JB in NOVA's MK4 build : First overnight road trip!

[JB in NOVA]

Hello everyone,

I am JB in NOVA. I’ve been a big fan of this forum for a couple of years. Thank you everyone for making this such a helpful, non-judgmental, collaborative forum! I’ve learned a lot from the build threads, so I figured I would do my part to contribute.

I have almost zero experience building cars. When I was a teenager, I used my lawnmowing money to buy a 1966 Mustang from the original owner with about 100K miles and a lot of rust. I think I paid about $700 for it. My friends called it the “Rust-tang.” I did some body work and got it looking pretty good, but I would not put this in the category of “automotive experience.” It was mostly a lot of Bondo and a Maaco paint job at the end. Looking back, I’m a little ashamed that I treated a classic car that way . . . but I was a teenager!

I bought a FFR Mk IV kit to atone for my past automotive sins. I want to build it the right way, and I humbly ask the forum to keep me from doing anything stupid. I attended the build school at Mott CC this January (in a blizzard, thank you very much). It was a great experience, and I’m really glad I did it. I took notes and lots of pictures, so hopefully that will steer me away from any true disasters in this project. But still, I’m worried . . .

Here’s my anticipated build:

MK4 Complete kit-powder coated
Moser solid rear axle, 3-Link suspension
Blueprint 347 engine, EFI
Tremac TKO 600
Hydraulic clutch
Halibrand wheels
Dual chrome roll bars
Front battery box (Breeze)
Radiator shroud (Breeze)
Steering-mounted turn signal (Russ Thompson)
Drop trunk (Russ Thompson)
Custom accelerator pedal (Russ Thompson)
Vintage gauges
Glove Box
Wind Visors
Sun Visors
Heated seats

In closing, I will make three predictions:

(1) I will eventually disprove the notion that “there are no stupid questions.”
(2) I will make every mistake that can possibly be made, and sometimes twice.
(3) I will be very grateful for any advice the forum provides, even if you make fun of me in the process.

Okay, let’s build a car!