This Just Got Real!

[DFB5.0]

The First Mod!

Yeah, yeah, I know, this isn't really a modification, rather making the best of a necessity.

Number plates on Mustang's seems to be a complicated topic, no other car I have experienced has had so much thought put into the tin plates screwed to the front and rear bumpers. For the most part, a lot of that has to do with the Mustang being optimized for US-style plates. Ford actually supply each Mustang with a molded front number plate plinth, which totally ruins the look of the car. If you have a Mustang on order, INSIST this is not fitted!

There are a variety of number plate brackets on the market, starting with basic plastic and ranging up to something a little more precise. Because of the creased front bumper, finding a number plate mounting solution became focus. I can’t remember who put me onto these, but my search ended when I discovered Flow Brackets. These are designed to offer a huge amount of adjustment and are superbly manufactured from CNC-milled aluminum and black stainless-steel hardware.

https://flowbrackets.com.au/

The Flow brackets can be ordered to suit a variety of plate sizes and styles for each state in Australia. Each bracket comes with a box of hardware to cater for the various plate mounting points on the bumper. The slots then allow for height and side to side adjustment. I had only intended on putting the Flow bracket on the don't, but decided to do the rear as well.

When I rocked up this morning, with the sales manager, salesman and detailer together in front of the car, I sensed a little anxiety. Signing the paperwork, the salesman commented that they had done their best with the plates, which had me instantly on edge! I mean, the whole idea of these plates was to make fitment easier. On inspection, they looked absolutely fine, so it was left at that.

Annoyingly, they fitted those pointless dealer plate surrounds. I know its policy for those to be fitted, but come on, all they did was throw money in the bin fitting them to my car. In fact, I did it for them.....................

To fit the number plate protectors, the plate and bracket had to come off. On closer inspection, they fitted the brackets exactly how I would have done. I later contacted the salesman to say that I had sensed some anxiety when I arrived, and that I wouldn't have done anything different, they were perfect. He admitted that yeah, they were panicking, mainly because of the huge array of hardware supplied with each bracket, which I'll admit was confusing for me too.

Before refitting the plates, I polished out the Kingpin plate protectors, then put everything back on as it was.

At this point, I would show you the finished result, but then I don't show plates. Trust me, they are a very neat solution, the supplied rubber spacers also help the plate stand off the paintwork to avoid wearing through. I remember being roasted for spending so much to screw number plates to a car. But put it this way, what is an extra $300 on a car that cost the better part of $100,000. I can guarantee it would cost way more than $300 to fix damaged paint caused by the number plates.

Sponsored

 

[DFB5.0]

Ok, so I'm nearly done. I have to say, it's been a full-on day and I'm about to crash.

I have yet to scrutinize the paint, but a few areas have stood out needing attention, so I have some work ahead of me getting to the level I'm happy with. Put it this way, the car I left at the dealer today was fully dialed in, the new one I drove home has a fair way to go. That's not a criticism, just the reality of a car that has sat outdoors for four months unprotected or never properly detailed.

I'm also loving the novelty of the remote start function, via the key fob or the Ford Pass App. However, I can't get the remote-rev function to work. I suspect that is a km thing, as in it needs to have some more time on it before that function is unlocked. The same for the line-lock, which is a shame because I wanted to do a massive burnout on the way out of the dealership.

It's also turning some heads! Takes me back to the early days of my S550. I'm fairly sure I'm the first in this little town to have a S650. I was also drawing the attention of S550 Mach1 on the way home earlier.

The "Easter Eggs" are very cool. I keep discovering hidden nostalgic logos hidden all around the car, I especially love the outline each generation of Mustang etched into the rear windscreen.

I love the gauge cluster customization! At the moment, I'm running the SVT Cobra style setup, I like how easy it is to read.

So much happened today and I feel like I've had a lot to say. No doubt I've missed something, but hey, I have time on my hands. And so, thanks for reading, thanks for the kind words, it means a lot.

 

[DFB5.0]

Congrats Deyon.
Well deserved.
As always, an interesting, entertaining and well written pictorial.

Thanks so much.

This made my day mate. I cant tell you how long I've looked forward to reading your thoughts on the whole experience once you take delivery. Well deserved!
Like you say, its important to tell people when they do a good job... so let me thank you on behalf of this Aussie Mustang community for all the effort and well thought out words and advise you are always ready to offer. You are appreciated. May you have many thousands of happy miles and lots of happy hours detailing your new Mustang. I'm looking forward to seeing what you have in store for it. I'm sure its going to be epic.

