Donor parts or new?

[Chris Wingardh]

Hello folks, great forum here, I am a new guy trying to figure out which way to go. Would like to do the truck, but the driveline is not cheap, is it worth it (time and $$) to buy a Mustang and tear it down, then trying to part the rest out to recoup some $?
Or trying to find the stuff at a salvage yard? Or just bite the bullit and buy new stuff? Opinions and suggestions please.

Thanks,

Chris in SRQ

[Papa]

Chris,

You'll likely get a lot of different opinions on this, but here are my thoughts. I built a Roadster, so it may be a bit different for the truck. From my perspective, I wanted a new car, not a new car with 20-year-old parts. The true donor model that FFR started with is getting more and more difficult to pull off as solid donor cars are now becoming collectable themselves and cheap donors are pretty much not going to save you much if you need to refurbish all the usable parts, and any parts you don't use are likely only worth a core charge to anyone looking for replacements themselves. For the drive train, maybe a little different story as you can buy used and rebuild to suit your goals for likely less than a new crate engine (maybe). Keep in mind these kits are light and don't require huge horse power to have a fun car/truck when you're done. I used BluePrint Engines for my build and it was very easy to drop into my roadster and have a new engine with a warranty that is truly designed for the FFR kit. I've never built an engine, so if you know what you're doing, you could likely piece together all the parts you need and have something that works well for a bit less, but it's unlikely you'll have any warranty. I hope this helps, and I'm sure you'll get a lot of additional advice from others here.

Dave

[bil1024]

I usually do a donor, clean and fix up the parts, sell body parts and make alot of money back, its dirty work but hey saves you alot if you are on a tight budget

[frankeeski]

For the 35 pickup I don't think a Mustang donor will save you much of anything. For driveline, if you're set on Ford, start scouring facebook marketplace and craigslist for a complete, used 302 and T5 (or AOD) trans. If I was going to build a 35 I'd go with a take out LS and auto trans. Dirt cheap and most times plenty of life left in those LS engines. The rear end assembly is a Mustang but limited year availability, so you may find that you end up with a new one from Moser. Careful shopping can keep your prices down.

[Kay_B]

What about ebay sellers? Is it not more profitable to look for used components there? Usually there you can find anything you want and in a good variety.

[CaptB]

I was on the fence for quite awhile until I chose new. The option for donor is clearly a lower cost one (assuming you're going to do the work yourself). However, I felt that I wanted to do more plug and play wrench work and refurbishment of old/worn parts. Before a paint job I will be easily in the $35K range. 347 + TKX from Blueprint, Moser build axle and then the complete kit at $22K'ish. So it comes down whether you have a price limit and/or if you want to do the refurb work. You're not wrong with either choice. I can only tell you I wanted to wrench on the plug and play rather than the wrench on the refurbishment. Those were my drivers not necessarily cost (although that's always in the mix).
Good luck either way.

[edwardb]

As Frank said, the truck is probably not the best candidate for a donor build. From a Mustang, engine, trans and tank are about it. Brakes maybe. Front suspension including the steering rack are unique. So is the rear suspension and axle width. I suppose you could use a donor wiring harness and even gauges but I sure wouldn't. I've done several builds, now including a truck, but avoided donors. So I'm probably not the best to recommend. I get that there's (maybe...) money to be saved. But the time investment can be significant. And that has value too.

[Kay_B]

As Frank said, the truck is probably not the best candidate for a donor build. From a Mustang, engine, trans and tank are about it. Brakes maybe. Front suspension including the steering rack are unique. So is the rear suspension and axle width. I suppose you could use a donor wiring harness and even gauges but I sure wouldn't. I've done several builds, now including a truck, but avoided donors. So I'm probably not the best to recommend. I get that there's (maybe...) money to be saved. But the time investment can be significant. And that has value too.

This is a great recommendation. I was just not even exactly sure whether such spare parts were suitable, so I did not write that incompatibility is possible. But it turns out that they are really incompatible, which means that you should not even try to put spare parts from a passenger car on a truck.

[Presto51]

All good answers.

the first question you might want to ask yourself, honestly, which might help is:

Do I have more time than money, or more money than time?

The answer should help guide you.

Ron

[jamminj]

if your trying to save money and want good power
id look for a 2011 to 2017 $6k to $7k coyote with 6 speed put a new clutch
https://thepartsfarm.com/
i bought my stuff there talk to chris he's great
get the ford controls pack a little pricey 1500

this will save you 10k over new
and buy the rest of the kit