First post - Roadster questions

[John Ibele]

I'm about a year away from taking on this project, and have begun reading up on options for building a Mk4. I'm a busy guy with two boys in their mid- to late teens who will help with the project. I'm not a 'car guy' in terms of spending a lot of time in the garage, but I grew up in a family with older brothers who had British roadsters when I was about 10. Not hard to figure out how the bug eventually bit me! While not terribly knowledgeable about car building, I do have an engineering background, know automotive fundamentals, have built a few boats and spent time as a woodworker, so I know in general the level of effort required to get something in the physical world to yield to your wishes. Plus, I tend to read through things thoroughly beforehand, but also know the right time to just dive in. Should be fun.

I don't plan on looking at this as an open-ended project in terms of either time or money, and although I know I will be winging it with many aspects of the project, I do want to map things out generally before I get started. I do want the car to be reasonably reliable to make the occasional road trip possible, I don't want it to overheat if stuck in traffic, and I would side with comfort over speed to an extent (PS and PB, for instance, but go with stock rear end to save money). No one would build this car just for looks, though: figure I'd want to get 300-350 HP, a good match for non-pricey transmissions from what I can tell. So, figure <$30k total cost, and a builder who is not going to take joy in learning welding or finding an endmill to put in the basement. Or polishing aluminum panels. To hit those objectives, I do have some questions, and I figured there was no better way to get answers than to tap into the fantastic knowledge that's represented by the people who visit this site.

Feel free to chime in on any place I went wrong in my assumptions above (HP, Trans, etc). Otherwise here are my questions to help direct my choices:


(Time and budget) What's the best way to save money without spending gobs of time? 87-93 donor car? Newer donor, but buy the narrow rear separately?

(Reliability and performance) Its clear that folks have found plenty of ways to hit 300-350 HP with a 302, normally aspirated, which is where I started in my thinking. If I went with a carb am I living with inherently less reliability than if I used a newer, fuel-injected engine? How easy would it be to hit that range of HP in a fuel-injected engine without spending lots more dough?

Finally, feel free to share any advice about how to hit the money / complexity / reliability target, or let me know if you think I'm being unrealistic (I understand that revising your plans is part of the whole deal!)

Thanks a bunch in advance!

[Bob Cowan]

First, you want a comfortable car that you can drive for long periods of time. Skip the stock rear end, and get IRS. I'v built and driven both, and the differance is amazing. It's worth every penny.

Also, dump the FFR low back seats, and get some aftermarket high back seats. Again, much safer and much more comfortable. My car is pretty close to the edge of being a street car. I can easily drive an 8 hour day, and get 20mpg on premium pump gas.

A stock Mustang 302/5.0 with EFI made about 300hp. Simple changes to head, cam, and intake can get you to 400hp and still be a reliable drive anywhere car.

I think the best way to build is with the complete kit. Everything is new, and assembly is easy. The donor route is certainly cheaper. But you have to take time to disassemble the parts, and refurbish them. You'll at least want to clean them up and bomb some Rustoleum on them. And then you'll be replacing a lot of parts that are just plain wore out - especially if your donor has a 5.0 pushrod motor. Things like brake components and steering racks.

For the drive train, call Mike Forte. You can get a new 302 from Ford, and Mike will fit it with a Mass-Flo EFI system - an easy 350hp. IMO, that's about the best bang for the buck you're going to find anywhere. He can also match that to a clutch, BH, and transmission, ready to bolt together and install.

[John Ibele]

Thanks a bunch, Bob, that helps a lot.

I appreciate the input on engine as well as other items to make the car reliable and comfortable enough to be in for several hours at a time. Its good to see that hitting that HP with EFI is relatively straightforward with a bit of money, but its somewhat offset by the fact that a T - 5z should be able to handle that engine, thus avoiding the additional expense of a TKO.

I see your point about spending time with a donor car, and the amount of money you can spend simply replacing stuff you thought you already bought...after skinning knuckles on rusted bolts to gain the knowledge. Still, if I start with a full kit and add IRS, plus reasonable options, I get to $26k pretty quick, and then drive train / paint / body gets me closer to $40k than $30. I'll have to play with the budget piece and the best combo of (donor part refurb / engine rebuild / upgrade later, live with it now) to get below the $30k mark.

Thanks again for the advice!

[emac]

I am in the same boat. I wanted to stay at 30K. But, I decided to either spend the extra money and do it the way I really want, or scrap the project. I am going to place the order this week and pretend anything after 35K didnt happen! When inflation hits, 40K will be a bargain.

[riptide motorsport]

Welcome!!