Order's in, time to get the garage ready!

[JMeyer914]

I placed my order last night for my kit. I've been doing a bunch of reading on the forums to determine how to spec out my kit and also attended the Mott Build school last fall (which was a blast BTW!). Thanks for all the support this community has been providing me (without even knowing it!). I was able to make my kit choices through great conversations and information that I found through the forums and many build threads. Truly a public service for those of us considering and planning a build!

Some highlights:
Mk4 Complete Kit
Powdercoated
IRS
17x9 & 17x10.5 Halibrand wheels
Wind wings, visors & wipers (needed in my home state of CO)
EFI Fuel system (can anyone tell me what comes with this when ordered from FFR? - item # 33862)
Padded vinyl (planning to use a Summit Racing heater along with this)

Later:
Blueprint 347 w/ EFI
TKO 600
IRS Center section & hubs
Gas-n side pipes

I was surprised to see a 3/31 ship date for my order yesterday - I had expected it to take a little bit longer to get from order to shipping. That was a pleasant surprise but means that my timelines to get ready are a bit shorter!

Looking forward to getting started on my build with my teenage son and daughter this summer. Now I've got to get the garage space ready. I'll be using the third stall in my three car garage. I do have one challenge that I haven't seen tackled yet on the forums that I'd love some feedback about. My driveway is relatively steep (about a 10% grade) and I'm curious how often I'll have to move the chassis out of the garage (if at all) during the build. I'm anxious about having that hill just outside my flat garage floor and how others may have handled moving a chassis via manpower (instead of horsepower) on a hill. I've thought about floor anchors and winches and pulleys and all sorts of other contraptions but haven't decided yet if they will be necessary or not. Any input?

Cheers,
Jake

[Svtfreak]

Welcome!

The frame by itself isn’t bad. Me a a buddy picked it up and carried it into my garage.

Stewart has a dolly they use. Fairly sure, assuming you’re healthy, the two of you can push t uphill on the dolly.

[Yama-Bro]

Congrats on the order! Give Johnny a call at BluePrint when you are ready to order your engine. He'll take care of you.

I don't think your 10% driveway grade will be an issue at all. Mine is about that steep. We helped the driver push it up our driveway, but I'm not really sure if that was necessary, because he was strong and had a big cart. :D

[BEAR-AvHistory]

Used my lawn tractor to pull the dolly up a steep driveway. Did not have to move the chassis for any work till it was go cart. Thing to think about is 31 or so boxes of parts need to go some place. Used my pickup truck to bring the boxes, engine, etc up.

Dollies under the frame or wheels make work in progress easy to turn if you need too.

I have an extra wide & deep 2 car garage with a 4 car wide driveway everything for the build was inside including the engine transmission & rear axle. DD's outside.

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=13669&pictureid=52727

[shark92651]

I would just make sure you had brakes on your roller before you roll it out, or at least tie a rope or strap to the back of it to keep it from getting away from you if you roll it outside without help.

[Murd]

Congrats on the order, I picked mine up a year ago, should be on the road in April when spring hits here in Ontario and the salt’s off the road.

If you are just using one bay of your garage have you planned where to put the body? Many including myself built a body buck with long legs so the chassis can fit underneath it. That would mean you will need to either roll the body or the chassis outside to work on it.

I hardly ever actually put the chassis under the body buck but it did come in handy for storing other stuff.

I’d think about maybe dedicating two bays for your build. I have 24x30’ and wouldn’t want to do it in smaller than 24x24 although I know lots have.

[ThickCobra]

Welcome to the adventure. Just curious what state you reside in. If you would rather not share now, that's fine. I always like to find new owners in the Midwest.

[JMeyer914]

Thanks all for the feedback. I'll forgo any Rube Goldberg devices for moving the chassis (but maybe I'll find some other ways to apply my backyard engineering skills!). I will be building a body buck based on the plans at the FFRCars forum FAQ. I hope to roll the body buck out of the way while working on the chassis. I hadn't thought about dollies for the chassis jacks (duh!) - that idea may come in handy too. I'm sure to begin with I'll be parking a car or two outside the garage until I find a home for all of the boxes. That's my backup long term plan as well.

Regarding my location, I'm in southern Denver, CO. I've been unable to update my profile for some reason and keep getting error messages. Perhaps it's because I created it years ago and haven't used it until now?

[David Hodgkins]

../I've been unable to update my profile for some reason and keep getting error messages. Perhaps it's because I created it years ago and haven't used it until now?

I fixed it for ya. The 20 post requirement is waived for builders + basically anyone that asks ;)

Here are a few threads to help with pic hosting, and maintaining your thread title as you work the build:

Embedding pics:
http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?18962-How-to-use-the-Image-Gallery-to-embed-pictures-in-posts
Maintaining thread titles:
http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?19402-Changing-The-Thread-Title-Guidelines

CONGRATULATIONS!

:)

[initiator]

Frankly, the idea of dollies under the jack stands scares me. I would recommend the Harbor Freight heavy duty wheel dollies for once you get the wheels and tires on. Wait for them to go on sale.

https://www.harborfreight.com/1500-lb-capacity-vehicle-dollies-2-pc-60343.html

Two people can lift an end of the chassis to lift or lower right up to the point when the engine goes in. Then I switched to my floor jack to get it on and off the (fixed) jack stands.