If you ask Matthew Ward what he likes most about his '00 GT (and we did), he'll reply, "The paint job on my hood because it makes the car different."
That it does. Without the checkered-flag design on the Harwood cowl-induction hood, Matthew's Performance Red Mustang would look like so many other Performance Red Mustangs on the street. "After I bought the hood," Matthew said, "I was talking with some friends and we came up with the idea for the hood paint. I did the paint job myself."
As the original owner of the GT, Matthew was content to drive it in stock form for the first year or so. Then the modifying bug struck. First, he lowered his Mustang 1.25 inches in front and 1.50 inches at the rear, with performance springs from Maximum Motorsports. Next came the hood and its unique paint scheme, followed by 18-inch Cobra R wheels with Kumho rubber, 265/35-18 in front and 275/35-18 at the rear. A short time later, Matthew "got bored" and jazzed up the interior by painting the plastic trim in Performance Red to match the interior. Billet-aluminum knobs and switches add some contrast, while a Kicker amp with 10-inch subwoofers provides some bottom-end to the factory stereo.
Under the hood, Matthew stuck to basic modifications, like BBK underdrive pulleys and a cold air intake, for the 4.6 two-valve engine.
The end result is a lean and clean GT, with an eye-grabbing hood up front.