New to the Forum But Long-Time Builder-Owner

[Smith is Retired]

I am new to this forum. There was no such information source when I built my first generation Type 65 in 2003-04, or at least I did not know of the existence of one.

I still have the car, after twenty years, although I've only put about 2K miles on it. I built it for the street, using Mustang engine, gearbox and rear axle as they came out of the scrapyard. Most of the other donor car parts that were specified by FFR were purchased new from the local Ford dealer that gave me a terrific price deal when I placed the bulk order. Unfortunately at the time, there were a large number of these items that, even then, were no longer available through Ford, requiring accessing after-,market suppliers (mostly NAPA) and, only when no other source was available, the local salvage yard. Getting it titled in New Jersey where I lived at the time (I'm in southern Maine now), was a bit of a trick that I am not entirely proud of. I hope the environment for that sort of thing has improved in the years since.

I suppose I committed a bit of heresy with the car last month. After years of struggling with the heavy steering, I installed power steering, using a kit supplied by LMR. Makes the car much easier to handle around the local streets. I never did install the A/C kit that I bought, and only recently sold it after never even opening the boxes that FFR had sent.

I doubt that my experience will prove useful, as I understand that the new generation of the T-65 is completely different from my car, with no interchangeable parts and, apparently, the new model is easier to build. I have found over time that "easy" and easier" is relative. When I built my car, I ran into a few challenges that were not mentioned in the assembly manual.

I also own two other vehicles besides my daily drivers. Right after I finished the FFR project, I did a full, body-off restoration of a Triumph Spifire4, also referred to as a "Mk I", and I recently completed a restoration of a 1971 Opel GT. I still have all three cars.

Thanks for reading. I'll try and stay out of the way, chipping in only when I think I really have something to offer.

[michael everson]

Glad to see you join the group. Thanks again for the A/C system.
Mike

[JimStone]

Great looking cars! Only 2k miles on the Coupe? She's begging you to drive her, poor girl!