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.
The Ford GT’s engine stalling problem seemed to fix itself…
Ford GT Idle Problem Just Bad Gas?
June 7, 2007 at 8,871 miles
So after having a serious stalling problem with the Ford GT I visited Santa Monica Ford to have that issue, and several others, addrssed. But the stalling problem itself didn’t surface once on my 50-mile drive to the dealership. And guess what? “Can’t Duplicate Problem” was what they told me after dropping the car off. They checked the fuel system pressure with a vacuum test and it registered fine…
However, they did confirm the TSB on the door trim, and have ordered the updated fasteners to keep those from loosening or falling off. The parts should take about a week to come in and they’ll call when they arrive. They also ordered the windshield replacement parts, but that will be a more expensive job without the fuel nozzle warranty work to cover a chunk of the labor involved. Then I drove the car home (another 50 miles) and guess what — it ran flawlesly, dammit!
I have one possible alternative cause — bad gas. I hate even saying those words because it’s such the cliched answer to any vehicle problem. However, I did last fill the GT at a gas station I don’t normally use. I guess it’s time to just keep driving it and see what happens. There are worse fates.
The Ford GT fuel gauge doesn’t drop as quickly as you might think
Ford GT Fuel System Fine — Except the Gauge…
June 11, 2007 at 8,913 miles
A weekend drive in the Ford GT failed to initiate the engine stalling problem. I filled it up with new gas from the Mobile I normally use and everything seemed fine…except for the gauge. After filling up I drove away and then noticed the gauge was just below 3/4. At first I thought the automatic shuf-off had occurred too early, but then I remembered that 12.5 gallons went in and the car was just below 1/4 when I filled up…
There was no way it should be reading below 3/4. As I drove the gauge slowly rose to just over 3/4. I finally shut the car off, waited 30 seconds, and restarted it. The photo above shows where the gauge went just after re-starting it. Obviously the needle was simply having temporary confusion, and we’ve since learned the fuel gauge can need multiple restarts to read accurately.
25 Ford GTs showed up for a California Owners Rally
Ford GT California Owners Rally Cruises the Coast
June 17, 2007 at 9,077 miles
Until the Ford GT Owner’s Rally happens in a couple months (August 2-5, go to The Ford GT Forum to sign up!), this was easily the single largest gathering of Ford GTs on the West Coast. Twenty-five GTs showed up at Duke’s restaurant in Malibu early Saturday morning for a Ford GT California Owners Rally through the Santa Monica Mountains.
The Ford GT California Owners Rally stopped at the Rock Store
First stop was the legendary Rock Store on Mulholland Highway. It’s primarily a biker hangout, and on weekend mornings it gets pretty crowded. But we set out from Dukes at 9:30 a.m. and got to the Rock Store around 10:30, after a run up Las Flores and Stunt Road, followed by a quick photo op. The motorcycles were still rolling into the Rock Store’s parking lot, so we lined up the GT’s across the street and took a stroll through the chrome and leather. Many a biker similarly took a walk across the street to peruse the two-dozen GTs in nearly every color offered (Quick Silver – as opposed to Tungsten – is the rarest GT color, and we didn’t have any of that shade in our rally).
The line of Ford GT’s snaking through Malibu kept heads turning
Next stop was a photo shoot in the high Santa Monica Mountains before turning off on Little Sycamore Canyon and hooking up with Yerba Buena Road. Those routes are honestly too rough and slow to excersice the GT, with tight turns and rumbling, broken pavement. But if you want to get a sense of what the Southern California mountains used to be like (before the massive population influx of the past 150 years) this route offers a glimpse.
The final rally stop was Point Magu Air Station in Oxnard
We finally made it back to PCH and took a right toward Ventura County. The Ford GT California Owners Rally wound as far north as Point Magu Naval Air Station and Missile Park before heading south to Point Dume for a much-anticipated, catered lunch at one of the rally participant’s house. The food was superb, and our Midnight Blue GT never stalled once, so it seems the problem is gone (at least for now…). The odometer flipped over 9,000 miles during the rally, which must put it among the higher mileage GTs out there (though we know of at least one with more than 44,000 clicks on the odo – and that one is still going strong!).