Donny Carlson
04-24-2004, 09:18 PM
LET THE MODDING BEGIN!!
Having got my finances in order, and the desire becoming unbearable, I decided it was time to start modding my pure stock Marauder. Being completely disgusted with the locals, I decided to go with one of the out of state shops for my work. Way out of state.
But getting off of work was impossible. At least, not in the amounts of time I would need to get the work done. I was either going to have to wait until my prime vacation time (which includes Indy), or find some place closer to home.
Fortunately for me, Todd pointed me in the right direction -- and that was towards Marietta, GA and Team Ford. But, I am getting ahead of myself.
My plan was to start conservatively. Just a chip and tune, pulleys, and 4:10 gears. I had decided to have Custom Sun Control in Marietta put on my window tint (Formula 1 guys that do nothing but tint), so I took Todd up on his offer to drive his car. He even offered to haul my big butt up to FFW to meet some of the crew from Team Ford.
Okay, Todd is rather like a pusher for Marauders. He gives you a free taste by letting you drive his amazing car, then sits back and watches you get addicted to it. Driving Todd's car sold me on doing even more work than I had intended or budgeted for. Not only does his car have grin inducing horse power for a n/a car, but the sound.. that lower bass growl.. convinced me to upgrade my exhaust system. So, as I type this, SVO shorty headers, Magnaflow high flow cats, and 18" SS Magnaflow mufflers have been ordered for my car. They would be on my car tommorrow if I had my way... but that's a future Part of this saga.
Driving Todd's car also convinced me to upgrade the rear sway bar. Thank you Mr. Reinhart, the bar looks great and I appreciate the speedy service.
Dennis also was the vendor for my gears and pulleys. All conveniently dropped ship to the master techs at Team Ford for install.
Today I took delivery on a new car, my 2003 Marauder, now with new and improved cojones.
Incidently, my rear pinion gear was shot, as was one of the axles.
Todd's car also has Eibach springs. I don't want to get into any debate over these springs, just to say that Todd's car drove perfectly, as far as I was concerned, and sold me on them. If they are defective, they have a warranty that I expect Eibach to honor. I don't expect them to be anything other than completely satisfactory. Todd's car looks like it's ready to pounce, compared to mine. We parked them side by side, and the difference is very noticable. I noticed it from the driver's seat, too, and it was very appealing.
The ride was EXACTLY what I would want in a performance car, and was not too harsh for my tastes. Not only have I bought the springs, I hand carried them to Team Ford yesterday afternoon.
Todd also sold me on upgrading my brakes to the Baer kit for the Marauder, with matching rear rotors. They ain't cheap, but then, they are worth it. Todd's car stops like >snap< that, whereas mine is a bit squishy in comparison. These are also on order for future install.
I had all my headlamps and turn signals replaced with Silverstars. The fogs were replaced with Sylvania H1's.
I had an SCT chip installed and dyno tuned today, again at Team Ford.
Not a part of the Todd package was OEM underbody security lights, which I have been interested in for some time. Ray was good enough to find a set for me (the part has been discontinued), and the guys at Team Ford put them on today. I love 'em, and there are pics in the gallery. The photos don't do them justice, though. Ask Todd, he saw them on my car today!
Yesterday my car was at Megamaxx, also in Marietta. Last week, when I was in town driving Todd's car, he took me by Megamaxx, where they measured the trunk of my car for custom made wavebox subwoofer. They also installed the XM Commander I bought off the internet, hard wired my Valentine 1, replaced all 4 OEM speakers, and installed an amp for the subwoofer system. Pics are in the gallery. I kept the OEM head unit, amp, and CD changer, which work extremely well with these upgrades. It sounds fantastic!
So, round 1 is done. In two weeks I return for the springs, my OEM spoiler, plugs and stat, and a surprise with gauges (working ones, but not Autometer). Soon after comes the exhaust system and brakes.
And even more after that. I've spent a lot more money than I planned, but I can't recall when I've had better time without doing something illegal (well, if you don't countl exceeding the speed limit on I-20).
My great thanks to Todd for the help and advice, not to mention the free rides. Todd is a tireless cheerleader for this car, and there is money in the pockets of vendors on this site simply because he recommended them to me, or the guys at Team Ford recommended them, and this is directly relatable to Todd, because he sent me to them. One thing for sure, without a taste of what my car could be by driving Todd's car, I would never have done near the modding I have done or will have done.
