Hello from North NJ

[BIGxPAPPA]

Hello all my name is Steven from Northern NJ and i am interested in building a mark IV roadster (that sounds like an AA introduction...no experience)

Speaking of no experience i guess the best thing to start off with is that i have no experience with kit car building, engine work, body work...really no experience in this. up till now my main hobby has been wood work and while i still enjoy doing i guess my real interest is building things that i can use. What better than a roadster. I have been skimming the forum for a few years with mild interest but knowing that the build funds would not be available for many many years, i refrained from diving into the project too much.

Well, the time has come... (i still don't yet have the money but i'm ready to dive in)

After speaking with a financial adviser friend he got me to thinking what major expenses I have to plan for. The plan was created and i have been moving along... I got married about 2 months ago, offered on a house about 2 weeks ago and with the wedding over and done, the house about to be purchased, i need to plan on what to fill the garage with.

As is in my nature i am weighting the cost of different options but as i said i have no experience in this but i am eager to learn from soup to nuts. I plan to work with a close friends father who runs his own motor shop and will be my main running gear source of information. For the rest i have a friendly mechanic, any literature on Mustang i can find as well as, of course, the FF Forum. Below I have created a list of parts and their projected costs. Being that i know very little of cars, despite spending so much time commuting in one, many parts seem foreign to me... Spindles, control arms, lower A arms as well as the procedures to correctly install and maintain such parts....Anyway my hope is that any and all knowledgeable builders can adjust my assumed costs so that i have a better idea of the projects total expense. What I want when I’m done is an easy to drive cruiser that’s nice to look at (also the requirements I used when looking for a wife). I don’t have any intentions of ever taking the car to a track or winning car shows but I love the idea of a new, clean coyote engine with some up-to-date tech for the interior. This means no carburetor and 427s kind of scare me on a car so small.
I have made many decisions on what i want the car to be when it’s complete, only to convince myself that a different way is the better way to go. Here is my first step:

*Not including wheels/tires, paint, and body work

Non-donor + Complete Kit Option
$9,500 = 5.0L Coyote Crate engine from Summit racing (includes control packs, oil pan, fuel pump, Fuel pressure regulator, XS torque starter, alternator kit, speedometer adjuster)
$2,000 = A manual transmission (not sure which but whatever fits the roadster easiest and handles the peaks of the motor production)
$1,000 = 8.8” rear-end, purchased refurbished (ebay or something)
$2000 = Brakes
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$14,500 = Core Needs
$20,000 = Complete Kit
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* $34,500 = Total Cost (well controlled build, least amount of work/input, highest priced option)

Non-donor + Base Kit Option (Most parts priced from FFR parts catalog)
All of the above plus:
$1,000 – Coil overs
$1,000 – Other parts
$700 – Spindles
$400 – Control arms
$265 – drive shaft
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$14,500 = Core Needs
$3,365 = Extra needed parts for base kit
$13,000 = Base Kit
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* $30,865 = Total Cost (less controlled build, more research needed, more areas to miscalculate or mess up, most amount of input in parts selection and pride post-build. Slightly less expensive)

Donor Car + Base Kit
$10,000 = 2000 – 2004 Ford Mustang with less than 80,000 miles, running and in good condition
$13,000 = Base kit
$2,000 = minor replacement parts, emergency mechanic assistance
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• $25,000 = Total Cost (Most work to do, entry level finishes, used parts, highest possibility of deviation from anticipated cost. Start the project sooner. I can always upgrade non-core parts /evolve with the car.


Please let me know where i may be missing parts or misrepresenting the cost of certain parts. Thanks in advance i look forward to being a bigger part of the forum community!

[Someday I Suppose]

Big Pappa, welcome to the forum, what part of NJ are you in? We have a pretty good group of guys here and in PA that are on the road and building, and get together for breakfast the second Sunday of every month in Chester NJ. That is tomorrow, short notice for sure, but if you want to join us, please feel free. We usually sit down around 9:30, and depending on the weather roll in around 9 or so to look at the cars before going in.

As for your build plans, the only thing I see missing is paint and body work. Even on a MKIV it will be one of your biggest expenses outside of the kit and engine.

Scott

[riptide motorsport]

Welcome!! your plans are solid, I would go with number 3 and you can probably find the donor in the $4-7,000 range.