One of the first changes I made, was to change out the HVAC knobs from the Ford standard black plastic ones, to the satin finished aluminum ones.  I wanted knobs which better coordinated with the silver look of the  Interior Upgrade Package.   I picked the ones from MGW because they did not have any one else's name or logo on them (I wanted simple and plain) and they still supported the tip indicator lights for night time use (green in this case).

You can buy these from MGW Ltd.
My '95 Mustang came with real, functional, side scoops straight from the factory.  One of the things I didn't like, and bothered me quite a bit, was that my '03 not only didn't have functional side scoops, the faux side scoops looked rather obviously fake and their grills very cheap and plastic. 

While to convert them to real scoops would be very difficult, I did want to make them look less fake.  That lead me to look for a set of replacement grills.  I quickly focused on a set made by CC Mustang.  CC Mustang offered real metal grills in a variety of colors, and separate background colors.  I ended up picking silver grills, to coordinate with the color of my Mustang, and a flat black background, to give an illusion of a true open scoop.  Gone, was that fake plastic look!!!   Oh, and I replaced the hood scoop too.

You can buy these from CC Mustang.
I had given a lot of thought to what type and color of rear "Mustang" inserts I should get.  I considered black ones, like the ones Ford ships on V6 Mustangs with the Pony Package, but felt that black would be almost invisible against the Dark Shadow Gray paint.  I considered aftermarket vinyl letters in various colors too, like reflective black, silver, gray, and white.  However, I finally focused in on the Stainless Steel "Mustang" inserts and seeing pics of just how great they looked.  I then shopped around, and I ended up finding the best price deal from Mustang Dreams.

When installing these letters, I would strongly suggest allowing yourself about an hour to do it.  What one really needs to do, is to pre-bend the letters to fit the complex curve of the rear bumper before removing the protective backing.  This means bending just the right curve into the letters both up and down, and left and right.  Each letter will need to be bent slightly differently from the others.  Also, you can't bend these stainless steel letters at all once you stick them on.  The bumper will flex before the letters will bend.  So, you really need to get it right first

You can buy these from Mustang Dreams (phone 336-567-0606).
I always liked the look of the yellow directionals on the rear of an SN95 ('94 to '04) Mustang.  It allowed one to have something unique and different, but still remain 100% genuine Ford.  These types of tail lights are used by Ford on all export Mustangs (and on the '99 and '01 Cobras too). 

I also felt they offered a bit of improved safety in that all of one's rear brake lights remained fully 'on' when braking, even if one also had the directionals 'on' too.   In other words, one didn't loose almost 1/2 of the rear brake lights, when turning too. 

I had wanted to install a set on the rear of my '95 Mustang, but just never got around to it.  So, this was near the top of the list for my '03. 

There is a really good set of instructions on the MustangWorld website called "Installing a set of Cobra Tail Lights" written by Jonathan Tam.  Below I offer some updates to this excellent article based on my experiences with my '03.

In Step 8, Jonathan refers to a "red square peg" in the flasher's black plug.  Apparently, this peg is used as a key and therefore will only allow the one correct type of flasher to be plugged into it.  Latter, Ford seemed to realize that mechanics could tell the difference between the yellow and the blue colored flashers, and on my '03, there wasn't any peg.   Also, there is nothing special or custom about the blue colored flasher which replaces the yellow colored one.  The blue color flasher is a standard type called SF-613 and is used on other Fords.

I discovered a lot about Ford's electronic flashers while preparing to work on this modification.  If you would like to learn more, please read my "A Dummy's Guide to Ford's Electronic Flash Modules".

In Step 9, Jonathan refers to a "gray plug connector next to the steering column".   I found that on my '03, this gray connector is actually now located behind the driver's side kick panel.

After removing the driver's side kick panel, you should see a row of three large connectors.   There is a gray connector between two black connectors, and it is this gray connector which matches up the one Jonathan found next to his steering column. If you have a set of Ford Wiring Diagrams, this is called connector C332.

In this same step, Jonathan also refers to a "solid green wire".  There happens to be three solid green wires on this connector (even back when Jonathan did his own Mustang).  One light green wire and two dark green wires. The wire that needs to be cut, is the dark green wire running to Pin 12 on the connector.  If you pull the top, or male, connector out by releasing the locking lever, you should be able to bend it over and be able to read the pin number markings next to where each wire enters the connector.  Just find the one marked "12" and confirm it is a dark green wire.  Last, take a deep breath and cut it. If you have a set of Ford Wiring Diagrams, this DG wire is part of circuit 569.

You can buy these parts from your local Ford dealer, or one of the on-line Ford parts discounters:
SF-613 Electronic Flasher Ford P/N F67Z-13350-BA
Right Cobra/Export Tail Light Ford P/N XR3Z-13404-CA
Left Cobra/Export Tail Light Ford P/N XR3Z-13405-CA
 
Here is where I changed out the gauge cluster.  I wanted something sharp and interesting.  I ended up getting the Auto Meter full replacement gauge cluster.   This is from their Lunar Series.   This gave me white face gauges during the day, and "glow" gauges at night.

You can buy this from  Auto Meter Products, Inc.
When the SN95 Mustang was first introduced back in 1994, all the exterior lights has fluted lenses.  This included the headlights, corner lights, tail lights, and the fog lights.  However, over the years, Ford updated and changed all the exterior lights to clear lenses, except for the fog lights.  Those stayed with the original, and now outdated, fluted lenses. 

So, when I found aftermarket fog lights which were an exact replacement, but with clear lenses,  I just had to get them. 

Replacing the fog lights requires the removal of their mounting brackets.  The mounting brackets are attached to the back of the front bumper cover by three screws.  One vertical screw on the bottom of the front bumper cover which screws up into the bottom of the bracket, and two horizontal screws which screw into the bumper cover from behind.  The bottom screw is very easy to reach, but the top two are above the bracket, and not visible from underneath the car.  These two need to be removed by "feel".  All three screws are of the same size.  So, the same size socket used on the bottom screw is used on the top two.

Removing the top two screws by "feel" was easy compared to re-inserting them afterward.  I found that using a "shake size" straw  (from your local fast food joint) was just the right diameter to snugly fit over the screw heads.  With the straw as an extension, I was able to successfully re-insert the top screws, hand tighten them slightly, pull the straw off, and use my socket to finish tightening them.

You can buy these from ProCarParts.
Well, even though I still endorse the replacement grills from CC Mustang as a way to greatly improve the look of the non-functional factory scoops on a Mustang, I ended up installing a functional "shaker" scoop.

I will admit to having always wanted a true Mach 1 since I saw picture of the concept Mach 1 back in 2001. However, I also wanted a convertible. I was totally disappointed when it became clear in early 2002 that Ford was not going to offer the Mach 1 in a convertible. That made the Mach 1 the only Mustang model not available in a convertible, and therefore, totally unexpected by me. I mean, even the higher performing Cobra was offered in a convertible.

So, I had been wanting for a long time, to buy a shaker kit for my Mustang. However, I was hesitant to start ripping apart my brand new Mustang. What really got me to finally take this step, was that I was the chance finding of a Mach 1 hood in excellent condition for sale, and in just the right factory color. A perfect match! Plus it had the hood stripe, the under hood blanket, trim ring, and engine decal too. That made the hood itself a simple "bolt off the old, bolt on the new" activity.

With the hood taken care of, the shaker "ram air" kit itself, can easily be installed in under an hour. Except for a custom front bracket and a custom rear bracket, needed because of the GT having the 16v engine instead of the Mach 1's 32v engine, everything else in the kit are authentic Ford parts.

You can buy the Shaker "Ram Air" kit from KarKraft.