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Slideways
01-28-2026, 01:43 PM
Hello all,
Went to the build school third week of January 2026. How impressed I was by Scott and Jim’s knowledge and competence can’t be over stated, those two are the FFR gurus. Got home decompressed, went over the configuration sheet again and again and again then called and spoke with Nick and pulled the trigger. Recently retired and this will be an excellent retirement project.

Looking forward to being a part of this forum’s community.

A bit of my bio. Went to college about two years, dropped out, discovered the local state trade school, fell in love with the place and got an AS in machine tool and automotive tech. Had worked my way through school as a motorcycle wrench and machinist so the programs I went through were great for me. Went to work as a manufacturing engineer right out of school which lasted two years. In college my obsession for motorcycles was converted to bicycles and before I knew what hit me I quit the engineering job and was racing road bikes full time as an alternate on the national team. After two years on the road living out of a 1952 GMC one ton panel delivery that I converted into a half assed RV I move from Maine where I grew up to California. After three more years working as a machinist I opened a bicycle shop and that is how I spent the rest of my working days. By the way don’t tell my mom about the bike shop she still thinks I’m the DJ down at the strip club… Never really worked in the automotive world in spite of the schooling so maybe now I’ll finally use some of that education if I can remember any of it.

Cheers all !!

burchfieldb
01-28-2026, 09:34 PM
Congrats, welcome to the forum. What did you end up getting?

F500guy
01-28-2026, 10:31 PM
Great story! You will fit right in!

rickyracer
01-29-2026, 11:09 AM
Welcome ! Sounds like you have a good plan.

Slideways
01-29-2026, 08:46 PM
Ordered a MK5 the engine is coming from Blueprint, that will be a 302 small block.

GoDadGo
01-29-2026, 09:14 PM
Ordered a MK5 the engine is coming from Blueprint, that will be a 302 small block.

Congrats & Good Luck!
1. Get an extra copy of the manual and read it again.
2. It will really help you when you do the inventory and refamiliarize you with the parts.
3. When your kit arrives, make a copy of the inventory sheet & attach each induvial sheet to the corresponding box of parts.
Again, Congrats & Good Luck

Slideways
01-30-2026, 09:24 PM
Good advice, thanks. Already downloaded the bible and am about 80 pages into it so far.

TrackDay17
01-31-2026, 10:20 AM
Ordered a MK5 the engine is coming from Blueprint, that will be a 302 small block.


Welcome !
I attended the build school in August myself, great school and instructors.

Building a MK5 with a BP347 myself.

My friend has MK4 with a 302 and it's a strong runner, you will definitely like it I'm sure.



Good luck on your build