Thanks for the kind words, they mean a lot.

I feel like we have been through this together, I wish yours was here right now too. Hopefully not too much longer for you.

 

[DFB5.0]

Ummm, well................................

Not sure I should text him or not, maybe I went too far?

 

[hellohello123]

I can't deny it, watching fellow members get their new S650 Mustang's over the last couple of months has had me green with envy.

My day actually started with me feeling sore and sorry for myself, I didn't sleep very well, and neck pain is giving me grief again. After breakfast and a strong coffee, I got in the car for a trip to the bank, the Stihl dealer and then off to the Ford dealer to leave my number plates and touch base again, in that order.

In actual fact, I had only ever spoken in person with my salesman twice, first was on the 21st of September 2022 when I put down a deposit for a new Mustang. I then sat with him on the 30th of October 2023 when Ford released pricing for the new Mustang. All other correspondence has been by phone, text message or email, which suits me just fine.

Standing in the bank to be served was an exercise in frustration, always is. On my way out of the bank and the Stihl dealer next on the agenda, I took a glance at my phone and spotted something that took my breath away!

That picture was taken seconds after delivery. If I had gone to the dealer first instead of the bank, I would have seen the car being driven off the truck! Safe to say, I didn't go to the Stihl dealer next! I messaged back and said I would be arriving in a few minutes!

As I walked into the showroom, I spotted the car sitting in the delivery bay, the salesman collecting all of the build sheets and window sticker. As he walked towards me, I started to choke up and was nearly brought to tears................................after 765 days, or 2 years and 25 days, my new car landed at my local Ford dealer!

The car is dirty, as expected, but oh so sweet in person. As others have noted, pictures don't do the S650 justice. Compared to the S550, this new Mustang is sharper and tauter looking. Those blacked out headlights are soooo good, especially comparing to the non-black pack Mustang that was also delivered today. I still hate the wheels, they block the view to the red Brembo calipers that come standard with Magneride.

I also got the opportunity to fire up the engine for the first time, and a few cheeky blips of the throttle with the exhaust in track mode. Compared to my S550, its a little tame, so I may end up swapping out the suitcase resonator for an X-Pipe, I actually love the standard angled exhaust tips.

After an extended chat and walk around the car, I also got to meet the detailer in person to go over what I wanted and to show him over the Flow number plate brackets. They will wash the car as normal, I want it presentable and any issues noticed/sorted before delivery. I know a lot of guys say "DONT TOUCH IT", but I would rather anything wrong noticed before I hand over the cheque. There will be no polishing either, which he understood after I explained my background. I feel like I'm in safe hands.

Being mid-week and the detailer away on Friday, I was happy to have the car delivered next Tuesday, I want it done right. There is probably more to say but I'm so wired at the moment!

I can't believe this is actually happening!

A big congrats! That's all i can say, with envy

 

[Deano1978]

Nice one DBF, good summary of the story so far - now do the locomotion and get some km under its belt

Hopefully its my turn in about 8-9 weeks

 

[Deano1978]

The First Mod!

Yeah, yeah, I know, this isn't really a modification, rather making the best of a necessity.

Number plates on Mustang's seems to be a complicated topic, no other car I have experienced has had so much thought put into the tin plates screwed to the front and rear bumpers. For the most part, a lot of that has to do with the Mustang being optimized for US-style plates. Ford actually supply each Mustang with a molded front number plate plinth, which totally ruins the look of the car. If you have a Mustang on order, INSIST this is not fitted!

There are a variety of number plate brackets on the market, starting with basic plastic and ranging up to something a little more precise. Because of the creased front bumper, finding a number plate mounting solution became focus. I can’t remember who put me onto these, but my search ended when I discovered Flow Brackets. These are designed to offer a huge amount of adjustment and are superbly manufactured from CNC-milled aluminum and black stainless-steel hardware.

https://flowbrackets.com.au/

The Flow brackets can be ordered to suit a variety of plate sizes and styles for each state in Australia. Each bracket comes with a box of hardware to cater for the various plate mounting points on the bumper. The slots then allow for height and side to side adjustment. I had only intended on putting the Flow bracket on the don't, but decided to do the rear as well.

