Build school tips?

[ynsinCA]

Didn't see a build school section in the main area so posting to general.

Any tips or shared experiences from the Roadster build school experience would be very much appreciated. I'll be taking it Memorial Day weekend.

Cheers,
York

[Caddy Dad]

I went to the build school in October '19. The instructors were great. I asked lots of questions and was never able to stump them. They have lots of tips and tricks to make your build easier so take good notes. The car you build is just the basic kit with no options (i.e. 3 link rear, standard brakes, etc). Ask about the options you might want and they'll have an answer.

Enjoy!

[Aircontroller]

Although not a requirement, try to read the build manual and pick your favorite build thread......read as much as you can and try to stump yourself. You'll yield some awesome questions that will get answered at the class.

[Vspeeds]

Go over the digital manual beforehand to familiarize yourself with the build. When you're there, they'll give you a hardcopy manual. Ask a lot of questions. Take a lot of detailed pictures. I routed my fuel lines and brake lines the same as the build school. I wrote down everything we did each day in order and for my build, I basically assembled the kit in the same order as the class.

You'll have a lot of fun. Network and go out to dinner with your new friends and instructors after the class.

The weather should be nice. Since I'm from California, I arrived a day early and took the redeye out of Detroit on the Monday and made it a little vacation. Before the class started I hung out in Detroit. Went to the Ford plant and museum and Greenfield Village. Sightsee'd a little. After the weekend class ended, I hung out in the nearby town of Brighton. They had a car show and a live band play at the lake and good restaurants. I also went to Ann Arbor and Livonia to visit the Roush museum and factory tour.

Have fun

[Ty's33]

Just completed the build school Feb 9th. It was worth every penny and then some, the instructors were great and really were interested in our projects. The atmosphere was perfect. They look at it as there wasn't a such thing as a dumb question, they answered everything. It was clear they were passionate about F5. Again, money well sent.

[Rockman]

Didn't see a build school section in the main area so posting to general.

Any tips or shared experiences from the Roadster build school experience would be very much appreciated. I'll be taking it Memorial Day weekend.

Cheers,
York

I went to the build school in October 2019 with my wife and we just took delivery on a Roadster last week. It was definitely a worthwhile experience. You will learn plenty of hints and tips that will save you from mistakes and lost time during the build. The instructors were very helpful in explaining the build, as well as different options available. For example, the school has different rear ends on display to help you choose what you prefer. Ask questions, take notes, and take photos (bring a note book, you will be supplied with a build manual).

My wife is a complete novice and has never done anything more than put gas in a car and she found it rewarding. It turns out, her notes were better than mine!

If you have never been to the Detroit area, consider staying an extra day or two to visit The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation (very nice car displays among many other fascinating exhibits) and Greenfield Village (part of the same complex) in nearby Dearborn, MI.

In sum, if you are on the fence, the build school will either give you the confidence to proceed or decide that a build is not right for you. At a minimum, you will spend a few days with some very nice people and have an wonderful experience.

[UpNorth]

Been there, done that.
It's great!
Instructors know their trade in and out.
I highly reccomand going there, especially if you're a pencil pusher like me without a lot of mechanical knowledge.
Gave me a lot of confidence.

[Al_C]

These items are all pretty obvious, but bear repeating!

1. Take lots of notes. Make certain that you will understand those notes in 6 months. (I had a number of notes that made no sense whatsoever...)
2. Ask questions and take notes on them, too.
3. Get your hands into every task that you can. (For me, this is the best way to learn)
4. Take lots of photos.

[7tvette]

Did the build school 14 years ago (damn I'm getting old!).
Notes, pictures, questions.
Like has been said.. get involved. I felt guilty because back then there was really only two of us that got in there and were hands on. That's how I learn.
Have fun.

Troy

[iowa]

where can i find the build school schedule for this year?
iowa

[Logan]

All schools are in this link:

https://mcc.augusoft.net/index.cfm?method=ClassListing.ClassListingDisplay&int_category_id=8&int_sub_category_id=22&int_catalog_id=

[Ponymedic]

You can also find the link to classes here
https://www.factoryfive.com/build-school/
second what all the others have said

[AC Bill]

I've seen some pretty good video's at the school. Might be a good idea to bring a camera with lots of memory and extra batteries. Any area of the build that you may be concerned about, you could film it and review it at home, when you get to the point in your build. Beats trying to remember something you watched once, many months before.

[ynsinCA]

Looks like the build school re-open date has been pushed to early June, so my 5/22 school date has been postponed. :(
They offered a full refund or voucher, I took the voucher. Hoping to reschedule later this Summer.

