Beginner looking for some advice!!!

[EWH24]

HELLO ALL. I am looking to start the Mk4 kit in the next 2-3 years. (possibly sooner) For those that have previously been down this road, you must have some "with the benefit of hindsight" ideas, wishes, should haves......

I was hoping to get some suggestion and or tips on what ever you like about undertaking this project. I am looking for any post process thoughts about what you may say to someone getting into this. the process you went through up to purchase, what you did to get ready to receive the kit, what you did after. Heck maybe one of you lives locally to Cincinnati!! Any and all info is welcome.

Thanks,

Ed H.

[bil1024]

If your going donor, start shopping now. Gives you time to prep parts, learn alot. Also, good motivation to keep on track for the kit. You may also consider the build school in MI, hear it is very well laid out. Get tools and garage organized.

Oh, and save your $$$$$$$$$$$$$

[Martin]

Write out a build plan now - before you start reading the forums.

Set out your objective, and stick to it. Reading this forum will definitely cost you money. There are far too many good ideas and ways to spend your money if you read the forums. Write out your plan now, before you become aware of all the small modifications you can make. Lots of small mods adds up to lots of money.

Save money. These things suck up money. Nice to haves will quickly become must haves. Write your build plan down now, and stick to it.

Did I mention you should write down your build plan and stick to it? Get it on the road by sticking to your build plan. These cars are never finished, you can always go back and upgrade something later once you are on the road, and it will give you something to tinker with in the future.

Some people have over 600hp. 300hp is enough, 350hp is lots of fun, 400hp, 450hp is on the line between just enough and slightly bonkers. Anything above 500hp and you are in "hold on for your life" territory. The cars are light, and don't need much to get moving. It's more fun to drive a slow car fast, than a fast car slow. And with 300hp, these cars are anything but slow. They'll quite possibly be the fastest car you'll ever drive even at 350hp.

Go to the build school. Nobody has ever said it wasn't worth the time/effort/money. You can even get a rebate back of $500 if you attend the school before ordering your kit. Even guys that have built lots of cars before say they learnt a lot of things to help them save time, money and effort.

Don't buy it on credit. Pay cash, or put it on your credit card and pay it all off at the end of the month. It's the one bit of advice I have stuck to.

Go to a car meet - jump in one and try it on for size. I'd seen lots of them at other car shows, but until I jumped into Ian Hunters one in the UK, I didn't realise how small it was, and how much I'd have to increase the size of the footbox, and what else I'd need to do to make me fit inside comfortably. Also, we he started up the engine, I smiled for a week. In fact, I'm smiling now as I think about it. They could quite possibly be the most fun you can have with your clothes on.

I haven't stuck to any of my other advice, and it's cost me nearly 3 times what I thought it would, and I haven't even started building yet. It will be a great car when it's done, with every gadget, widget and upgrade known to man kind. I wish I had more self discipline. I could have bought one already made for half of what I have spent already, and I could have been driving it for the last 3 years.

Martin.

ps. Write down your plan now. What do you want to do with it (street, track, auto cross etc.), how do you want it to look (classic, vintage, modern, your own interpretation). then stick to your plan until you can drive it around. Then look at any other modifications you want to do.

[skullandbones]

There's lots of experience on this forum about the things you need to do to prepare for the build but preparing yourself for driving one is a vague subject. People talk about how much hp is too much and the like. I've driven a lot of hot rods but this is different. It's got it's own feel sort of like how a Corvette has a certain feel when you sit in it and the way it drives. Mine feels like a little rocket ship waiting to blast off! Even though it only has app 350 to 375 hp depending on what you read and who you ask, it's not like any other car I've driven with that range of power. If you have track experience or history with very light weight to hp ratio, you are ahead of the game. But if you don't you should plan on some track time in one of that kind of car. My MkIII has the same power profile as the one they talk about on the FFR website so 3.6 sec 0 to 60 passes are possible. So prepare yourself for the ride of your life. WEK.

[WIS89]

Ed-

I don't think I can offer any better advice than what you received from Martin; he is spot-on with his suggestions. I would like to add one idea, and reiterate one point. The one idea is to buy Brian Smith's book, entitled "How to build Cobra Kit Cars and Buying Used." It is a wonderful resource, and walks you through Brian's build that he accomplished with his Dad. There are loads of pictures, ideas, and shortcuts that you can utilize as you choose. Between it and the build manual (which I would also buy now), you will have a couple of great resources to use to do what I would like to reiterate....

Make your build plan. I used an excel spreadsheet, and have been updating it regularly. I have not started a build yet, but my plan includes all of the modifications I want to make, all the vendors I intend to use, and all of the upgrades I would like to make. It will be my bible as I begin my build, as soon as I scrape together the pennies... Martin has expressed this point quite well.

Good luck with your project, and please let us know how it goes! I hope I have helped in some small way!

Regards,

Steve

[tcoon]

I second what the others have said. I went to the build school and it was a great introduction to the process as well as the family. There are great people involved with this hobby, and many of them live on this forum. If this is your first project, my suggestion would be to just build the kit, as close to "stock" as you can. As you heard earlier there are an infinite number of mods you can make and that really tends to bog things down. Spend your time driving a completed car, its easy to add or change thungs later. Some of the happiest owners I've met have simple builds with the stock mustang motor...they look great, drive great, run every time, and go like stink! Anything over 400 hp is barely drivable on a cruise or in a parade. I know, I have a 560 hp Daytona. It can be a cantankerous beast...but it really screams at 6000 rpm! Question is, how much do you really get to do that? Having driven a challenge racer for 4 years with the stock mustang platform, I can confidently assure you they will outperform almost anything on the street if well driven. And they look and sound amazing! Welcome to the fun.

Tom