When I rocked up this morning, with the sales manager, salesman and detailer together in front of the car, I sensed a little anxiety. Signing the paperwork, the salesman commented that they had done their best with the plates, which had me instantly on edge! I mean, the whole idea of these plates was to make fitment easier. On inspection, they looked absolutely fine, so it was left at that.

Annoyingly, they fitted those pointless dealer plate surrounds. I know its policy for those to be fitted, but come on, all they did was throw money in the bin fitting them to my car. In fact, I did it for them.....................

To fit the number plate protectors, the plate and bracket had to come off. On closer inspection, they fitted the brackets exactly how I would have done. I later contacted the salesman to say that I had sensed some anxiety when I arrived, and that I wouldn't have done anything different, they were perfect. He admitted that yeah, they were panicking, mainly because of the huge array of hardware supplied with each bracket, which I'll admit was confusing for me too.

Before refitting the plates, I polished out the Kingpin plate protectors, then put everything back on as it was.

At this point, I would show you the finished result, but then I don't show plates. Trust me, they are a very neat solution, the supplied rubber spacers also help the plate stand off the paintwork to avoid wearing through. I remember being roasted for spending so much to screw number plates to a car. But put it this way, what is an extra $300 on a car that cost the better part of $100,000. I can guarantee it would cost way more than $300 to fix damaged paint caused by the number plates.

Good info, my flow brackets arrive today in prep for delivery sometime late Dec. Have already told the dealer I want mine installed not the one's it comes with.

 

[5.0ALM]

Ummm, well................................

Not sure I should text him or not, maybe I went too far?

You didn't go too far.
I'd imagine the upper echelon of FoMoCo management only look at P&L figures, and wouldn't drill down to see the nuances of external markets.

I'd be curious to know why we get such limited build configurations down under.
eg; not being able to order a spoiler independently of other options.
Each LHD vehicle is essentially custom built according to the order, so why can't we do the same, within reason?

Actually, the one question that absolutely begs to be asked:
The S550 release was meant to be a "global car".
Why [insert your own expletive!] don't we get a mirrored center console for the RHD market?
It would have cost peanuts in the overall scheme of things.

 

[VB50GT]

Ummm, well................................

Not sure I should text him or not, maybe I went too far?

I think you should tell him what we are all thinking.

I can understand that Ford Aus are stuck in the middle as far as the communication around the delays etc, but the limitations on ordering the options is just ridiculous - why can we not order a rear wing with any other option? Why can't we have Recaros and Magneride? Where are the Dealer-fit options? It's not like they haven't had 2 years to get it organised...

But as you said, it is an amazing car, and it was well worth the wait...

 

[Brumby5.0]

Hey Deyon, it appears that Jim Farley is offering you his ear!
So this would be a great opportunity to suggest that he uses his considerable clout to make available some of the options that are currently offered to the US market. (The spoiler for one?)

 

[Deano1978]

Hey Deyon, it appears that Jim Farley is offering you his ear!
So this would be a great opportunity to suggest that he uses his considerable clout to make available some of the options that are currently offered to the US market. (The spoiler for one?)

And wheels

Not that mine is built I'm ok that they've discontinued the black pack and Atlas Blue and made the 10R80 a no cost option by bumping the base price up by 2-3k

 

[IFFV68]

Very happy for you Deyon.
After such a long wait, it's a bit surreal, isn't it?

The Race Red and Black Pack is a great looking combination.
(I still reckon the front pony should stay chrome to contrast against the grille - 1st world problems!)

I'm jealous you got the window sticker... I did not.
My dealer (part of a group of dealers) has their vehicle PD done off site, and by the time I asked to keep it, it was already removed and destroyed.
I was probably 36 hours too late to ask.
It's a nice little keepsake to have though.

Looks like your leave was well timed... get some odd jobs out of the way, and then time to enjoy your new toy.

Your dealer should be able to get the Window Stickers by the Vin number.
My dealer gave me a copy of the Window Sticker before the 2024 GT Mustang was shipped.
It only takes a couple of minutes.
Good Luck,
Have Fun & please enjoy the Pony Ride.

 

[keithwalton]

Ford needs to update their template!

4.2" screen.
A CD player?
Where's the CD slot?

I noticed that on my uk build sheet as well (posted on uk thread). Can’t trust it when there is such an obvious error on it.

exports only have the physical sticker, not been able to locate a digital one

 

[DFB5.0]

Exhausting Work!

