01/02/2014 was a big day for me!



Crate barely fit on the trailer, had about an inch on each side...



Peek-A-Boo!









On my packing list its written #91 in pen, I'd imagine that's my chassis number. Not sure if the the actually FFR serial number is mounted somewhere on the chassis or not, still has the body taped to it. Started inventory last night, as mentioned in other build threads its very loosely packed. Once I've completed inventory I'll consolidate some boxes, being sure to keep track of what went where. So far only a few things on back order, and a few WTF brackets that I'll post pics of later so someone can tell me what I'm looking at .

So far I'm impressed with the quality of the kit. All the edges not taped are good, and weld splatter on at least the front of the frame is minimal. Too soon to determine the quality of the powdercoat, as I haven't inspected it all yet. Most of the welds on the un-coated parts seem good. Good for mig anyway. I will probably 'wash' over some corners and 'stop-starts' with tig before paint, but mainly for cosmetic reasons. For some reason I thought the corrugated rad hose smooth rubber on the inside, I now see why Micheal Everson designed the hose kit and some used silicone elbows. I also didn't expect a hard copy of the manual, as I thought only a digital copy was included.

Ordered my 818S with race splitter, defuser, and race wing. That's why I call it an SR. The splitter and defuser were included in the crate, however not wrapped at all, just laid on top of the boxes which surprised me. However they seem to be in good condition and all hardware and strakes were included. The defuser is mounted with 3/16 rivets, but I'll be using some stainless button head bolts like the splitter. I'd imagine removing it would be necessary for any exhaust work.

Still waiting on the parts deleted from the Canadian kits, so no gas tank, brake lines, coilovers, upper A-arms or axles yet. Sitting on the bare frame, I would like a little more leg room. Seats will be ordered this week, so I'll wait for them before considering modifying the gas tank. Also my head was about two inches from the top of the roll bar, so with a seat and helmet on I might need to tilt the seating position to get me lower.

No engine yet. The donor engine has issues, and I never planned to use it. I've considered a few options, and will probably be using a EZ30R. Its actually cheaper for me than a JDM EJ. Not even sure if my NA harness would be of use on a turbo EJ, and I have no intentions of doing the wiring myself. So JDM EZ costs less than a EJ, and either way I'd be going through Wayne for wiring and tuning. Now what I've got planned for the EZ will ruin my "cheaper" theory, but I expected to modify either engine heavily over time. No mention of those plans until I at least of the engine though, as nothing is certain until the engine is ordered. No bench racing for me

I'm also going to leave the 5spd open for this summer. Something stronger will be needed in the next year or two, and until I have driven it with the gearing I have, I don't know what gearing I want and which direction I'll take (5spd vs 6spd).

That's enough rambling for this morning, time to finish inventory and start taking off body panels. I'm going to try to find some cheap cargo nets today and attach most of the body work to the ceiling "spiderman style".

Adam