considering a build, got some questions

[mstephenson51]

Hey, I am looking at possibly getting a kit, and I have some questions in the building....

Realistically, how much labor time is involved in getting it from factory to licensed/driving? Not including paint and customizing the interior.

How much is a typical paint job in $$$? I am seeing on here that the newer kits have a much better body and requires much less body shop sanding. Is that true?

Last, I am looking at the complete kit and considering doing track days. Is the stock suspension strong enough to handle the high loads of using racing slicks?

Thanks yall!

[wallace18]

Figure 300-500 hours depending on your skill level.
Paint can run from 3-30K depending on shop and finish . The body requires a ton of work to make it right IMO. I just got done building one last year.
If doing the complete kit I would upgrade to Wilwood brakes for track days. Slicks put a lot of stress on the suspension. I would look into the challenge series suspension if it where me. Check out my type 65 build thread. My was just a street car but gives you an idea of the work involved. Good luck.

[Hankl]

Realistically, 300 to 500 hours is a good guess unless you want to modify the entire Coupe, a track Coupe will take a little less time
due to the probable lack of A/C and other amenities, unless you want to include those. Paint should be between $5- $8K, anything
past that any you're looking towards a custom job that you wouldn't want on the track with other people banging into you. As to
the suspension, you can go 3 link, but the new IRS has proven to be a better track performer than the 3 link, so that decision is kind
of made up for you. A little more pricey, but in my opinion, money well spent, unless you definition of "Track Day" is a Drag Strip, then go with the 3-link. HTH.

Hank :cool:

[mstephenson51]

Thanks guys!

Yeah, I was leaning towards the new version IRS. I'll check out your build Wallace, thank you. Hank, I was looking at "Edge Addicts" and how they do track days at COTA. I might also do my own brakes, the Wilwoods look great, but I might go a little better still for a true track ride. Im thinking at first it will have no AC/heat, manual steering, no power brakes, hyd clutch.

I'll dig into the Challenge suspension and see what it looks like. Again, much appreciated gents.

[steveyoung]

looking to sell my unfinished kit please see the for sale section!

[Hankl]

Thanks guys!
I might also do my own brakes, the Wilwoods look great, but I might go a little better still for a true track ride. Im thinking at first it will have no AC/heat, manual steering, no power brakes, hyd clutch.


The Wilwoods have done well at the 25 Hours at Thunderhill, so I wouldn't discount them from the pick, but if you have a preference, it's your call.
I would say that including power steering and a Hydraulic slave would be a good call, take it from those who have run sprint and endurance racing cars.

Hank :cool:

[mstephenson51]

Wow, the Willwoods really stood up? that's amazing. Maybe I don't want different brakes!

Yeah, I was thinking no power steering just for the fact of having a cleaner engine bay and one less thing that could break.

[Hankl]

Yeah, I was thinking no power steering just for the fact of having a cleaner engine bay and one less thing that could break.

Today's systems are so reliable that failure should not be part of the equation. We see more failures with untested or new systems, than we see with simple, tried and
true items such as hydraulic systems. So many new cars with manual transmissions are switching over to hydraulic slaves, Porsche did it over 30 years ago.
Look at all of the cars on the road today that have power steering, the bugs are long gone from the OEM and dedicated racing systems.
I remember a comment from Tom Coon after a race at Button willow, he stated that he would not have been able to avoid a wreck in front of him, had not been for the
power steering, which allow him a faster response time, than if he had a manual system. Food for thought, HTH.

Hank :cool:

[lance corsi]

Really, plan on spending $25 k on a decently built car. The car can take anywhere between 300 and 900 hours to build. I've spent well over 300 hours just fitting my body panels so far! I estimate a total of 900 hours to build the car as I want mine. I've made quite a few modifications along the way tho, but now is the time for that. Nobody wants to tear back into a finished project to add something they could've done during their build.

[CraigS]

I strongly recommend PS. I addition to the obvious effort reduction there a couple of other advantages.1- in addition to the Tim Coon comment mentioned above, having a good quick ratio w/ less effort makes it easier to balance the car on the edge of grip w/ lots of small steering corrections. 2- PS allows you to run more caster for much better tracking and self centering feel. 3- Although I have a roadster, a friend autocrosses his coupe w/ 315s on the front and 335s on the back. Those 315s take some muscle to steer. Look at the Breeze PS pump setup. It runs the GM style pump which is much better than the old Mustang pump.
http://www.breezeautomotive.com/details.php?prod_id=667&cat_id=12

[Jeff Kleiner]

Yep, if you're going to track it PS is virtually mandatory to really be able to hustle the car.

Jeff

[lance corsi]

I strongly recommend PS. I addition to the obvious effort reduction there a couple of other advantages.1- in addition to the Tim Coon comment mentioned above, having a good quick ratio w/ less effort makes it easier to balance the car on the edge of grip w/ lots of small steering corrections. 2- PS allows you to run more caster for much better tracking and self centering feel. 3- Although I have a roadster, a friend autocrosses his coupe w/ 315s on the front and 335s on the back. Those 315s take some muscle to steer. Look at the Breeze PS pump setup. It runs the GM style pump which is much better than the old Mustang pump.
http://www.breezeautomotive.com/details.php?prod_id=667&cat_id=12

Maybe. You won't have nearly the front weight that a typical front engine setup has, so no power steering necessary. IMO. Plus, I think some people are running too large a tire on the front. Larger isn't always better. IMO.

[Garry Bopp]

I drove my coupe 18,000 miles with manual steering ... Never felt the need for power steering. On the race track a quicker ratio would have been helpful, my rack was 3.7 turns, lock to lock.

Garry

[loeffler1]

At 75 years of age and about 11,000 miles I wish I had considered power steering, however I think Unisteer is easy to adapt. As for time and cost how about around 1,700 hours and approaching $65,000!!!

[lance corsi]

At 75 years of age and about 11,000 miles I wish I had considered power steering, however I think Unisteer is easy to adapt. As for time and cost how about around 1,700 hours and approaching $65,000!!!

I love you guys! I think I posted in the wrong forum, cause I'm talking about my 818C build. But I've heard of ppl spending some big $ on them too! I'm trying to offset some cost by making as many components as possible. I'm hoping to finish for under $30K but it wouldn't surprise me to exceed that if the details get out of hand. I'm trying to keep it simple tho, so there is some hope.

[mstephenson51]

Awesome info guys, thank you