Justin: Hey, what's up, everybody.
I'm Justin with americanmuscle.com and welcome to another installment of Customer Build.
Now, if you haven't been on these customer build pages before, what are you doing?
Check them out.
Tons of cool imagery on there from different builds, along with a full breakdown of each
modification designed to give you guys maybe a little bit more inspiration for that ride
at home.
Today, I'm happy to say we have Carl and his 2012 GT coming to us from Florida.
Now Carl's got ton of appearance stuff going on, but he's also got some stuff under the
hood as well.
That's kind of near and dear to my heart as a fellow S197 owner.
Now, again, if you want a full breakdown of Carl's modification list and some more of
his cool pictures, feel free to check out his build page if you haven't done so already,
or if you're watching this on YouTube, simply click on that link below.
But for now, what do you say we meet Carl?
How are you doing today?
Carl: Hey, I'm doing great, Justin.
Justin: It's an honor to talk to you today and especially about your 2012 lava red GT,
which by the way is an awesome color.
And one that maybe a lot of Mustang fans or owners aren't really familiar with.
And when you see it, you're like, man, it's just a black car, but it's not.
Tell us a little bit more about what drew you to the lava red.
Carl: I'll be honest with you.
When I first bought my car, I thought I bought a black car.
I ended up purchasing the car and driving it home, put it in my garage.
I pulled it out the next day and I could have sworn someone switched the cars.
And I knew it was a special car because of the two-tone interior.
The lava red is known for the two-tone seating and the door panels.
Justin: And the car as these guys are seeing now by the pictures is absolutely beautiful.
So, why don't we walk around the car?
Let's start with the appearance side because it looks like you've done quite a bit on the
outside.
Carl: It was just a plain GT.
I immediately started jumping on AmericanMuscle's website and started looking and saw all the
cool parts that you guys had.
So, I started to build my Mustang.
I kind of started with the simple things.
I had the premium rims that came with the GT at the time.
I then switched them out.
I've always wanted a GT500.
So, I ended up buying the GT500 rims.
I got the gloss black through AmericanMuscle.
Then I realized I need cooler tires, wider tires.
So, I started putting tires on it and I knew that if I just started throwing parts on it,
it was kind of like not going to be a very well-tuned machine because if you don't put
the right parts on it, when you finally get to where you want to go, you're going to end
up either damaging your car or end up, you know, having to go back and repurchase things.
So, what I did is I started with the suspension.
I wanted to stiffen up the suspension.
I wanted to put, you know adjustable front struts in and rear struts in.
Justin: You got the Koni yellows on there, I believe.
Carl: Yep.
I bought those through AmericanMuscle.
Justin: I saw some BMR stuff on there as well for suspension, correct?
Carl: Yes, sir.
Between the white line sway bars.
I wanted to start from the bottom up, so I did the brakes, I did the brake...the rotors...
Justin: The PowerStop kit, I believe.
Carl: Yes, sir.
I have...real cool.
You know, the slotted rotors and all that.
Brembo brakes were already there.
So, I really had a good foundation.
And as I walk around my car, I had a very nice exhaust system.
So, I ended up getting the GT500 exhaust system, the H-pipe, the cat deletes, welded parts
on my car, the side rails.
To stiffen it up.
I put the Steeda...the crossmember in the back, I installed the Watts link in the car.
And with that car, I can go into turns, everybody from, you know, the Challengers to the Camaros,
to the Corvettes, and they cannot keep up with me.
Justin: Seems like you got like a GT500 theme almost with, I know you said the wheels, you
got the mufflers, which by the way, I know, to me, it's one of the better sounding mufflers
out there, the GT500, the cans, whether it be the 11 to 12, or the 13 and 14, they sound
awesome, especially with an H-pipe or something like that.
And then even still, you got the Super Snake hood, which is kind of falling in line with
that theme a little bit, right?
Carl: Always wanted a GT500.
There was a time, Justin, I even went out and bought the snakes and put them on the
side.
A lot of my friends who own Shelbys, they started laughing.
What they ended up calling my car was "the thing," because they didn't know what to call
it.
They didn't know what it was.
So, I realized that I should just be proud that I have a beautiful GT, she's special.
So, I put back on the 5.0 low [inaudible 00:04:20.872].
And I went from there.
I ended up putting a GT500 tail on it, then I ended up putting the MMD rear louvers on
it.
Did that all the way around.
The mirrors were originally the black ones, I got the lava reds from you guys.
I slap those on it.
And then I ended up getting the Super Snake hood.
That's pretty much as far as the appearance is.
Justin: And if you guys want to see more of Carl's build, believe me, guys, he has a ton
of stuff going on.
Feel free to check out his build profile page at AM, or if watching this on YouTube, just
click on the link below.
