850 Family Build: New to the FFR Community

[Claybuster]

Hi All,
Let me/us start by saying thank you to all of the members on this forum who spend countless numbers of hours reading, researching, debating and above all else, helping other members, including newbies like us, reach the goal of building one of these beautiful tributes to a bygone era and passion for racing. What a great community to finally be a part of!

Just before Christmas last year (2022), my wife and I decided to place an order for a complete Mk4 kit (Yep! She's all in...), so that we could have a great project to work on as a family, but mostly to provide a way to connect with our 14 year old son on a level that will be unmatched. As he gets older and more mature, he has shown great interest in learning about cars and what it takes to own and maintain them, with particular interest in custom mods. What teenage boy doesn't, right? So under the tree he found a copy of the FFR Mk4 build manual, and we have been excited ever since.

The final kit review with FFR was last week, and the completion date is July 1. Stewart will deliver the kit sometime mid July, and we anticipate delivery of the BPE 302/TKX sometime mid August. We can't wait to get started. The garage is almost ready, and I'm planning to build the frame dolly and body buck over the next couple weeks (unless there is someone in the Florida panhandle that needs to get rid of one!).

To this end, we have a question for the group. We are sure it will generate some great discussion, and we hope to learn a few more things to help us get started. So here goes:

If you could go back to the beginning of your build (or your first build of you've done several), what is one thing would you have done differently? And what we mean is, if you had known then what you know now, what would make you think and post, "hey you guys should try this...". There are lots of things that could potentially go there, but I'm guessing most get where we are coming from.

Thanks again for your knowledge, patience, and guidance!

Jason, Heather and William Bailey
Panama City, FL

[Rdone585]

Jason and family, it's great to have you join in the fun of building one of these great iconic cars. Enjoy the journey, you'll find a bounty of information on this site but don't hesitate to ask when you can't find the information you're looking for. What would I have done differently? I built mine decades ago and put primer on the gray gelcoat, then drove it for almost 2 years. I then had to sand off all of that primer when I started the painting process, it had absorbed road grim and grease from all that driving. I was saving up for the paint as I had used up available funds during the build. Drive it in gelcoat instead. This will allow you to work out the bugs in your build before you commit to paint. If you're able to go right to paint before driving that's great,, I was anxious to get on the road and needed a couple of years to save up and to decide which color(s) I wanted.

[Claybuster]

Sage advice, Rdone585. Thank you!

I am sure we will be tempted to put her on the road in gelcoat. I am considering doing the bodywork and paint myself, but I have plenty of time to contemplate those details. I expect a year or more before she is ready for a color. The initial choice is Chevy Shark Gray Metallic (I've heard it is also Windsor Gray?) with black stripes, maybe flat, in the form of a "wrap". I dunno. We'll see!

[Ted G]

I am just finishing up my build that came in April of last year.... I was cleaning up my shop (garage) while I'm waiting for the paint to be completed and realized that I have a few tools that I never used, or used so little they really didn't make a lot of sense to purchase early on. So my advice is, don't go out and buy a lot of tools until you need them. Also, you only need about 50 1/8" clecos to complete your build and maybe 10 3/16" clecos. Also, if you doing extra mods, don't buy too early as you may change your mind down the line.

Have fun, it is truly a great experience that will at times, leave you excited, frustrated, anticipatory, confused, and looking for band-aids. You'll also likely gain some new friends in this great community we have and your son will have this memory forever!

Good luck!

[Claybuster]

Thanks, Ted G! more sage advice!
Yes, I want to spend lots of money on lots of mods and ideas, but as you point out, the build will evolve over time. I have been reading your build thread. It will help tremendously. Our kit is scheduled for completion on July 1!
Can't wait to get started.

[CraigS]

The car can actually look pretty dang good in the red gelcoat. There is a krylon color that is a good match but one of the well known FFR painters says he doesn't like any of that to get into the seams. I 'think' there is a source for the red gelcoat and there are some procedures and products for spraying gelcoat after the fact vs into the mold.