Roadster fans -

My 15 year old daugther and i are about to embark upon our very own MKIV roadster build. We are excited for the project and the time that will be spent working and learning together.

To be clear WE LOVE THE CAR, but we are not going the "purist" route - we'd like to drive it and enjoy it around town and it will never see a track (at least not in the near future). My intention is to use the smallest V8, power steering, and maybe put in some a/c (we live in San Antonio so it gets HOT!). I know I know... I can just imagine the gasps and gaffaws now.

So, some of you may be thinking, just go buy a Miata. Well, I know we aren't buying/building a Miata, but my principle concern is safety - I'd like my daughter to be able to drive it without worrying about her killing herself and I'd like for it to be fairly reasonably tolerable on noise and drivability. Everything I have seen is loud, audacious, and head pounding - all beautiful machines, but I don't want to leave it parked because its a pain to drive.

I'm hoping that some of you experienced builders/owners could give me some personal perspective on your thoughts on the above, how its been to own one and drive following the build and some ideas of how you might go about a project for a younger inexperienced driver.

Thanks for any advice you have.

Robin