Stock side veiw - I think this design is the best that Ford has put out in the last few decades. It's not as boxy as the Fox Mustangs, but not as soft as the 94-98 'coke-bottle' design. I like the stock side skirts and prefer the 'wingless' trunk (and lack of stripes/decals) to wilder variations on this theme. Unfortunately, I always thought the wheel openings looked too much like a 4x4.
DropZone springs & KYB shocks/struts (rear swaybar & spring isolators installed, not pictured) - Even with the stock 15" rims/tires, the look is much more agressive. Lowering the car's roll center (and adding the rear swaybar) dramatically improves the handling. The only downside is having to slow down for speed bumps. And I do mean SLOW DOWN.
17x8 Bullit rims & 245/45/17 Kuhmo radials - these were a great handling upgrade, but added 11 lbs rotating mass to each corner. That's like carrying an additional 176 lb. passenger (assuming 1 lb. of rotating mass is equivalent to 4 lbs. of stationary weight, some estimates are as high as 10-to-1)!
Mach 1 chin spoiler & Bullitt fuel door - a subtle �hybrid� of Mustang upgrade packages. Bullitt rims & fuel door, Mach 1 grille delete & chin spoiler, combined with stock V6 hood & side scoops, and no rear wing. It�s all long, low & smooth! (Only thing I'm missing is something Cobra ... maybe that destinctive blower whine?)
Stock grille - nice tribute to the original 'coralled mustang', but I'm not a big fan of the 'honeycomb' design. The Bullitt grille does look nicer (in my opinion) with the absence of the chrome circle around the Mustang emblem, and anyone can mod their grille to match that ... but I wanted something 'different'.
Mach1 Grille delete & chin spoiler with smoked headlamps - similar to the previous-generation Mustang (but still distinctive) I prefer the later model smoked headlamps over the chrome buckets that came with the '99. Overall, this combination aids the lowered/stealthy appearance. The chin spoiler is a 'curb feeler' as well ... have to be careful when parking.
Stock engine compartment - 190 BHP straight from the factory (equivalent to the early/mid 80's 5.0 Mustang's output.) The split-port intake, shorty headers, and Tremec 5-speed they put on the stock '99 really 'woke up' the little V6 ... still only 50HP short of the stock V8. It's a good compromise of power vs. economy. We all know that 200HP is too many & 500 HP isn't nearly enough.
BBK strut tower brace, UPR caster/camber plates, & custom CAI intake (ASP UDP & 180-degree thermostat not pictured) - after lowering the car 2", the C/C plates were essential to correcting the front-end alignment. I didn't go for the offset rack bushings, bumpsteer kit, or shorter swaybar endlinks ... I think everything's acceptable as-is (although it won't pass geometry class.) The strut tower brace stiffened the front-end, and the cold-air intake/under-drive pulley combination gave me back what I lost with the bigger/heavier rim/tire combination.
Stock gauges/stereo/shifter - Pretty amazing that 'stock' Mustangs came with AM/FM CD Cassette stereo, tilt wheel, A/C, rear defrost, and interval wipers in '99 (that would've been checking all the options on earlier model years). Ford left the interior styling unchanged from '94-98 and could use an upgrade/freshening.
MAC white-faced gauges, Pioneer MP3/WMA head unit, SHO dash compartment, Pro 5.0 shifter & Kirban billet shift knob - having a head unit that can play MP3/WMA discs (and still has an accessory input) was important to me. The upgraded speakers are a good investment and the Bazooka sub fills out the bottom-end without sacrificing much weight or trunk space. The short-shifter was a 'nice to have' while the white-faced gauges & billet shift knob were added because they were distinctive (and easy to install).
Page 1 - Intro & Upgrade List
Page 2 - Pictures & Future Upgrades
Page 3 - You Are Viewing
Page 4 - Riding Through The MidWest
