External Modifications to My GT...Before I destory it..

[2001GTPEWTER]

Couple of things I need help with. I have (I hate having to keep writing this) a mineral grey 2001 Mustang GT all stock except for Flowmaster catback kit and K&N air filter...NOW, I'm gonna put 2003 Cobra bumper covers (OEM, Not those ridiculous looking Cobra-R pieces of crap) on the car, a fiberglass hood from a 2002 Cobra, obviously the wheels next...ummmm...oh yeah then I'm having Macco paint the entire car black. I have to remove the GT emblems from the side and back of the car, as well as the rear spoiler (all adhesive jobs), how do I do this safely without scratching the paint. Whats the easiest way to get the bumper covers OFF, do I have to take out ALL the screws that look like hold it to the cars' frame?...how do I detach and ATTach the hoods with only myself without dropping the thing on the fenders?...Any help is appreciated, I'm doing this so the car will hold a better value come time I have the cash to buy a REAL 2004 Cobra.

[bjack]

If your concern is to hold and maintain the value of the car you may want to reconsider the color change. Macco offers several price ranges for thier paint jobs and the quality of the job matches the price. A professionally done color change can be very expensive, you have to remove all weather stripping, trim, panels, doors, hood trunk, and lights etc. in order to sand and paint the jams and hidden spaces (big job). This is very labor/prep intensive and takes a while to accomplish in order to do it right.

To remove the emblems (there may be a better solution, but this has worked for me in the past): Sometimes you get lucky, you can try by pulling on the emblem if it doesn't budge you can soak the area with a solvent. Take a piece of fishing line, wrap/tie both ends to a couple of screwdrivers or something similar and use a slicing motion back and forth to cut through the adhesive. Once the emblem is removed you can use the solvent to clean off the remaining adhesive. If you do follow through with the repaint, just ask the Macco guys to remove them for you before they spray the car.

The bumper covers are not attached to the frame. They are usually attached by small bolts around the edges of the inner bumper, fenders/quarters and can be easily removed. Think of it as nothing more than an outer skin around the steel inner bumper.

To remove the hood without help can be disastrous and I wouldn’t recommend doing it without a buddy! But it can be done if you’re very careful. I tried this technique on a 1955 Chevy and those hoods are solid steel, awkward to handle and heavy. First, put something across the areas you want to protect if things go wrong like the fenders and windshield (blankets, fender covers). Loosen the bolts from the hinges on both sides leaving them in place. Choose a side to begin with and face the opposite hinge, place your shoulder underneath the edge of the hood and stretch your arm along the outer edge and grasp the trailing (back) edge of the hood and use the other hand to remove the loosen bolts. Now carefully keep pressure on the hood by holding it in place and flush on the hinge and slowly walk around the edge of the hood keeping the pressure applied with your hands. Work your way around to the opposite side and repeat the process (you really have to apply a lot of downward pressure with the hand that grasps the back edge of the hood while pressing up with the shoulder). Now here is where it gets tricky as heck! As you remove the last bolt with your shoulder still firmly placed against the edge of the hood, slowly let the hood tip towards the front of the car and balance the hood on the upper edges of the hinges. Using your hands to hold the hood in place slowly walk around the car to the center front while balancing the hood on the upper edges of the hinges. Catch your breath and move your hands from the front of the hood along the outer edges as far as you can comfortably go, tip the front of the hood in a downward direction and lift it from the hinges and take a few steps backward and remove the hood. Again, I’d only do this as a last resort its better to get a buddy to assist. Best of luck!

[2001GTPEWTER]

Cars all done! Thanks again.