Budget Builds

Just wondering what all you who have built, or are in the process of building, have used for a budget build. I've been going crazy trying to figure out what I want for an engine/transmission combo. I don't want to spend crazy money right now because I would like to build a second car down the road. I was thinking of a street car first, then a track car later on because I want to get into amateur and vintage car racing. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. I'm no rookie when it comes to cars and have my own shop and I do have quite a few resources.

The budget builds used to be based on Fox body donors but with rare exception those cars are either pretty well used up or too nice (i.e. too pricey) to make them economically viable from a budget perspective. Over the last few years the tide has shifted and for someone looking to build a roadster on a moderate budget sticking to the original donor concept of removing and freshening components (rather than completely rebuilding &/or replacing them) I think the 4.6 Mustang donor is the obvious answer. They make good power (even a 2 valve is plenty for a street car) are smooth, economical, well behaved and reliable as an anvil.

Base kit+4.6 Mustang donor+reasonable upgrades+self performed or bargain body & paint=a darn nice car for<$25K.

Jeff

Agree with Jeff, sometimes you get lucky and find a decent donor from the 87-93 error. If you can start shopping craigslist or the forum for parts. Then refurbish them

Get onto a Mustang forum and find local Mustang club people and put the word out that you are looking for a 302 and a T5. A friend got that combination out of a 70 mustang. Someone had 'updated' the Mustang years ago and the new owner wanted to get it back to original type engine and trans. He had no interest in the 302 and T5 so my friend got both for $500. A 302 w/ a carb will be the least expensive engine you can find and it will run great w/ a 355 rear gear. I say carb only because the efi stuff, especially including the harness, is all very old by now and can be a real pain to deal with.

I'm thinking 4.6 DOHC out of a Mach 1 or Cobra. Any thoughts?

If you go with the Mach 1, you can use the solid rearend - although you'd need to swap the axles for Fox-body width ones if you want to run the rear tires. My original plan was to do a nearly complete donor build using one of the '03-'04 Mach 1 cars... seemed like a very viable way to go. A few years ago, a wrecked low mileage Mach 1 could be had for under $5k - with a base kit, some rebuilding, do-it-yourself bodywork, and a reasonable paint job, you could get the car done easily in the low $20k range.

I'm glad this subject keeps coming up in regard to the roadster. It's true that that ship has sailed (fox single donors). However, it still allows for a "budget minded" person to go the donor route with a completely different approach. Instead of buying a single donor you have to cherry pick which is time consuming. The advantage is you can choose the very best component for your needs and still save substantially. I took it one step further and put a new short block and donor components to get the engine I wanted. That was the biggest savings I have made. I'm just at 26.5 K in primer and driving it. My experience is that you will end up either upgrading or discarding the single donor parts. I am using the T5 only from the donor since I traded up to a Cobra mustang diff. The other compelling factor is the slippery slope of upgrading with aftermarket and forum vendor goodies! It's fun but costly. I do have one other suggestion. If you were going to do an under the car exhaust which is very cool, you could do it with shorty headers and sell off the side pipes. Things like that might keep the budget down but you have to be clever and steadfast with your choices. Good luck, WEK.

I myself am currently in the middle of a budget build. I ordered the basic kit and it was delivered on August 17th. I did however take advantage of the summer sale credit and ordered gauges, all of the wiring harnesses (EFI harness STILL ON BACKORDER), wheels and the three link rear suspension.

I purchased a refurbished solid rear axle last week and at this point I am just under $18,000. in expenses. Some of the components I am using will be re-manufactured or salvaged, some will be new. I'm hoping to keep the entire build under $26K.

Craigs list and ebay will be your friends if you are patient. My same friend also got a rear axle for extremely cheap even if I do forget the exact number. As you look into each component post a question here. IE; there are a ton of axle variations out there. If you bought a 4 lug axle w/ 273 gears you would want to replace nearly everything but the housing so it's not a good buy unless it's free. Or a 97 axle that would get you 5 lugs but the axle is too wide so you would be limited on rear tire width and need to replace the axle themselves.