The Time Is Near

[GT53]

The time is near. Kit ordered in April, with a build date of September 10, which means Stewart will be bringing me a mighty fine early Christmas present round about October 1st. Can’t wait to get started.

I went to Build School in the first week of August and I can’t say enough good things about the experience. Todd Baumann and Scott Shumaker were the instructors and as you might imagine, they are pretty much walking encyclopedias regarding FFR cars. I think that I could have worked my way through this build without having been to Build School but the notes and photos I took will be much appreciated as I progress.

If any of you are on the fence about attending I can only say that I had a great time, learned a ton about the Roadster from Todd and Scott and had an all around fun time for what it’s worth. Considering the overall cost of this build it was a well spent $500 IMHO!!! Not to mention that they talked me out of some mods / add ons that I had planned.

With the knowledge and experience of previous builders on this forum, I had a reasonably good plan put together prior to Build School and as such with some tweaking I have pretty much settled in on what I plan to do. I am certain there will be changes on the horizon but…….although the destination is the goal, the journey will be a blast.

Thanks in advance to those of you who have taken what I would consider to be an inordinate amount of time and effort to document your builds on this forum. There are way too many to thank here for your efforts but suffice it to say that if I hadn’t read a bunch of these build threads I seriously doubt if I would be doing this.

THE PLAN:

-Roadster, Complete Kit
-Powdercoated Frame
-IRS
-Hydraulic Clutch
-31 Spline DS
-Wilwoods……Likely a Wilwood Park Brake as well.
-Power Steering
-Wind Wings and Sun Visors
-Blank Dash
-Low Back Vintage Racing Seats


ENGINE BUILD:

-Dart 351W Short Block (427)
-Stainless Headers
-AFR Cylinder Heads
-Competition Cams Cam Kit
-Competition Cams Rockers
-March Performance PS Pulley System
-Holley Sniper EFI
-Tremec TKX 5 Speed Transmission

Budget Buster Add ons as follows:

-Gas-N Side Pipes
-Forte Mechanical Throttle Link
-Boig Cool Tubes
-Metco DS Safety Loop
-Smiths Gauge Set (Nisonger)

Breeze Mods:

-Fan Shroud
-Cockpit Cubby
-Roll Bar
-Offset Steering Rack
-Seat Mounts
-Battery Forward Kit
-Dead Pedal Kit

Various other mods from various other vendors…. Russ Thompson, Mike Everson, Gordon Levy and more.

Here we go and thanks again,

Greg

[460.465USMC]

Welcome aboard, Greg! Glad to hear the build school was excellent. I booked flights, hotel, etc. for my youngest son (17) and I to attend last year, but after two COVID related class cancellations I figured it wasn't meant to be.

Looks like you've done a good amount of planning and research on your order. Well done.

You've got the budget buster part right, but I can think of worst things to over run on budget than your F5 build. I'm my own worst enemy on budget.

Budget Buster Add ons as follows:

-Gas-N Side Pipes
-Forte Mechanical Throttle Link
-Boig Cool Tubes
-Metco DS Safety Loop
-Smiths Gauge Set (Nisonger)

Please keep us posted as your kit arrives.

[GT53]

Thanks Chris. Can’t wait to get started and I’ll be following your build as well. If you can work out the Build School plan I’d go for it. There was 3 guys in my class with their sons along for the ride and these kids were eating it up. In one case the kid was more interested than his dad. His dad told me: “He’s been a car nut from the time he could walk so I’m just along for the ride.”

Greg