Countrymile
07-02-2022, 10:14 AM
Greetings,
I've been creeping around the forum for a few months now. In general I'm a pretty quiet person so I'm finally getting up the nerve to say hello. I've always enjoyed taking things apart and figuring out why they tick, and when I was younger my dad had a passion for buying random project cars. His "plan" was to fix them up and sell them for a profit, I think most just sat in the yard because he became personally attached to every project. In high school my project was a 1963 Ford F100 short box, I really enjoyed that project time with him. Since then I've had a few smaller projects I've worked on but nothing that big. Dad's since changed his passion to antique tractors... almost. His most recent project was a barn find - the local race track used to have a Ford 9N tractor modified with a 312 Y-block. They used it to push start the race cars. When he found it the motor was stuck, but he got it freed up and almost has it running again.
Our last of 5 kids graduated high school this year. About 3 years ago, my wife and I were discussing what to do about "empty-nest syndrome", and I suggested the roadster so we could take Saturday day trips... in January, she agreed. I just about fell off my chair. After verifying (several times) to make sure she really was ok with this, I pulled the trigger in February. Now, I'm patiently waiting until November for my MKIV to arrive. It's ok because I have a couple other projects I need to finish. After 30 years the F100 needs some upgrades, one of my sons started a project 1988 F250 we've been rebuilding, among other things. Dad had a 351W engine sitting in the shed so I'm rebuilding that, and I found a IRS axle at the local junkyard to rebuild. I probably would have went with a 302 if that engine wasn't available for free, it sounds like these cars don't need the extra power. I think my wife has started to realize she made a mistake, I have become obsessed with the forum, the YouTube videos, the research that goes into something like this. Bless her heart.
Thank you in advance to everyone on this forum, there is so much information here for us newbies. I've learned so much about the project already! Here's my basic plan as of today... always subject to change. Let me know if there's something I'd regret not including in the original build but I'm trying to keep the list to just the must-haves. I know I can always change it later. As others have noted, with these long lead times it's tough to manage Scope Creep.
351W - bored 0.050", alum. heads, EFI. I'm planning on keeping the stock crankshaft.
17" wheels, I'm thinking something like the FR500
heater kit, probably AC too - a priority request from the wife (If she's not comfortable I won't be driving it much). I've seen a couple threads on AC, but not much. Still debating this one.
eventually I will add a soft top but might not be with the original build
driver / passenger roll bars
leather seats
IRS - 3.55 gears
Tremec TKX - I'd like to get a midshift kit but will wait until I see location in the car.
Hydraulic clutch bearing, any suggestion on what type of clutch?
upgraded pipes to quiet it down some, not sure which ones yet.
For color right now I'm leaning toward a dark red with a ghost stripe.
The goal is a car that is fun to drive. Even though I've started on the engine it doesn't "feel" like I've started yet - I'm really looking forward to the main build.
Thanks again for all the information already out there, and I'm looking forward to sharing my experience!
Thanks
Daren
I've been creeping around the forum for a few months now. In general I'm a pretty quiet person so I'm finally getting up the nerve to say hello. I've always enjoyed taking things apart and figuring out why they tick, and when I was younger my dad had a passion for buying random project cars. His "plan" was to fix them up and sell them for a profit, I think most just sat in the yard because he became personally attached to every project. In high school my project was a 1963 Ford F100 short box, I really enjoyed that project time with him. Since then I've had a few smaller projects I've worked on but nothing that big. Dad's since changed his passion to antique tractors... almost. His most recent project was a barn find - the local race track used to have a Ford 9N tractor modified with a 312 Y-block. They used it to push start the race cars. When he found it the motor was stuck, but he got it freed up and almost has it running again.
Our last of 5 kids graduated high school this year. About 3 years ago, my wife and I were discussing what to do about "empty-nest syndrome", and I suggested the roadster so we could take Saturday day trips... in January, she agreed. I just about fell off my chair. After verifying (several times) to make sure she really was ok with this, I pulled the trigger in February. Now, I'm patiently waiting until November for my MKIV to arrive. It's ok because I have a couple other projects I need to finish. After 30 years the F100 needs some upgrades, one of my sons started a project 1988 F250 we've been rebuilding, among other things. Dad had a 351W engine sitting in the shed so I'm rebuilding that, and I found a IRS axle at the local junkyard to rebuild. I probably would have went with a 302 if that engine wasn't available for free, it sounds like these cars don't need the extra power. I think my wife has started to realize she made a mistake, I have become obsessed with the forum, the YouTube videos, the research that goes into something like this. Bless her heart.
Thank you in advance to everyone on this forum, there is so much information here for us newbies. I've learned so much about the project already! Here's my basic plan as of today... always subject to change. Let me know if there's something I'd regret not including in the original build but I'm trying to keep the list to just the must-haves. I know I can always change it later. As others have noted, with these long lead times it's tough to manage Scope Creep.
351W - bored 0.050", alum. heads, EFI. I'm planning on keeping the stock crankshaft.
17" wheels, I'm thinking something like the FR500
heater kit, probably AC too - a priority request from the wife (If she's not comfortable I won't be driving it much). I've seen a couple threads on AC, but not much. Still debating this one.
eventually I will add a soft top but might not be with the original build
driver / passenger roll bars
leather seats
IRS - 3.55 gears
Tremec TKX - I'd like to get a midshift kit but will wait until I see location in the car.
Hydraulic clutch bearing, any suggestion on what type of clutch?
upgraded pipes to quiet it down some, not sure which ones yet.
For color right now I'm leaning toward a dark red with a ghost stripe.
The goal is a car that is fun to drive. Even though I've started on the engine it doesn't "feel" like I've started yet - I'm really looking forward to the main build.
Thanks again for all the information already out there, and I'm looking forward to sharing my experience!
Thanks
Daren