Photo Op August 12, 2010.

The other day when I took pictures of my car I neglected to do some with the top down, so today I thought I would seek out another spot suitable for snapping some shots. Also, I wanted some good shots to enter into a contest put on by American Muscle. I went back over to downtown Winter Park to drive around. Right by the country club over there I found this great old house on the edge of the golf course. I thought it was the perfect setting for some dusk photos. You be the judge...

4.10 Gears Installed August 12, 2010.

The wife told me if I wanted to get a little more done to my car I could if I wanted to. This morning I headed back over to Lamotta Performance to get some new gears, I decided to upgrade from the 3.55 up to 4.10.



Basically what this means is I get more low end torque. Or in even simpler terms, I get more throttle response when I press down on the gas pedal. Quite seriously after driving it home I can tell you all that, yes, indeed it does have more get up and go. I have to take it easy on the new gears for a couple of days so they can settle in with each other, so the manufacturer states. Patrick, the office manager, said that he tells everybody to take it easy but 4 of 5 still drive out of the parking lot sideways.

I arrived at about 10am and decided to stick around for the install, to see how they did it.




I learned a few things, mainly that I don't want to ever have to change the gears on a Mustang. The guys over at Lamotta did a great job and didn't mind me hovering and taking pictures.



I am going back on Monday for the dyno and tune to give the gears the time they need to settle. The dyno we did the other day was a bad day plus I had substandard petrol running my car. She put down 280HP but Jake thinks she should be around 290HP. I will be sure to post the results as soon as I get home on Monday from the shop.

Pictures Of Beatrix Re-Imagined! August 7, 2010.

I was trying to think of a good place to go take pictures of my car so you my readers could see the end result of the current round of modifications. I thought about going to the beach, however, I already have pretty good beach shots. I may still go to New Smyrna to get updated pictures though. A combination of not really wanting to drive that far and the fact I wanted some place different I decided to locate an alternate location, but where? My service rep over at Don Reid Ford wanted to see the car once it was lowered so I headed over that way, he wasn't there. Leaving the dealership it hit me, the brick road in Winter Park would be perfect, but where was there no traffic? Over by the college I found a parking area that was an extension of the brick road that looked perfect for snapping a few shots. The only thing that would have made it even better is if there wasn't a busy street so close, but I think the pictures turned out just fine...





Possibly in the next few days I will take a trip out to the beach on a nice sunny day, and share those pictures too...

Lowered and Louder With Short Throw Shift! August 6, 2010.

Car went into the shop bright and early this morning to have a few parts installed. I got the work done over at Lamotta Performance in Longwood, a shop that a few of my Mustang Club buddies have used and trust. After the work was done I can tell you that I would recommend them as well, very professional and high level of attention to detail. I felt like my car was their only priority, even with many other Mustangs around the shop getting worked on. There was more to the install than they had originally thought, I didn't communicate the fact that the lowering was the entire handling pack rather than just springs, also, the exhaust was x-pipes AND axle back mufflers. As a result the dyno run planned for after the install was postponed until Monday, I will post the results when I get them. I am very pleased with my decision to go to Lamotta to have the work done rather than the other option I was considering.

The modifications done today was the perfect amount to make me a very happy Mustang owner. My car was lowered by an inch (1.5" rear, 1" front) with a Ford Racing handling pack, than included springs, dampers, sway bars, and strut tower brace (though I kept the stock brace in). The lower stance makes me feel more in control of all those horses when I press down on that pedal, and cornering is more consistent and controlled. A Steeda tri-ax shifter that I was, with good reason, not confident to put in myself was installed as well. The short throw all billet aluminum shifter is an impressive improvement over the stock shifter, It's so much easier to shift. Last but not least, the exhaust was upgraded with a Magnaflow true x-pipe with high flow cats, and a Magnaflow axle back muffler. This really is the favorite modification I have made to my car, the deep and aggressive exhaust tone that I am getting now is really music to my ears. It's not very loud when cruising, but cranking down on the accelerator really makes a nice loud sound.