All the 2005 Ford GT long-term updates
We ruled the roads in Malibu with 25 Ford GTs
In June of 2007 a gathering of 25 Ford GTs gathered in Malibu for a California Owners Rally. It caused quite a stir in car-jaded Southern California. The car’s stalling problem also seemed to fix itself (bad gas?), but the fuel gauge did exhibit signs of confusion. The odometer turned over 9,000 miles this month.
In May, 2007, I finally took my Ford GT to the popular “Cars and Coffee” PAG car show in South Orange County. At that time this show was 100 miles from my house, and you had to be there by 6 a.m. to get a parking spot, so it required getting up at 4 a.m. Ironically, now I live 5 miles from this show…but it stopped happening about a year after I moved to Orange County (boo!). That month I also wrestled with weak Sirius satellite radio reception (this was pre-SiriusXM merger) and a low idle speed with occasional engine stalling. The odometer turned over 8,800 miles.
The Ford GT was the celebrated model at a recent car show
Ford GT Attends Car Show for Fords
May 14, 2007 at 8,560 miles
One of the best Southern California car shows happens every Saturday morning in the parking lot of Ford’s Premier Automotive Group headquarters in Irvine. While the weekly show — dubbed “Cars and Coffee” — takes place at a Ford property a wide variety of vehicles show up and the weekly “theme” for the show can range from Ferrari to Chevrolet. But this past Saturday the theme was indeed “Powered by Ford” and as expected a goodly number of Blue Oval iron showed up. Included in the festivities was a collection of 20 Ford GTs, one of which being my Midnight Blue model. All eight Ford GT colors were represented, though ours was the only blue one on site (there were several red, a couple black and Tungsten, and one each in white, yellow, silver and the Heritage colors).
This month a question about the Ford GT’s fix-a-flat chemical sealant was asked. Specifically, how long does it last before it needs to be replaced? Other topics of discussion included the confirmation of a second annual Ford GT Owners Rally, the specific nature of the GT’s fueling procedure, the car’s popularity at Ford car shows, and the need to install a bluetooth microphone to keep phone calls legal. The odometer turned over 8,200 miles in April of 2007.
The Ford GT doesn’t have a spare tire, just a fix-a-flat system
Ford GT Fix-a-Flat System
April 2, 2007 at 7,928 miles
In my battery-charging adventure last weekend I had occasion to take a close look at the Ford GT’s “tire repair kit” (being a modern performance car it, of course, has no true spare). The kit is pretty impressive in that it combines a tow hook, air compressor and “fix-a-flat” tire sealant into a compact package that fits in the GT’s compact cargo bay. But in looking at the kit I noticed the “expiration date” of the sealant — in this case it’s February of 2009. It made me wonder what an owner is supposed to do post February 2009?
In March of 2007, 18 months after getting my 2005 Ford GT, I had finally lost patience with the weak factory audio system. When I ordered the car I didn’t want the “upgraded” McIntosh audio system for reasons I’ve already mentioned, but that base Sanyo head unit, even by 2005 standards, was simply archaic. Basically, it offered AM, FM and CD as media options. No satellite radio. No DVD. No audio inputs. My tech-geek nature simply couldn’t deal.
Thankfully, even with the limited options forced by the GT’s single-DIN housing for a head unit I was able to find a highly advanced (by 2005 standards) JVC unit and install it myself. The installation process did kill the GT’s battery.
My 2005 Ford GT’s base factory head unit was too archaic for my tastes
Ford GT gets a New Head Unit
March 12, 2007 at 7,610 miles
After several months of considering a head unit upgrade for the Ford GT I’ve taken the first steps. The factory unit is passable, but that’s about it. Sound quality is rather impressive for a two-speaker system with no external amplification, yet the Sanyo head unit can’t even play MP3s. And if you’re looking for an external audio input to play satellite radio or an iPod through…well, you’ll have to look really hard.
February was another slow month for my Ford GT’s odometer, with only 140 miles added. But I did manage to get it to a car show and a burger joint (gotta love In-N-Out) and I realized the Goodyear Eagle F1 tires’ have a rim protector design. I also note the oil pressure gauge’s high readings, even at idle, which suggests the Ford GT’s dry-sump engine design does indeed provide excellent lubrication to vital engine components. 
The design of the Goodyear Eagle F1 tire helps protect the GT’s wheelFord GT Tires Offer Wheel Protection
February 5, 2007 at 7,440 miles
This seems like such a no-brainer design, yet many modern tires still don’t include any form of rim or wheel protection. A tire with this design feature will have a raised rib next to the bead to keep a wheel from scraping the curb — even if a driver is too careless to handle this job on his own. After checking The Tire Rack web site I learned that while rim protection ribs are great for alloy wheels, they can make it nearly impossible to mount hubcaps. And since the majority of cars today still use hubcaps the majority of tires still don’t feature this seemingly obvious feature…
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