Portland Father Son Build

[Royteamcobra]

Ever since he was born its been my dream that became his dream as well, and its about to begin. 16 1/2 years ago he arrived, after his 3 sisters, and I knew then I'd want to do a project together that we would remember a lifetime. What better than the iconic cobra. (Just to be fair, if any of his sisters would have shown an interest, I would have gladly began it with them too.) He's a JR in high school now, and the goal is to have this done in order for him to take it to some of his last semester events. Prom, graduation, ect... It's got off to a slow start, Stewart Transport got delayed with bad weather last month, but arrival finally estimated the 16th, or 17th. The shop is ready with jack stands and empty shelves waiting. Rear axle assembly also on its way. I've been enjoying the forum lots, and look forward to learning more as we go along. Any tips, advice welcome! This is your invitation to pipe in anytime. Figured having the thread here will save the build experience to relive later, allow much needed tips along the way, as well as hopefully inspire any other fathers looking for a meaningful father/son experience. Here's our build plan so far. I already regret not going with the IRS, however, no plans for much track time, so it's not too huge of a disappointment.

MK IV complete kit
Coyote
TKO600
3 Link, 3.55, 31 spline Moser Axles
17" Halibrands
Manual Brakes, Steering, Clutch
SS full headers
SS pipes
2 SS Roll Bars
SS Bumper
Wings
Visor
high back Kirky Beige Leather
heated seats
heater
Beige Leather dash
Maroon Exterior
Powder coat chassis
Body Cut Outs
GPS Gauge Set

Let the fun begin!


Randy and Andre

[bluse]

Congratulations on your build! It will be nice to have another project starting here in Portland.
I sent you a private message.
Randy

[Gumball]

Congratulations and welcome to the forum. Lots of guys here who can help, no matter what form your build takes. Just watch out for scope creep, as these guys like to spend other people's money!

[GoDadGo]

Welcome Aboard & You'll Love How Hard The Car Plants The Tires With The 3-Link Set Up!

I totally get where you are coming from, but I only had two girls in front of my baby boy, who is my assistant wrencher & riveter.

We started on our car at the end of my son's Sophomore year and he's now about to graduate as will our MK-4 around the same time.

Maybe I should call my car "Scope Creep" because our MK-4 is hanging with Darth Vadar on the Dark Side!


!https://youtu.be/UJwM5godh88

[Royteamcobra]

Thanks, couldn't be more excited for the journey. Nice video GoDad, looking forward to getting to that place! Stewart Transport can't get here quick enough.

[wareaglescott]

Congrats and welcome to the forum. This will be a great project for you and your son and some great memories! How cool would it be for him to roll up to senior prom in that ride! I might suggest starting the build thread in the build thread section as it may get better visibility that way. More topics come on the roadster forum so this will get pushed down the list faster if you leave it here.

I am in the middle of a Coyote build and am loving it. Have about 65 miles on the go cart while I wait for body work to be done. I initially was leaning towards a manual rack but lots of talk concerning the better drivability/ stability that comes with the increased caster available with the power rack made me reconsider. Certainly not trying to be critical of your build plan just wanted to mention it might be worth considering. Looks like a great build and look forward to following your progress. The beige seats and dash sound unique and great looking. I worked some seat heaters into my high back Kirkeys and they are great. Details on that in my build thread.

[Royteamcobra]

Thanks for the tip on the build thread, I'll switch over to there. Also, power steering is an option we've still been discussing. Leaning that way for the reasons you gave. Before we were thinking more of keeping it as simple as possible, but seems like a worth while upgrade. Thanks for the input.

[WIS89]

Randy and Andre-

Congratulations on starting a great build. I admire the father/son aspect of your build. I too am building mine with my sons, and I cannot think of a better way to build one of these cars. I know I am creating memories that will last long after I am gone!!

Best of luck as you get started. Feel free to stop here, and let us know how we can help! I cannot tell you how much help I have received on my build. This place is filled with great people who genuinely care about this hobby, and helping folks solve problems, in order to get their cars completed! I have benefitted a great deal by the selflessness of the folks here. I believe you all will as well.

I look forward to following along with your progress!

Regards,

Steve (and Stephen and Brian)

[FFRSpec72]

We all use 3-links in the challenge cars so no issues on the track.

[CraigS]

Can you guys weld or have a friend that does? I used tig but mig would be fine. If you regret not doing IRS, just fix that. Sell your axle and that will cover the salvage IRS parts. The kit is approx $2400 which is the same price you would have paid as an option when you ordered the kit. See my IRS upgrade to my MkII thread in the other forum. This would be pretty easy on a bare frame.