The first detailing job on the new Mustang, addressing the exhaust tips. The S650 uses carry over mufflers and exhaust tips from S550, so the pipes themselves are not sleeved with a chrome finisher. I actually quite like the crisp look they bring, even if it means they will require more ongoing maintenance. The condition of the tips at first looked fine, but under closer inspection, they needed some attention to bring to a level I'd be happy with.

Frustratingly, Ford still spray the underside of export Mustang's with horrible black paint, something that I immediately noticed when I got home from the dealer. Seeing smoke pour out from under the hood of your brand-new car is not something you want to see! A customer new to Mustang's would be extremely worried by this, but I've treaded this path before and know that the smell and smoke was from that useless paint. I mention this because that stuff was all over the exhaust tips, you can see it in the second pic above, and that was the good side, the underside was caked in it. This meant I needed to add an extra step this morning.

Before I went any further, it was time to glove up. These tips are renounced for being a finger slicer, that crisp edge is certainly sharp. I'd normally have nitrile rubber gloves on when using harsher chemicals, but they would have been useless here. A clean pair of my garden gloves worked well.

Koch Chemie Eulex is a sledgehammer, no doubt about it, and you should never use it in confined spaces as its extremely heady. It's typically used as a heavy-duty tar and adhesive remover, but this paint is like tar anyway. Turns out it worked very well at softening the paint to the point where it was removed with a towel. The problem here is working around that plastic bumper, care was needed to not get the Eulex everywhere. I worked my back to where the pipe joins the muffler, in other words, I had to know when to stop. If you end up doing this, chose your towel carefully, you will ruin it.

After the paint removal, I flushed the tips with ONR to remove the Eulex residue, which I can still smell in the garage. From here, I could start to polishing. For the inside of the pipe, I grabbed a Maxshine Polishing Cone which I had in stock and worked them over with Mothers Mag & Aluminum Polish.

At this point I want to highlight the brilliance of "disposable" microfiber towels. I've been running down a box of Repco Eclipse Microfiber Cloths, which are 200 gsm towels in 30cm x 30cm size. These are not the best towel you will ever have, but they excel in being cheap and sacrificial at 0.65c each. Their replacement I bought some time ago being the TRC Rip 'n' Rag.

I have to say, when TRC launched these, they made a huge song and dance about the concept of a microfiber dispenser pack and the disposable nature. Many companies have delivered this format in the past, long before TRC adopted it. Compared to the Repco towels, they actually have a lower 180 gsm and cost 0.87c per towel. However, with a 70/30 blend, they do seem to be softer and more absorbent, Repco don't publish the blend so I would say their cost per towel is achieved with a higher polyester count vs polyamide (polyamide is the absorbent/softness part).

The inboard right side pipe had some sort of scratch that didn't remove with polish, a light hit with some wet and dry paper sorted it easily, I also used that to round off some of the edge.

It was then time for a favorite of mine, a very obscure product that is so perfectly tailored for its role.................P21S Polishing Soap. I used this a final go-over, it actually feels grittier than the Mothers metal polish. A tub of this is going to last you for the rest of your life, its a must for those who love a clean set of pipes.

The final step was the application of Dr. Beasly's Metal Coat. I got this bottle at great expense through Obsessed Garage, but I see its now available on Amazon...................at great expense too. Like P21S, a bottle will last a very long time.

And the final result. Overall, they are a marked improvement prior to all this work, but I think I can still get a little more out of them. If I can find a tip style I like, I may end up going that route instead.

 

[DFB5.0]

The First Wash!

For a car guy, and a detailer in particular, the first wash of a new car is a very important bonding moment. For me, it's the moment where I begin to understand "how" to wash the car. The S550 was my favorite car to wash, the expansive panels and all of those taut lines were strangely satisfying. The colour played a big part too, it might have lacked a metallic element to make it POP, but I could make it look so glassy smooth that you could almost see through it! So, no pressure then on the new Mustang.

I'm approaching this car a little differently than usual. In the past, its been a mad rush to get everything done, for this car I going to take my time and do things in more manageable chunks, the exhaust tips being an example. In theory, this should make the process more enjoyable and less taxing. I'm also exploring a video element, which you will see soon.