Part 2 in two weeks...
Having got my finances in order, and the desire becoming unbearable, I decided it was time to start modding my pure stock Marauder. Being completely disgusted with the locals, I decided to go with one of the out of state shops for my work. Way out of state.
But getting off of work was impossible. At least, not in the amounts of time I would need to get the work done. I was either going to have to wait until my prime vacation time (which includes Indy), or find some place closer to home.
Fortunately for me, Todd pointed me in the right direction -- and that was towards Marietta, GA and Team Ford. But, I am getting ahead of myself.
My plan was to start conservatively. Just a chip and tune, pulleys, and 4:10 gears. I had decided to have Custom Sun Control in Marietta put on my window tint (Formula 1 guys that do nothing but tint), so I took Todd up on his offer to drive his car. He even offered to haul my big butt up to FFW to meet some of the crew from Team Ford.
Okay, Todd is rather like a pusher for Marauders. He gives you a free taste by letting you drive his amazing car, then sits back and watches you get addicted to it. Driving Todd's car sold me on doing even more work than I had intended or budgeted for. Not only does his car have grin inducing horse power for a n/a car, but the sound.. that lower bass growl.. convinced me to upgrade my exhaust system. So, as I type this, SVO shorty headers, Magnaflow high flow cats, and 18" SS Magnaflow mufflers have been ordered for my car. They would be on my car tommorrow if I had my way... but that's a future Part of this saga.
Driving Todd's car also convinced me to upgrade the rear sway bar. Thank you Mr. Reinhart, the bar looks great and I appreciate the speedy service.
Dennis also was the vendor for my gears and pulleys. All conveniently dropped ship to the master techs at Team Ford for install.
Today I took delivery on a new car, my 2003 Marauder, now with new and improved cojones.
Incidently, my rear pinion gear was shot, as was one of the axles.
Todd's car also has Eibach springs. I don't want to get into any debate over these springs, just to say that Todd's car drove perfectly, as far as I was concerned, and sold me on them. If they are defective, they have a warranty that I expect Eibach to honor. I don't expect them to be anything other than completely satisfactory. Todd's car looks like it's ready to pounce, compared to mine. We parked them side by side, and the difference is very noticable. I noticed it from the driver's seat, too, and it was very appealing.
The ride was EXACTLY what I would want in a performance car, and was not too harsh for my tastes. Not only have I bought the springs, I hand carried them to Team Ford yesterday afternoon.
Todd also sold me on upgrading my brakes to the Baer kit for the Marauder, with matching rear rotors. They ain't cheap, but then, they are worth it. Todd's car stops like >snap< that, whereas mine is a bit squishy in comparison. These are also on order for future install.
I had all my headlamps and turn signals replaced with Silverstars. The fogs were replaced with Sylvania H1's.
I had an SCT chip installed and dyno tuned today, again at Team Ford.
Not a part of the Todd package was OEM underbody security lights, which I have been interested in for some time. Ray was good enough to find a set for me (the part has been discontinued), and the guys at Team Ford put them on today. I love 'em, and there are pics in the gallery. The photos don't do them justice, though. Ask Todd, he saw them on my car today!
Yesterday my car was at Megamaxx, also in Marietta. Last week, when I was in town driving Todd's car, he took me by Megamaxx, where they measured the trunk of my car for custom made wavebox subwoofer. They also installed the XM Commander I bought off the internet, hard wired my Valentine 1, replaced all 4 OEM speakers, and installed an amp for the subwoofer system. Pics are in the gallery. I kept the OEM head unit, amp, and CD changer, which work extremely well with these upgrades. It sounds fantastic!
So, round 1 is done. In two weeks I return for the springs, my OEM spoiler, plugs and stat, and a surprise with gauges (working ones, but not Autometer). Soon after comes the exhaust system and brakes.
And even more after that. I've spent a lot more money than I planned, but I can't recall when I've had better time without doing something illegal (well, if you don't countl exceeding the speed limit on I-20).
My great thanks to Todd for the help and advice, not to mention the free rides. Todd is a tireless cheerleader for this car, and there is money in the pockets of vendors on this site simply because he recommended them to me, or the guys at Team Ford recommended them, and this is directly relatable to Todd, because he sent me to them. One thing for sure, without a taste of what my car could be by driving Todd's car, I would never have done near the modding I have done or will have done.
Part 2 in two weeks...