Blackmoor Vituperative

One of today’s projects was installing a trickle charger port on the Mustang. It’s charging now. Woot!

I also removed the sound tube. Who thought that thing was a good idea? There’s too much extraneous crap in the engine bay already.

The visors are currently in the freezer. If that doesn’t allow me to remove the stickers, I’ll try heat.

I had intended to remove the redundant carbon filter from the air intake, but it was already gone.

😎

Registered the Mustang yesterday and sold the Tiburon today. The end of an era — and the beginning of a new one.

I have a 2023 Mustang GT with the 9-speaker setup but no subwoofer. My intention is to replace the speaker, add an amp, and wire it into the back speakers using the same method as shown in this YouTube video:

https://youtu.be/XxNDhOutHzw?si=LwDcEGA_EOq7Vyls

My current parts list includes:

• Rockford Fosgate R500X1D Prime 1-Channel Class D Amplifier
• Pioneer TS-A250D4 10″ Dual 4 ohms Voice Coil Subwoofer, Black
• Skar Audio 4 Gauge Amplifier Wiring Kit – Blue, Copper Clad Aluminum, SKAR4ANL-CCA

l think these are these good choices for this purpose, but I am still doing research. My intention is to keep it under $400, not including the enclosure (which was $175 delivered).

I have never installed a sub in a system without a dedicated output for the sub. I might need some kind of audio high-pass/low-pass splitter between the rear deck speaker wires and everything else. An amateur-friendly one, I hope.

This evening’s project was a quick one: installing a Steeda strut tower brace in my 2023 Mustang GT. A strut brace makes a significant difference in how much a car flexes. For the cost and how easy it is to install, it’s a bargain for the benefit. I don’t know anything about Steeda (or modern Mustangs, really — this thing is the Tardis compared to my 1967 Mustang), but this strut bar has good reviews.

From reading over the 2023 packages …

https://media.ford.com/content/dam/fordmedia/North%20America/US/product/2023/mustang/2023-mustang-order-guide.pdf

… I appear to have a 2023 Mustang GT Premium (with some options), but not a California Special. The only California Special specific trim I see on my car is the front grille. And maybe the wheels? It definitely does not have the red interior stitching, the GT/CS strut bar, or the rear badge.

I am actually okay with this. The rear badge would be nice to have, but just because I think it’s prettier than the big silver GT. Other than that, I prefer the GT Premium styling.

Removing the “GT/CS” was easy, fortunately.

I had tried to find OEM “California Special” floor mats, but couldn’t find any, so I got these from 3D Mats instead. A good thing, as it turns out. I also picked up a cheap trunk mat from Amazon.

On Monday, Jose from DetailMeNow came out and removed the stripes from my 2023 Mustang GT. I had already replaced the white aerial with a grey one.

A little over a month ago, I bought a 2023 Ford Mustang GT Premium. It was listed as a California Special. It turned out not to be one, which is actually better. I didn’t know it at the time, but the 2023 California Special has details like decorative (non-functional) side scoops, a big spoiler, and so on. Which is not to my taste, so it worked out for the best. 🙂

Here are some photos of the car as it was when it arrived.