Get GT500 style and better cooling for your 2013-2014 Mustang with CDC’s Performance Grille
By Steve Turner
Photos courtesy of Classic Design Concepts
It’s no secret that Ford designers borrowed a few styling cues from the Shelby GT500 when they refreshed the late S197 styling on the 2013-2014 Mustang. We aren’t complaining. The cars look great, and the keen Mustang fans can easily differentiate between GTs and GT500s despite the front-end similarities.
Here’s what your GT will look like with its new Performance Grille. The kit comes complete with everything you need for the installation; right down to the pushpin, zip ties, and instructions. It fits all 2013-2014 Boss, California Special, V6, and GT models.
Now, since the Mustang GT wasn’t designed to exceed 200 mph—in stock form, anyway—it didn’t get a wide-open grille like its powerful cousin. Now, if you like the wide-open look and want it for your GT, Classic Design Concepts offers a direct-replacement grille with a similar style—the CDC Performance Grille (PN 1311-7000-01; $249).
Certainly the Performance Grille looks awesome, but it can also help your GT run cooler. Our friend Matt Alderman over at SCT Performance installed one of these grilles in his heavily modded 2014 Mustang GT and he saw a significant drop in engine coolant temps during the heat of the Florida summer.
http://youtu.be/XP5KMaT4yMI
So, the Performance Grille offers form and function. Better yet, you can install it in about an hour, which makes it a great driveway bolt-on.
Before you start taking things apart, you’ll want to use some painter’s tape to mask off your front bumper cover to protect the paint.
Now you can get down to business. Removing the grille is pretty straightforward. Simply grab the grille just inboard of the fog lamps and give it a firm yank forward to release its retaining clips.
It’s a little trickier to remove those factory fog lights. You use a hacksaw or other cutting instrument to sever the molded brackets that hold them in place. After unplugging the lights, then use the supplied zip ties to hold the harnesses up out of the way.
After using a hacksaw blade to remove the center bar, there is now a free path from the grille to the radiator. However, for the purposes of aesthetics, you may want to black out the bare aluminum radiator. CDC recommends using a flat-black, self-etching primer to get the job done. Of course, you want to be cautious so as not to get overspray on your paint.
Finally, push the grille into place and install the provided pushpin into the driver-side of the hood latch. CDC does provide a bracket for a badge, but the badge is not included. You can pick your own badge or go without. Either way, the CDC grille is a sharp upgrade.
Here’s a detailed look at the badge and bracket. According to CDC there are several badges that will fit this bracket.
If CDC would manufacture this grill for the 2007-09 model GT500’s they would sell as fast as they could make them. The factory grill is pretty ugly and terrible to clean/ detail, if CDC decides to make these count me in.
Maybe they think nobody would like to relocate the horns, etc, in order to make it look right, as I can’t figure out why this one wasn’t done long ago. They have the capacity to digitize the ’07-’09 grill perimeter, put it into CAD, sketch up a grille that looks right and simulates that of the ’13-’14, rapid prototype an upper/lower, make a mold(s), and start selling them. It isn’t rocket science and for a company already setup to do it, such as CDC, it isn’t cost prohibitive and my guess is they’d be able to offer this at a reasonable price point and easily meet their break even point quite early.
Same goes for a ’13-’14 style tail light for an ’07-’09 that isn’t tinted…
If CDC would manufacture this grill for the 2007-09 model GT500’s they would sell as fast as they could make them. The factory grill is pretty ugly and terrible to clean/ detail, if CDC decides to make these count me in.
I wholeheartedly agree with the above sentiment.
I might have suggested that. I’d love to have upper and lower Trinity-style grilles for PVT!
Editor turner, shoot,us an email addy so we ALL can “suggest” that
How about getting all those in favor to post about it here? Then I can just forward a link.
I would also like to see the lower to go along with the upper.
I hope more Shelby owners see this and post up on here these two grills would be a major visual enhancement on the 2007-09 GT500.
Maybe they think nobody would like to relocate the horns, etc, in order to make it look right, as I can’t figure out why this one wasn’t done long ago. They have the capacity to digitize the ’07-’09 grill perimeter, put it into CAD, sketch up a grille that looks right and simulates that of the ’13-’14, rapid prototype an upper/lower, make a mold(s), and start selling them. It isn’t rocket science and for a company already setup to do it, such as CDC, it isn’t cost prohibitive and my guess is they’d be able to offer this at a reasonable price point and easily meet their break even point quite early.
Same goes for a ’13-’14 style tail light for an ’07-’09 that isn’t tinted…
:shrug: