Build School in September

[Mini14]

Greetings,

I'm headed to Build School in September and my "build buddy" just bailed on me. Something about a wedding... Anyone here been through it? While I have some mechanical experience, I figured a little extra help won't hurt. I will be flying in from SFO.

Thanks,
Steven

[phil1734]

I never took the class, but went while they were building a cobra to look at their 818 kit before I bought mine. I think door to door they are 7 miles from my house.

Having built up several cars for Formula SAE, LeMons, various rat-rod types and the like I was never interested in attending, but certainly understand the appeal of "trying it on for size" first. From what I could tell you pretty much work in a sort of assembly line with everyone there, all putting in the next component. They only had one set of tools/drills that I saw set out so you're really working as team to put the thing together. They skip a lot of panels as the build goes on to save time, but once you've riveted in two or three panels you should pretty much have the system down should you choose to do it on your own. So the car won't really be "finished" but you'll certainly get a good idea of what goes into it and how much more effort it will take to go from the standard kit to a completed car.

My car is currently for sale, but if I still have it by that time I'd be more than happy to bring it by if you're interested.

[FLPBFoot]

Yes have gone and took my wife. We are building our roadster together. Well worth every minute. I too have basic mechanical skills and some auto experience. I could have done the build without the school but glad we went! Met some great people that i email every week bouncing ideas and thoughts off of. Also the school gave me 100% confidence I could do this and gave a huge number of tips and tricks not in the build manual. As several have said on this forum "you are building not assembling". Not everything is in the manual. The Build school guys, we had Charles and Scott, will help you with the "build" aspects that include much more than just following the manual. Well worth it!

Steve & Heidi

[Mini14]

@phil1734 : I may take you up on your offer if your car isn't sold. I think it will be though given everything I have seen.
@ILPBFoot : How is your build going so far? How much experience did your wife have before she went? I'm definitely going to the school but would like to be prepared ahead of time.

Thanks,
Steven

[FLPBFoot]

@phil1734 : I may take you up on your offer if your car isn't sold. I think it will be though given everything I have seen.
@ILPBFoot : How is your build going so far? How much experience did your wife have before she went? I'm definitely going to the school but would like to be prepared ahead of time.

Thanks,
Steven

Build is going well. Got the kit delivered in mid April and have all the suspension, front and back done, brakes lines in and both front and back bled. E-brake mod done and all in. Alignment done. Putting in passenger and driver's foot box tin. Ready to start the wiring harness. Engine is ordered and due to arrive July 20.

My wife had taken auto mechanics in high school and is not afraid to get dirty. She helps with oil changes and brake jobs. Hands me wrenches and is great at moral support. She did great at build school. Was not afraid to get in and turn some wrenches, use the cleco tool and do some riveting. All the stuff she does here on our build. She likes to understand how stuff goes together. If your wife likes hanging out with you and at all interested in this kind of stuff she'll like the school.

Steve

[Hindsight]

I did the Roadster build class because I originally wanted to do a Roadster.

I didn't get too much out of the class from a "how to build the kit car" standpoint because these cars go together SO easily (if you build strictly by the book which is what the class does), but I've been wrenching on cars for almost 30 years so your experience may be different. I did learn a few cool tips and tricks that apply to building cars in general, not just FFR, so that was awesome. But all that said, I still felt the build school was 100% worthwhile to me personally because it was a TON of fun. The teachers love what they do, know their stuff, and you are surrounded by not just gear-heads, but the kind of crazy gear heads that are so into cars that they'd consider spending 300+ hours building a kit car - something most of them had never attempted before. The camaraderie was great, and a few of us who had never met before got together the day after the class and toured the Roush factory and the Ford Factory. It was a blast. You can also usually talk the instructors into giving you a ride in their FFR cars which is a blast too.

[grathke]

I did the 818 build school last August. Having restored 5 Model A Fords, I thought it was time to get into something newer. I absolutely loved every minute of the class. The instructors are great, the facilities are just as good. Meeting and working with all of the guys was fun. You'll make friends you will most likely have for a life time. I HIGHLY recommend it.

Glenn

[Mark Eaton]

Steven,

I went to the build school by myself 8/2017. It was a great experience. I was very helpful and I would highly recommend it if nothing more than to build up your confidence. What I hadn't done prior to that was read enough build threads. Don't sweat your buddy bailing on you I have found that I much prefer to build by myself.

