The 2002 Ford Mustang GT-- An Ongoing Project

I want to first give an introduction on how I became a Mustang owner. I was never really much of a car enthusiast, but that changed quickly when the opportunity to own such a classic vehicle was presented to me. It was during the summer of 2005 when my father decided he wanted to trade in his 2002 Mustang GT Coupe (Premium Package) for the new 2005 model. Soon after he started looking around at the different dealerships in our area (by comparing list prices of the 05 and the trade in value being offered for the 02) it was clear that no dealer was going to give a reasonable trade in offer for the 02. He still had about $14,000 left to pay off the loan for the 02-- which was in great condition (inside and out). So then he came to me with the offer of a lifetime. He asked if I would be interested in taking over the payments on the 02 and eventually owning the vehicle. I was a little hesitant to accept the offer-- mainly because I was still paying off my 2001 Hyundai Accent and I didn’t think it would be affordable with my current budget. But, after working the loan details out with the bank and selling my Hyundai I decided to go for it! And by the end of that summer, I was driving my new (to me) Mustang.
Since I had never driven the vehicle before, it was a brand new experience for me. Not to mention the upgrade from a 4 cylinder compact to a V8 coupe made it feel like I was driving a luxury vehicle with a lot more horsepower. The car handled like a champ and had the speed and sound of a true sports car. So I pretty much fell in love with the car after the first time I drove it and would always be looking forward to the next trip to the store, or drive to work, or cruise to the beach, or whatever reason I could find to drive it.
Having never owned a muscle car before, I was totally oblivious to the various after market products and the companies dedicated to making them readily available for the Ford Mustang owner. After I started browsing the different sites and their products, I tried to visualize how my car would look with the different products in place and what else I might want to do in order to customize my car. This was the beginning of an ongoing project in which I became totally dedicated—with still no end in sight.
First off, I tinted all the windows with limo shaded film. I then added some exterior accessories from SS Inserts: MUSTANG lettering for the rear bumper and stainless steel inserts for the hood and side scoops, bullitt machine finished fuel door, SS front license plate with GT logo, and an 8” antenna to replace the original 3 ft long one. I also replaced the factory honeycomb grill and its corralled pony with a grill delete kit and “floating” pony emblem.
Next, I focused on dressing up the interior by replacing the stock tilt steering and turn signal levers, headlight and shifter knobs, emergency brake handle, and door lock pins with new bullitt machine finished parts. I added new aluminum pedals (for manual transmission w/ GT logo on clutch and brake) which replaced the stock rubber ones. Then I put new floor mats in-- which were also customized with the GT logo. I am still in the process of replacing the remaining stock interior parts by purchasing their replacement parts whenever I have some extra money-- which is not as often as I would like-- and eventually have all of the available bullitt finished pieces in their place.
There are a couple free modifications that I have chosen to adopt on my vehicle as well. The first was to take the slack out of the throttle cable that is connected to the gas pedal. By doing this, I was able to take about an inch of slack out of the cable-- allowing the gas pedal to stick out farther becoming even with the brake pedal. It also seems to have made the gas pedal a little more sensitive to the touch. The other mod was lowering the wiper blades about an inch or so, so they don’t rest as high up on the bottom of the windshield. This increased my visibility over the front of the car, which was partially obstructed before. I also have future plans to put Black Bullitt rims on it, but that is not top priority.
My top priority now includes adding any modifications that will improve the overall performance of the vehicle. I started with the addition of Steeda’s Short Throw shifter—replacing the factory shift handle. I especially like this mod because I am able to shift with more authority than the stock shifter allowed and it is also easier to find the gears because it is spring loaded. The addition of a cold air intake was a no-brainer. I chose K&N’s FIPK, which replaces the stock intake with a less restrictive type of system. I have future plans to add an exhaust system including new headers and eventually I would like to install a pro-charger.

As you can see, the possibilities are just about endless when it comes to customizing the Mustang—no matter what model it might be. That is why I have chosen such a title for my review. I would recommend this vehicle to anyone who has the inner race car driver within themselves, because it will be exposed as soon as they get behind the wheel. Also, with the huge amount of after market products available for the Mustang, it makes a great project vehicle for any car enthusiast-- which I would now consider myself.