[Todd Baumann]

So as right now the Build School is supposed to re-open for the next class on 5/22, but the state is only supposedly re-opening a few days before.
So it may be something that may get postponed in the end also. We hope not but it is hard to tell as of right now. You do the registering on line now so go to the website and look for the schedule and the classes that have openings and choose the one you want.

So to clear up some of the previous comments.
We build a complete kit, It uses a 3-link rear. We do not do a base kit build and have not for a long time. At least since the complete kit V3.1 came out.
There are changes coming so like the others said buy the electronic version of the manual or a hard copy and bring it along.
We may not be supplying them for very much longer. Bring a note book and a camera.

Come to the school you will love it. You will meet a lot of great people with the same interests as you.
Take care and we hope to see you in the future.
Any questions let us know.
Todd

[bobm488]

So as right now the Build School is supposed to re-open for the next class on 5/22, but the state is only supposedly re-opening a few days before.
So it may be something that may get postponed in the end also. We hope not but it is hard to tell as of right now. You do the registering on line now so go to the website and look for the schedule and the classes that have openings and choose the one you want.

So to clear up some of the previous comments.
We build a complete kit, It uses a 3-link rear. We do not do a base kit build and have not for a long time. At least since the complete kit V3.1 came out.
There are changes coming so like the others said buy the electronic version of the manual or a hard copy and bring it along.
We may not be supplying them for very much longer. Bring a note book and a camera.

Come to the school you will love it. You will meet a lot of great people with the same interests as you.
Take care and we hope to see you in the future.
Any questions let us know.
Todd

I took the class last May from Todd, it was excellent. My car was delivered in August and will be finished this week. Thanks Todd.

[Ducky2009]

Take pics with your new friends, share the comaraderie!

[Daddy O]

My son and I are signed up for the 6/26 Roadster class. Anybody else? Have not bought airfare yet, was waiting to see what happens through the end of next week with the lock down supposedly lifting.

[Chadillac]

I just signed up for the 7/17 class. Hopefully things are sort of back to normal by then.

[BlueMud]

Also confirmed for 7/17 class. Haven't booked airfaire yet, may drive from Maryland.

I've left a message for them, and will update y'all when I hear back.

Great tips on this thread. Thanks all! Looking forward to the class!

[edwardb]

It's been in the news. Michigan lifted the stay-at-home order as of yesterday. Certain businesses are still closed or limited. But things are slowly getting slightly more normal. Have really noticed the traffic picking up. Seems the build school classes should be able to proceed. Although I suspect with certain safety measures.

[Caddy Dad]

Also confirmed for 7/17 class. Haven't booked airfaire yet, may drive from Maryland.

I've left a message for them, and will update y'all when I hear back.

Great tips on this thread. Thanks all! Looking forward to the class!

I drove up from Maryland for my Oct '19 class. It's an easy drive. Enjoy the class you'll have fun! Have you ordered your kit yet?

Cheers!

[Chadillac]

Just got a call that all July classes are now canceled. Bummer.

Now to try and get money back from the plane and hotel reservations.

[BillB]

Just for information: When I go to the build school page on Factory Five's site, it shows no classes available. I called Mott, and they do have classes scheduled thru November; it's just a bad link. She is working on it. She pointed me to the schedule by searching for factory five on the Mott page.

[Todd Baumann]

Hi guys,
Sorry to say that the school has remained closed and even canceled all of the onsite summer classes.
I can tell you we have not been told much on when things are going to resume yet.
We all have our fingers crossed August is going to be the start of things. We miss doing this also.
Here is the latest link to the school.
Hope to see you all soon.
Todd
https://mcc.augusoft.net/index.cfm?method=ClassListing.ClassListingDisplay&int_category_id=8&int_sub_category_id=32&int_catalog_id=

[BillB]

I'm going to the 18-20 Sep class. If anyone is going to that one, let's talk!

[Daddy O]

My son and I are in the 9/18 Roadster class too. Hope it does not get cancelled.

[thwrightstuff]

I'm in the same boat as everyone else. I am picking my kit up next Friday (day after Thanksgiving) and as I type this, I was supposed to be in MI attending the build class. I am supremely disappointed that I could not go due to COVID, but such is life. My question is, I will be starting my kit immediately, but I am really wishing I had the class under my belt before going into this right from the get go.

It looks like the next available class is 1/15. Do you guys still think it's worth it for me to attend even after being into the build for a couple of months at that point? I know everyone has said it's totally worth it, but I guess I question how worth it it will be at that point. It's also worth mentioning that I am looking to have this built for my wedding in July. What do you guys think?

