Modded Mustangs » Visual

Roush Goes Graphic – Courtesy of 3M

mdvaldosta — Wed, 02 May 2007 15:33:22 +0000

It might seem impossible, but the experts at 3M figured out a way to take a ROUSH Stage 3 Mustang and have it shown with three radically different full-body graphic designs over three consecutive days. During the ISA International Sign Show at the Mandalay Bay Hotel & Convention Center in Las Vegas, 3M brought in a silver ROUSH Stage 3 Mustang. Then, during the show hours and live in front of the attendees, they wrapped this vehicle on three occasions from bumper-to-bumper with 3M Controltac graphic film. This unique film has a Comply* v2 adhesive which allows it to slide around for positioning and not stick until firm pressure is applied.

The first of the three wraps was a tribute to historically significant Mustangs over the history of the pony car. This scheme featured a white nose and rear to show how a light color can effectively be used to completely wrap a dark paint job without any bleed through. The red center section had photos of a variety of noteworthy Mustangs - including the Mach 1, Boss 429, and of course the very first 1964.5 model.

The second wrap paid homage to motorsports legend Jack Roush. This scheme had a near life-size image of Roush standing behind the door, his signature, and a number of photos chronicling his success in racing starting during the ’70s with a drag racing program, then progressing to his tremendous road racing success and finishing with images from what he is best known for today – NASCAR stock cars where he was won four of his 34 motorsports championships.

The final wrap was named “Urban Tuner” and featured a cityscape with buildings, power lines and billboards set on against a background of different shades of blue. These three designs were selected from a variety of choices prepared by BlueMedia and presented to 3M and ROUSH. In between scheme changes the 3M Controltac* graphic film was simply peeled off and the ROUSH Stage 3 Mustang was put back into its original condition as it came off the dealer lot.

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More Hardtop Rumors

mdvaldosta — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 15:03:06 +0000

Initially spurred by a prototype from CDC and talk of a redesign for 2009, Mustang hardtop rumors have beeing making their way around message boards and blogs since last year. This past weekend, the Times of Malta ran an article about Peter Muscat’s plans to export a finished prototype from the European country to the United States. Plans include four more prototypes and five-hundred units a year for the next six years.

“This is all the work of the Muscat Technology team here in Malta, who designed, engineered, prototyped and developed it here in Malta, including the miniature computer that controls the mechanism,” Mr. Muscat told the Sunday Times.

The powered roof is said to come down in about 30 seconds, with plans to trim another 7 seconds off the time while not taking up any additional trunk space. The roof is released with a handle, the rest is all automatic. On a lighter note, the article credits “golf-mad Americans” for being the motivation for keeping the full trunk space while designing the retractable top. It seems as though the hardtop mechanism will reside in the same place as it’s ragtop counterpart – which is a really tough feat.

Will this happen, or is it just another rumor? We think most likely the Malta company will be building these for aftermarket companies, though we’re sure they have hopes of winning Ford over with the system. Is Ford in on it? AutoBlog reported that FoMoCo isn’t involved in the design or build of the project, though Ford is always “investigating new features and special editions to help feed the Mustang enthusiast desire for more”.

*Update* March 23rd – Muscat Technoloty contacted us today to let us know they’ve got a website up for their hardtop prototype. They’ve included more pictures and a video of the top working on their black Mustang. We snagged the vid for you, the rest (and more pics) can be found at imalta.net

Click here to view the embedded video.

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ROUSH’s Aftermarket Success Comes From The Inside

mdvaldosta — Sun, 17 Dec 2006 01:22:13 +0000

While many companies outsources the design, engineering, and manufacturing of aftermarket parts – ROUSH claims success in doing it themselves. Doing so is a daunting task, requiring immense resources that most retailers cannot justify. ROUSH has an edge though – in addition to Mustang parts, they also build OEM components for seven other American and European car companies.

The benefits of keeping the manufacturing process in house are considerable. In addition to ensuring quality control, keeping up with ever changing market demands and production becomes more precise. Due to the heavy demand from both ROUSH Performance and the car companies, ROUSH Manufacturing is running double and triple shifts to keep up with the workload in the 102,000 square-foot building, known simply as “Building 28.”