It'll take you right there and you can see each and every part with links.
Engine isn't exactly stock anymore.
So, what do you say we dive under that Super Snake hood and talk about some of your modifications,
namely, that Roush blower.
Carl: I originally...
At one time, I thought about turning around and you know, getting Turbo.
Did some research on the Turbo.
I really wanted to build a motor.
And the beautiful thing about the coyote motor is that just by starting to put little parts
on it, little by little, it kind of makes the engine become alive.
So, what I did is I just started off with the basics.
I put headers on it.
I ended up getting rid of the...
I put the-H pipe on it so she breathed better, was able to get my horsepower up to about
430 horsepower to the back.
Then I started reading up that there was the good old TVS blower, the R2300.
And I said you know what?
I gotta have that.
Justin: Hey, great minds think alike, Carl.
That's a blower I got on my car, the Roush.
And as you know, I love it, man.
The thing made great power and you've experienced the same thing.
In fact, I think we're making similar power, right?
Right in the mid-600s.
Carl: We are similar, but I think you got a little bit more than I do.
Justin: Well, not for long though.
It sounds like you got some big plans in store, right?
Tell me about what you just did with your pulley size.
Carl: I was at a 79-millimeter pulley.
I went to a 75.
I'm still on 93 octane.
I do have a tune for the 79 and I just put the 10% overdrive pulley in as well.
Justin: I mean, you're honestly like a fuel system and a short block away from, you know,
making some really big powers.
I mean, the sky's the limit, right?
I mean, it all depends on how big you want to go.
So, I think you'll be able to have some fun, hit that 700 mark and then, you know, maybe
start playing with the motor and make even more after that.
But you should be able to have a lot of fun with that car.
Carl: Yeah.
I have the ID1000 fuel injectors in there now.
And I'm thinking about going to that fuel system that I know would probably give me
another hundred horsepower.
Justin: Well, Carl, I always like to ask too, like if there's one modification that you
think made the most difference, I think I have a feeling what it is, but in your eyes,
what would it be, sir, with your Mustang?
Carl: Two things that I would say that I really enjoy about the car.
Number one is power, man.
You all know power brings a smile to people's faces.
So, if you're the driver, it's even more, if you're a passenger could be scary, but
it's also the suspension.
Suspension really makes the car feel planted, it gives you the confidence that your car
can handle.
I would say the suspension and the TVS blower.
You know, power, it never stops.
It truly is a sickness.
Justin: It is an addiction.
I agree, man.
Well, I love the car because to me, it balances appearance because you do have a lot of appearance
stuff going on, but also power and performance.
And kind of like you said, you don't want to leave any stone unturned when it comes
to a build, and it feels like you really have left no stone unturned.
You've tackled just about everything.
So, I mean, at this point, I mean, Carl, anything else you're thinking of doing with the car
down the road?
I mean, outside of more power, is there anything that you feel the car lacks now?
Carl: Maybe I'd like those Mickey Thompson tires, the next upgrade.
Justin: [inaudible 00:07:52.580] drag radial or something?
Yeah, absolutely.
Carl: I would like to do that, but I eventually am gonna build another motor, so I'm looking
forward to that.
But that'll have to be when either something breaks or my wife doesn't want to go on a
cruise or something, then I'll end up building my motor.
Justin: One more thing.
I always like to ask guys with these customer builds, including yourself, Carl.
And I think I might know the answer based on your third brake light, but is there a...do
you have a name for your car, sir?
Carl: I do.
It was funny.
I wasn't going to call my car "the thing."
So, I named my car Wolverine.
I think if it looks kind of like a little tiny aggressive animal and when I open her
up, she definitely turns into Wolverine.
Justin: Been a pleasure talking with you, Carl.
Again, I can't thank you enough for helping us out here today with our customer build
videos and car's very fitting, sir.
Again from appearance, to performance, to suspension, the braking, interior, you've
really done it all with your car, man.
And we can't thank you enough.
Carl: Thanks again, Justin, for allowing me to be part of this segment as well.
Justin: All right.
Well, there you go, guys.
That was Carl from Florida in his beautiful 2012 lava red GT.
I love that color again, something you don't see a lot.
And as Carl pointed out, very rare and he's done a great job with the car.
Plenty of show, plenty of go, and really just a nice example of a well-rounded streetcar.
Now, guys, again, if you want to check out more of Carl's modifications, there is a lot
we didn't cover in this video, including some interior goodies and more, just feel free
to check out his build page at americanmuscle.com.
Or again, if you're watching this on YouTube, simply go ahead and click on that link below.
But again, I'm Justin.
Thanks for watching.
We hope you enjoy these videos.
Remember for all things Mustang, keep it right here at americanmuscle.com.