2009 Bullitt #5176
Owner:
Jim Crouch
Plainfield, IN
Jim Crouch
Plainfield, IN
I found this unicorn after burning up most of my camera's battery on the Miller's Roush 427R, so I wasn't able to get as many pics as I wanted. These are the few pictures I was able to get before my camera pulled a long and almost as dramatic Sargent Elias-Platoon style movie death in the middle of the shoot. What a drama queen.
Getting back to business, I was fortunate to find Jim, who owns this beauty, and get some info on the car. This is example 5176 of 6624 serialized units produced between 2008-2009. There were also 31 PPU (pre-production units) stamped out which were used for final engineering, press reviews, and advertising. These cars are not serialized, and but are included in the official production numbers provided by Ford. Only 2 of the pre-production units are 2009 models, PP01 is in the hands of an admin for the IMBOC- International Mustang Bullitt Owner Club, the second one's whereabouts are unknown at the time of this writing. The original run of Bullitts was only planned for 2008 but with high demand early in the 2008 model year, Ford had already set the wheels in motion to build an additional 3000 units for 2009. That didn't go planned though.. |
There were 4377 Highland Green units and 1431 Black Bullitts sporting an 8 as the 9th digit of the vin number that year. In 2009 the number of units produced was roughly 12% from the prior year. 635 were sprayed Highland Green and 131 dipped in Black for a total of 816 that year. Pretty rare car in either color and no where near the 3000 unit number originally planned. Also noteworthy is that one of the 635 Dark Highland Green cars was shipped off to Roush Performance in Livonia Michigan. I was not able to obtain any useful information on the car as to what exactly they did with it or where it is now, but I will keep harassing them until I find out and update y'all asap.
Usually the serialized plate rests on top of the special strut tower brace that comes from the factory on the Bullitt, but Jim had to ditch that in order to clear the Ford Racing intake manifold. He also installed set Kooks long tubes, Ford Racing throttle body, and a set of Hot Rod cams topped off with a pair chrome valve covers. From ford, this variant puts down 315 HP, but with these mods, the number is closer to 330 or so at the wheels.
|
Typically I classify a car in 4 levels of cleanliness: neglected, daily driver, clean, and super clean. Most cars I come across at shows fall into the clean and super clean category, this car however, forced me to create a new category...OCD Surgical Clean! This specimen has only 6300 miles, but could easily pass for a no mileage car. It is literally beyond show room clean with zero wear, paint imperfections or any evidence that car has ever been driven. When I asked to open the door to get pictures of the interior, Jim responded "Hang on, I'll get the door for ya." He grabbed a microfiber towel and lifted the door handle allowing me access with camera.
Much like the exterior, the interior is in meticulous condition, no finger prints, smudges or dust. I've literally never seen a car this clean before. Inside is the stock interior for this model, Bullitt horn button, GT500 pedals, Bullitt shift knob and dash overlay.
Jim took this car brand new off the showroom floor in October 2009. Though the car comes from the factory with special springs, dampers, and 3.73 rear gears, he swapped all that out in favor of HR sport springs, Bilstein shocks and 4.10 ring gear. |
The Factory Bullitt wheels were ditched in favor of these Ford Racing 2011 GT500 19x9 cast aluminum rollers wrapped in Michelins. A little known fact- Bullitts come from the factory with special carbon metallic brake pads on the front wheels and painted brake calipers. Jim has upgraded his stoppers with a Brembo big brake kit which is kinda hard to tell from the pics.
Retouching on the OCD surgical clean theme, take a look behind the rims at the brake rotors, there is no rust or road grime. The car was driven, not trailered, to and from the show. If you look closely at the last picture, there is not a single bug stuck in the radiator fins! That's something you never on a driven car. If I had to guess, I would say when this Bullitt isn't at a show, its in his garage wrapped in a giant vacuum sealed plastic bag.
Next time you're in Indy, keep your eyes peeled for this ride, you wont be disappointed.
Retouching on the OCD surgical clean theme, take a look behind the rims at the brake rotors, there is no rust or road grime. The car was driven, not trailered, to and from the show. If you look closely at the last picture, there is not a single bug stuck in the radiator fins! That's something you never on a driven car. If I had to guess, I would say when this Bullitt isn't at a show, its in his garage wrapped in a giant vacuum sealed plastic bag.
Next time you're in Indy, keep your eyes peeled for this ride, you wont be disappointed.
***After I finished this article, I was notified that the 2009 pre-production unit 01 was consigned for sale. This is a very well documented car featured in many magazines. This is 1 of 2 PPU Bullitts, check out the details here.
While you're here, don't forget to vote in the this months Mustang of the Month Contest!
It's free, no ads, no spam, no BS
It's free, no ads, no spam, no BS