[Caddy Dad]

I'm in the same boat as everyone else. I am picking my kit up next Friday (day after Thanksgiving) and as I type this, I was supposed to be in MI attending the build class. I am supremely disappointed that I could not go due to COVID, but such is life. My question is, I will be starting my kit immediately, but I am really wishing I had the class under my belt before going into this right from the get go.

It looks like the next available class is 1/15. Do you guys still think it's worth it for me to attend even after being into the build for a couple of months at that point? I know everyone has said it's totally worth it, but I guess I question how worth it it will be at that point. It's also worth mentioning that I am looking to have this built for my wedding in July. What do you guys think?

I guess my answer is "It depends". How much background do you have in automotive mechanics? I had a basic knowledge of auto repair, i.e. brakes, shocks, suspension, etc but I had never built a car nor worked on anything close to a street legal high performance race cars like these FFR cars are. These cars are a lot of work but extremely satisfying with completion of each step along the way. I went to the school to do my due diligence to make sure I could complete the project without too much outside help. The class proved that I could. This forum is a huge expanse of knowledge which I leaned on several times. Between this forum and the class I really never had any show stoppers.

Could a roadster be completed by July 2021? Without body and paint? Maybe. I'm retired so I had the time to work on the car about 2-5 hours each day. I received my kit Jan 2, 2020 and if it wasn't for the virus, I could have been done (except for the body and paint) by August 2020. I was able to get it road legal in October 2020. An important lesson learned is to not put yourself under pressure to meet schedule, which could lead to cutting corners on quality. Take your time and do it right the first time. It's OK to step back, think over an issue and consult with the SMEs (Subject Matter Experts) on this forum before diving in and making a mistake.
Someone else once said mistakes on these cars start at $100 and go up from there.

Enjoy the build!
Just my .02

[thwrightstuff]

I guess my answer is "It depends". How much background do you have in automotive mechanics? I had a basic knowledge of auto repair, i.e. brakes, shocks, suspension, etc but I had never built a car nor worked on anything close to a street legal high performance race cars like these FFR cars are. These cars are a lot of work but extremely satisfying with completion of each step along the way. I went to the school to do my due diligence to make sure I could complete the project without too much outside help. The class proved that I could. This forum is a huge expanse of knowledge which I leaned on several times. Between this forum and the class I really never had any show stoppers.

Could a roadster be completed by July 2021? Without body and paint? Maybe. I'm retired so I had the time to work on the car about 2-5 hours each day. I received my kit Jan 2, 2020 and if it wasn't for the virus, I could have been done (except for the body and paint) by August 2020. I was able to get it road legal in October 2020. An important lesson learned is to not put yourself under pressure to meet schedule, which could lead to cutting corners on quality. Take your time and do it right the first time. It's OK to step back, think over an issue and consult with the SMEs (Subject Matter Experts) on this forum before diving in and making a mistake.
Someone else once said mistakes on these cars start at $100 and go up from there.

Enjoy the build!
Just my .02

I'd say my experience is roughly the same. I've never done an engine swap nor built a car, but how hard can it be! ;)

In all seriousness, it sounds like with the updates FFR has made to the manual, the class ultimately teaches you various tips and tricks for building, but the content of how to build it doesn't seem to deviate much from the manual anymore, is this right? I guess the question now is should I still try to do the class even though I'll be nearly a couple of months into the build at that point?

I was a actually planning on having the car painted by then, as well. I considered outsourcing it to Ron in Wallingford, but he comes with a hefty $$$. I would consider doing the bodywork myself if I could find someone local that would do it with me who has a good amount of experience with this. From what I've heard/read, the bodywork can be tedious and requires the utmost meticulous attention. The seams seem to especially be the tricky part.However, if I can't get the car completed by my wedding, it's not the worst and I'm not going to let that be a driving force for quality. I am a very meticulous person, sometimes a little too much, so quality and reliability will be int he forefront of my mind.

[alexmak]

It's also worth mentioning that I am looking to have this built for my wedding in July. What do you guys think?

look at my signature for a possible short timeline :)

[thwrightstuff]

Hold on, you did this in 4 months??? Well damn! How much time did you spend each day working on this?

I’ll mostly be doing this myself, but my brother-in-law will be coming by perdiocally to help, but mostly learn.

[egchewy79]

don't put too much pressure on yourself to get this done by a certain timeline. I think the pressure takes the fun out of the build. I'm almost at my 2 yr mark since receiving my kit (Jan) and have gotten it to the gokart stage now. Esp if this is your first project, there'll be much learning along the way. Take your time and make sure you have things the way you want them. I don't plan on building another car after this one and want to make sure I've thought everything through just the way I want them.