New Member

[Chipster]

Hello Everyone:

I have been visiting the FFR site for a couple of years trying to decide whether I wanted to take the plunge into building a Roadster. I have wanted one since I saw an original AC Cobra at an auto show in California in 1963 at the ripe old age of 14.

I'm going to take this a small step at a time. I guess next will be to purchase a manual and after that maybe the build school.

For me the hardest part will be the budget, but I'm also on my way in that area with not one, but two donor Mustangs in the driveway; an '89 & a '90, both convertibles which I drove until they couldn't be driven anymore.

Looking forward to it.

[bil1024]

Welcome to the family!

[CapeCoralCobra]

Welcome! I was also a long-time dreamer until three years ago. I bought the manual, read it and said, "Yeah, I can do that," and ordered my base kit. Three years later, I am so glad I did.

You mentioned two donor cars, so here are some thoughts: Building a nice roadster on a budget is very doable, as long as you do it right. Depending on your abilities, it can easily be done for under $25K, and if you don't let yourself be mesmerized by all the shiny things available (your fellow forum members will gladly point them out to you ) probably closer to $20K on a base kit/full donor basic build. Mine was a true donor build, but as time goes by, fewer and fewer donor parts remain. There are noticeable compromises, some mechanical, some aesthetic, involved in a full donor build; the 4 link donor suspension doesn't handle nearly as well as upgraded suspension (and there are several levels of upgrades), 4 lug Fox Mustang rotors/axles limit your wheel choice, the Mustang gauges, while they work just fine, don't have that vintage look, and, if you don't rebuild it, your donor motor might be a bit tired, to name a few. Using donor parts isn't a problem, but do yourself a favor and rebuild/refurbish ALL of your donor parts - clean, paint, replace worn sub-parts, etc, or in the end, it will look and feel like a 20-25 year old car. Two common budget busters; drive train and paint. If you can rebuild engines (or are sure you will be happy with your untouched donor motor) and do the bodywork and paint yourself, you can save yourself A LOT of money. However, the trade off is time vs. $. I had over 8 times the number of hours involved they say you can build one of these in, but to me, the time was worth it, and very satisfying.

Compromises aside, just envision what you want the car to be and work toward that goal. Good luck!

[skullandbones]

Sounds like you have a good plan started. Do a project plan or get a template from someone here on the forum. I have two left over engines that I will be rebuilding sometime down the line so I am sure you will have lots of donor parts accumulating around your garage. Take advantage of FFR sales if possible. I got most of my upgrade stuff that way. Another resource that you should look for locally is owners and builders of these projects. I found a group of really nice people who have replicas and they are real gear heads and enthusiasts. You need locals to share the "pain" and the joys with during this process. Sometimes you might solicit their help for lifting the body or engine install. There are a few tasks that really work better with a helping hand now and then. Most people will not appreciate the detail of what you may have done as they don't see the intricacies involved task by task (until it's a finish product) but you will, I'm sure. Good luck and stick to your guns! WEK.

[Chipster]

Thanks for the encouragement and advice.

I'm hoping to get in on the better side of $20K. One of my donors has an pro rebuilt motor with about 10K miles on it & sound T5 with a new clutch, which should be OK to start; later I might look at something with a little more oomph or maybe a supercharger. The other has a lot of new front end parts though as with all of these cars both steering racks leak a little. One of the donors even has an almost new AC unit :-) Before you make fun, I drive with the top and windows down and the AC on all the time. Both have succumbed to NY salt-induced body rot to the point they can't safely be driven and I don't feel I can justify the cost to make either safe.

I'm a mechanical Engineer by trade and I have until just a few years ago always done my own maintenance and repairs including radiators, water pumps, brakes, clutches, nearly everything including ground up rebuilds of both a 289 for a '67 Cougar and a Jaguar XK 3.8 so I can probably handle almost anything for which I have the time energy and $$ for parts.

Good point on the Fox 4-bolt wheels. I can't picture using any wheel other than the Halibrand replicas; I assumed they were available to fit the 4-bolt hubs. If not I will be replacing those. As well, the Mustang live axle rear suspension will remain until I get the additional $$ for the IRS setup. As with everything I know there will be a tradeoff (we engineers like to call it an it an "optimization" :-) between spending the bucks early and doing the build only once, and saving a few $$ by putting the upgrades off until later. We'll see how that goes.

I have a couple of sons in the local area who have already agreed to assist, but i'd still ike to find some local owners with completed cars if for nothing else than inspiration.

[CapeCoralCobra]

It sounds like you have a respectable plan and your experience/donor cars will definitely be an asset for your budget $. The 4 bolt Halibrands are no longer manufactured as far as I know, but used ones occasionally -not often- show up for sale on the forums. I may be wrong, but I think the IRS chassis is built differently from the live axle chassis. However, there are several options for the std. rear end; donor 4 link, coilover 4 link, 3 link, 5 link - lots to think about. Building a car with your sons would be a great experience, IMO. I hope your plan come to fruition soon!