Mark

[Mini14]

I appreciate the comments. If nothing else, it will be a lot of fun and give me a better idea of what to expect. I don't have a lot of auto experience, but I have adjusted the valves on my motorcycle, learned to weld, and built a go-kart from scratch. I figure build school is just the next step...

Thanks,
Steven

[Dcirell]

Hi Steven,

I sent over my application for the September session and just waiting on confirmation that I'm in so I may see you there in September. As a young kid I was the little brother garage rat when all of the older guys were working on there muscle cars then marriage, career, life in general shows up so my wrenching days pretty much ended. Now at age 53 I'm dying to get my hands dirty again so build school will be my first adventure back under the hood. So looking forward to the experience.

Hope to see you in a few months.

Take care,

Dan

[brewha]

I also did the roadster class.
Build school was a great get away, made lots of new friends, and got lots of hands on experience. There are all different sorts of people there with lots or little experience (or none). They supply snacks during the morning, lunch in the afternoon, and then as group we went out for dinner almost every night. I think I was in bed by 9 every night and could not wait to start in the morning. The instructors know their stuff and will tell you where you need to ignore the order of the build book or where to make extra cuts or changes for fit or safety. The discounts the college offers for hotels are great. On top of that you get a discount on your car purchase from F5. One of the best guys vacations I ever had.

[ronsdream]

I went to the dec 17 class by myself and found it to be 100% worth while. I'm currently building the MK4 Roadster with Coyote engine. Nice to meet a group of folks with the same interest across the country.

Very well worth the experience. Picked up lots of tips including shortcuts.

Ron

[Mini14]

It's good to know they supply lunch. I wondered how that was going to be handled.
@dcirel I received a PM from someone else attending in September. It should be a great group. I am hoping we will hear from more people in this thread as they register. Note that the person who handles registration is out until Tuesday so don't panic if you don't hear much before then. I called to pay and was told to wait until then.

Thanks,
Steven

[Mini14]

Latest update: now registered and paid! I'm really tempted to start a "build thread" on the school experience...
Thanks,
Steven

[Kiwi Dave]

Hi Steven & Dan

My son & I are registered for the September class as well. We had to wait for this one until my son was old enough to attend, so we will have a wide range of ages and experience. Part of the motivation for building the 818 is to have him learn some practical skills rather than spend his time on electronics.

From all of the feedback I have seen on this forum it will be time extremely well spent!

We look forward to meeting you and learning a lot.

Cheers

Dave

[Todd Baumann]

Guys we really appreciate the positive comments on the "School" we try our best to give you a great experience.
I like to think that you would be glad that you came like the others were.
3 of the 4 of us have been involved with over a 150 "Build school" builds and over a 100 personal builds as well as approximately 8 personal builds of our own.
We will share some great tips and tricks, food and drinks, and a new batch of friends.
Can't wait to meet and show you what you are very capable of doing.
Todd

[Mini14]

Hi Todd,

Thanks for dropping in to this thread and saying "hi". I received my registration pack so it's getting more real. I'm looking forward to meeting everyone in person and am hoping we'll have more check in here prior to September.

Thanks,
Steven

[Mini14]

Keeping this thread alive and hoping to hear from others who will be attending. I made my first investment for the class -- a new pair of safety glasses. These are bifocals with "readers" built into them. Fairly cheap and definitely going to help with the close-in work. A bad experience with a wire wheel brush has made me a firm believer. If you have ever had a "rust ring" removed, you will understand.

Thanks,
Steven

[Mini14]

This is the week folks... See you on Friday!

Thanks,
Steven

[Mini14]

Just wanted to thank Scott and Todd for a fantastic class! I highly recommend it. Look for a new thread in the next couple of days or so that goes through the day by day experience and includes some more pictures. I'm hopeful that it will give folks a better idea of what we did during the 3 days.

95418

Thanks,
Steven

[Kiwi Dave]

I second the thanks to Scott and Todd for instructing a fantastic class! It was a great experience and I know my son and I will be able to build a safe and reliable 818 as a result.

Thanks also to our fellow students for making it a fun experience. One thing that surprised me was that several students have no intention of building a car at all, but they were just as engaged as everyone else.

Thanks again Scott & Todd! We are looking forward to the write up Steven - great to meet you.

Cheers

Dave & Jack