Thinking about building a Type 65 coupe

[Takis31gk]

Hey everyone! I've been a huge fan of Factory Five since I was in middle school, and am now looking to build a Type 65 coupe in the future. I have a couple reservations though. I'm 6'4" 195lbs and am second guessing whether or not I'll fit in the car. My other "issue" is power train/donor car. What do I use!? I'm thinking of building a basic car to start and then go ahead and update/modify as I progress through the years. Do you guys recommend an 87-95 5.0 with a T-5, 96-04 4.6 SOHC with a T-45, a 94-95 Cobra, 96-02 Cobra, 03-04 Mach 1 DOHC with a 5 speed? I have several years of experience with the 5.0 V8 and 4.6 DOHC setups so I'm comfortable with either one. Looking for a comfortable ride/potential daily driver but with enough power to have fun. I'm open to all suggestions and want to learn from your experiences. Thanks, and I'm looking forward to your feedback.

[tcarlson]

Hummm, that is a pretty open ended question with several different answers, so here are my thoughts.

The main difference between the older 5.0/4.9 and the newer engines is the physical size with the newer ones filling up the engine bay much more.

Any of those engines are going to power the Type 65 quite well with anywhere from approximately 200 to 300 hp. And you could easily have a nox system added to safely bump hp by 50-100.

Also, there is the mark viii donor route which isn't standard, has an intake that isn't super pretty(but can be modified to look great with a little extra work) and provides the IRS pumpkin if you acquire the whole car. You'll need to setup the pumpkin with a traction lok / posi gear setup which is a little extra work. The block is an aluminum 6 bolt main.

If you don't mind straying from a Ford engine, the GM LS3 erod or something similar can be a great power plant. Small, powerful with good electronic engine management.

The Coyote 5.0 is another alternative... Again it fills the engine bay, and can deliver great hp!

Also, you can look at some of the crate engines that increase the displacement. Search FFR for Dave's coupe as it recently had a new crate engine installed for the hot rod tv episode.

It looks like you won't have any problem with the fuel injection wiring, since you stated you are familiar with the newer engines. This can be a show stopper for the folks who want a carburetor, although I prefer the fuel injection.

Good luck with it.

Best,

T

[tcoon]

I just built one with a coyote, and it's an incredible package! Check out the build site, coyote competition coupe, to get an idea of the process...

[bil1024]

You will fit, and I would go with the 87-93 donor if you want to keep a budget and its your first kit, welcome to the family!

[Takis31gk]

How long did it take you guys to build your cars from start to finish?

[68GT500MAN]

My first build was a roadster and it was 7 months from delivery to being on the road in gel-coat.
Doug

[Timb]

Like you I was familiar and comfortable with the 4.6 so that's what i used. It's been a fairly straightforward build. Currently at the 2 year mark but can be much faster if you have dedicated time to it vs weekends split between car and family. I expect to be on the road this fall. Here is a link to my blog if you want to look at a modular build http://homeschoolcoupe.blogspot.com/

[jkrueger]

How long did it take you guys to build your cars from start to finish?

Exactly 1 year.

JC

[DARKPT]

Finished without bodywork and paint: 10 months
painted and plated: 18 months total

This was the first such project for my 14 yr old son and me.

My Build blog for a donor 302 build is in my signature.

[riptide motorsport]

Welcome!

[loeffler1]

Picked up coupe 11/15/2008, started assembly 1/1/2009. 4 years and 6 months later almost finished. Just reassambly left. Total probably 4 years and 9 months and approximately 1500 man hours.

[tirod]

Some build with a donor, others a pallet motor, some with a crate motor. The advantage of a donor is that the kit is largely designed to take the parts with no customization. That is based on a 94 Mustang. The disadvantage of that are some interesting finesse points in how the car handles. There are concerns about the SAI angles being correct, and brake bias with tiny rear calipers on a car with 49/51 weight distribution. Things aren't optimal, it's a budget build that gets it on the road.

Much after that, things go rapidly thru the few ready made custom options into fabricated one off "bespoke" work, and the costs increase geometrically. That starts just beyond the Coyote motor option, which is still new and developing in the lifespan of kits. A transmission other than a Tremec isn't common, and anything beyond factory brakes and it's vendor based, not common knowledge. The list goes on and on.

Going the other direction, retro is generally much less decision intensive and more based on finding cool old stuff still made from the day. It, too, gets expensive, trying to find true pin drive hubs, not bolt ons, and you need to expect pricing at $1,000 each. The wheels run $350-500 apiece, too.

Best thing to do is set your budget limit. Cost out the options, then decide how far to go in each area, leaving a substantial cushion for cover a lot of things most never consider. Kits don't go together any more than Legos, some parts are completely incompatible and can't work together dynamically, even if they do bolt up. Check the classifieds and see - plenty of good intentions bought the parts new, reality said nope, sell them, they don't work.

Once the budget is set, go back and look hard at the pricey items. The reality is the more expensive they are, the less you get in a real performance improvement. What too many parts do is stroke the owner's ego, and the cash lines the vendor's pocket. One quick way to tell is if it appeals to you as really cool, race car, or exotic. In which case, the performance will only be an incremental improvement for the 2-3X asking price. Exotic cool race car parts actually have a narrower limited performance envelope - sure, they deliver more, but usually at a less used rpm or speed than the car sees cruising on a nice warm summer weekend. Buy too much of them and the result becomes a cranky unreasonable handful that is untrustworthy and breaks down constantly.

If you can do the bodywork and paint at all, you will save a minimum of $5000. Paint is basically hired labor - albeit very good in most cases. Nonetheless, that painter is actually having a beginner do the bulk of the work, which is sanding. He just closely supervises him and prevents making some of the mistakes we would make, which are largely correctable anyway.

We can't decide what motor you want, largely because many of us tie a lot of our self image and ego into the choice. Then there is sticking to the marque, what level of loyalty we intend to exercise. Some don't at all, name the motor and it's found under the hood of a "Cobra." I won't pretend to understand or appreciate them other than to say, it's America, do what you want. I expect to see somebody put a Honda in a Harley frame any day, just because it can be done. Doesn't mean it should be.

Kits are a bit quirky like that, some look at them as just a fast car, others as an emulation and tribute to the original concept. What constitutes an aesthetic theme will drive it's construction at whatever budget level, so the first issue is what do you want it to be?

You live with the results, we just look on and agree or disagree.

[Takis31gk]

For those of you who used the 87-93 donor method, if I decide to go that same route should I send the engine & transmission out to be rebuilt?

[tirod]

Depends. How many miles? What was the previous owner's usage, a street racer, daily driver, ? And, again, what is the budget? Used motors/transmissions with less than 100k are going to hold up another 100k miles. You could simply clean it up, add some dress up items, and run it reliably for years.

On the other hand, if a supercharger was to be added, not so much. Those tend to need forged internals, at that point nobody knows if boost if over 6 pounds. Each build is it's own, no pat answers until the details are specified.

[novice2]

Not to hijack, but you (Takis31gk) asked the same thing that I need to know...will I fit? 5'5". Thanks and good luck with the path you pick.