Hi y'all from Austin, TX!

[elspanishgeek]

Taking my first steps into what seems to be an amazing ritual with this intro post. Name is Federico, but everyone calls me Fede (not pronounced like fetta cheese, though!), born in Spain, raised and escaped Venezuela in 2006, now a proud Texan. Previous owner of a Mustang GT, now with a Miata MX-5 and a Harley Sportster.

After gobbling as much information as possible, doing every combination of "factory five (my question here)" on Google, bookmarking posts by GoDadGo, edwardb, Papa, and others, and watched every timelapse build video on YouTube, I've decided to pull the trigger on my Mk4 Roadster this week. However, I wanted to call upon the collective knowledge to get some pearls of wisdom on my build spec. While my primary goal for going down this journey is to both end up with an amazing and beautiful car, as well as learn and have a ton of fun along the way, I would like to minimize hiccups and really disruptive surprises as much as possible. From all that I've read, I get the sense that if I go with the Complete Kit, get a Blueprint engine, and don't do any crazy mods, the process should be reasonably straightforward, yet there are some videos and posts of people CNCing their own parts, cutting and rebuilding the body/frame, etc. Could anybody take a look at my order and tell me if anything here is a pain to deal with or if I'm missing something either critical or suggested? Completely open to feedback and criticism here.

Basics:

MK4 Roadster - Complete Kit
Blueprint - 306 Carbureted with Power Steering


Mandatory:

16613 - Powder coating (is this needed?)
16758 - 302 headers
34158 - Hydraulic clutch
16038 - Driveshaft for 302 with TKO600 and 2015 IRS
16799 - Power steering kit
12066 - Standard width tubular control arms
16598 - 2015 IRS


Optional:

16689 - 17x9'' and 17x10.5'' Halibrand with MT tires
17063 - Heater/defroster
16668 - 2018 IRS 3.55 Center section, spindles, and hubs
16921 - Hydraulic clutch throw-out (Is this needed for 34158?)
15370 - 12.88'' front Wilwood brakes
15988 - 12.88'' 2015 IRS Wilwood brakes


Thank you so much in advance and looking forward to sharing my journey with y'all!

[GoDadGo]

Welcome Aboard & Know That This Journey Will Be A Truly Grand Adventure!

You've just embarked on a life-changing event.

Good Luck & Welcome!

[RoadRacer]

Welcome! I'm in Austin area too, if you ever want to visit to get some V8 therapy! I’m building a ‘33 not a roadster but the ups and downs are the same ;)

Have fun, it's a great journey!

[elspanishgeek]

Thank you, I might just take you up on that offer! I do have a question for ya already, hahaha, did you get it shipped here with Stewart Transportation? How was the experience? And did you get the $1k shipping crate if you did?

[bobl]

Welcome to the FFR family! There are quite a few Roadster builders/owners in the Austin area. Drop in on the Austin Cobra Club facebook page.

[edwardb]

Welcome! You're in for an excellent adventure. Two comments since you asked for feedback:

Is powder coating needed? You have a choice. Get the bare steel frame or get it powder coated satin black for $499. If you're OK with the color and don't plan any major frame mods, it's a good deal. You'll have a hard time finding a local supplier come close to that price. Some are critical because it's not a perfect show quality job. Rough edges and sometimes rough welds or a little splatter are coated over. Once it's done you'll never notice and IMO not a big deal. There's only so much that can be done for that price. But your choice. Some build threads have shown guys painting their frames. Most regret it. It's a lot of work. For sure you would never want to leave it in bare steel.

I haven't purchased the hydraulic throw-out bearing setup from Factory Five. That's a relatively new offering. Just based on the description, 34158 is a no-cost option that deletes the cable drive parts and in exchange for the hydraulic version. 16921 provides the actual parts required, e.g. master cylinder, throw-out bearing, etc. So seems you would need both if that's what you want to do. Lots of discussion about hydraulic vs. cable, and external slave hydraulic vs. hydraulic throw-out bearing. I've done all three. Each has pluses and minuses. I'd suggest some searching and reading on the topic. A conservative approach, if you can't decide now, is to go ahead with the no-cost cable option 16920. If you decide you want external slave hydraulic, that's not available from Factory Five and most use the Forte setup. If you decide you want to do the hydraulic throw-out bearing, you can buy the parts yourself (several brand options) and cost would be similar to what Factory Five is offering.

Also, as a general comment, don't feel like you have to make final decisions on every aspect at time of order. When you place your order and make your deposit, your production/delivery date will be provided and locked in. Right now quite a few months out as I'm hearing. Up until a few weeks before your kit goes into production, you can make changes to your order. Add, delete, whatever. I've done it, so have others, and apparently isn't unusual.