The car was presented to me clean, but not to my level. That is nothing against the dealer, it's the reality of production line detailing. And to be fair, I didn't ask for perfection, I simply told them to wash it and make it presentable for delivery. So, my brain really needed to get the car properly clean and up to a base standard.

For the first wash, I decided to make this the decon wash, getting that knocked out prior to polishing in the coming week. This would also give me a proper look at the condition of the car, the paint in particular.

First up, the wheels. Oh boy, these are going to drive me nuts!

To start with, I decided to pre-treat the wheels with ADS Wheel Cleaner. To be honest, on such a new car I wasn't expecting to see much reaction, but that proved wrong.

With that rinsed, I turned my attention to removing the crap they put on the tyres, Carpro ReTyre stripping it with ease. I then foamed down with Brake Buster and cleaned the wheels and wheel arches. Interestingly, Ford are now using carpeted arch liners front and rear, which is probably contributing to the increased cabin refinement that I have already noticed.

I managed to get the Incredi-Brush Flat between the rotor and the inner barrel, but still needed the EZ-Detail to squeeze between the MASSIVE front calipers. On the rear, I have two calipers to deal with as they now use a separate caliper for the handbrake. The intricate lacework of spokes meant the Ultra Wool Mitt is a must.

At this point, I would have normally given the wheels a hit with Carpro Hydr02 to help with drying. However, I'll be coating them in the near future, and because of the matte finish, I wouldn't be able to polish that off. For now, they can remain bare.

From here, this is where I started the decon process by using NV Purify, applied to the whole vehicle. These cars sit out in the open for months prior to shipping and delivery, so who knows what has bonded to the paint in that time.

After allowing to dwell, I foamed down with ADS Decon Soap. Race Red would have masked it to a degree, but remarkably, there was little to no iron reaction from the Purify.

From here, I rinsed the car down to remove the Purify and Decon Soap, then re-foamed using Carpro Descale for the contact wash. Again, parked outdoors for so long, it was bound to have picked up some mineral content in that time. Up until now I had not touched the paint, but again, it was remarkably smooth under the wash pad and my hands.

Yet another rinse, it was time for clay. I could probably have skipped this step, but I had everything set up to go, and I would later find a couple of rough spots on the rear bumper and hood. In this case, I'm using the excellent TRC Ultra Clay Scrubber and Gyeon Clay Lube mixed at 6:1 in an iK sprayer. Applying little to no pressure, I made my way around the car in sections, rinsing after finishing each. That Gyeon Clay Lube is the best I have used, in the past I simply used quick detailer, but this stuff has considerably more lubrication and less grabbiness, smells lovely too.

With the wash finished, I moved into the garage to dry the car. Today I decided to use the Big Boi over the EGO, without anything on the paint, I needed that extra grunt to deal with the bare paint. Actually, it's amazing how much more effective the Big Boi is compared to the EGO.

At this point, the car was 98% dry and I could have left it that. Considering that I'll be polishing soon, I really didn't need to be adding anything with protection to it, a simply quick detailer like Paint Gloss would have been sufficient. But I couldn't resist, out came the ADS Amplify. And what a treat, it adding gloss and slickness that was missing from the equation. I'm glad I did this step because it brought the car to the point where I'm happy.............for now.

I'll also be polishing the glass at some point, but I wanted something on there in the meantime. Opti-Coat Clean & Protect was the choice, this stuff adds some decent water beading from a very simple spray and wipe application, and unlike Clarify Phobic, it doesn't streak.

Both Clean & Protect and Amplify will be removed once the polishing begins. However, I'm happy to have gotten the car properly clean and decontaminated, it now looks and feels up to my standards. Overall, the car has been delivered in decent shape. Naturally, there are a couple of areas that will need some attention, the gloss black hood vent is hazed out, and there are a couple of light scratches on the driver's side A-pillar. And the engine bay needs attention. I'm sure I'll find more, but at this stage, I don't want to know.

Finishing things off, I dressed the tyres with OG Tire Dressing, which was knocked down after 15-minutes. And I couldn't help myself, I gave the wheels a pass with KCx Quick Shine, then wiped down the engine bay with ECH20.

You know, the rear of the S650 originally left me cold. However, the straight on view of the rear is my favorite part of the car now. In fact, I no longer feel the need for a spoiler. Terrible shot, but looking back into my garage at this sight makes me extremely happy....................and its been a long time since I've been able to say that.

And finally, one little touch to make the keys mine.........................

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