“I don’t think a lot of people outside of the auto industry realize the extent of the capabilities that we offer here at ROUSH,” said Jack Roush, chairman of the board. “From design and engineering through the manufacture and shipping ROUSH is able to complete a project from ‘A’ to ‘Z.’ Because of this full service capability, we are contracted to design and manufacture components for a number of automobile manufacturers here and overseas.”

Production of a ROUSH Mustang Front Facia

It takes approximately nine steps and 21 people from start to finish to manufacture the front facia for a Ford Mustang. During each step of the process, someone manually inspects the part and has the authorization to declare the quality unacceptable.

The first step in the manufacturing process is the creation of the Front Fascia. This is done on a 3300-ton injection molding machine which is larger than a typical semi truck running down the highway. In fact, just the mold for the Front Fascia by itself weighs 40,000 pounds and is nearly the size of a small car. Despite the enormous sizes and pressures involved, it takes just a couple of minutes to mold a Front Fascia once the machine is running at full capacity.

Other parts included with the ROUSH body kits, such as the Quarter Window Louvers and Hood Scoop, are produced on a smaller, but still substantial, 1760-ton injection molding machine. The Rear Spoiler, for example, is created through a unique blow mold process which allows the manufacture of hollow parts. This is critical on such a large part because it allows for greater weight reductions than a solid injection molded piece.

Most of the ROUSH body kit components are constructed from high-pressure, injection-molded TPO or ABS plastic which means that the pieces will retain their correct shape and not sag or warp over the life of the vehicle. All the compound materials used are OEM-grade ensuring the best quality and performance.

Prior to painting, each Front Fascia is manually inspected and hand sanded to remove any minor texture or flash (minute amounts of extra material) remaining from the injection molding process. Then, depending on the size of the body kit part, it will either be hand painted or in ROUSH’s 20,345 square-foot robotic paint booth.

Because the size of the Front Fascia is too large to allow uniform paint coverage by hand, it is sent through the robotic area. Each part is loaded onto a special rack which runs along a track through the five-step paint process.

Once inside the paint booth, the Front Fascia undergoes a thorough power wash to remove any remnant sanding dust or other contaminants. This is a five step process which uses treated waters and chemicals to thoroughly clean the parts inside and out. From there, the next steps are a tack-off drying procedure and the addition of an adhesion promoter, more commonly known as primer.

The base coat of paint, perfectly color matched to Ford specifications, is applied by a robotic arm which spins up, down, and around the Front Fascia as it evenly applies the paint. Rather than a set number of coats, parts are painted to a thickness measured in Mils which varies depending on the part and the place on the car that it is ultimately installed. Paint will be thicker on components such as a Chin Spoiler or Front Fascia as they will need to withstand more road damage, such as chips from small stones, than a Quarter Window Louver is expected to.

The entire paint booth is both temperature and humidity controlled, so no matter how cold the Michigan winter gets, or how humid the summer rises to, the paint is always applied in optimum conditions.

After the base color is complete a clear coat is applied and the part undergoes a bake cycle to cure the paint quickly and properly. This baking typically lasts 20 or 30 minutes, depending on the size of the part and the amount of paint coverage. From start to finish, it takes around three and a half hours for the total paint process to be completed.

Once out of the paint booth, the parts all pass through a viewing area with 13 high-intensity lights in an arch spanning several feet wide. Here they are hand inspected for any paint flaws, and if passed, go to another area where they are buffed and polished by hand.

“Every single part is inspected for any cosmetic issues prior to the buffing process,” said Bob Nicosia, operations director of ROUSH Manufacturing. “After that they are hand polished to perfection.”

The ROUSH pre-painted body kits take much of the work out of buying body kit components, sanding them to fit properly, finding a paint shop to have them sprayed, and then worrying about the color matching your car correctly. All of this is done by ROUSH employees with access to the best equipment in the industry - which certainly explains why the individual components have become such a popular item with Mustang owners.

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