New GTD coming to NorCal

19gt3rswes

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My first 3 vehicles that I bought for myself were all Mustangs, but as I got less serious about drag racing and more serious about road course stuff, I moved to a z06, then a GTR, and then a GT3, and finally a GT3RS.

So I put in for the GT... twice, and missed out... twice. Thought the same thing would happen with the GTD, but I had a few competitor vehicles this time and have racing (mostly SCCA stuff and track days at Willow Spings and Buttonwillow) and rallying experience (Gumball, Goldrush, etc) so I hoped maybe I would get lucky and I did. Honestly, I still have a hard time believing that I got the allocation. It won't be real for me until delivery day.

Looking forward to driving the GTD and 991.2 GT3RS back to back on the same track. Very different cars for sure, but cornering speed is bigger for me than top speed and both cars should be amazing in this respect.

Im in Northern CA, and am surrounded by amazing roads living on the coast. I have my first drive already picked out! Any others from CA out there? Anyone have an idea how many people got the Congrats email? Any interest in getting a bunch of NorCal GTDs together and doing something? I work in the Automotive world so I could get access to a few coop venues with some notice.
 
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I'm in Morgan Hill. Last weekend I went on an overnight cruise organized by Emily and Drew at the Cobra Experience. It was a great run up HWY 1 to Mendocino.

I saw a video on Facebook yesterday where Farley said they're going to make 2000 of them.
 
Im actually just over the hill from you near Pajaro Dunes. A quick trip up Hecker Pass (one of my fav driving roads) and I am right in your backyard practically.

Going to go with The Ford Store Morgan Hill?

I know the owners there and at many stores around the Bay Area (I have a marketing company the sells products primarily to medium to large Frachise Auto Dealerships and Speed shops so I have been doing business with dealers for nearly 20 years).
 
I will go with the FSMH if they're going to be a servicing dealer. I've been in touch with Tim on and off for many years, ever since I got my Boss 302. Any idea if they'll be trained to service the GTD?
 
From what I am hearing there wasn't much involved in requirements to become a GTD dealer and that usually doesn't bode well for additional training etc. If the dealer wasn't required to buy equipment or get a tech specifically trained, it is unlikely to happen after the fact. The opt in from a dealer side was super simple and required pretty much nada from the dealer, so they could get as many dealers as possible signed up. Unfortunately, it seems to be suggested by Ford that if they can work on a GT500, then they can work on a GTD, so a high level of training and specialization is unlikely unless the store takes it upon themselves to approach GTD servicing at a higher level than Ford requires.

I am going to look for a dealer with a GT specialist. The GT program had way more stringent requirements and if they work on GTs then at least they are used to working with a car worth many many times more than you average Ford. There are so few GTDs that will be produced that most certified stores will probably never see one, so it is tough to get dealers to invest in a seperate service experience and or additional training.
 
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OK, thanks for the info! I'll likely get it delivered there in Morgan Hill then.
 
Glad I could help, will have to meet somewhere when we both have our cars. You definitely will likely be the closest GTD owner and seeing 2 GTDs in 1 place will be nuts for at least a while (until the GTD events begin).
 
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Glad I could help, will have to meet somewhere when we both have our cars. You definitely will likely be the closest GTD owner and seeing 2 GTDs in 1 place will be nuts for at least a while (until the GTD events begin).
Makes sense to use GT qualified dealer for servicing, IMO major issue with GTD like the NFGT will be the hydraulics. Allot of piping and seals to leak!!. Suspension similaire as well. Advantage of GTD using local dealer will be for engine and other common issues of Shelby’s. Also local dealer will have parts access ( not true of NF GT , even recommended castrol oil and filter only through GT servicing dealers !)
 
I did a search and on the FordGTForum it showed Fairfield and Salinas as two of the local NFGT service dealers.
 
Better make sure you confirm that with the dealership service department. The only guaranteed way I know of is to confirm with the Ford concierge. Many places confuse GT with mustang GT.
 
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Fairfield is quite a drive, but it is an Adam Simms store, and I worked for a company that he owned in the past. Amazing operator, but likely too far to make service make sense. I haven't had any experience with Salinas Valley Ford service, but they are one of the few Ford stores around here that do supercharger and other more involved upgrades to in stock cars (they have a speed shop of sorts that operates out of their service dept) and I believe they used to be a Roush distributor as well.

I will probably buy from a different store than I use for service. I want to give business to my local dealer as they are small, but the owner is a great guy and I like their staff.
 
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I went down and talked to the GM at Ford Store Morgan Hill and let him know I'd be having my GTD delivered there. He was super excited and said I was the 3rd so far that will go through them.
 
I am having mine delivered to Watsonville Ford. I know the owner very well and he is a car guy. It doesn't hurt that it is close to where I live.
 
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Keep me in the loop and maybe I'll come down and see yours get delivered. I asked for "later" in the preferences survey, so you might get yours before I get mine.
 
I will definitely do that, it will be an event for sure, especially at such a small store in a small town.
 
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Looks like May - Sept 2025 order window, so probably going to miss Car Week 2025 as I cannot imagine less than 3 months from order.lock to delivery.
 
I track my Dark Horse around NorCal frequently and use Walnut Creek Ford service as they are supportive of track use. Most other dealerships try to use it as an excuse not to cover warranty work.

I'm going to have my GTD delivered via my cousin's Ford dealership in Iowa (where I got my Dark Horse) but serviced at Walnut Creek Ford if they support it.

I got into the Jan-March 2025 GTD window so I'm going to try to get tix to The Quail and CdE at Car Week this year.
 
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I track my Dark Horse around NorCal frequently and use Walnut Creek Ford service as they are supportive of track use. Most other dealerships try to use it as an excuse not to cover warranty work.

I'm going to have my GTD delivered via my cousin's Ford dealership in Iowa (where I got my Dark Horse) but serviced at Walnut Creek Ford if they support it.

I got into the Jan-March 2025 GTD window so I'm going to try to get tix to The Quail and CdE at Car Week this year.
Looks like you will be the 1st in the NorCal group to fetch your car. Guessing you are a chip holder, if not it is the earliest non chip holder window I have seen. I would love to see the car after delivery if you are up for it.
 
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Not a chip holder but did request ASAP in the order pref. I also managed to score a slot in the Mustang GTD Order Preview Event on Jan 18th in Detroit which hopefully will speed things up: "Completing your order confirmation form will expedite the serialization and scheduling process for your Mustang GTD."
LFG!

Happy to show off the car after delivery.
 
Excited for you to get your car early, I still haven't seen one in person and did not get the invite to the Detroit event. Hopefully you will come back with some great new info.

We get many more in this thread and we might have our own little NorCal GTD owners club. Definitely have to get all thr cars together once we get them, seeing more than 1 GTD anywhere will be quite a sight for quite awhile or at least until the owner events start. I have some dealer contacts that would be happy to host, maybe even somewhere like Canepa.