Good luck!

[dstelter]

Hi Federico. I am currently building a Gen 3 Coupe #169. 19 months in, waiting for the drive train and then its off to body and paint. I live just a bit further out from Road Racer. My address is in Paige, but i live between Bastrop and Paige. You will defiantly want to attended the Cobra Meet in San Marcus, hopefully in March 24-28. I did use Stewart for shipping. if i am correct the crate is only used for over seas shipping. Mine was the chassis with the body and windows taped in, and a bunch of boxes. Experience was great. Welcome to the family and let the fun begin. Doug

141901141902141903

[elspanishgeek]

Welcome! You're in for an excellent adventure. Two comments since you asked for feedback:

Is powder coating needed? You have a choice. Get the bare steel frame or get it powder coated satin black for $499. If you're OK with the color and don't plan any major frame mods, it's a good deal. You'll have a hard time finding a local supplier come close to that price. Some are critical because it's not a perfect show quality job. Rough edges and sometimes rough welds or a little splatter are coated over. Once it's done you'll never notice and IMO not a big deal. There's only so much that can be done for that price. But your choice. Some build threads have shown guys painting their frames. Most regret it. It's a lot of work. For sure you would never want to leave it in bare steel.

I haven't purchased the hydraulic throw-out bearing setup from Factory Five. That's a relatively new offering. Just based on the description, 34158 is a no-cost option that deletes the cable drive parts and in exchange for the hydraulic version. 16921 provides the actual parts required, e.g. master cylinder, throw-out bearing, etc. So seems you would need both if that's what you want to do. Lots of discussion about hydraulic vs. cable, and external slave hydraulic vs. hydraulic throw-out bearing. I've done all three. Each has pluses and minuses. I'd suggest some searching and reading on the topic. A conservative approach, if you can't decide now, is to go ahead with the no-cost cable option 16920. If you decide you want external slave hydraulic, that's not available from Factory Five and most use the Forte setup. If you decide you want to do the hydraulic throw-out bearing, you can buy the parts yourself (several brand options) and cost would be similar to what Factory Five is offering.

Also, as a general comment, don't feel like you have to make final decisions on every aspect at time of order. When you place your order and make your deposit, your production/delivery date will be provided and locked in. Right now quite a few months out as I'm hearing. Up until a few weeks before your kit goes into production, you can make changes to your order. Add, delete, whatever. I've done it, so have others, and apparently isn't unusual.

Good luck!

Thank you for such a thorough answer! I did not know that it would take so long to get the kit, so followed your advice went ahead and already placed the order. Looking at May 22nd.

Also been researching hydraulic slave cylinder vs throw-out bearing (funny enough, came across a lot of posts from you), and seeing that this latest iteration of the MK4 Roadster comes with the Wilwood pedal box (which looked to be one of the negatives for the external or internal slave), I believe I'm gonna go for that over the throw-out bearing. Seeing everyone at least as happy with the external slave compared to the throwout bearing, and don't have to take out the transmission to do any clutch work.

[edwardb]

Thank you for such a thorough answer! I did not know that it would take so long to get the kit, so followed your advice went ahead and already placed the order. Looking at May 22nd.

Also been researching hydraulic slave cylinder vs throw-out bearing (funny enough, came across a lot of posts from you), and seeing that this latest iteration of the MK4 Roadster comes with the Wilwood pedal box (which looked to be one of the negatives for the external or internal slave), I believe I'm gonna go for that over the throw-out bearing. Seeing everyone at least as happy with the external slave compared to the throwout bearing, and don't have to take out the transmission to do any clutch work.

Congrats on your order. That confirms what I've been hearing. Promise dates are out some from what they've been in the past. Two follow-up comments in response to your post: The Wilwood pedal box isn't new. It's been used for some years now and doesn't have any bearing on the internal or external slave decision. By design, the Wilwood pedal box is made for a clutch master cylinder that can be used for either internal or external actuation. No difference at that end. If you choose cable, Factory Five provides a set of parts to modify it for cable use. It is true that if the hydraulic throw-out bearing fails, the transmission has to be removed to gain access. That's routinely cited as one of the disadvantages and I get it. But you have to remove the transmission to work on the clutch (or flywheel) whether internal or external. No difference on that front. Don't suspect either of those points will change or mind and that's fine. And not pitching one or the other. Just making sure to use the right criteria. Good luck.

[mbisett]

Great to see another Texan getting ready to build! I am in the College Station area.

I just placed and order for the same kit and very similar components (302 + T5). It will be great watching your build in hopes I may learn a trick or two.

Good Luck!