Stage 3 Motorsports 2008 Shelby GT500 5.4L Project Car

The first-generation GT500's have immensely dropped in price, and a clean specimen is down to nearly a third of its original MSRP on the used market. We jumped on this opportunity to pick up our pristine, unmodified 2008 GT500 5.4L convertible. While this GT500 was solid from factory we knew that this car had plenty of potential. With a complete suspension overhaul, some bolt on performance mods, new wheels and tires and a host of other upgrades we created a custom GT500 that can turn heads and tackle back-roads with ease. Check out all the details in the build sections below!

We needed to update our GT500's light output big-time while also keeping a clean and mean exterior look, so we grabbed a bunch of replacement LED lights from our friends at Diode Dynamics to make it happen. Almost every bulb from the license plate lights to the fog lights has been replaced for a brighter and more aggressive look. Get all of the details and take a look at our photos and install videos. MORE INFO ON OUR LIGHTING UPGRADES

No custom GT500 or Mustang build would be complete without a fresh set of tires and some awesome aftermarket wheels. We tossed on some 20" Niche Misano wheels with ultra grippy Nitto tires to give our GT500 a no nonsense street car look that has the traction to back it up. MORE INFO ON OUR WHEELS & TIRES

We wanted our GT500 to handle like nobody's business both on the street and at the track, so we tackled an overhaul of just about every suspension component you can think of to make sure this car handled like it was on rails. With all this new hardware we couldn't simply leave the brakes untouched so we also made sure to bolt on some new rotors and pads for a well rounded setup. MORE INFO ON OUR SUSPENSION & BRAKES

A supercharged 5.4L V8 is nothing to scoff at and it did a mighty fine job of taking our GT500 from a dead stop to a blur. That being said, this is still Stage 3 and we simply can't leave it untouched. We kept the mods relatively simple with a new JLT cold air intake, C&R reservoirs, Corsa sport exhaust and a few other key upgrades to give our car a little nudge in the right direction. MORE INFO ON OUR POWERTRAIN UPGRADES

In an effort to add some more style and functionality to our GT500 build we installed a new CDC convertible light bar, Kicker speakers, Shelby shift knob and some Redline hood and trunk struts. The end result is a more enjoyable car with some unique styling queues that set it apart from other GT500's on the road. MORE INFO ON OUR INTERIOR UPGRADES

What good is a powerful, modified, convertible muscle car like our GT500 if it never gets driven? We've put some miles in cruising around Arizona, running highways and backroads to our hearts delight and we've managed to catch some great photos along the way so go ahead and check out this section for some sweet GT500 eye candy! PHOTOS & VIDEOS OF OUR BUILD

Completed Build