Thinking of taking the 33' plunge

[JOP33]

Im very close to pulling the trigger on a 33'. Would like to go the way of staged purchase for cost purposes. Would loved to hear from all that have gone complete or staged as to any challenges building or regrets.

Thanks

[NAZ]

Start with a realistic goal and put a plan on paper. Critically evaluate your skills and support equipment and determine what you can do yourself and what must be hired out. Even jobs you have the skills to accomplish often require a helping hand so determine where that help will come from before you commit. Build a spreadsheet with a list of parts, tools, and materials needed to accomplish your goal. Don’t forget to bake in the cost of contracted labor for those tasks you must hire out. Surf the online catalogs and add part numbers, sources, and prices (don’t forget tax and shipping). Now add a contingency cost for unforeseen items (10% would be low for a first-time builder). You’ll be surprised how much this thing will cost. Way more than a new Harley you could be riding tomorrow. It also takes a lot of room to open boxes and inventory parts and then you’ll need secure storage for your parts and supplies while building your dream machine. Make it a fun experience by setting easily achievable goals and plan your time so you have a working schedule you can keep without sacrificing other important things in your life. It’s important to make steady progress every week to keep you motivated. Have fun!

[1932]

Hi
Yes, you really do need a plan on what you want the car to be at the end of build. Then you need to look at things you would like to change from kit, look up parts and add money and work. Then you can get
those parts off the order. Try to be realistic about the work you can do, and work that you want to learn to do, other work for others to do.
I wish you the best and have FUN!

[Barrel]

If I lived in the States or Canada I would have gone to the FFR Build School before "pulling the trigger".

Cheers,
Barrel.
'33 HR # 353. Street Rod Permit Plates issued 2015.

[JOP33]

Thank you so much for your input. Do ya'll have any thoughts on the benefits/regrets of going the staged purchase route versus a complete purchase? If I go staged it would be more cost effective for me, but I want to avoid being in a position where I am making decisions about installing stage one parts based on assumptions on stage 2 parts (ie. body, clearance, etc.) that I don't have yet.

[NAZ]

I'm going to assume you're building a typical kit car street rod and not planning any major departures from the FFR kit. For cost & continuity it's better to get all your major assemblies at once. If you time your purchase you can take advantage of FFR sales -- I saved $2,600 by waiting for the winter sale last year. You will find that there is a lot of delay waiting on parts so the more you have on hand the less you have to stop progress on your car. Even a total kit will have lots of backordered items that will straggle in over months. The more parts you have on hand when you find you need something you can simply jump to another area and continue while waiting on parts to arrive. If this is a donor build you can start shopping for a parts car or individual parts now. There will be lots of disassembly, inspection / repair, and cleaning on a donor build. If this is a new parts only build you will still have a lot of assembly work on the drivetrain components so order them now. You may want to build an engine run-in stand to ensure your crate motor or donor runs with no issues and you can do some preliminary tuning. That would get a lot of this work out of the way before your kit arrives. Whatever you do plan to have fun -- this is a journey not a destination. Once your car is on the road it'll be fun but you'll still have thoughts of how you're going to build the next one and make it even better. Hot rodding is an addiction.

[myjones]

The thing no one has touched on yet is the extra cost of a 2 phase kit. The second phase will have to be crated and shipped not sure where you are but lets say that is a $1500 added expense. Think how much further that money would go to extras instead of being spent on a crate and freight. The added benefit is that some of the assembly is better done while you can put the body on and off a few times to check fitment as you go. Also keep in mind that IF you wait a bit to order yours the all steel 33 will also be available. Having seen the Beta steel body at SEMA if I was in your place the steel option would be the way to go. The upcharge will be somewhat offset by a cheaper cost for body work and paint when you get to that point.
HTH
Dale Berry 7liter Hemi33

[erlihemi]

Welcome to the disease JOP!!
First and foremost understand the Registration process for your State. This may effect your engine,fuel, and even fender choices.
2). I ordered separate stages, but would not again. FFR did honor my discounts that were available when I purchased stage 1, which was awesome. Build school is helpful if you not already building stuff like this.
Reasons to order separate stages:
A, space to work, I would allow at least a long 1 1/2 car garage, but that also depends on climate.
B, you anticipate lots of tubing changes on the frame, which means don't powder coat either.
C, your building a non standard kit option that requires lots of mock up time
D, your waiting for a new body option or using a non FFR body...

Reasons NOT to order separate stages:
A, the parts really aren't set up correctly in the stages for the build sequence.
B, the manual also is not aligned by stages nor is the manual sequenced like most people build.
C, you may need the body for fabrication, alignment of firewall, etc.

If you're building the kit "as designed" with a 302 and T5 for example you can certainly order in stages and make significant progress. In fact you could probably delay engine and tranny until the very last.
One thing you really do want to do is select your exhaust system configuration early as it's easier to do before sheet metal goes in.

Good luck!

[JOP33]

Where are you guys seeing best pricing on Engines & Transmissions? This would be my first build, so I want to set myself up for success. So I am trying to keep it simple with a 302 and Automatic transmission, crated & ready to drop in. Let's just say that Engines & Drivetrains aren't my forte'.

[GoDadGo]

Pace Performance, Mike Forte Parts Connection, Blueprint Engines, Summit Racing, Jegs and G.M. Performance.

There are a ton of places to buy a drive line so good luck and take the plunge If you can.

You Won't Regret It!

[DarthTedious]

I bought my 33 in 2 stages for a few reasons:
- Wanted to spread out the cost, with 2 stages and a separate engine and trans purchase, it essentially divides the purchase into 3 sections which is nice (downside is you pay additional shipping ~$1500, but I road tripped and picked up my first stage which removed some of that additional cost)
- Not too much space in my garage, so not having to deal with the body and rest helped with digging through stuff and having work space.
- I got the half off options deal on my stage 1 purchase and they honored that discount for stage 2 (FFR customer service has been great from my perspective)

The kit isn't really meant to be built in separate stages, but I have only run into a few issues really and those are:
- Radiator ships with stage 1, but mounts to the grill which is in stage 2 (you could probably ask them to add it to your stage 1 and move the cost)
- Seats are not present in stage 1 which means I have to wait until I go kart until my second stage gets here
- Wiring is a bit more tentative when you lay it out because you don't have the transmission tunnel to help understand where the final routes are (not a big deal)
- There might be body fitment issues with the firewall, but I haven't gotten to that yet, so don't know.

A couple notes from my learnings:
- Keep track of when you want your 2nd stage and order it 8 weeks in advance. I bought my first stage, then bought the engine and transmission about 1 month after receipt of stage 1, then bought the 2nd stage about 3 months after receipt of the motor, so the purchases have been spread out over about 6 months
- I bought my crate engine and trans from summit, great shipping, good prices, and good customer service