exhaust.
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They just might be on my list before spring tire change overs 🤔
 
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I got the MBRP cat-back exhaust installed this morning. Was definitely a PITA at times, but got the old exhaust off and the new one on without too much swearing. At one point I had one foot pushing the muffler backwards and the other pushing the exhaust pipe forward of the muffler towards the front of the car, while beating on the muffler with a large rubber mallet, to get them apart - worked. There is the clamp that holds the pipes together, then two hangers on each side. I don’t think they could have put some of the hanger bolts in places that were any harder to get at.

Letting it all soak in PB Blaster for a couple of days meant that all the bolts came out fairly easily, once I got to them.

Al (Mineral Grey) had told me to make sure I did the middle bracket first when putting the new exhaust on and that saved me a lot of grief. By unbolting the rear bracket, taking one bolt out of the middle bracket and loosening the other, (spraying WD40 on the rubber hangers) and loosening the pipe clamp, I was able to maneuver the old muffler off the middle hanger, and remove it.

When putting the new muffler on, I hung it on the middle hanger first, then put the pipes together, then bolted the rear hanger, when I had slid onto the muffler beforehand, in place.

Exhaust was well made as it, and the chrome tips all lined up perfectly with very little adjustment required. Fired it up in the garage and sounds good, but I will have to resist the urge to take a blast on the open road for a while. I am still waiting for the stripe package and front splitter, it appears that some companies who have these things for sale do not actually have them on stock - they are “made to order” and can take 1-3 months to come.
 
Ohtobbad said:
I noticed, looking at bottom of car, you could clean and paint the bottom
it looks great, even if no one else will ever see it,
ask me how I know 😜
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When I went to look at the car, I brought my coveralls and a flashlight. When I crawled under the front and back and looked at the underside, it was evident that the car had never seen a salty road, or likely been winter driven. At that point, I decided I wanted the car if the price was right. It definitely makes it a lot easier to work on when things are not rusted together or fasteners seized.

Hopefully I can keep the shiny side up and no one else will get to appreciate the condition of the underside. :cool:
 
KBStang said:
View attachment 82169View attachment 82170View attachment 82171View attachment 82172View attachment 82173I got the MBRP cat-back exhaust installed this morning. Was definitely a PITA at times, but got the old exhaust off and the new one on without too much swearing. At one point I had one foot pushing the muffler backwards and the other pushing the exhaust pipe forward of the muffler towards the front of the car, while beating on the muffler with a large rubber mallet, to get them apart - worked. There is the clamp that holds the pipes together, then two hangers on each side. I don’t think they could have put some of the hanger bolts in places that were any harder to get at.

Letting it all soak in PB Blaster for a couple of days meant that all the bolts came out fairly easily, once I got to them.

Al (Mineral Grey) had told me to make sure I did the middle bracket first when putting the new exhaust on and that saved me a lot of grief. By unbolting the rear bracket, taking one bolt out of the middle bracket and loosening the other, (spraying WD40 on the rubber hangers) and loosening the pipe clamp, I was able to maneuver the old muffler off the middle hanger, and remove it.

When putting the new muffler on, I hung it on the middle hanger first, then put the pipes together, then bolted the rear hanger, when I had slid onto the muffler beforehand, in place.

Exhaust was well made as it, and the chrome tips all lined up perfectly with very little adjustment required. Fired it up in the garage and sounds good, but I will have to resist the urge to take a blast on the open road for a while. I am still waiting for the stripe package and front splitter, it appears that some companies who have these things for sale do not actually have them on stock - they are “made to order” and can take 1-3 months to come.
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Looks Great 👍

Job Well Done 👍
 
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When I test drove the car I noticed that every time I started it, there was a clicking from behind the dashboard for about 4 seconds. I finally got around to having a look at it and doing some research. Turns out that there are 3 or 4 “blend door actuators” behind the dash that open and close flaps that direct the air for heat, defrost, AC, etc. They have plastic gears that are prone to failure, and when they fail, produce a clicking noise and may prevent you from getting air in the direction you want. Three of the four actuators are accessed by flipping down the glovebox. The fourth is on cars with dual climate control, which I do not have, and is on the driver’s side.

By pressing each actuator while it is clicking, you can figure out which one it is. Fortunately my bad one was the easiest to access, but still a PITA. When working on cars, and something has to be removed, it seems that there is always one nut or fastener that takes 10 times the others to access, and remove, then all of the others combined.

Two of the three screws came out fairly easy. I could turn the other about a twelve of a turn each time right until it was loose enough to be removed. More scraped knuckles and swearing.

Took the old actuator apart. Damage to gears is easy to see. New actuator ordered and will be here Monday. Still waiting for more parts and have lots to keep me busy till April.

Actuator that was bad can be seen behind the vertical bar and was held on by 3 pink tipped screws. Lower screw looks accessible, but only 1/2 inch or so available above it, so a socket would not fit. I had to use a small 8 mm wrench a small part turn at a time to remove it. Getting the new one installed will likely be just as challenging.
 
KBStang said:
View attachment 82369View attachment 82370View attachment 82371View attachment 82372When I test drove the car I noticed that every time I started it, there was a clicking from behind the dashboard for about 4 seconds. I finally got around to having a look at it and doing some research. Turns out that there are 3 or 4 “blend door actuators” behind the dash that open and close flaps that direct the air for heat, defrost, AC, etc. They have plastic gears that are prone to failure, and when they fail, produce a clicking noise and may prevent you from getting air in the direction you want. Three of the four actuators are accessed by flipping down the glovebox. The fourth is on cars with dual climate control, which I do not have, and is on the driver’s side.

By pressing each actuator while it is clicking, you can figure out which one it is. Fortunately my bad one was the easiest to access, but still a PITA. When working on cars, and something has to be removed, it seems that there is always one nut or fastener that takes 10 times the others to access, and remove, then all of the others combined.

Two of the three screws came out fairly easy. I could turn the other about a twelve of a turn each time right until it was loose enough to be removed. More scraped knuckles and swearing.

Took the old actuator apart. Damage to gears is easy to see. New actuator ordered and will be here Monday. Still waiting for more parts and have lots to keep me busy till April.

Actuator that was bad can be seen behind the vertical bar and was held on by 3 pink tipped screws. Lower screw looks accessible, but only 1/2 inch or so available above it, so a socket would not fit. I had to use a small 8 mm wrench a small part turn at a time to remove it. Getting the new one installed will likely be just as challenging.
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I think we have all been there a time or 2 😳

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