The right setup

[Para]

So this will not be my first rodeo, this is why I am asking so many questions
On the one hand, I can spend $21k for the kit, and throw an economical engine in for $3,500, A junkyard trans for $1k and A 'good' 8.8 out of an explorer w/ lim slip for $500 + paint and wheels. All In $26k?
On the other hand, I can go full out, $21k kit, 500hp fire breather for $12k, Tremec for $3k, built rear end for $3k, another $10k on a pearl paint job. All-in $49k
Add @ 20% to both of those numbers for finnishing touches and we are looking at $31 vs $58k
In the end, it all the time and labor that are the precious thing more than the material costs. Getting it right the first time is the most important thing to me.....ie, 'getting the Cobra I want' is what is important
I am not so sure a fire breathing monster that lights 'em up on the hiway and gets sideways passing some dude on the hiway is what I want
The incremental difference between a 'nice' transmission and a pos seems small. Same with the rear-end
Seems to me the real big ones are the engine and how much money you want to throw at paint?
Is this thinking correct?

It also seems like about half ? the labor hours for the build will be spent on how nice you want all the body panels to fit

[Al_C]

Para, in the end the only thing that matters is that you feel good about your completed car. You are the one building it. It is for you. Nobody else. You could get a lot of responses that say one way or the other, but I'm guessing most people will say that YOU should build it the way YOU want. There are lots of very nice builds that were done inexpensively; there are many very nice builds that cost at the high end. So, you decide what's most important to you and go with it. Best of luck - I'm betting that your car will be perfect for you!

[NAZ]

The "right set-up" is whatever turns you on. Your build -- your way. Just be realistic about what you will use the car for, why you want to build one vs. buy a completed car, your skill set, your time available to work your project, and availability of any needed outside resources. This will minimize the chance of disappointment.

But when it comes time to budget for your build, whatever you think it will cost and however long you think it will take -- double it.

[Para]

What % of your total build time was spent on paint and bodywork?

[nucjd19]

I went with complete kit with BPE/TKO600 combo and optioned out like I want for fun cruising in the Appalachian foothills with the wife. What I learned from this site and very knowledgeable folks on here like NAZ, AL_C and many others is get a game plan for your end goal and the kit will sort of fall into line. Also after wrenching rusted rigs for years I really wanted to build a roadster with the least amount of rusted seized bolts as possible. Good luck!

As for body and paint I am not at that stage yet so can't personally comment but a lot of folks farm that out to experts such as Mr. Klein and Mr. Miller. I am still trying to decide on my path for body and paint at this point.

[Papa]

What % of your total build time was spent on paint and bodywork?

Don't think of body and paint as a percentage of the build. Get quotes from whatever end of the scale you want in that department and budget for what you want. My first quote was for over $13K, and I got it done for way less than that. It really will come down to materials and labor, but you should be able to get a really nice paint job for $8-10K. Only you know what you want, but I'll simply advise that you should know what you want and then let the rest fall in place. Some things can be upgraded later, but others are a one-time deal (IRS vs. solid axle). Don't compromise on the one-and-done things! If it means you need to take things a little slower to get what you really want, you'll be grateful in the end. On the power decision, the sweet spot seems to be 325-375 horse to have a fun, yet manageable car to just go drive. These cars only weigh 2200-2400 pounds when done, so too much power will give you bragging rights, but maybe not be so fun to drive. Bottom line, build the car the way YOU want to build it. That's all that really matters when the dust settles.

Dave

[NAZ]

Unless you're one of those special few that enjoy body & paint and are very good at it, farm this out to the experts. My buddy the painter had my body at his shop for 141-days and during that time I was still building and fabricating parts. But my build is so far off the Rez you can't even consider it a kit car anymore.

Being a former engineer and project manager plus having worked similar projects, I assembled all the tasks and ordered them in the proper sequence with their task dependencies and critical paths then made a spreadsheet with ETC (Estimated Time for Completion) of each task to help me plan my work each week. It took me 4,746 hours to build mine and get it on the road, and still more time to get it on the track. Working ~36-hrs a week (I'm retired), that's approximately 1,850 beers. I experienced 100-days of delay where I was stuck waiting on parts or supplies. Delays are significant when building a custom one-off vehicle.

I initially set out to build a street legal race car for drag racing and driving into town on cruise nights. Thought I'd save time and $$ building a kit car with minor mods needed to meet my goal. When NHRA would not certify my cage because of the FFR chassis (the FFR chassis does not comply with NHRA rules) that spun this build into a whole new level of difficulty. Now it was no longer a kit car but an effort to salvage what I could and build the rest from scratch. Turns out that the only thing left that was built at FFR is the front chassis clip and a heavily modified body. I'd have saved time & $$ if I'd have built the entire car from scratch as I would have only had to build it once.

[rich grsc]

"I'd have saved time & $$ if I'd have built the entire car from scratch as I would have only had to build it once."
Now where is the fun in that?

[GTBradley]

The trick is figuring out how you’ll use it, what you’ll want for upgrades and what the unforeseen costs are. The unforeseen costs can add up quickly, such as shipping costs to a painter that’s a thousand miles away, or finding out the hard way that your state DMV collects tax on internet purchases. Those two alone can add $5000.

[Avalanche325]

I stared out thinking I would build a donor car and upgrade over the years. Then after doing more reading and really thinking about it, I came up with a few thoughts.

1. Most donor car parts end up either being pretty worn out or too expensive for a used part. A lot are both.
2. A lot of guys that build with donor parts, end up replacing most or all of them pretty quickly. This ends up costing more in the long run.
2. Do you really want to build a brand new used car?

I then went all new. There are a few guys that ended up getting a low mileage donor at a great price and doing an inexpensive build. They are the exception.

I did my own paint and body work. It is the first and only car that I have ever painted. My car has show quality paint thanks to advice from the pros here, lots of reading, and doing things over and over until they were right. It can be done IF, big IF, you put a LOT of time and effort in and you are a perfectionist. I worked on my body for probably 4 - 5 months. Paint was 26 straight hours of terror. Then there were a couple cut and buff weekends. Don't even think about it unless it is something you really just WANT to do. By the time you buy everything you need, you will only save a couple thousand dollars. You could make up the difference and come out ahead by getting a job flipping burgers and sending the car to a pro. I have had three people ask me to do theirs......nooooooooo way.